The marketplace was a few blocks from the inn. Everywhere they looked, people bustled around carts and wagons, jostling and bargaining for the best prices on anything that could be sold. Gene leaned on one of the stalls, flirting with a pretty blond in a red and green brocade peasant's dress. He was saying “I think I could get you a spot at the court, dear,” when another man, somewhat shorter and younger, with short, shiny black hair and a wide – and slightly annoyed – smile joined them. He had a red apron embroidered with green flowers over his pristine striped blouse and hose.
“Ahem.” The man pushed between Gene and the girl. “May I help you? Janice,” he added to the young woman, “why don't you go model that dress for the ladies on the other end of the booth? And tell them we don't sell furs here.” She went to join a dark-haired girl with a wide white smile and a slender chestnut-haired beauty in a cowgirl's hat.
Brett and Charles joined him as the girl went to show off her fancy pink gown to two rich older women. “Good gravy Marie, Gene, can't we let you out of our sight for five minutes?” Brett sighed and turned to the faintly amused shopkeeper. “Sir, whatever he said to the girl, he didn't mean it.”
“Actually,” Charles added quickly, “we wanted to ask about a young woman who was washed up on the beach this morning.” He nodded at Donald and the woman, who strolled arm in arm across the plaza, laughing over some particularly ribald joke of his.
“I didn't hear about shipwrecks or anything sinking,” the shopkeeper admitted. “The weather's been sunny for weeks.” He patted a tall silver metal rectangle with handles on the front. “Now, if I could interest you in a bid on this fine icebox. It could be yours if the price is right...”
Brett backed slowly away from him. “Not now. Thank you anyway.” She pushed Charles away, making a face. “At least we know she didn't come off a shipwreck.”
He frowned as they made their way across the square to the others. “Then where did she come from?”
Gene pulled away from another stall, joining them in an alley behind the marketplace. “Any luck in figuring out who the lady is and where she's from?”
Brett shook her head, making her thick black curls bob. “Nope. No shipwrecks or bad weather.”
“I haven't had much luck, either.” Gene sighed. “There's only one way we're going to figure out what happened. I'll have to read the reflections.”
Charles raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Gene,” she choked, “I've tried to avoid doing that. She can see us that way...”
“And we can see her. It's the only way we'll figure out what she's done with the princess and king. I should have enough power in me left to do that, at least.” They leaned over a barrel of rainwater as he thrust his wand into the tiny ripples. The more he stirred, the less they saw of their own reflections. “Yes...” he murmured as images began to form, “here they come...”
Black and green dragons, lizard-like monsters with fiery breath and wings that spanned entire ships, soared in the silver-gray clouds behind the golden towers of Password Palace. As the image became clearer, it entered the a window under the tower, traveling past ornate rooms done in black and blood red, up to one of the towers. Gene closed his eyes, focusing on the next image, that of a pale, beautiful woman in a heavy silk gown of deep sea-blue with a stiff needle-like collar and sea-stone trim.
Malade stormed into the rose-laden, smirking at a bedraggled figure with thick spectacles and snow white hair who lay on the antique bed near the back wall. “That's another princess down,” she snapped, “four more and three champions to go. I can't believe I let that bimbo Elaine out of my sight for an instant! I won't make the same mistake with this one.”
“Allen!” Gene's gravely voice jammed in his throat. “I don't know how I got him instead of the vision I wanted, but I'm glad we know where he is now.”
The older man with the dirt-smeared face narrowed his gentle blue eyes. “What do you want? I refuse to marry you or share my kingdom with you. I know what you did to the Summerlands.”
“I could make it worth your while, you know.” Her rear, encased in the figure-hugging silk gown, snuggled in his lap. “You're not unattractive for your age. If you'd just tell me where your wife and the other Legendary Princesses are, we could, perhaps, work something out?” Her fingers, with their heavy silver and turquoise rings, wound through his snowy waves. “Split the kingdoms down the middle. A little for me, a little for you. What do you say?”
He shoved her off as hard as he could, even with his own limbs bound by thick iron chains attached to the wall. “Weren't you listening? The password is 'no.' Forget it. Never. Not in a million years would I even share a drink of water with you. As for Betty and the Legendary Princesses, I have no idea where they are. If Betty's alive, there's no way she'd let you find her. She's clever that way. She'll stay hidden until she's good and ready to come out.”
The evil queen stood and dusted herself off, her eyes glaring red-hot daggers. “Keep talking, and you may end up as a lawn ornament, like your friend Prince Jack.”
“Why did you do that to him?” King Allen snapped. “Jack's a grump and a hot-head, but he was no threat to you, not with his wife and sons under your thumb.”
“He's one of the princesses' champions. He's more of a threat than you realize.” Charles didn't like the nasty smirk that spread across her face. “I dealt with one such suitor in the Summerlands several months ago, and I'll join my new trolls across the lake momentarily to eliminate another.”
“What suitor?” Allen nearly rose from his cot. “Who else have you attacked?”
“None of your business.” She turned her back on him. “I'll leave you here to think over my generous offer while I retrieve Princess Patti and her, er, champion.”
“Patti. Wait. She's one of the mer-people, the Legendary Princess of Water.” One eye arched under the spectacles. “How did you get to her? Most merfolk keep to themselves.”
Malade pinched his cheek. “I have my ways.” He shoved her hand away and rubbed his face.
“Uh, lady boss?” The ape-like creature with the shaggy dark brown fur who lumbered over looked strangely familiar. He had a wide toothpaste smile and twinkling brown eyes that were almost...human. “My...troops...ready to leave...when...”
“Right about now, Sir Gautier. Take Sir Walden and round up the demons.” She swung from the troll to the angry man struggling in his chains. “One more time. Marry me...or when I return, you'll suffer the same fate as your guards and Prince Jack.” Allen turned away from her, his eyes focused on the wall. “Fine. I'll leave you to think it over.” She stormed out of his cell, leaving him in total darkness.
The moment the ripples smoothed out, Gene fell back against the stone wall. “That took a lot out of me,” he panted. “It never used to. I could knock out two or three visions a day without breaking a sweat!”
“You'll be fine in a few days.” Brett slung his arm around her shoulder. “Come on. We have to get Patti out of here, before Malade shows up with a bunch of flying leatherheads. We can tell the others we know where the king is, too.”
They met with Richard, Bill, and Nipsey on the quiet residential street behind the marketplace. “So, how did your morning go?” Richard held up a fat purse with a smirk. “We did some, er, discreet stealing. Just from the richer folks. They probably didn't even notice their money was gone.”
Nipsey grinned. “And I know where it can go. I have a cousin who lives in the Kingdom of Columbia Eye. She might be willing to give us a place to stay while we figure out where the rest of these Princesses are.”
“I snitched a bag of sandwiches and bottles of tea some guy left on a table.” The little wolf dropped the bag in Richard's hand. “I call the pastrami on rye!”
“We have to hire a carriage, buy supplies, and get the hell out of here.” Brett made a face. “Don't ask us how we found out, but Malade is on her way here, and let's just say she's not coming for a seaside vacation.”
“In that case, we need to get going,” Gene croaked, leaning heavily on Charles. “Where's Donald and his new friend?”
Richard shrugged. “Last I saw, they were having lunch at the seafood booth in the marketplace.”
The two sat at a wrought-iron table near the booth as they arrived. Donald watched with a wide grin as the young woman consumed lobster, crabs, and mussels by the plateful, without cracking them open. “Isn't she amazing? I love a woman with a good appetite!” She let out a soundless burp before patting her lips with the tablecloth. “And she's got those manners things, too!”
“Patti?” Gene put his arm on the lass' shoulder, making her nearly jump out of her seat. “Is there any way you can tell us the truth? We know who you are, but not how or why you ended up on the surface.”
Patti's big blue eyes gazed furtively all around her before sticking her finger into a mug of iced tea. “Hey!” Donald protested. “That's my drink!”
She waved him away, adding a few particles of sand from the ground under them. “I didn't know you could read tea leaves, lass,” Richard snickered. “That might actually be useful. I wouldn't mind figuring out where the king is, for one thing.”
“We're way ahead of you on that one. Malade has him.” Brett pushed between Richard and the woman, shoving the plate of empty shells aside. “Patti, tell us how Malade got to you, before she shows up and we all end up dead or in jail at Holly Woods.”
It was harder to see the reflection in the cup, but with some jostling and shoving and cursing, they all managed to move in and take a closer look...
The mermaid with the gleaming turquoise tail and tiara made of precious pearls glided into the underwater cavern. Slimy seaweed and thick polyps curtained the stifling hole and grabbed at her waving tresses. Her voice sent three fish with sharp teeth scuttling off in a hurry, while she pushed away eels that tried to shock her with a mini underwater whirlpool.
“Hello, my pretty one,” purred a familiar throaty voice from within the hole. “What brings no less than the Princess of Pacifica to my domain?”
Patti raised a gingery eyebrow. “I didn't think you would have heard of me. I'd never heard of you before...well, before this.”
Long black fingernails fingered potions in clay jars that looked like they'd been brought from the surface. “Let's not beat around the coral. You have something you want...or someone. A human. You've fallen in love with a human.”
“Yeah, I know.” Patti bit her lip. “Dad and every other mermaid in the entire kingdom told me to forget him. They don't get it. I saw him with the other humans on that giant piece of driftwood they ride. He's funny, he's nice, he's even kind of smart.”
“Allow me to repeat the part about him being human.” She made a face. “You are a mermaid. He can't live underwater. Humans need to breathe air. If you tried to live on land, you'd be a curiosity at best, part of a freak show at worst.”
Patti tugged her arm. “Then you need to make me like them. Make it so I can walk on the land, just for a little while. Long enough to see him.”
“I can't do it without a little compensation.” Even Patti moved back as a mermaid as pale as death, her tail so blue it was almost black, glided into view. Dark eyes glittered in the shadowy hole. “I ask for only one thing. Your voice.”
The mermaid threw a hand over her throat. “Ok, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. How am I going to tell him how I feel and that I was the one who saved him?”
“Ever heard of sign language? It's a little something humans who can't speak use. You're a...creative...girl. You can figure it out.” She handed Patti a heavy jar made of coral. “However, if you do become human, you're giving up more than your voice and tail. You'll never see your family again. Every time you walk on land, it will be like stepping on sharp knives...but if you're truly in love, you'll never feel a thing.”
She shrugged. “I just want to laugh with him. What's so hard about that?”
“You only have three weeks to do it.” The mer-witch shoved the jar into her hand. “After the third week, your soul will be bound to me.”
Patti made a face. “Sounds kind of final, doesn't it?”
There were snorts as the mer-witch shoved harder, her perfect porcelain brow wrinkling in annoyance. “Oh, just drink the damn thing!”
“Well, all right.” Patti lifted the jug to her lips. “You don't need to shout. I can hear you.”
No sooner had it passed through her lips than she gasped, rearing back like a fearful horse on land. Shadows swallowed the next part as the witch grabbed at her throat, coming out with a blue mist that wafted into a shell on the witch's neck. Then, a flash of black mist as Patti paddled towards the surface, then...nothing. The witch vanished, and the reflection faded into the black mist.
“Damn it to all hell!” Brett threw her arms around the shaking young woman. “Malade. It was her. I'd know her anywhere. She got to you, too.”
Donald kissed her cheek. “I don't care if you can't talk. I've never had a girl give up her tail just to be with me.” Patti turned red all over again, from the roots of her ginger hair right down to her toes.
“At least we we have two of the Princesses, and another is in a safe place.” Gene tightened his hold on the back of a chair to keep him upright. “Now we just have to find the other three.”
They'd purchased a fine old chestnut mare and small carriage from a carriage seller in the marketplace when a buzzing sound drowned out his attempts to sell them a lifetime warranty. “What's that?” Charles winced and covered his ears. “Sounds like every bee in the kingdom decided that this is the world's largest hive!”
Patti tugged at Donald, pointing at the sky. “Holy cow!” His mouth dropped open so far, his cigar fell out. “Those are some damn big bees!”
“They're not bees.” Charles drew back in horror as black clouds of leathery creatures blotted out the sun. “They're trolls! Trolls and demons!”
Bill howled and dove under the carriage. “Hide me! She's come back for me! She's gonna make me a pack animal!”
“If anything,” Brett made a face, “she's probably after Patti and me.”
Patti broke away just as the creatures landed. Charles gasped at their gaping jaws filled with dagger teeth and claws as long as a human arm. Some growled and snarled and almost walked on their meat slab hands and arms, while others spoke and moved more like people. They were great shaggy beasts, covered with coarse fur the colors of dust and mud. Leathery wings blew booths to bits and knocked over tables, chairs, and shoppers.
Bill quivered under a cart, his long whiskers twitching. “I don't want to go back! I'm not going back! I won't!”
Terror gripped Charles so hard, he couldn't move. “I...I...I...” Trolls with long, leathery arms took a whack at him, sending him sprawling on the cobblestone street. Another yanked his lute out of his arms. “No, wait,” he begged. “Please! That's my livelihood!” The largest, a great brute with rippling arms and a mossy green beard, easily picked him up and threw him into a cart.
Plants sold in clay pots in the square suddenly grew vines and wrapped around the trolls, lifting them into the air and hurling them at the bay. Brett dashed in front of him, the vines following her. “You'll have to get through me first!” The trolls stared at her with blank expressions for a few minutes before one lifted her into his arms, letting her squirm against his coarse hair. “Damn it, put me down! You smell like rotting garbage!”
Streams of water slammed into the trolls, knocking the remaining ones into a booth selling pies across the way. “Nice work, Patti.” Brett nodded as the doe-eyed redhead pulled her hand out of the now-empty rain barrel. She took off the second the troll dropped her, emerging only slightly damp. “Could you do that again?” Demons with wide leather wings and outstretched claws soared over their heads, landing on Brett and grabbing her arms. “Don't you even, you overgrown leather bags!” she screamed as she struggled.
“Hey!” Charles leaped unthinkingly onto the creature's back. “Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to mess with a lady?” He wrapped his hands around its eyes, squeezing its torso as tight as he could. “Or even Brett?”
The creature flung Charles into a pile of apples as an arrow pierced its wing. “Charles, run!” Richard's shots were barely visible before they hit the demon in its sinewy leg and side. “Take the women and get out of here!”
As Charles helped Brett to her feet, a carriage careened around a corner. Flashes of light shot out of the back, hitting every demon within firing range. The lights writhed around them, and when they subsided, the demons now had long wooden noses that sprouted leaves and flower garlands around their wrists and arms.
“Oh dear,” Gene grumbled from the carriage's bed. “I wanted to just stop them long enough for us to leave, not go the Pinocchio route!”
“Be glad they're stopped for now.” Donald lifted Patti over the boards and into his arms. “All aboard for points west, including Grimmsville, Columbia Eye, and Villenveuve!”
Richard shot off his remaining arrows at newly-arriving demons. “You get going! I'll cover you!”
“Are you sure, boss?” Nipsey frowned as he tugged on the reigns. “We're gonna need ya if the demons follow us.”
Bill howled from the bottom of the carriage. “Oooh, I'm feeling sick already! Do you have to go so fast? Some of us have very delicate canine stomachs!”
“I can't go now, either.” Charles made a face. “I have to get my lute back!”
Richard was about to shoot another demon when a clawed hand tugged him from the back. “Boss...go. Get out. Find...help...”
“Orson?” The lean troll did somewhat resemble his friend, with dark eyes, a wide smile, and a jutting chin. “What have they done to you?” That coarse fur, the same light brown as Orson's hair, now grew wild and shaggy over his body. Sharp nails grabbed hold of his arm.
“Boss...go!” He shoved him towards the carriage before his friend could ask more questions. “I'll...hold...them...off!”
Brett fought with the demon who held Charles' lute. “Give me that!” she heaved. “You can't sing, and unless you intend to use your nails as picks, you can't play this thing, either.”
She fell back when the demon suddenly released the guitar, his anguished howl nearly rupturing her ear drums. “Princess Brett...we'll help...here...” The demon towered over her, his broad shoulders and toothy grin dripping with coarse dark-brown hair, as he handed her the instrument. “I'm still...your guard...let me...do my job...”
Another demon, slightly smaller and with fluffier brown fur and a nasal Yorkalia accent, tugged on the other's arm. “We'll get...into trouble...the queen will beat us...”
“Sir Walden....doesn't matter...” Sir Gautier looked as quickly as he could over his shoulder. “Skutch...coming...take Sir Dawson...leave...”
“I'm not going without you!” Brett frowned, clutching the guitar. “I have to change you back somehow, or Gene can...”
Dick shook his head. “Can't...magic not strong enough...hurry!” Horses hooves beat the pavements, bringing in carriages much larger and more ornate than the one they rented. “Go now!”
“I think the nice demon wants us to leave,” Charles puffed. “I don't blame him.” He slung his lute over his back, then grabbed Brett's hand. “Let's get out of here, before we run into Skutch or more demons who aren't our friends and bodyguards!”
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