One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Author:Ilona Andrews [Andrews, Ilona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Paranormal, Paranormal & Urban, Romance, Romantic, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Werewolves & Shifters
Amazon: B01MSJJFAC
Publisher: NYLA
Published: 2016-12-07T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

“You’re not carrying me.” I pulled off my right sneaker and started down the street.

“You have no idea what’s on this street.” Sean wrinkled his nose. “It’s disgusting.”

“Then I will find a shoe merchant and buy a new pair.”

“You do realize that I could carry three of you and it wouldn’t slow me down?”

“You do realize that you can’t even handle one of me? Three of me would be entirely too much.”

Sean opened his mouth.

“I’m walking,” I told him. “It won’t kill me to go barefoot for a couple of blocks.”

Sean muttered something under his breath.

“I heard that,” I told him. I didn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.

Walking barefoot in this part of Baha-char was a bad idea. The big square tiles that lay in the open, baked by the sun, were too hot, which forced me to hug the edges of the street by the buildings, where trash and grime had drifted, pushed to the side by wind and the never-ending current of shoppers. Staring at the ground to make sure I didn’t step on anything that would slice my feet open got old very fast. But letting Sean carry me wasn’t an option. I had to preserve some dignity. Besides, being carried by him would be… nice. I had a feeling I would like it, and we weren’t out of the woods yet. I didn’t need to be contemplating how exactly being that close to him felt until we were back in the safety of the inn.

I looked up long enough to see where we were going. At the end of the block, a grimy storefront under a ratty green tarp had a bright neon sign that announced FOOTWEAR in seven languages. A colorful shell, resembling that of a garden snail but five feet tall and colored in hues of brilliant red, rich brown, and lemon yellow, sat in the doorway of the shop.

“Look, shoes!”

I sped up to the stall. The merchant, a Took, sensed me coming and stretched his wrinkly neck all the way out of his snail shell. Cookie rubbed his hands together.

“I just need a pair of shoes,” I told him.

“Of course,” the little fox answered. “As long as we get them at the right price.”

The inside of the shop contained a single massive pile of shoes made from all sorts of materials for all sorts of feet. It smelled like all sorts of feet too, but I didn’t care. I dug through it, trying to find something made for humans. Sean parked himself at the front of the store, watching the street. Cookie’s shaggy bodyguard stopped next to him.

I rummaged through the shoes. Too big, too small, too slimy, made for someone who only tiptoed like the elephants, too sharp, too… This pair wasn’t too bad. I lifted the two sandals up, little more than soles with a string of cheap beads.

“How much?”

The Took’s tentacles wavered. “Two credits.”

“Two credits!” Cookie staggered back and slumped over, as if punched. “It’s an outrage! Are you trying to murder us?”

Crap.

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