At least it looked circular from this angle. Jack couldn’t see to the other side of the marketplace from the entrance. While the corrugated walls curved on either side, there was no telling how large the market was or how far it went or, for that matter, what the ultimate shape of it was.
What he could see from the entrance was chaotic. And he was already walking on microbial dirt that pushed back if you nudged it, which was really wild.
If someone had told Jack a few days ago that he’d be standing on yet another new planet he’d never known existed, he would’ve had a few follow-up questions. Most of them involving whether that someone had been drinking.
And yet—
“Okay,” Jack said slowly, hands on his hips as he took in the view. “I take it back.”
Madelaine glanced at him. “Take what back?”
“I should’ve asked how many planets you were talking about when we started this journey. Each new place we visit is crazier than the last.”
Because this? This was not Earth. Not even a little. Keirios, and the marketplace here, was crazy. And that was saying quite a lot, since the last place they’d visited, Crooked Halo Station, was crazy.
Verdara had been Earth-like in some respects, while Malvoraxis Veil had not been anything close to Earth-like. At least the weather was better here and much less foreboding.
“Suck it up, buttercup,” Madelaine said under her breath, making him grin.
The sky stretched overhead in a soft gradient of violet and gold, streaked with what looked like slow-moving ribbons of light. Not clouds—something else. Something alive, maybe. The air shimmered faintly, like heat rising off asphalt, except it smelled…sweet. Floral, almost. With a sharp metallic edge underneath.
The entrance was not secured in any way. No tickets to buy. No security guards with weapons to pass. That was a relief. They walked through the wide entrance and into chaos and strangeness without any problem.
The marketplace buzzed with movement. Creatures—beings—people—whatever the correct term was—moved in all directions. Some looked almost human. Others very much did not.
One patron of the marketplace floated. Actuallyfloated. Like he had simply decided gravity was optional.
Jack tried to point unobtrusively. “You seeing that?”
Madelaine glanced where he pointed. “Yes,” she said in a low voice. “I see it. I’d get used to seeing unexpected things. You don’t need to point them all out. Okay?”
“Okay. Just making sure I’m not hallucinating.”
“You’re not. This place is certainly…different.” She went back to searching the marketplace.
“Yeah, but these new and exciting planets you’ve been sent to arealldifferent, aren’t they? That’s somehow worse.”
Madelaine shrugged, but didn’t remark. She kept moving, scanning the crowd with purpose.
“We need to find the Archivists and then the contact there,” she said. “Stay close.”
Jack snorted. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere. Pretty sure I’d get eaten within ten minutes.”
“Five, if you’re lucky,” she said absently.
He paused. “That was not comforting.” She didn’t respond. Her focus was clearly elsewhere.
“Come on.” Madelaine grabbed his hand and tugged, so he followed her, not letting go of her fingers. They moved deeper into the marketplace, weaving between stalls that sold everything from glowing crystals to things that looked suspiciously like…tentacles.
Jack squinted at one display. Madelaine was looking at it, too, with a mildly distasteful expression. They shared a look and Jack said, “Yeah. I’m not asking.”
“Good plan,” Madelaine said, her smile returning. She pulled on his hand and kept them moving past more stalls, kiosks and mayhem.
A vendor called out to them in a language that sounded like cowbells colliding. His skin was dark purple, but otherwise, he looked humanoid. The man stepped closer, almost into their path, colliding cowbells louder.
Jack blinked and shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t speak that.”
They kept moving. She still had a hold of his hand and he moved to link their fingers for a better bond. He truly wouldn’t want to lose her. Not ever. But especially not here.
