“I’ll try,” Penny promised, tucking the blue bottle with its cut-glass stopper into her furry white pouch. “Uh, thank you so much.”
“You’re very welcome, lovely lady!” The merchant bowed low, his bushy tail wagging joyfully as they finally resumed their walk.
“Told you that wasn’t your kind of perfume,” V’rex murmured.
Looking up, Penny saw amusement dancing in his pale gold eyes.
“You could have warned me!” she hissed. “I mean anal gland scents?”
He shrugged.
“Hey, what can I say? I told you the Fox’ens have an incredibly strong sense of smell—scent is what turns them on more than just about anything else. Though they do like a female with a shiny coat, too,” he added, stroking the black fur over her shoulder.
“Oh, you!” Penny gave him an elbow to the ribs but the big Hybrid just laughed and she couldn’t help grinning herself.
At last, after winding their way completely through the busy marketplace, they came to a vast set of carved double doors that stood at least three stories high. There were two more guards in front of the doors and the guard who had brought them from the front entrance introduced them formally.
There was a polite bit of shuffling while the guards at these doors said they thought the Chieftain might be too busy to receive guests. However, when V’rex produced two more of the strong smelling meat balls, the new guards appeared to remember that this was actually the perfect time to introduce visitors to their Chieftain after all and the carved doors at last swung open.
Inside was a shining cavern with hundreds of gleaming stalactites hanging from the vaulted ceiling—some of them almost a hundred feet long. Seated in the center of the cavern, on thrones that appeared to be carved out of the same kind of stone as the stalactites, were two extremely well groomed Fox’ens.
“Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat,” the guard intoned and bowed low so that the furry tips of his ears brushed the stone floor.
Penny and V’rex bowed as well and when they came up, she was able to get a better look at the Fox’en ruler and his mate.
Chieftain Swift Tail had pitch black fur and brilliant blue eyes that reminded Penny of an Australian Shepherd. Lady Bright Coat certainly lived up to her name—her fur was a brilliant, spotless white, tipped all over with the barest hint of silver. The color combination made her fur appear to shimmer and flow like liquid when she moved even slightly.
But it wasn’t her gorgeous coat that caught and held Penny’s eyes. On a bright silver chain link necklace around her slender neck, Lady Bright Coat wore a pendant painted in gold and brilliant blue.
It was shaped like an eye.
Chapter 100
The Eye of Ten’gu! She’s wearing the Eye of Ten’gu!
Penny couldn’t take her eyes off the pendant around Lady Bright Coat’s neck. There was no doubt it was the artifact they had come to find. It looked exactly like the drawings from the ancient Kindred archives.
But it had already been claimed by the Fox’ens—now what were they going to do?
She glanced at V’rex and raised her eyebrows but the big Hybrid only gave her a small shake of his head.
“I’ve got this,” he murmured, for her ears alone. Then he lifted his head and smiled brightly at the royal Fox’ens on their stone thrones.
“Ah, Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat,” he said, stepping forward to address the Fox’en Chieftain and his mate directly. “Many light years have I traveled to see the wonders of the hidden city beneath Mount Ra’gar and many stories have I heard of the boldness of the Kin’kee Chieftain and the beauty of his lady.”
“You speak with a honeyed tongue, Merchant.” The Fox’en Chieftain sounded bored. “But you must have good barter or my guards would not have let you disturb my day.”
“A thousand pardons for any disturbance I might have caused, oh great Chieftain,” V’rex said, bowing again. “I have but a few humble tokens but I come not to barter but to give a gift, if I may be so bold?”
“Very well.” The black Fox’en sat up straighter in his stone throne. “Let us see this ‘gift’ you have brought from afar, Merchant.”
“Yes, of course. If your Excellency will just give me a moment to find it…” V’rex beckoned to Penny, who came forward to join him in front of the royal Fox’ens. She was completely bemused by his “humble merchant” routine and amazed at how easily he could get into character when he wanted to. This was a side of the big Hybrid she hadn’t seen before.
V’rex made a great show of opening his furry black pouch and looking through the contents.
“Hold this, will you please?” he said to Penny, handing her a delicate golden bracelet lined with diamonds and rubies as big as blueberries. “And this,” he added, giving her a black lacquered box.
As he gave her the box, V’rex casually let the lid pop open and Penny heard a faint whistling sound that was almost like a tune, though it was too high for her to hear very much.
“Oh, what is that lovely melody?” Lady Bright Coat had a soft, sweet voice. She stared curiously at the box in Penny’s hands.
“My apologies, your Loveliness,” V’rex said dismissively. “That is but a trinket I picked up on my travels in the Shola System. It is an Oberian music box which plays a different melody every hour. Though I must commend your fine taste—it is said that only those with the most refined interest in music can hear its lovely songs.” He shrugged. “I myself hear almost nothing—but of course, I am only a Merchant, not a musician or an expert on music.”
“Oh, I see.” Lady Bright Coat’s large, liquid eyes were bright with interest and she was leaning forward a little in her chair. Chieftain Swift Tail, however, still
