Page 49 of Ahelno
“Yes, they are,” I said.
“I’m surprised you even have boats. You could just fly outto the floating market,” she said.
“True, but boats are a pleasant mode of travel. We enjoy floating on the water. Also, if you purchase a lot of items, there is cargo room,” I gestured to the back of the skimmer.
“Makes sense,” she said. “Lead on, Captain!”
The skimmer piloted itself to the market as we floated serenely across the water. Tendrils of Andie’s hair escaped her braid and waved in the breeze as we moved, and I was fascinated. She sat ahead of me, and her scent wafted back to me. I had a difficult time keeping my thoughts platonic in nature. I was glad I had wrapped my groin this morning.
Music from a Y-flute and a drum greeted us as we approached the floating market. Andie was quiet as she listened, and I could hear her hum along. My mind went blank as I heard her voice weaving through the music. I reveled in the euphoria. It wasn’t quite as strong as when she sang at the harvest festival, but my mind was still captured. I did have some peripheral awareness, however, which I focused in on as she looked at me and suddenly stopped.
“Oh! Sorry!” she exclaimed. “I forgot about my voice’s effect on the Ptexari.”
“Never apologize, little one,” I said. “Your voice is heaven to listen to, and I look forward to hearing it again. Do not stifle your beautiful instrument on my account.”
She gave a short laugh. “Ok, but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum when you need to be conscious.”
“Agreed. That is probably for the best. Come, let us disembark.” I flew up from the skimmer to the market dock, then held my hand out to help her. She took it, and I savored the feeling of her small, warm hand in mine. I did not let go as I led her down the dock to the market.
CHAPTER 44
Andie
The ruins had been astonishing - the similarity to ancient Roman architecture was so striking. I was still reeling from what I had seen, so at first, the floating market barely registered.
I’d never seen anything like it. Platforms of some unknown material, in all different colors, were tied together. They were different sizes - some looked to be the size of a small bedroom - maybe 8’ x 10’, while others were nearly as large as a medium grocery store, with aisles set up and everything. I couldn’t believe some of them could float, given the size.
Solid black squares of plastic-looking material were lined up to serve as a sort of roadway between the platforms. Each square had loops on it that the vendors’ platforms were tied to, keeping everything tethered together.
“The sellers change often,” Dakleth explained. “Those platforms are actually boats. Their sides have been dropped down into the water. The owners can pull the sides up, untie from the causeway, and make their way to the next city’s market. They travel up and down the river, trading at different markets. This is the largest market, though. Some of those larger boats can’t navigate the smaller rivers. Come, let ussee what they have today.”
Dakleth still hadn’t let go of my hand, but I was having difficulty balancing on the rocking causeway, so even though I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the physical contact, I allowed him to steady me. Many of the Ptexari around us flew from stall to stall rather than use the causeways, so our path was at least clear.
It was, in short, incredible. The sights of colorful wares on display, the smell of food cooking, the sound of Ptexari laughing and haggling as music played in the background, and the gentle sound of waves lapping against the platforms was a lot to take in. I loved it. It was like a giant, floating flea market nearly the size of my village. I couldn’t see to the end, so I had no idea how big the actual market was, but I was sure we could get lost for hours here and not see it all.
We strolled through the market. Well, I wobbled through. I was still unsteady on the bobbing causeway. Dakleth stretched his wings to provide extra balance. I envied him that. I walked slightly in front of him so I didn’t take a wing to the head, and since I was holding his hand for balance, it meant I could lead him to whatever stall caught my eye. He seemed content to let me tug him along. We caused a bit of a stir. Several Ptexari bowed briefly to Dakleth, and said “Greetings, Lumanela,” to me. A few came close enough to sniff me, but Dakleth growled at them, and they backed away respectfully. M’Pak would have been proud.
I followed my nose to some of the cooking stalls. Ovina meat was very popular. I knew it could be flavorful, but I had a hard time stomaching it. I had my own flock of the giant grasshopper-like ovinas, and I ate their eggs, but I could no longer eat their cousins. Instead, I tried a stick of roastedkovka. I had seen pictures of the large rhino-like creatures, but I had never seen one in person. It tasted a bit like lamb, and was honestly one of the best things I’d eaten on Ptekennan so far. “This is amazing!” I said to Dakleth. “I’ve never seen a kovka. Where do they live? Are they wild or domesticated?”
“There are still wild kovka, but there are grasslands to the west where they are domesticated and raised,” Dakleth explained. He ordered a flatbread with ovinas. Eww. There were also some grilled vegetable skewers that we both agreed on. They were quite tasty and didn’t turn my stomach. I had almost become vegetarian on this planet, due to my squeamishness. There were moving worm-things for sale, and some Ptekari ate those raw. I decided it was time to leave this stall before I threw up my lunch.
“Let’s head toward the music,” I said.
We stopped at a few craft stalls along the way. I bought a few skeins of yarn for Camavel, and Dakleth bought a bolt of a dark mustard fabric for Kashtinela. She favored warm colors, and I knew she would love it. We stopped in front of a booth that sold musical instruments. A few musicians were sitting down to play. There were various wind instruments and some different percussion instruments. They were very talented, and I hummed softly as I caught the melody. I listened for several minutes and then walked through the aisles to peruse the instruments for sale.
I saw Y-flutes, straight flutes, something that looked like a recorder, and several of the drums and blocks that the musicians out front were playing. Tucked into the back corner, I gasped in delight. It was a guitar - sort of. There were only 5 strings, and it was small - oblong-shaped like a lute, but sized closer to a banjo. The bowl seemed made of a tortoiseshell or some other type of animal shell. Most importantly, it had a fretted neck, and I was in love. I took some time to tune it, and a Ptexari female came around the corner, likely following the sound.
“You know how to play that?” she asked.
“Maybe,” I replied. “We have similar instruments on my home world. What is this called?”
“Truthfully, I do not know,” she replied. “There was a visiting offworlder who racked up some debts in the gambling houses in Chikona, and all his possessions were sold before he was kicked offplanet. The investigator’s office gave that to me to sell. No one would buy it because no one knows how to play it.”
I played the intro to “Yesterday” from the Beatles. It was a slow song, good for a warmup, and it was one of my Dad’s favorites. I made several mistakes, being used to a six-string. I hadn’t quite figured out where all the notes yet. I sang the first verse, then saw how she and Dakleth were frozen. I stopped singing and finished the rest of the song just on the guitar, slowly picking out the notes, becoming more familiar with the finger positionings.
“That was breathtaking,” she said. “I have never heard a voice like yours. You are a Lumanela, yes? I have heard you can bind people with your singing magic.”
“I’m human, but we may be related to the Lumanela. I don’t really know,” I said. “How much for the guitar?”
