Chapter 42

Lauren popped out and in to existence in a matter of seconds and the experience was exhilarating. Nothing made you feel more alive like the threat of never existing again.

In her as per usual graceful manner she landed on Quinn when she came through, and he went sprawling on the cement floor with her on top of him which made him exclaim, "Geez, Nash, I didn't know you cared that much."

She joked back, "Come on Walker you've got girls falling for you all the time."

They both laughed, but it was interrupted by a long slender hand being shoved in her face and a tight lipped response.

"You guys are causing a scene. I thought we were going to try and keep a low profile." Zach said snarkily as he pulled her to her feet.

She dusted off the knees of her jeans with a smile still plastered on her face -- One that her ex-best friend didn't return.

Quinn seeming to notice the awkward moment announced unceremoniously, "I suggest we split up and team up; we'll get a lot more accomplished that way."

"Look I see the perfect place to start." He pointed to the back of the room," Lauren's you're with me," he shouted. And grabbing her arm, he took off like a shot towards the area he had pointed.

Lauren looked back to see Zach's eyebrows do that weird thing they do when he's extremely pissed. They end up looking like a unabrow; he frowns so hard.

She knew she shouldn't find it funny, but she couldn't help the laugh that exploded from her lips.

Quinn finally came to a stop at the back of the room where a crowd of market patrons had gathered to see a female Salamander juggle fire and swallow it. Knowing that Salamanders are fire spirits or elementals, and can't be harmed or burned by the flames made it less fun to watch, until the red skinned beauty pulled Quinn in the circle and handed him a torch that was lit on both ends and started using his hands to juggle it.

Lauren couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she was in her alien way. Her skin was bright red and she had the most interesting yellow eyes with light orange irises. Her bald head was lined on either side with delicate yellow and orange strips and her cheekbones were so sharp it looked like you could get a paper cut on them.

She was expertly juggling balls of what looked like molten lava and every once and a while she'd throw them straight at Quinn and he had to use his speed and reflexes to bat them back to her with his torch.

Lauren laughed so hard when he gave her a please save me look. He looked like he was going to have kittens.

She wasn't worried, though; she trusted his reflexes.

He eventually got into the swing of it and actually started having fun – he was even hamming it up for the crowd – when he spied her admiring his technique (yup that's what she was admiring) he gave her a big toothy grin and waggled his eyebrows at her.

It was so much fun to hang with Quinn, she almost started to truly feel happy.

The last week had been a week from hell; she couldn't believe so much had happened in such a short period of time. She felt like a totally different person then she was before she walked into that ball and in a lot of ways she wished she hadn't, but if she hadn't she would have never learned about her brother.

With that thought the anger she was trying to suppress at the council and every other adult in her life at this time started to bubble to the surface. The teachers must have known it was her brother and not a one of them ever breathed a word of it to her. Were they that cowed by the council, or did they simply not care?

When she felt her hands curl into fists and her nails bit into the soft flesh of her palm she decided she needed a distraction. She was alone at last so she took a moment to really appreciate her surroundings.

She loved the Menagerie:

There were literally hundreds of tables set up like a usual flea market, but that was where the similarity ended. Behind the tables some of the strangest creatures of their world sat or stood serving the patrons of the Magic Market.

On the tables sat wares that no human eyes had ever beheld. The sellers sold: charms and amulets, magical herbs and plants, potions and portents, exotic food from other planes, ancient magical trinkets that did wondrous thing or purported to, and weapons of every description.

Most of the male members of their gang were huddled around those tables eagerly examining each weapon with awe.

Lauren's eyes followed a monopod who was hopping on his one foot from stall to stall examining the wares. He stopped to ask a satyr about his products and she hoped he knew how to haggle, because their mark up was out of this world.

She spied CJ following a young Xana doing everything to get her attention. She had no doubt he'd get her number. The guy was confident AF and twice as charming. Case in point: he'd grabbed a flower off a Gwisin table to give it to her.

Lauren winced when she saw what kind of flower it was. He'd just picked a seemingly innocuous flower. A pretty dainty blue flower with petals that resembled a monk's cap – She'd know the flower even if she wasn't part Dryad; it's infamous in their world -- Devil's Helmet was more commonly known as Wolf's bane. Just a few drops from the plant's roots can cause instant paralysis.

And there he goes . . .

She didn't even have time to warn him, before he seemed to lose all muscle control.

But it had worked like a charm; the extraordinarily beautiful blonde girl came to his rescue before his stunning face could hit the cold hard concrete floor. She was enamored by his stupidity apparently.

Lauren had to shake her head.

When are these guys going to learn the most beautiful things is their world are the deadliest?

At that moment a Dullahan walked by her. The headless horseman was as creepy af. He noticed her staring and stopped to bow and lift his arm to tip a hat that didn't exist on his non-existent head. A shiver ran down her spine like someone had stepped on her grave when she saw the gaping hole in his neck. What did she expect? That's what you get for blatantly staring in the Menagerie.

She had to wonder where he parked his horse though and nearly laughed out loud.

"Hey," Quinn startled her out of her reverie," you abandoned me to the crazy fire lady."

"Oh, "Lauren joked, "I thought you thought she was hot"

"Harharhar you think you're so funny Nash." He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

They caught up with the rest of the guys near a stall selling amulets and charms, and Lauren lost herself in the tables fascinating wares.

She had a lengthy discussion with the Kabouter, a sort of Dutch leprechaun, about the charms being offered and was just saying, "I thought it was impossible to fashion a love charm given the complexity of the feelings."

"Well, yaa know, it is not as difficult as yaa may think if you'd like to try it on your paramour." The seller suggested with a wink as he gestured to Quinn.

She could tell the salesman was immortal or at least long lived with his choice of the word: paramour.

"I don't know," she said to Quinn, "he must really know what he's doing, let's try it," she finished.

When Quinn threw his hands up and his eyes got as big as saucer she decided to tease him by chasing him around the tables while she pretended to put the charm around his neck.

He was actually running like his life depended on it. He was dodging back and forth behind an empty stall with her laughing her head off. When she suddenly changed direction she ran straight into Zach, and her nose crushed painfully against his ribs.

As she looked up she was still holding the charm, but the smile died on her lips when she saw his face. He looked so dejected. She could have cried.

She was lost for words. What was going on with him these days? He obviously didn't want her, but yet he didn't want to see her with anyone else either. What the holy hell was she supposed to do, stop living or something?

Again her anger boiled up in her, and she was about to say something when Kyle and Travis came back with an armload of corndogs.

"Marley asked, "Where the heck did you guys get corndogs at the Menagerie?"

"They smell like corndogs Brah, and taste like corndogs, but apparently they're not corndogs," Kyle said shrugging his shoulders.

"Don't ask don't tell," Kyle added.

" And don't judge," Travis said while stuffing two in his mouth , "if you guys lived with raw vegan foster parents you wouldn't be able to get enough of this stuff either."

"That explains a lot, "CJ quipped, but he hadn't gotten all the feeling back in his face yet. So everyone was left wondering what he said.

"What's wrong with him?" Meg pointed over her shoulder at CJ.

Lauren laughingly said, "Tell you later. It involves a beautiful girl and a stupid guy."

"Don't all funny stories start that way?" Liv teased.

"Hey," Marley called, "Show me where you guys found that stall?"

"We've lost Marley to the mystery meat again." Liv shuddered like any good vegetarian would.

"I guess the old adage is true that opposites attract." Lauren said as she jabbed Liv in the arm with her elbow.

Liv blushed from ear to ear and gave her a coy smile. Oh the girl had it bad. She couldn't blame her Marley was interesting af, if there was a male equivalent she'd be all over that.

Zach caught Lauren's eye again -- Yup still sulking over something. Were things ever not going to be awkward around him?

Brenna saved her though when she asked, "Can you help me find the psilocybin mushrooms, I need for the ritual tonight?"

"Sure," Lauren said, "I think I saw some at the Fiura's stall."

Quinn asked, "What are the whatchamacallit mushrooms for?"

"They're to induce a trance like state," Brenna informed him.

Quinn jaw dropped open, "you mean magic mushrooms?"

"Yeah it was either that or poisonous snake bite. And for that I'd have to buy the snake and food for it and of course the antivenin and stuff. It's a pain."

"Literally," Lauren joked

In that moment if Quinn's mouth had gotten any wider his jaw would have hit the floor.

Lauren just laughed and grabbed Brenna's arm to drag her towards the stall leaving an amazed Quinn standing there staring at their departing backs.

While they were weighing their purchases Donnie came by and stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes glued to the stall owners chest.

Fiura are known to be nasty and evil ugly shrewish woman of Chile, but they have one asset some guys can't resist: they're very well endowed in the chest region.

At that time Donnie's eyes were locked on that area comically, and if the stall owner noticed he was in for a world of hurt, and if her husband the Trauco notice they'd be carrying him out in a body bag.

Brenna asked, "Should we warn him?"

"Nah," Lauren giggled, "I find the best lessons are learned through pain. You know like burn your hand: don't touch a hot stove that sort of thing."

They just snickered as they walked away.

Everyone left having purchased something. Lauren bought a protection charm, from a ghoulish Spriggan of some talent that might actually help her ward off le Fay. Apparently, it was supposed to keep evil demons away.

Zach had purchased a warding kit for the house from a Bugbear, a sort of hobgoblin, which had been a very good idea actually, and who knew: if he stopped acting like a complete shit, she might even help him set it up.

Quinn had surprised her with cotton candy floss that tasted like nothing she had ever had before. Apparently a Vila had prepared it. The Slavic nymph with the power of wind had whipped up in a whirlwind she had created. It tasted like a slice of heaven and she had shared it with him on the trolley back to her house. She'd offered some to Zach, but he'd sullenly declined.

She had curled up afterward in the nook of Quinn arm to share her phone and headphones with him while they watched Youtube videos, but she'd been so tired from barely sleeping the night before that she'd fallen asleep. Quinn woke her when they arrived at their transfer point. When she looked around groggily she was shocked to find that Zach was no longer on the cable car.

When she went to ask Quinn about it; he just shrugged.

Not wanting to get into it with Quinn she let it go, but not before sending a text to Zach.

CU @ midnight.

The response was immediate.

Sure.

She relaxed a little with the thought they could talk about it later. And they were going to talk about it. Enough was enough. They were going to hash it out. You just don't throw away a nearly four year friendship over nothing.

Quinn walked her to her door and kissed her on the cheek before heading home for dinner. She let herself in and shut the door firmly behind her, slumping to the floor. With a sigh she dropped the façade. Tears streamed down her face. Today had been the most trying day of her life. She had managed to convince everyone, but herself that it was going to be all right by her forced joviality.

Standing up with tears still streaming down her face, she forced herself to go to the kitchen to prepare a PB&J sandwich; she needed to work up the energy to do it all over again tonight.

Tune in tomorrow to read about the magic ritual that will hopefully help the gang find Lauren's brother and bring him back..

********************THANKS FOR READING***************

If you liked this chapter Vote, Comment, add this book to your reading list, or suggest it to a friend. Please guys don't forget to vote or comment if you like something. I'm getting a lot more ghost reads than I had before and I need you to assure me I'm on the right track and things aren't getting blaise or worse . . .  boring AF. LOL