Chatoyant College Book 7: Upon What Soil

Chapter 54: Come Buy

"But then why did you go?" Corrie protested, still finding it difficult to believe that Professor Lal was being entirely above-board and honest.

"For the food—which is not harmful to me, or any other faerie—and the company other than the hosts. It's simply a social event, and there is no need for me to list the specific faeries I wished to see at the ball. Have you never attended a party with people you disliked, in order to see the people you did like?" Professor Lal raised her eyebrows at Corrie.

Corrie nodded reluctantly. "I guess I have."

The professor nodded, as though that settled the matter. "You understand, then. Now, do you have any other questions for me?"

Dawn shook her head. "I'm sure I had some more questions, but I can't come up with any at the moment."

"Well, I am always—that is, not always, but usually—available after class or in my office."

"Every time we've tried to look for you there, you haven't been there," said Roe.

"I am quite certain you have found me there in the past. If you are looking late at night or on the weekends, then chances are I am not there. It is a job, not my life, and I do not reside on campus."

Corrie wanted to ask where she did live, and was also feeling very curious about the little old faerie woman who seemed to live at the end of the hall, but not only did she think she wouldn't get any answers, she didn't really want to ask Professor Lal any more questions. She wasn't certain she trusted the professor anymore. She would be thinking hard about the answers Professor Lal had given them tonight, trying to decide whether they matched up with the available facts.

"I guess that's it, then," said Dawn.

Professor Lal nodded and stood up. "Then I will return to the market, as I do have more shopping to do, and you should all return to the campus. I will not extract a promise from you or forbid you from doing anything, but I hope you will seriously consider never returning here again. Those of you who have never tasted faerie food may be curious, but though it will not hurt you once, the people here may bargain with you for things that you will later discover that you required. Corrie, Roe, and Dawn, I will see you in class on Monday." With that, she stalked off, leaving the six of them seated in a horseshoe shape in the grass. The shouting and muttering of the market faded into Corrie's hearing as the silence spell broke.

Corrie stood up slowly, her legs feeling stiff from the damp grass, and bent to give Edie a hand up. "Should we listen to her?" she wondered out loud. She hadn't noticed anything interesting being sold here, just food, but now she wondered whether Professor Lal just wanted to keep them from experiencing it. "If it can't hurt us once, we might as well try it..."

Edie shook her head. "It tasted good—really good—but everything was kind of weird afterward. I barely ate yesterday and I've only eaten a little more today. It was like nothing could taste quite as good as the faerie food. I wouldn't want you to have to deal with that."

"Let's just get out of here," Annie said in a small voice. "I really don't think it's a hundred percent safe. Besides, it's really getting dark."

Corrie glanced up at the sky and saw that Annie was right; what she could see through the bare branches, against the light of the lanterns strung all around the market, was blackness without even the stars or moon shining through. There were so many more stars here than in the city, so to have them all hidden like that must mean a lot of clouds. "Yeah, it looks like rain, doesn't it? Okay, let's go home."

This time she let Annie and Roe take the lead, both of them steadfastly not looking around as they walked through the market. She couldn't help glancing at the wares, though; the fruits and vegetables were jewel-bright and looked fresh, picked at the peak of ripeness. Now she saw that some sellers had other food as well—breads, cheeses, chocolate, and wine. It didn't tempt her, though, remembering Edie's warning, and she frowned at herself and turned her gaze back to the back of Roe's head.

Then someone to her left called out, "Pretty things for a pretty lady, jewels for your ears and tongue and eyes!" Curious, she looked over.

She didn't see the faerie at the table. She didn't see her friends continuing to the exit. She didn't hear them speak to her as she turned away.

She was transfixed.