Chapter 2 – Aahz's point of view

It was only two days later when I saw her again. Now, don't get started. I say it as if I'd been counting the minutes, right? But I wasn't. Hours, maybe…

I was out with Skeeve, shopping around the bazaar trying to find some props for his next lesson. Even though we're partners in M.Y.T.H. Inc., I still feel it's my duty to teach him what I know. I've gone this route before, and explained it all to the Kid, so I don't feel the need to explain myself again. I was going to teach him stuff, that's that.

But in order to teach him, I needed props. Thus the reason I was haggling over the price of a steel rod with an exceptionally slimy Deveel. He deemed it necessary to charge twice what he'd charged the customer before me, and I was sure the only reason were my green scales. I'd been letting the rudeness slide, but it was quickly chewing away at raw nerves. Skeeve had grown increasingly impatient, and sensing the impending doom, wandered off a few stalls down to look at some hats.

"Forty."

"Dammit!" I whirled back around to the midget, snapped out of my reverie. "You buy 'em for ten! Drop the price!"

"Thirty-nine."

I gave a snarl, almost leaping across the bench in my haste to grab the Deveel. I yanked him to me by his vest, bringing him nose to nose.

"I'm sorry, I missed that. What price did you say?" I gave my most lethal smile, showing all of my teeth.

The Deveel made a show of smiling back, patting my hands in an effort to calm me.

"You must have misheard me."

"Right," I grunted. I sat him down again.

"I said one hundred gold pieces."

There was a second of silence. The satisfied smirk on the Deveels face had grown and he'd gone so far as to cross his arms over his chest and casually lean against the stall. I became aware my jaw was somewhere around my knees, and I snapped it shut.

"…one hundred?"

"One hundred," he nodded, smugness plastered all over his blotchy face. "And fifty," he added, almost as an afterthought.

I exploded. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? ONE HUNDRED FIFTY GOLD PIECES FOR A SCRAP OF METAL!!" I scooped up the rod, shaking it threateningly at him. "LET ME SHOW YOU WHERE YOU CAN…"

"Hey."

A girl slid between the Deveel and me with her back to me. I staggered back a step, throwing my hands up. Too often had I been thrown in situations where I'd received a good beating because of roaming hands, so I kept them above her shoulders and out to my sides. I was aware I looked pretty foolish, but it beat looking bloody.

Quite obviously, it was the woman from yesterday, her blue skin making her unmistakable. She stood with her weight on one leg, throwing a dangerous curve to her hip. I found myself following the curves, and snapped back only at the sound of money.

"Here." The woman tossed a coin to the Deveel.

He snatched it out of the air with a practiced ease, bringing it to his eye to inspect it. He gave a small start, and a smug grin appeared on his face. "For this, lady, you can have as many rods as you want."

She cast a questioning look over her shoulder at me. I glanced down the stall, and at the other several items he had. There were several low-grade magik disarmers, and a bunch of mechanic gimmicks. Though I had a long- standing feud with mechanical magik, it'd be a good way to teach the Kid some stuff.

"Grab some of the gimmicks," I said, gesturing at the lot.

The woman looked the stuff over, and without even glancing at the Deveel, said, "One bag."

The Deveel said not one word as he threw all the gimmicks into the bag. Within seconds, his table was empty, and I was being handed a bumpy, and very full bag.

I opened my mouth to make some rude remark to the Deveel about his brother when the woman turned and walked away. I gave a last look at the Deveel, and then took off after her.

She moved through the crowd with ease, the people seeming to part for her. Of course, they moved back into position right after she'd past. I had to take drastic measures, shoving people aside to get next to her.

"Hey!" I fell into step on her right, looking over at her quizzically. "Not sticking around long enough to let me thank you?"

She cast me a lidded sideways look, a small smile on her lips…then I felt her hand tighten around my wrist and yank me to the left. I fairly flew past her and smacked into a small recess in the wall with my back. She followed me, standing almost too close for comfort. We were standing between two tents, hidden in the dark and the small two-person crevice there.

I stared at her, waiting for my voice to catch up with me, but she spoke first.

"You're Klahd is behind us a little ways. He should pass in a second."

I looked past her to where the people moved past left and right. Only a second passed until Skeeve flitted left, a confused look on his face, and then disappeared beyond my vision.

I looked back at the woman. "He can find his way home."

She smiled, taking a step closer, now standing within millimeters of me.

"Good," she whispered. She paused, eyes moving from mine to my mouth, and back. "Take me somewhere with good food."