A Ride of Peril (A Shade of Vampire #46)(31)

“Provided we all live to hear the tales,” Anjani muttered under her breath and shot an arrow through the trees.

I had a crush on her crossbow, custom built for long range shots. Mine and Bijarki’s had an effective range of 200 feet, while Anjani’s was able to kill from 500 feet. She’d spotted another shape-shifter deep in the woods to our right.

We stilled and listened. I let my inner-wolf sniff the air, and I caught the scent of blood, but the creature was still moving.

“I really need to practice these long shots more,” Anjani grumbled and loaded another arrow.

I saw the creature running toward us with a limp, jumping over gnarly tree roots as it reached the road. It shifted right before my eyes into a creepy version of me, sending instant shivers down my back.

We all aimed our crossbows at it and shot at the same time. The arrows pierced through the beast’s head, throat, and chest. It fell backward, writhing in agony for a minute before it died.

“I must say, Anjani, you seemed to enjoy killing that shifter a little too much,” Bijarki quipped.

I knew what he meant. The beast looked like me. I looked at her, and she wore a sheepish smile that both irritated and enchanted me. The dynamic between us was constantly filled with such contradictions. I was learning to take it all in stride.

“It wasn’t as handsome as me,” I shot back. “She obviously disliked the copy’s cheap quality.”

Bijarki chuckled as we continued walking down the road. The sun set in shades of violet and orange.

Soon enough, the Sarang Marketplace emerged ahead, as the woods thinned out. It was large, covering at least half a square mile, with small paths between dozens of stalls and wooden constructions resembling boutique stores.

It was loud and colorful. An abundance of red paper lanterns hung above on a network of strings tied to outer pillars. It was a sight to behold, given that I’d grown accustomed to the lonely mansion beneath a protective shield. There must have been a thousand creatures, all selling and buying everything and anything, from trinkets and fabrics to weapons, tools, animals, and foods.

“Stay close, Jovi,” Bijarki said. “You’re an outsider to these folks, and they don’t always take kindly to strangers.”

I nodded and walked ahead, reaching his side and tucking the crossbow in the leather holster mounted on my back. We entered the marketplace, and Anjani headed toward the stables on the far eastern end.

“I’ll start looking for horses. You boys get some food and supplies for the rest of the journey,” she said, disappearing into the crowd.

I looked around and was surprised by the diversity. Short creatures with thick, wrinkled skin wobbled from one stall to another with large pointed ears and crooked noses. I assumed that those were the imps Bijarki had told me about. They talked quickly and cursed a lot, forcing people into buying things rather than actually selling their merchandise.

There were plenty of incubi moving around, many of them putting distance between us and themselves at the sight of Bijarki’s military attire.

“They think I’m from an incubus army, and most of them are defectors and rogues,” the incubus said. “I make them wary, which is good. We don’t want them asking any questions anyway.”

We moved through the stalls, and I watched quietly as Bijarki purchased a variety of nuts and breads for the rest of our trip to the River Pyros. He haggled with the imp in charge until we got an extra bag of nuts on account of the incubus’s uniform.

“Those are Bajangs.” Bijarki pointed at a group of three males and one female.

They were similar to the incubi and succubi, beautiful by default with pale skin that shimmered golden in the fading sunlight. They didn’t have horns, and their eyes were a vibrant yellow with wide black pupils, reminding me of a cat. The males’ hair was rich and black, while the female wore hers in ginger and white braids.

“I can see some small differences between your kind and theirs,” I mumbled, careful not to be heard as they walked past us.

They wore leather garments and sharp blades hung on their belts. They gave me and Bijarki a sideways glance that was anything but friendly. The female hissed at me, and I stilled as I watched her shift into a large, orange feline with white stripes. She darted through the crowd as one of the males cursed under his breath and picked her clothes and sword up off the ground where she’d left them.

The same male frowned at me and ran after her, followed by his two companions.

“I guess we made her nervous,” Bijarki replied, amused.

“Okay, scratch what I said earlier. There are obviously some major differences between your kind and theirs,” I added. “They turn into cats? Seriously?”

He shrugged. “They’ve been like that since before we’ve had a recorded history. They’re usually solitary creatures, and they live in our cities, sleeping wherever they can and eating whatever they catch. Sometimes, they befriend incubi clans and live with them. They can be very useful in feline form.”

I could only imagine what useful meant to Bijarki. All I could think of was that the rodent problem was taken care of and fur balls would permeate the house. The female’s antipathy suddenly made sense, though. She had most likely sensed my wolf blood. Cats and dogs and all that.

We found a jewelry stall further down the aisle. I recognized the old woman as a fae. Her dress was large with glimmering purple ruffles. She sat back in her rocking chair and played with a violet flame between her fingers. The moment she heard us she sprang to her feet, putting the flame away, and smiled.