I didn’t want to tell him, but that sounded super enticing to me. As someone who only recently discovered their abilities, I had yet to see the fun side of magic. It all felt very doom and gloom from Fin and the Captain’s perspective. This seemed like my chance to witness magic from a different point of view.
“Well, let’s see what the Chief’s contact provided us by way of weapons and clothing and get ready to go.”
Fin waved at the window. “Night Market means Night Market. We still have a couple of hours until sundown.”
“I’ll need time to survey and to get into the place. The email gave me the coordinates, but I highly doubt there’s not some sort of magical barrier that will try to keep us out.” I raised my eyebrows and waited.
“There is,” he said, begrudgingly, then followed me into the bedroom. “Wear black. It’s the easiest to glamour with magic into the shadows, and it hides the blood.”
I almost wanted to laugh. What the hell kind of place was this?
We got ready quickly and jumped in the black SUV. But the drive took longer than I thought it would. By the time we arrived, the first bright glimmers of sunset coated the empty field we found ourselves in. There weren’t any other cars, nor people, and yet I could sense the magic in the air like a heavy spice flung on the breeze.
“What do you think?” I asked Fin, as I shoved my daggers into their sheaths.
He eyed the field with a look of disgust. “This is such a bad idea.”
His hair was pulled back into a low bun, and his black hoodie made him look my age, especially paired with black jeans and combat boots. He looked like he was about to go to a Fall Out Boy concert, not a magical underground market.
Not that I wore much different. My jeans were blue, but only because they felt better under my dagger sheaths.
“So?” I waved at the field. “What do we do?”
He took my hands in his much warmer ones. “Breathe and focus on your magic.”
“Which one?” I asked, closing my eyes.
“Any of it. The Night Market is open to anyone who has magic.”
I popped an eye open to study him. “So, humans would walk across the field as if it were nothing?”
“Yes, shush.”
I glared at him shushing me, then closed my eyes and breathed steadily along with him. Magic washed down my spine like a wayward breeze, and then, it was as if a bubble popped and sound descended. I opened my eyes, hands still in Fin’s.
A huge red circus tent flapped in the wind.
My mouth dropped open. Now that’s cool.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Sure, but why do you look like you’re about to throw up?”
His chin tuck and side eye gave me pause. I cupped his cheek and dragged his face back so he would meet my eyes. “Just tell me. It’ll be so much easier this way.”
He released a long sigh. “Back before, a long time ago, and leading up to your parents’ death, I was sort of like a cop of the fae world. Many here might remember and resent me.”
It was my turn to match his scowling frown. “I thought fae governed themselves.”
“They do now.”
“But then?”
“There used to be a council. They called them The Three. And there were a few higher ranking fae who served as sort of unofficial law enforcement.”
I super needed to start boning up on my fae history. “What happened to them?”
He captured my hands under his, still holding his face. “I’ll give you one guess.”