“The Blarestri are on our side, are they not?” I asked, remembering Caedmon, the odd creature who was their king. I had not known what to make of him, but I hadn’t trusted him. He had tried to make a claim on Dory, declaring that she was part fey and thus belonged to him. He had made it sound like he was doing her a favor, but there had been an acquisitive look in his eyes. And then the fey had come to kidnap us . . .
But his fey were golden haired for the most part, with bright blue eyes instead of the pewter ones of the Svarestri. And he had seemed more the type to try to seduce his way to what he wanted, rather than take it by force. But then, seduction had not worked . . .
I frowned. I did not know who to trust in this strange land, but I did not think it was him. And it appeared that Ray agreed.
“The fey are on their own side,” he said cynically. “Never forget that. If Caedmon wasn’t making out like a bandit in this war, he wouldn’t be helping us. But his old rival just got run out of his kingdom, leaving Caedmon in charge of two now. Don’t be surprised if he’s not too quick to change that.”
I nodded slowly. “It seems that you were right. Some things are not so different to our world.”
“Now you’re getting it. Anyway, the river is our best bet. We wanna avoid the la-di-da type of fey and hit up the villages, and most of them are built along the rivers.” He frowned and took one of my nuts. “I just wish we had something to trade.”
“Like what?”
“Like a lot of things. The regular fey, they’re not opposed to some smuggled Earth luxuries, now and again.”
“What kind of luxuries?”
“All kinds. Our biggest sellers, though, the stuff that really got good value . . .”
“Yes?”
He shook his head. “You won’t believe me. Nobody does, not until they come with, and see for themselves.”
“I’ll believe you.”
“Okay, but I’m not talking nobles here. They’re a different breed. But the regular Joes . . . liked Little Debbies.”
I blinked at him. “What?”
He nodded. “Hand to God.”
“Why?”
“Think about it. This ain’t the kinda climate that supports sugarcane. Honey is what they use for a sweetener here, and it’s hard to come by. So, anything sweet is a big deal.”
“But . . . Little Debbies?”
“The highly spiced ones. Spices are expensive, too. So, sugar and spice together—that’s a luxury item right there. They mostly wanted the pecan cinnamon rolls, honey buns, and those pumpkin spice things you see around Halloween. I used to get the guys to take a van around and load up.”
I tried to picture that, to wrap my head around the image of a bunch of vampires driving a van full of snack cakes, or standing in line at the supermarket with two or three shopping carts’ worth of them . . . and failed.
“Did anyone ever ask why?” I said.
He nodded. “Told ‘em the truth. Gonna trade it to some faeries for fey wine and potion supplies.”
I laughed. “You did not.”
“Well, I was drunk at the time. Hadda check the wine when it came in, you know, make sure it was a good batch.”
I copied one of his favorite gestures and rolled my eyes at him. I also gave him back the remains of the trail mix. I was still hungry, but I might need a quick energy boost later.
Ray packed it up in the blanket along with our other supplies, and stowed it in back of the raft. Then he carried me down to the waterline. Our new vessel did not look any better close up, but I decided not to mention that.
However, there were some things that I hadn’t seen from a distance. Ray had made two indentations in the pile of sticks that I assumed were supposed to be seats. They actually worked pretty well, I discovered, after he lifted me onto the one in back. The sticks had been piled up high, giving me some support. They also curved slightly around me, like a half cage, so that I wouldn’t fall out, I supposed.
He checked it anyway, rocking me back and forth to see if I’d shake loose. Only when he was satisfied did he get in the front “seat,” settling himself and causing the contraption to sag somewhat. That left my legs in