Moments later, she felt the merchant stop, then heard him talking in a low voice to someone. The sound of a heavy door being opened came next, then more movement and another stop. She heard more talking, which became clearer as the flap moved aside.
“…and this one talks, so I knew you’d be interested,” the merchant was saying. She saw his huge hand reach into the pouch, then was nearly blinded by the sudden light as she was handed over.
“It’s awake?!” came the incredulous voice in front of her. “And you brought it in a JAR? Have you any idea how much damage they can do to themselves when they know they’re captive? Why not just crush it up and bring it to me next time!” She was starting to be able to see now and was startled backward when she realized how close the voice actually was. Not an inch from the side of the jar loomed the face of another human, this one taller and tanner than the merchant. It was obvious this human spent time outside. He peered at her with an appraisal glass somewhat more complex than the merchant’s had been while the merchant urged her to say something.
“Well, go on. Tell the man all that nonsense about feelings and such you told me in the shop,” he said kindly. Neena ignored him, reading the face in front of her. She saw the mouth drop open a fraction, then the face backed away as he set her jar on the table.
“Alright, she seems to be fine,” he said to the merchant, who looked relieved. “25?”
“30, Orinel,” said the merchant, a wry smile on his face.
“Of course,” said Orinel, passing a bag to the merchant that clinked. The merchant gave her another woeful look.
“Sorry, little one, it’s just business,” he shrugged. “Good night.”
The moment Orinel’s eyes turned to follow the merchant out, Neena took a step backward and kicked hard on the section of glass she had nearly removed before. It popped out and she ducked out the hole and leapt into the air to take off past him, only to hit the table clumsily.
Hearing the sudden movement, Orinel looked down at her and laughed. “I think I expected more from you,” he said aloud in Faerie.
She looked at him, stunned at her inability to get airborne, but still curious as to what he could possibly mean. “What?”
“I mean, you’re were supposed to be this amazing escape artist and look at you. You don’t even know when you’re in a no magic zone,” he shrugged, shaking his head, but looking amused. She frowned and stood up as he continued. “Did you really think no one would recognize you? What were you doing in a store, anyway? Buying crystal friends?”
Neena’s anger flared up, ready to verbally attack. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but…”
“Oh, but we all know YOU. What fairyhunter hasn’t had your magic trail left around his broken traps or ruined gems? And to think you’ve walked into my little guild via a merchant!”
She folded her arms…if he really did know who she was, it was time to get information. “You don’t know the first thing about me,” she smirked. “Not even a name.”
He laughed and said, “Your name’s ‘Caught’ right now, sprite! And I know a lot more than you think. I heard you drove Adrian Quicksilver insane…they say he doesn’t hunt anymore, just walks around buying up the statues for some reason. I mean, the guy could just SENSE magic AND didn’t have any of the guilt the old timers get and you ruined him for life. You are truly are an anomaly if you could manage THAT trick. I mean, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you gave him an attack of conscience, something you don’t possess the magic to do. Or do you?” He picked up the appraisal glass again, and peered hard at her.
Neena winced a little, trying to
avoid the discomfort of the peering eye. The news that
Orinel shrugged, obviously disgusted. “Ah, some of the old guys start to act like fairyhunting’s some kind of murder or slave racket, like we’re wiping out the population or something. They get too soft, start thinking the little things are cute, which I’m not denying,” he added, reaching out to casually feel her up with a finger from her shoulder to her belly with one hand and pinch her thighs experimentally with the other. She yelled and tried to bend down for her dagger and he backed off, adding, “I mean, no offense, honey, but most of you little winged bugs have got the brains of a…”
“Oh, that’s IT!” she roared, her sprite instinct to react first and fast taking over. She lunged at him with the dagger, leaping into the air as he backed away and began to laugh again. The table’s edge came up faster than she’d expected and she wobbled in a panic trying to maintain balance unsuccessfully. He reached out to put a hand below her, but she twisted as she fell, getting the dagger point into the table to hang from. “Well, there’s my point right there!” he laughed as she dangled precariously from the table. “No magic room, remember?” He plucked her away from the table and set her into his hand. “Alright now, any other little surprises in that outfit?” He quickly tilted his hand so she rolled over on her belly, then did a pat down of her whole backside to check for any other hidden weapons. Another quick tilt flipped her back over and he continued, a thoughtful look on his face as he explored lower and slower.
“That’s ENOUGH, dammit!” she yelled, trying to kick at him as the roving finger lingered far too long in regions clearly unnecessary. “What the hell would I keep in there?” She wriggled around and kicked, trying to push him away.
“Somebody’s sword, if you were big enough,” he
murmured, mostly to himself. “Startin’ to see what REALLY drove
“L-Look, I’m not…you don’t…you know, uh…look, why don’t we just talk about this for a moment, okay? I mean, we’re bugs, remember? It’s not like human women, seriously.”
Orinel continued to look at her, but his eyes lost the lusty look and grew thoughtful again. “Good point,” he said, reaching behind him and uncurling his hand so that his palm was flat again. She breathed a huge sigh of relief, realizing that the one danger she hadn’t prepared for had passed, at least for now. “You’re not really the right size for what we need here.” He turned back toward her with a large bulbous looking item, easily taller than herself, then squeezed it. Neena gasped as she found herself enveloped in some sort of wet mist. Quickly, she scrambled backward to the edge of his hand, trying not to breath in.
“Oh, stop being dramatic. You don’t have to breath this in…it’s already made skin contact.” He set the bulb and her both on the table, then opened a drawer below her to pull out what looked like one manacle. Neena’s head began to swim just trying to follow this simple movement and she knew she was in trouble. She sat on the table, hard and he reached for her ankle. Her mind fought to make her leg kick at him again, but no part of her body wanted to respond to the urge to fight. “And it’s not even going to kill you,” he added, “just put you to sleep for a while. Then you can try some of that magic on…” On what?, she thought, but even as she felt the cuff snap around her ankle, his voice began to slur and darkness overtook her…
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