Miles and Victoria followed me through the small market. Ten permanent structures lined the road, five on each side. Only two had products set out and a merchant ready to conduct business. The first one on my left displayed a variety of food, clothing, and other personal gear. Behind the wooden counter, a lady who had seen at least thirty winters stood with her hands clasped behind her back. Her yellow dress blew in the wind, causing the material to slip, exposing her shoulder. The dress, a plain design crafted from inexpensive material, must not have been fitted for her.

  At first, she didn’t seem to notice me. Then her eyes widened when she did. “Welcome to Chinpo, are you in need of supplies?” She waved her hand above her merchandise, as if she was presenting it.

  I stopped when I reached the stand. Instead of moving to the center to meet her, I hovered by the corner. “We’re just looking for the basics.” After glancing up and down the empty road, I asked, “Have you scared away the competition?”

  “And where are all the villagers?” Miles asked.

  Her face turned yellow as she giggled nervously. “Trade has slowed down ever since the... trouble. But the new guards have granted me permission to open my stand. I’m sure the others will be allowed to operate again soon. Her voice lowered, “please don’t ask any more questions.” Her eyes flicked from the right of us to the left of us, as if she scanned the area to ensure nobody else was around. “Unless you have questions about the goods.”

  “We need bread, jerky, and whatever fruit is freshest.” I forced a smile. “Enough for us to travel for three nights.” My eyes remained locked on the lady, but I attempted to focus on the edges of my vision. Something wasn’t right, and it wasn’t as simple as the guards taking their time telling the other stands they could reopen. A thought shouted from deep within my mind. That same voice saved my life many times during the war. I learned to listen to it. This was a trap. Not just the market, but the entire town.

  The merchant tugged no her dress, trying to get it to fit properly. “Feel free to browse the other stands while I get your order together.”

  I glanced at Victoria, “Stay here and help answer any questions she might have.” I nodded to the merchant. “We will return.”

  A quick glance at the area told me what I already knew. The only other open stand was the furthest down on the opposite side of the road. A yaksha stood behind the counter with his arms crossed, staring at us.

  After signaling for Miles to follow, I strutted to the other stand, shifting the weight of my hammer as if lugging it around had started to strain my shoulder. But really, I wanted to draw attention to the tremendous weapon. With any luck, I could intimidate them out of fighting. If this town trap was set for me, I wanted them to think twice before springing it. Because in truth, I wasn’t strong enough to fight them all. Not yet. Not without my potions.

  “Is it just me, or was that strange?” Miles asked as we got out of earshot.

  “Everything about this village is strange. Only two stands are open. No customers. The yaksha running the food stand doesn’t introduce herself.” I stopped talking as I got closer to the other merchant, not wanting the yaksha to overhear us. Part of me wanted to tell Miles about the trap I sensed, but I feared his face would give away our knowing, and cause the trap to slam shut, even if it wasn’t set up to catch us.

  For a moment, I considered sending word back to the capital, making sure those with the power to free this town were aware of what transpired here, but who would I contact? This whole mess smelled of royal blood, and I didn’t know which family masterminded the scene, nor which knights had switched allegiances. Since I had no powerful friends left in the capital, a foe could silence me without spending political capital. Sending a message to the wrong yaksha wouldn’t only put my life in jeopardy, but Miles’ and Victoria’s as well.

  I pushed the thought from my mind, forcing myself to concentrate on the stand, as if I were just another customer. This one had camping supplies, some basic weapons, and light leather armor. Focusing on the merchant, I struggled to keep up my just-a-customer fa?ade. The yaksha behind the counter wore the same armor as the guards and carried a similar mace. He was no more a merchant that I was. When I approached, he kept his eyes locked on the other stand, as if he cared more about any conversation Victoria would be having with the merchant, than he did about the only customer at the market. “What can you tell me about your wares.”

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  His gaze flickered toward me, then returned to the other stand. “What you see is what you get.”

  “I like your mace.” I pointed toward the one hanging from his belt. “Do you have any like it for sale?”

  He shook his head, still not giving us his attention.

  I sighed, then turned to face Miles and raised my eyebrows, trying to signal my intent to him. While I didn’t want to spring the trap, I did want to push this yaksha a bit to see how quickly his aggression was triggered. “We should have taken the maces from those two bandits. Perhaps we could have traded them for better weapons.”

  Miles smiled, realizing the game I was playing. “They didn’t do those bandits any good. Did they even get a strike in?”

  I shook my head. “But their helms sure did make a funny noise when I crushed their puny little heads.” Chuckling I attempted to recreate the sound of a man’s desperate cry. “Awwwee.”

  The fake merchant locked eyes with me. “If you aren’t buying, please move on.” He clenched his jaw. “Make room for other customers.”

  He would chance getting rid of me. That made me think that if this trap was for me, this wasn’t the spot where it was meant to be triggered. Adding sarcasm to my voice, I asked. “What customers?” I chuckled. “Out of all the villages I’ve visited, this seems to be the saddest.” I turned to face Miles. “You’d think a village so close to the trade capital of the empire wouldn’t be so sparse.”

  “It can’t be because of the bandits.” Miles grinned. “They’re way too squishy to pose any real problem.”

  I nodded. “They were the type of yaksha that need to pay other men to impregnate their women, if you know what I mean.”

  “Move on,” the fake merchant said. “Your wares are ready at the other shop.”

  I made a show of looking over to the other stand, then returned my attention to the guard. “You are correct. Everything appears ready to go. Thank you for your assistance my friend.” Pushing any harder could have forced a situation I wasn’t ready for, and doing so was unlikely to provide any additional information.

  “I’ll see you later on this night.” He sneered as I walked away.

  During the walk, I scanned as much of the area as I could, trying to figure out what was going on. But other than the absence of yaksha, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.

  Victoria finished paying for our goods by the time Miles and I joined her. The merchant passed everything over to us. Victoria reached out to grab it. But the merchant pulled it back and then gestured toward me.

  As I took the goods from her, she slipped a note into my hand.

  Not acknowledging the parchment, I smiled and thanked her for the goods. “Is there an open tavern in this village?”

  She swallowed, then pointed her head to the right. “There’s a small place down the road. I believe it should be open.” She shrugged. “Last Pour Till Qori.”

  We followed the road, staying silent as we walked. At first, I wondered why she said what she did, which sounded like she was trying to convince us to go there. Then I saw the sign above the door, Last Pour Till Qori. It was the name of the tavern, not a sales pitch.

  I tightened my grip on the parchment the merchant had given me as we approached the tavern. With a little push, the front door swung open, leading to a crowded room. Every yaksha sitting at the tables wore the same armor. Each had a mace hanging from their belt. I held my breath while weaving through the crowd.

  As the barkeep readied our order, I glanced at the parchment, keeping it out of his view. Written on the note, “Get out now. They will kill you.”

  I peered at the note, then back at the dozen or so armed yaksha in the establishment. If I had the proper potions, I could smash through these soldiers like they were wisps of smoke. But their numbers were too large to even consider a fight. Somehow, this town had been captured, and was now under the control of an army. I didn’t think it was the king’s soldiers, for they wouldn’t feel the need to hide who they were.

  Many thoughts shot through my mind. Of all the towns to set a trap, why one so close to the capital? Could it be meant for me? For almost an entire winter, I was chained to a stone wall, with only a skinny guard and some fallible gates to stand between the outside world and me. If someone wanted me dead and had the power to take the closest town to the capital, then they would have reached me in that prison without breaking a sweat.

  My first instinct was to do as the merchant had warned and flee this village, but the internal voice disagreed. An unfinished thought lingered in my mind, like a song lyric stuck on the end of my tongue. I pounded my fist on the bar, trying to push the idea to the surface.

  The room became quiet. The noise I made had gotten the attention of the soldiers. I didn’t have to glance back to see that they were all staring at me. My grip tightened on the parchment as if I could squeeze hard enough to make it vanish.

  Of Course.

  The thought sprang forward, seeming as obvious as breathing. Why would a simple merchant who didn’t sell parchment paper, have some just lying around, waiting for her to write a note on it?

  Miles leaned toward me and whispered, “We should leave the village, take our chances out there instead.”

  Nearly under my breath, I muttered, “That’s what they want us to do.”