We continued to walk through the stalls of the market. The smells of food wares and sounds of kitchen utensils filled the air. There were fabric vendors with brightly colored skeins varying from silk to wool. An ale cart was parked at a corner where the market turned onto a different path.

My mouth watered at the thought of enjoying a cool cup of bubbly ale as I stared at the barrel.

“Let’s grab a drink while we walk,” Grey said. I jerked my head to look at him and caught him smiling at me. “I remember how much you like the dark beers.”

“You just remember how I behave when I drink the dark beer,” I said and chuckled while a memory of him hauling my drunk ass out of the bar and down the road to the quiet inn we had rented a room at. “But I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Grey winked at me and said, “Wait here, I will go get them.”

I leaned against the wall and watched him walk to the vendor. His clothes hugging his lean body and the twin daggers at his lower back glinting in the sun.

Grey turned back around, two mugs in hand, and I realized with a start that I had been staring. I quickly shifted my eyes to the ground and deliberantly didn’t look up until Grey put the ale in front of my face. I smiled down at the dark frothy beverage before wrapping my hands around the cup and taking it from Grey.

Looking up at him, I held my ale up in a salute and said “To us two fools for braving this place in the middle of a job.”

Grey beamed a brilliant smile at me, the dimple catching in his cheek as he tilted his head down while lifting his hand.

We each took a swig of the ale and the bubbly taste immediately elevated my mood. “This is just what I needed. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a good beer?”

Grey chuckled, “I don’t know about you, but it was the week before you showed back up for me.”

I met his eyes at the implication before saying, “Let’s keep going.”

I brushed past him and ignored the confused look in his blue eyes. Taking another long swig of the ale, I continued through the market never forgetting that Grey quietly trailed me.

I noticed a lone vendor cart off to the side away from everyone else. The cart wasn’t even a cart, but more of a large chest opened vertically to reveal several small shelves covered in a velvety fabric. Next to the cart was an old woman sitting on a small wooden stool, her hands busy with something I couldn’t see yet.

Something pulled at my gut to see what was in the chest. I downed the rest of my ale, wincing at the bitter yet wonderful taste and turned around to see Grey stopped at a food vendor of sorts. I made my way over to the lady and watched with fascination as I realized what type of wares this woman was peddling.

She had a piece of fabric wrapping around her head and tied off at the top and wore plain clothes that hid her figure. She was wrapping a piece of very small metal around a blue stone, a long piece of leather lay draped across her leg. The chest was filled with similar creations. Stones and crystals of vibrant hues to darker tones that reflected light. Some were wrapped with that metal to create charms while others were in their raw form, jagged and opaque.

I was looking at a small pearlescent stone that lay by itself on a velvet shelf when the woman said, “You’re a long way from home.”

Whipping my head around to the woman, I caught her staring up at me. She wasn’t as old as she seemed by the lack of deep wrinkles on her face. She had lines around her mouth and crow’s feet by her eyes, but the hair escaping from the wrap was still the color of vibrant orange with hints of red. A few glints of silver shone through the color.

I narrowed my eyes at her and said, “And how do you know where my home is?”

The woman gave a small smile and pointed to her hair, “I know what color this hair becomes when one tries to cover it up.”

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Don’t worry, I won’t give you away. You should get that re-treated though.”

I pulled the hood of my jacket up to cover most of my hair and pointed to the small stone. “Where did you find this and how much for it?”

She leaned forwards to see what I pointed to and gave a soft smile. “The opal comes from the Isle of Heart to the south. I have only ever managed to have three to sell. This is the last. It is said that they bring balance and harmony to one’s soul.”

The beginnings of a childhood memory started to resurface. A small opal stone with a piece of fabric threaded to a hoop hung from a woman’s neck…but the memory flitted away after that.

“I can feel the turmoil and unrest in your soul. For you, twenty marks,” she said.

“Twenty marks? That’s it?”

She really didn’t know what she was in possession of.

“Deal,” I said as I reached into my pocket for the coins. “I definitely got the better bargain though.”

“Don’t I know,” she said. “But something in the Divine is telling me you need it more than I need the sale.”

I stared at the woman before replying, “You shouldn’t put your faith in the Divine. They tend to be selfish and lead you astray.”