Rival Demons (10 page)

"Yes, and they get the rest of the covens to
rally against any enemy they choose, whether those enemies did
anything wrong or not," I said. "The Order is the Order, no matter
which side of the portal you're on. They hold all of the power
because none of their true enemies ever communicates or works
together."

Maybe I'd had too much wine. My tongue was
loose, and I could feel my cheeks getting warm. Across the table,
Jackson tensed and tried to change the subject.

"It's been a long night," he said. "And this
isn't really the time or place to be discussing politics and other
unpleasant things."

"Perhaps you're right," Ourelia said, pushing
her half-eaten pie toward the center of the table. "Our evening so
far has been so nice, let's not ruin it with talk of the Order of
Shadows."

With that, I knew my chance to speak my mind had
come and gone. There was so much I wanted to say. I wanted to ask
him why we couldn't find a way to work together? I wanted to
explain that there were other witches like me who would be willing
to risk their lives to expose the Order for who and what they
really are.

But the conversation was already back to
pleasantries and smiles.

I sat back in my chair, the bitter taste of
unsaid words on my tongue.

Back in our suite, a set of wrapped presents
were waiting for Mary Anne and I. We found them on each of our
beds. Two identical small boxes wrapped in shiny red foil wrapping.
Excited to see what was inside, we both met up in the living room
and tore them open at the same time.

Inside, we found a black armband with a red
dragon embroidered on it. Confused, I looked to Lea and Jackson for
some kind of explanation.

"I told Andros you were having a hard time being
stuck in these rooms," Jackson said. "The dragon is his family's
insignia. If you wear that in the marketplace, people will know you
are there as friends of Andros."

"Basically no one will mess with you," Lea said.
"Not that they probably would have anyway."

"It's more for my peace of mind," Jackson said.
I noticed that with Lea in the room, he rarely met my eyes. "I'm
sorry you had to stay in here for so long, but now that we have the
council's approval to stay, things should be much easier."

"Thanks," Mary Anne said. She hugged Jackson,
but I kept my distance.

Jackson reached into his pocket and pulled out a
pair of matching black cards that were also decorated with a red
dragon. "Here," he said, handing one to each of us. "These cards
work like money down here. Or more like a credit card, I guess. I
mean, it's not free reign to go buy anything you want, but if you
go to the marketplace, you can at least shop around a little bit
and try out some of the restaurants."

"Great," I said. "Thank you."

The prospect of being able to go to the
marketplace anytime we wanted was a huge relief. With these new
armbands, we might still get some strange looks, but no one was
going to be too mean to us. At least not to our faces. It was like
we'd been handed keys to our freedom.

"Just keep it to the marketplace, okay?"

I sighed. Almost freedom. Yes, the marketplace
was better than nothing, but his statement immediately made me
wonder what other places he was trying to keep me away from.

The next morning, Mary Anne knocked on my door
early.

"Want to go exploring?" she asked. Sleep and
food seemed to agree with her, because she was back to her normal
self this morning.

"As long as exploring means getting some
breakfast, I'm in," I said. "Just let me get ready."

I was showered and dressed in no time, making
sure I had the red and black armband securely over my clothes. The
two of us made our way to the Grand Hall marketplace. I wasn't sure
what time it was exactly, but the place was booming. There were
more people bustling around the shops than any other time we'd been
in here so far.

"Where to first?" Mary Anne asked.

"Somewhere they serve food," I said.

"How can you still be hungry after all that food
we had last night? I'm still stuffed."

I laughed. "I guess my stomach is making up for
two weeks of being starved."

I looked to the left and right, searching for a
place that looked promising. Finally, I just picked left. Mary Anne
followed by my side.

We passed all kinds of shops selling everything
from handcrafted weapons to what looked like prayer beads of some
kind. In a way, it reminded me of going to the Farmer's Market in
Atlanta with all these independent vendors set up in tents selling
their wares. I hadn't expected there to be such a big economy down
here. I wondered where they got all their supplies. Did they
constantly have people going up to the surface to get things?

When we got to the end of the first row, Mary
Anne turned right and led us down another row of shops. A store
selling bags of all sizes caught my eye, and I stopped. I really
needed a bag of my own. I wasn't sure how long I was going to stay
here, but if I decided to leave, I'd need a way to carry my new
clothes and some supplies.

"Excuse me," I said to the old female demon
sitting in the corner. Behind her, a row of bags were sewing
themselves at her direction. Each of the sewing needles moved
together in unison.

When she looked up at me, they all stopped in
unison too. "Yes?"

She pressed her cracked lips together tight and
held her body rigid. Her eyes flickered over our armbands.

"I was just wondering how much one of your
backpacks costs," I said. It was a silly question, really.
Especially since I didn't have the first idea about their money
system down here. She could have said it costs a million
thingamajigs and I wouldn't have had a clue what that meant. Still,
it seemed like the polite thing to ask.

"My bags are not for sale today," she said. She
turned back to her sewing, obviously wanting us to move on.

"Please," I said. "I know you don't really know
us, but I promise you, I'm not your enemy."

The woman's back straightened and she pulled her
elbows in tight to her sides. I was trying to reason with her and
let her know that I was a good person, but I could tell from her
body language that all I'd done was make her angry. Was it going to
be this way with every shop we came across?

Mary Anne tugged on my arm and backed away from
the tent's entrance.

"I'm sorry," I said, stepping back. "I didn't
mean to offend you."

Behind me, Mary Anne screeched, then tumbled
backward, straight into the arms of another demon.

He laughed and helped her get her footing.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her cheeks bright red.
"I must have slipped on the edge of the fabric. I didn't mean
to-"

"It is no problem," the guy said. He was of
medium height with dark hair that was longer in front than in the
back. His eyes were every bit as blue as Mary Anne's and instead of
looking at her with disgust, he was actually smiling at her. "I
have heard very much about you. It's very lucky running into you
today."

His speech was strange. Different from the other
demons we'd met so far. But he was friendly, which was also a nice
change.

Mary Anne seemed to realize she was still
clinging to this stranger. Nervously, she backed away,
straightening her hair and staring down at her feet.

"We never get to see humans down here," he said.
"I never thought I would see you in my own shop. Did you find
something to your liking?"

I looked from him to the small tent. "This is
your shop?"

"Yes," he said, puffing out his chest with
pride. "Well, my family's shop. We are tailors. In fact, I helped
make the clothes you are wearing now. Do you approve of them?"

Mary Anne ran her hands along the sleeves of her
silky black shirt. "I love them," she said, blushing again.

I couldn't help but smile, watching them two of
them stare at each other, then look away as if they were
embarrassed.

"There was a bag inside," I said. "A backpack
that I really wanted to buy, but the woman inside, she wouldn't
sell it to me. Is that your mother?"

I wouldn't have mentioned it except for the fact
that I really needed that bag. I was hoping this guy could maybe
convince her to sell it to me.

His eyebrows came together in a point and he
shook his head. "I am so sorry for my mother's behavior," he said.
"But she has had much sadness in her life. My father was taken by
the human hunters, and we have never seen him again. She doesn't
trust any humans."

I nodded. I completely understood why she
wouldn't trust us, and I didn't blame her for it one bit. It had to
be hard to live in a world where anyone you loved could be taken
away from you at any moment. "I'm sorry," I said.

"I'm sorry too," Mary Anne said.

"It was many years ago," he said. "Besides, you
are not like those hunters. I know that our princess and our leader
would never let any of those types of humans into the Underground.
I will get you a bag. Please, wait here just one moment."

He disappeared into the tent, and we heard some
whispering, then some arguing. Finally, he emerged carrying a pair
of backpacks made from a heavy cloth.

I smiled. "Thank you so much," I said. "You have
no idea how much this means to me. Here, please let us pay."

I tried to hand him my black card, but he waved
it away.

"It is my pleasure," he said. He looked at Mary
Anne, his eyes sparkling. "You may repay me by spending the day
with me, telling me all about your world and what you have been up
to since you arrived in the Underground."

I had to hide a smile. We seemed to have run
into the one demon here who didn't hate us. In fact, I think he had
quite the crush on Mary Anne. I waited for her to respond, but she
just stared up at him.

"That sounds like a fair trade," I said. I held
my hand out to him to shake. "My name is Harper and this is Mary
Anne."

He took my hand and bowed slightly to me. "My
name is Essex. It is such a treat to meet you both. Where would you
like to see first?"

"Can you show us a good place to get some
breakfast?" My stomach growled.

He nodded. "Come with me, I will show you my
favorite place in the entire Underground."

We spent the next hour at a small tent cafe on
the far corner of the marketplace. There were only six tables in
the entire place and most of them were empty, so we didn't have to
worry about anyone bothering us, which was nice. We had a great
breakfast. Their version of eggs down here were delicious. I
watched the cook preparing them and was amazed at the bright pink
color of the shells.

"What kind of eggs are these exactly?" Mary Anne
asked, taking a big bite of her egg sandwich.

"Angelbird eggs," he said.

I wondered what an angelbird must look like. I
couldn't remember seeing any birds on our trip so far. "Where do
you guys get all of your supplies down here?" I asked since it had
been on my mind so much lately. "Do you grow your own food below
ground?"

Essex shook his head. "Not all of it," he said.
"We do have a garden district one level below this one, but we do
not raise our own animals."

"So someone goes out to hunt?" Mary Anne
asked.

"Yes," he said. "Most of us have a job to do
down here just like on the surface. Some are gatherers of food,
others trade for supplies like cloth or leather. Many are members
of the Resistance and spend their days training."

"The Resistance?" I asked. I perked up a bit at
the mention of training. "They're the fighters, right?"

Essex tilted his drink to his mouth and finished
it in one gulp. "Yes," he said. "They are an army of fighters who
train all day so that they can fight back against the Order."

"Do they ever actually go up and fight?" Mary
Anne asked.

I was glad we were alone in the cafe. I had a
feeling this was exactly the kind of conversation most of the
demons here thought we shouldn't be having. Especially since there
were those who still thought we might be reporting back to the
Order.

"From tim
e to time the
alarm will sound and our Resistance members will head out, but they
rarely report to us about what is happening on the other side," he
said. "Sometimes when they come back, they are cheering and their
numbers are still high, but other times they return with wounds and
many missing, never to be seen again."

We ate in silence for a minute. I let Essex's
words sink in a bit. Why didn't they keep everyone up to date on
what was happening with the Resistance? It seemed strange to keep
it all a secret and make everyone wonder what had really
happened.

"Do you hear anything at all about their
missions?" I asked. "Like where they were going or who exactly they
were fighting?"

Essex shook his head. "No, but this is normal,"
he said. "The council believes there is no need to worry the rest
of the community with this kind of information about the surface.
It only will lead to suffering and worry."

"But what's the point of being down here if not
to try to build up a community of demons who can fight back against
the Order?" I asked. "What's the purpose of being left in the
dark?"

"Most of us are not choosing to be down here
because we want to fight," Essex said. "We are here to be safe from
the hunters. As long as we can provide some service to the
community, we are welcome here even if we do not want to
fight."

"Like bag making or tailoring?" Mary Anne
asked.

"Yes," he said with a smile full of pride.
"Exactly like bag making. It is an important service we do for the
Resistance. We provide them with bags and armor and boots. This is
our contribution to the fight. My mother and I are very lucky to be
here. We come from a small village in the far north."