Page 134 of A Sanctuary from Shadow
He twiddled his gnarled thumbs at his pot belly. “With dark sauce, I take 10 orange seeds.”
Was that a fair price? I’d forgotten what an orange seed converted to in dollars. Regardless, I dropped the barbeque sauce back on the table. “Danu have mercy,” I said to the Goblin, whose jaw dropped. “Am I buying a bottle of sauce or a golden goose?”
He blinked olive eyes at me.
Despite the overwhelming urge to clutch the perfect bottle to my bosom like my long-lost baby, I made to set the ketchup back on the shelf.
The Goblin raised a hand. “Wait, Lady. For bright sauce, I do good offer. I do take for thon five seeds in so median regard.”
I assumed that meant he’d take what amounted to five 10s in Pittsburgh.
My nose twitched, though I celebrated inside. Pete had given me far more than what the seller asked. “I assume lemon seeds will do.”
The Goblin grinned; the ketchup was as good as mine.
Once I spoke the right words, anyway.
I eyed the ketchup, then clicked my tongue. “Here’s what I’m prepared to do.” I paused, tallying specifics. “I’ll give you four lemon seeds for thisentire,sealedbottle. If I like how it tastes with my supper, then I’ll return and give you that last seed.”
The Goblin’s mind ticked, his fuzzy brows wriggling.
“If that suits you, then you have a deal.”
He massaged his jowly chin, then smiled like a cat. “Agreed,” he croaked, and we shook hands.
Not a half hour later, after Pete had quibbled a butcher out of two pounds of the thickest, fattiest bacon I’d ever seen for a pittance, I skipped beside him on our way back to our secluded camp in the wheat.
He smirked at me, the ruckus of the market fading. “I’ve never seen someone so delighted over something fit to glaze an elderdeer.”
What a scrumptious recipe idea! I wonder if elderdeer meat would make good burgers.
I gazed lovingly at my immaculate Hinerz bottle. Something I’d never hoped to see again. Its rich red color gleamed in the moonlight. “Just wait until you taste it, Pete. Then you’ll understand.”
“As a rule, food from Earth pales in comparison to food found here.”
“Have you tasted much modern Earth food?”
“Aye, at markets such as this one. And I say what’s become of food over the past decades on Earth is a travesty. Everything’s so processed it’s damn near artificial. It’s either far too sweet or has had all its natural flavors sapped away. Nothing’s fresh but preserved with chemicals. Christ, all that added nonsense always gives me a wicked case of the scoots.”
I blinked.
“The shites, Shorty.”
I cringed at the imagery, though his criticism was valid. “You just have to try it, Pete.” At his sour face, I wiggled the ketchup at him. “Trust me. Just give this the tiniest taste. You won’t be disappointed.”
I, myself, already salivated at the memory of ketchup’s heavenly tang. “You justhaveto.”
His mouth quirked at one corner. “Well, if I must—”
I beamed. “Really?”
“Break the bloody thing open. I grow weary of your nagging.”
I twisted the sleek white cap off the bottle with a satisfying pop.He won’t believe what he’s been missing his whole life. I tilted the open bottle toward him.
Stopping, his burlap wrapped hunk of bacon under his arm, Pete dipped an index finger into the bottle. It came out with a big glob of ketchup. I awaited his rapturous expression as he stuck his saucy finger into his mouth.
He floored me when he whirled about and spat into the grass. “Jaysus save me!” He gagged, hunching. “That rancid flavor makes me long for the days when I was forced to eat my opponents in the ring.”
