Page 21 of Magpies & Mayhem
They’d been traveling back and forth for time immemorial and would set up camp for a week or so for each visit. Originally, desert people were made up of tribes of naga, the snake people, but these days they’d diversified a little and there were families of harpies and goblins that lived and traveled with them. By the time we made it to the outskirts of the city, I was practically skipping with excitement. Jordan followed behind at a sedate pace, clearly not in the hurry I was.
Multiple bonfires lit the night sky and large tents were erected on the desert sands. There were blankets laid out with people already bartering, and a large group dancing and playing music around the fires. A naga man with gray skin and black scales on his coiled snake-like tail was yelling at passersby about the wares laid out on his blanket. Maybe I could find something fun for Elara’s shop since that girl couldn’t tell a cutlass from a bowie knife.
“Lots of things for pretty ladies,” he said as I approached to crouch at his blanket, and he gestured at some shoddily made jewelry. “And I have ancient elven artifacts! Sourced from deep in the mountain caves of Ardac.”
I flipped over a ceramic bowl and raised my eyebrow at the vendor before plunking it back down.
“Hey! Careful with the artifacts, lady!” he groused as I stood, obviously offended by my handling.
“Your ancient artifacts say, ‘Made in Korea’,” I grumbled back at him as I moved on down the row.
A small, pasty, pale goblin with thinning gray hair who was set up farther down the line had some interesting shiny rocks that I decided I wanted. “Is that a dragon?” he asked as I dug around in my backpack looking for some drahk—the popular currency in this part of the Boundlands.
I turned to look at Jordan, who was waiting dutifully for me off to the edge of the encampment, unwilling to venture into the chaotic mess of people. “No. It’s just a winged lizard,” I said dismissively. There were no such things as winged lizards, but he probably didn’t know that. “How much drahk do you want for the rocks?”
“Don’t want drahk.”
I squinted at him. “But you can take the drahk into the city—” I gestured at the buildings in the distance with both hands. “—and get whatever youdowant.”
He just stared at me.
I huffed in irritation and dug out a fleecy hat with kitty ears on it. “Here,” I said, setting it on the blanket between us with my hand still on it.
The goblin scowled at the hat and lifted his lip in a sneer. I glared back at him without blinking. “Fine, give me,” he muttered, snatching the kitty hat out from under my hand. I grabbed up the shiny rocks and made my way back to Jordan with my prize, dodging around revelers and hawkers of all sizes. Huck had been watching the bonfires but started flapping his wings when he saw I was coming back, causing Jordan to have to pin them down again.
“Not in the mood to haggle?” I asked when I reached them.
“Too many people,” Jordan muttered.
“Want to dance around the bonfires wearing nothing but our birthday suits?” I waggled my eyebrows at him.
“I’m honestly surprised you’re not already doing that. This is the longest I’ve seen you wear clothes recently.” I glowered at him, but he turned toward the open desert, so I had to hustle to stay with him.
“I wear clothes sometimes,” I said, feeling mildly indignant. “What’s with yours, anyway? I thought they were meant to block out sunlight, but it’s dark out.” I hefted my backpack higher onto my shoulders and trudged toward the cliffs in the distance. Maybe we could find a good cave to hang out in. There wasn’t anywhere else out here to go, just sand and rocks and an occasional shrub. It was a perfect place for a baby dragon who was still learning to control his fire. I glanced at Huck to see how he was doing, but he was just looking around with wide eyes, taking everything in.
“It’s dark out now, but it won’t stay that way. And I didn’t know who was going to be at your apartment when I came.”
I frowned at him. “Were you expecting a shootout?”
He huffed a laugh that sounded bitter. “No. I don’t want people to recognize me.”
“Whyyy?” I drew the word out as my frown deepened.
He was quiet for a long time as we walked, but I stubbornly stared at the side of his helmet, waiting for him to answer. “I don’t want to deal with people who knew me from before,” he finally said. “It’s awful, and I hate the reaction every time. Plus, your older brother knows my family, and I don’t want word getting back to them about where I am. I’d appreciate it if you kept our… friendship… to yourself.”
I looked over at Jordan with big doe-eyes and my most innocent expression. “Do all your friends know what your dick tastes like?”
Jordan stumbled on the sand, causing Huck to squawk and bash him with his wings again.
I reached back and grabbed my water bottle from the pouch on my bag. “What’s wrong with your family, anyway?” I asked before cringing and taking a swig of my drink to hide it. That hadn’t come out right, but why wouldn’t he want them to know where he was?
He huffed a breath, and I didn’t think he was going to answer until he said, “My parents were particularly awful toward me after my change and blamed me for all of it. I don’t have any desire to talk to them anymore.”
“I’m sorry.” He didn’t respond. I had a million questions, but I didn’t want to push him.Too much. “Is that why you left the first time you saw me?”
“Yes.” His answer was flat.
“So, it wasn’t aboutmespecifically? It wasn’t personal?”
