MA06 Little Myth Marker Read Free

hard.
    “No, I’m not your daddy, Markie. I just...”
    “Oh, I know. It’s just that every time my real daddy leaves me with someone, he tells me that they’re going to be my pretend daddy for a while. I’m supposed to mind them and do what they tell me just as if they were my real daddy until my real daddy comes to get me. I just wanted to know if you were going to be my new pretend daddy?”
    “Ummm...”
    “I hope so. You’re nice. Not like some of the scumbags he’s left me with. Will you be my new daddy?”
    With that, she reached out and took hold of my hand. A small thrill ran through me like an autumn shiver. She was so vulnerable, so trusting. I had been on my own for a long time, first alone, then apprenticed to Garkin, and finally teamed with Aahz. In all that time, I had never really been responsible for another person. It was a funny feeling, scary and warming at the same time.
    I tore my eyes away from her and glared at the Geek again.
    “Slavery’s outlawed here at the Bazaar.”
    The Deveel shrugged. “There are other dimensions. As a matter of fact, I’ve had a standing offer for her for several years. That’s why I’ve been willing to accept her as collateral. I could make enough to cover the bet, the cost of the food she’s eaten over the years, and still turna tidy profit.”
    “That’s about the lowest...”
    “Hey! The name’s ‘the Geek,’ not ‘the Red Cross’! I don’t do charity. Folks come to me to bet, not for handouts.”
    I haven’t thrown a punch at anyone since I started practicing magic, but I was sorely tempted to break that record just this once. Instead, I turned to the little girl.
    “Get your things, Markie. Daddy’s taking you to your new home.”
    * * *
    My partner and I were currently basing our operations at the Bazaar at Deva, which is the home dimension of the Deveels. Deveels are reputed to be the sharpest merchants, traders, and hagglers in all the known dimensions. You may have heard of them in various folk tales in your own home dimension. Their fame lingers even in dimensions they have long since stopped trading in.
    The Bazaar is the showcase of Deva ... in fact, I’ve never seen a part of Deva that wasn’t the Bazaar. Here the Deveels meet to trade with each other, buying and selling the choicest magiks and miracles from all the dimensions. It’s an around-the-clock, over-the-horizon sprawl of tents, shops, and barter blankets where you can acquire anything your imagination can conjure as well as a lot of things you never dreamed existed ... for a price. Many inventors and religious figures have built their entire career from items purchased in one trip to the Bazaar. Needless to say, it is devastating to the average budget ... even if the holder of the purse strings has above-average sales resistance.
    Normally I enjoy strolling through the booths, but tonight, with Markie beside me, I was too distracted to concentrate on the displays. It occurred to me that, fun as it is for adults, the Bazaar is no place to raise a child.
    “Will we be living by ourselves, or do you have a girlfriend?”
    Markie was clinging to my hand as we made our way through the Bazaar. The wonders of the stalls and shops dispensing magic reached out to us as they always do, but she was oblivious to them, choosing instead to ply me with questions and hanging on my every word.
    “‘No’ to both questions. Tananda lives with me, but she isn’t my girlfriend. She’s a freelance assassin who helps me out on jobs from time to time. Then there’s Chumley, her brother. He’s a troll who works under the name of Crunch. You’ll like them. They’re nice ... in a lot of ways they’re nicer than I am.”
    Markie bit her lip and frowned. “I hope you’re right. I’ve found that a lot of nice people don’t like little kids.”
    “Don’t worry,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “But I’m not done yet. There’s also Guido and Nunzio, my bodyguards. They