***
Getting into Blackwood was more difficult than they’d imagined, with guards posted at each entrance, solidly-built, ugly-looking ogres who watched everyone with beady black eyes and permanent scowls on their faces. They each held deadly spears in hand, and with the bulk of muscle that framed their bodies, they would be able to put quite a bit of force behind those sharp objects.
There was a list of rules posted at the main entrance that specifically stated that no glamours were allowed inside. Shanna’s heart sank when she saw it.
“They probably have a way to detect glamours,” Lupe said, smiling smugly. “I told you we should have gone with chains.”
Ash watched the traffic around them as it converged on the gates, eyes narrowing at each carriage that passed. “We will have to find passage through. I can remove her glamour, but she will arouse suspicion. If we can enter under a pretense of…” His voice trailed off as his eyes zeroed in on a cart carrying cages of chickens and hogs. His lips lifted in a smile as he turned to Shanna. “Perhaps Lupe is right. A captive human would be appropriate and no one would blink.”
Shanna exchanged an uneasy look with Damien before agreeing. “If you think it’s the only way…”
“It’s the only safe way,” Ash said with confidence.
She nodded. “Then we need to do it.”
Ash secured passage for them all on the cart after removing Shanna’s glamour, giving a very happy goblin two gold coins in exchange for the service. After they piled in behind the cages of chickens and hogs, Ash removed a hog from one of the cages and forced it to lie beside him. Then he nodded to the empty cage. “Your room awaits, Madame.”
Lupe laughed, having to stifle the sound as they neared the doors, but taking in every moment of Shanna’s discomfort with joy.
Shanna didn’t protest as she entered the filthy cage and let Damien close it behind her with an apologetic smile. She accepted the situation with what she hoped was grace, as she pushed soiled newspaper and straw aside to make room to sit, and tried very hard not to breathe the animal smell through her nose. She imagined that Ash enjoyed the situation as much as Lupe, but at least he hid it better.
Serene sat on one side of the cage protectively, while Damien sat before the door. The siren offered her comforting smiles as they entered the gates under the scrutiny of the guards, and Shanna couldn’t help but feel gratitude to her. Funny how only a month ago, it was Serene in a cage. Only that hadn’t been a farce.
“My, she’s a pretty lass,” a redheaded vampire noted as he walked into Blackwood alongside the cart. “And rather healthy-looking at that. How much for her?”
“More than you can afford,” Damien growled at him.
The vampire chuckled. “Is that so? You bringing her to the slave auction?”
Damien stiffened, then nodded politely. “We are. Do you happen to know the way?”
“Sure. Fourth level, all the way at the end of the street.” He winked. “And you might be surprised what I can afford.” Then he picked up his pace and was soon lost to the crowd.
“Well, that worked out well,” Ash noted, before giving the driver directions with another flash of gold.
They followed a line of carts and carriages that wound up a wide staircase like a corkscrew, at a gradual incline. Shanna felt like it took forever before they finally reached the fourth floor, where Damien insisted on letting her out of the cage, and Ash replaced the hog.
“That is not an experience I would like to repeat,” Shanna mumbled. “Ever.”
“I’ll never forget the sight,” Lupe said, dreamily. She laughed when she earned a glare from Shanna.
They abandoned the cart as they neared the end of the road, where a doorway led into another large room. Ash purchased a cloak with a hood from a merchant and offered it to Shanna, who put it on to be a little more inconspicuous, which she was grateful for. Nobody had really noticed her presence yet, but anything she could do to prevent a hostile encounter would be good, especially since they planned on breaking her friends out.
“Are you sure they wouldn’t have sold them to The Soul Market?” Ash asked Lupe.
Lupe shook her head. “No. Only if the loa have altered the sacrifices and enriched them would she sell them to The Soul Market. The ceremony was interrupted before the ritual was complete, so Roma wouldn’t have had the prime specimens she would want to extract souls from. She is very particular and proud of the souls she puts up for sale. The quality of her product tends to draw high bidders.”
“How wonderful for her,” Shanna mumbled. She turned to Damien, who was watching the doorway to the room where the slave auction would be held. “How can La Faer Noir let this happen? What’s the point of creating blood bars so vampires don’t hunt humans, when they’re allowing slave trade anyway?”
Damien sighed and met her eyes. “Shanna, La Faer Noir isn’t all powerful. They are the closest thing that the monster underworld has to a government, but they can’t be everywhere. Roma is free to do as she pleases in New Orleans because she has powerful forces to repel La Faer Noir efforts. And The Goblin Market? It’s technically not even in this world. It’s through a portal to who knows where? La Faer Noir can’t just swoop in and fix everything, wherever it may be, powerful as they are. Their hands are tied in this case. The Goblin Market is a black market, and horrible things occur here. That’s how it is.”
Shanna nodded slowly, digesting this.
“Look,” Damien said, putting his hands on either of her shoulders. “La Faer Noir wants monsters to coexist with humans. But many monsters out there do not want that. They want to rule them, be untouchable. They want to hunt and do whatever they want, because they consider themselves higher on the food chain, superior. You and I know better. Samantha Cummings and La Faer Noir know better, and so they try to find the right balance. They want to stay hidden from the human world, without doing permanent damage to it. The Goblin Market is the flip side of La Faer Noir. This is the place where those protestors of a peaceful life do their detestable things. But once these idiots are back home, and begin flaunting their new wares, or make a ruckus, La Faer Noir will put an end to it.”
Shanna glanced around at the road full of people. “There are a lot of monsters here, Damien.”
“And there are more in La Faer Noir,” Damien insisted. “Monsters want protection. They want to feel safe just like humans do. Well, most of them. These are the bad guys here. Don’t let this paint the whole picture for you. Can La Faer Noir stop every horrible thing that’s going on out there? No. But maybe that’s what you’re out there for.” He shrugged. “Samantha actually thinks you are a good thing.”
“She does?”
“Yeah, she does.”
“That’s weird.”
Damien chuckled. “I know. The world is a strange place.”