Chapter 19
Graham
The farmers’ market was alive with noise and color. Sunlight slanted through the awnings, and the air smelled of baked goods, damp earth, and fresh herbs—mostly basil. Magic hummed just beneath the surface.
Meera walked one step ahead of me, her eyes wide with wonder. I didn’t mind following. Not when I could watch the way the sunlight caught the dark strands of her hair, making them shine.
After days of dodging her and trying to convince myself that I wasn’t interested, I’d finally stopped lying to myself.
A tiny voice in my head screamed that I’d regret this, and that I was only setting myself up for heartbreak.
A larger part of me felt relief that I didn’t have to continue holding onto something that was already long gone.
Meera stopped at a stall where silver leaves lay curled in a basket. The green witch behind the counter with greenish-blonde hair was busy weighing out and packaging an order for another marketgoer.
“ Tea of Truth ,” Meera said, reading the sign over the basket. “ Guaranteed to get you the truth. Most of the time. Seriously?” Her skepticism was written all over her face.
“Yeah. They work,” I said. “But only around ninety percent of the time?”
“And the other ten?”
“They don’t.” I shrugged. “It’s why they can’t be used legally in court. But it’s good for those who are already mostly sure of the answer.”
“Serving that to Karim would’ve been easier than planting cameras,” she said drolly.
“There’s only one problem.”
“What?”
“It tastes like ass.”
Meera laughed and moved on to the next stall. She pointed at a bulbous plant that pulsed with soft light. “What’s that? “
“A warding plant,” I said. “You plant it near doors and windows, and it glows to alert you when danger is near.”
“So if I plant this by my door, it’ll warn me if someone’s breaking in?”
I hesitated. “Depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“If you’re looking at it.”
She frowned. “If I’m looking at the door anyway, then that’s not very useful.”
“Exactly. Completely useless if you’re not looking in its direction. I’ve heard of office workers keeping a small plant on their desk to warn them when their boss is sneaking up on them.”
“Oh! That’s smart. I should pick one up for Maa. Her new boss is a total micromanager.”
“Ah, that must be the madam she referred to on the phone.”
“Yup.”
“We’ll come back right before we leave, so we don’t need to carry the plant the whole time,” I smirked. “And while you’re still here. I can use it to warn me of you, Trouble.”
She elbowed me, but her smile didn’t fade.
We kept moving, past tables of normal and magical herbs and vegetables. Meera paused at a pile of gnarled, metallic tubers.
“Dried iron root,” I said. “Grated into food, it helps with iron deficiency and boosts stamina.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What’s the catch?” she asked, her eyes flickering back to the almost useful tea of truth and warning plant. She was catching on to the nature of many of the wares available for sale here; there were often strings attached.
I almost laughed. “It tastes like dirt if you’re not actually iron-deficient.”
“That’s not bad then. I think I’ll grab some. I’m always struggling with low iron.”
“Most women are,” said the lady behind the stall. “You don’t need much. I put mine in a pepper grinder and just do a few twists on my food once a day the week before my moon time.”
Meera paid for her iron root, refusing to let me help with it because it was for personal use.
When we reached the baked goods, my gaze gravitated directly to a tray of candied apples, the kind with the thick, glossy coating that cracked when you bit into them. But Meera’s eyes were on the caramel apples in the same display.
“Ooh!” Meera’s eyes lit up. “Those look amazing.”
We watched the vendor, a burly man with a thick, red beard, drizzle chocolate over a fresh batch of caramelly goodness.
I bought two, handed one to her, and took a bite of mine.
The caramel was sweet and sticky, and exactly the reason why I was glad I wasn’t pure stone after all.
I’d never want to give up eating. Meera was having a little more trouble breaking into her apple, getting more caramel on her face than apple in her mouth.
I held mine out for her so she could get a bite with a perfect mix of apple, caramel, and chocolate drizzle. “Here.”
She hesitated, then leaned in, her eyes meeting mine as she took the bite. I was immediately transported back to my room with her writhing under me. I forgot about the market, the egg, everything but the way she looked at me.
“Good?” I asked, my voice rough.
She nodded, licking a smear of caramel from her lip. “Perfect.”
“I am jealous of an apple.”
She smirked. “You’ll get your turn… later.”
The little troublemaker! I wanted to kiss her right there, in the middle of the crowd.
But I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop with just a kiss.
And being that distracted wouldn’t be the best idea, considering her ex was still out there.
But from what we knew, he was merely human.
If he so much as tried to lay a finger on her, he’d regret it.
We continued through the market stalls, sharing the caramel apples until all I had left in my hands were two little sticks. I scanned the market for a trash can.
“Stay right here. I’m going to toss these,” I said, spotting a bin halfway hidden behind one of the nearby stalls.
I glanced back at Meera, who was licking the last bit of caramel from her fingers. She looked happy and relaxed, and I couldn’t help the warm feeling blooming in my chest.
But as I made my way back to her, something tickled at my periphery.
A sinking feeling that would’ve turned my gut into lead, if it wasn’t already stone.
I paused, scanning the crowd. The market hummed with its usual noise: vendors hawking their wares, shoppers haggling, children laughing.
Nothing seemed remotely out of place, but the back of my neck prickled all the same.
I saw them moments before a scream rang out.
Three figures stood at the edge of the crowd, too dead to be alive and too alive to be dead.
Ghouls! The figures shuffled toward Meera, their gnarled and claw-like hands reaching out toward her like they were trying to claim her.
They lifted their noses like hounds, locating her through scent, since their eyes were too decayed to see.
Their skin was mottled gray and sickly-looking.
I was sure that if I looked harder, I’d see maggots writhing just beneath the surface.
Marketgoers screamed and scrambled out of their way, holding their noses. And just as sure, the next gust of wind brought their stench to my nose.
I pushed through the crowd toward Meera, who by now had noticed the abominations.
“What the hell are those?”
“Ghouls.” I grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the now-panicking crowd. “We need to move. Now.”
“Are they after me?” she asked between ragged breaths when we were forced to slow.
“I think so.”
We’d reached the edge of the square where the exit narrowed, and there was a wall of people all pushing and shoving. The ghouls were closer now, their rotting stench making me gag.
We had to find a different exit. While everyone else fought to clamber over the perfectly trimmed garden beds flanking the main way out, we skirted along the edge of one bed and made for another exit, a small group trailing after us once they realized the smarter route.
“Can’t you fight them?” Meera huffed.
Slaying the wretched creatures was most likely the best way to get them off us, but I wasn’t too keen on fighting ghouls. And even if I had to, I didn’t want to do it inside the market. Anything their ichor touched would be ruined.
“They will get everywhere if I try. If you think they stink now, wait until they literally spill their guts.”
Meera made a gagging sound. “Okay, what do we do?”
“They are slow since they’re already mostly decomposed. I’m sure the market coordinator already called the EA. We’ll just stay ahead of them.”
Once out of the market square, we continued moving, not so fast so the ghouls wouldn’t lose us. If these were sent after Meera, then they’d keep following her.
“What’s happening?”
“Trying to see if they are after you. If they are, they’ll follow.”
Sure enough, the three undead creatures continued to trail us, completely ignoring the hubbub of the market.
“Let’s loop around and get back to the car.” We’d taken another Redrock SUV today in case of an incident just like this.
At a quicker pace, we continued around the market square toward the parking lot. We found one more of the freaks milling around the vehicle, having been attracted to the faint traces of Meera there. It looked up as we got close and started shuffling toward us like a zombie.
Two more were closing in behind us; we’d lost the last one somewhere along the way.
There was a scream from the market again. Ah, final ghoul located.
I picked up the traffic cone they’d use to block vehicles from going the wrong way in the otherwise unmarked lot. It was one of those heavy-duty weighted ones. Perfect.
“Follow right behind me,” I ordered as I moved forward, drawing the ghoul by the SUV out into the lane.
Sensing that Meera was close, the horrid creature clambered faster, leaving slimy, rotting chunks of itself behind.
Then it lunged and I moved when it did, swinging the traffic cone at it hard.
It landed with a stomach-churning squelch.
I released the cone at the point of impact, sending both it and the ghoul flying down the lane.
“Quick, hurry.”
Meera and I ran for the SUV. Opening the back passenger door, I urged her inside before winding into the front. She was already strapping in by the time my door closed. The other two ghouls were now in front of the vehicle, blocking my way.
I locked the doors, set the vehicle to only circulate the air into the cabin, and put the SUV in drive.
I started to pull away, ignoring the fact that one of them was trying to hang onto the vehicle.
That wouldn’t be an issue once we got some speed.
And sure enough, it went flying by the first turn.
“You okay back there?” I asked, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Yah. Just a bit shaken. And— Watch out!”
The final ghoul stepped out onto the street in front of us.
I sighed. There wasn’t room to swerve out of the way, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to stop.
“Want to go through a car wash?” I asked.
“The ones with the pretty multi-colored foam?”
“Sure, I’ll splurge.”
“Yes. That’ll be fun.”
“Great! Now hang on.”
Then I floored it.