Rival Demons by Sarra Cannon Page B

shop around a little bit
and try out some of the restaurants."
    "Great," I said. "Thank you."
    The prospect of being able to go to the
marketplace anytime we wanted was a huge relief. With these new
armbands, we might still get some strange looks, but no one was
going to be too mean to us. At least not to our faces. It was like
we'd been handed keys to our freedom.
    "Just keep it to the marketplace, okay?"
    I sighed. Almost freedom. Yes, the marketplace
was better than nothing, but his statement immediately made me
wonder what other places he was trying to keep me away from.
     
     
The Cycle Continues
    The next morning, Mary Anne knocked on my door
early.
    "Want to go exploring?" she asked. Sleep and
food seemed to agree with her, because she was back to her normal
self this morning.
    "As long as exploring means getting some
breakfast, I'm in," I said. "Just let me get ready."
    I was showered and dressed in no time, making
sure I had the red and black armband securely over my clothes. The
two of us made our way to the Grand Hall marketplace. I wasn't sure
what time it was exactly, but the place was booming. There were
more people bustling around the shops than any other time we'd been
in here so far.
    "Where to first?" Mary Anne asked.
    "Somewhere they serve food," I said.
    "How can you still be hungry after all that food
we had last night? I'm still stuffed."
    I laughed. "I guess my stomach is making up for
two weeks of being starved."
    I looked to the left and right, searching for a
place that looked promising. Finally, I just picked left. Mary Anne
followed by my side.
    We passed all kinds of shops selling everything
from handcrafted weapons to what looked like prayer beads of some
kind. In a way, it reminded me of going to the Farmer's Market in
Atlanta with all these independent vendors set up in tents selling
their wares. I hadn't expected there to be such a big economy down
here. I wondered where they got all their supplies. Did they
constantly have people going up to the surface to get things?
    When we got to the end of the first row, Mary
Anne turned right and led us down another row of shops. A store
selling bags of all sizes caught my eye, and I stopped. I really
needed a bag of my own. I wasn't sure how long I was going to stay
here, but if I decided to leave, I'd need a way to carry my new
clothes and some supplies.
    "Excuse me," I said to the old female demon
sitting in the corner. Behind her, a row of bags were sewing
themselves at her direction. Each of the sewing needles moved
together in unison.
    When she looked up at me, they all stopped in
unison too. "Yes?"
    She pressed her cracked lips together tight and
held her body rigid. Her eyes flickered over our armbands.
    "I was just wondering how much one of your
backpacks costs," I said. It was a silly question, really.
Especially since I didn't have the first idea about their money
system down here. She could have said it costs a million
thingamajigs and I wouldn't have had a clue what that meant. Still,
it seemed like the polite thing to ask.
    "My bags are not for sale today," she said. She
turned back to her sewing, obviously wanting us to move on.
    "Please," I said. "I know you don't really know
us, but I promise you, I'm not your enemy."
    The woman's back straightened and she pulled her
elbows in tight to her sides. I was trying to reason with her and
let her know that I was a good person, but I could tell from her
body language that all I'd done was make her angry. Was it going to
be this way with every shop we came across?
    Mary Anne tugged on my arm and backed away from
the tent's entrance.
    "I'm sorry," I said, stepping back. "I didn't
mean to offend you."
    Behind me, Mary Anne screeched, then tumbled
backward, straight into the arms of another demon.
    He laughed and helped her get her footing.
    "I'm so sorry," she said, her cheeks bright red.
"I must have slipped on the edge of the fabric. I didn't mean
to-"
    "It is no problem," the guy said. He was