Misfortune Market: A HASEA CHRONICLES STORY (BOOK 1.5)

Note to reader

Misfortune Market takes place one week before the events of The Veil: Corruption, and is meant to be read between, or after the first two novels. Similar to
Without A Heartbeat
,
it is somewhat darker and more violent than the first two books, in order to set the tone for the upcoming book,
The Veil: Redemption
, which - matching with my evolving writing style - will be the most mature of the series.

I really enjoyed writing this unique story. I really hope you enjoy reading it!

Stuart Meczes

This short story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

MISFORTUNE MARKET
Copyright © 2015 by Stuart Meczes
Cover art by Thomas Wright

All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher or author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that which it is published and without similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Stuart Meczes asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

Published in 2015 by Stuart Meczes

MISFORTUNE MARKET

 
A HASEA CHRONICLES STORY

STUART MECZES

Also available by Stuart Meczes

Without A Heartbeat
(Hasea Chronicles Book 0)

The Awakening
(Hasea Chronicles Book I)

The Veil: Corruption
(Hasea Chronicles Book II)

Tommy and the Simbots: The Golden Wing

Man with Fangs
(Short Story)

ALEX

T
he rain poured down in sheets, beating hard against us as we vaulted over the edge of the bridge, landing with a series of splashes in muddy water that came up to our ankles. High over our heads, hundreds of oblivious motorists continued to hurtle down the busy East London road. The rubber hiss of tyres on slick tarmac was accompanied by the squawk of horns and screeches of old brakes.  

I looked around at Orion Squad. There were only five of us – far less than ideal for a recovery mission. Apart from me, the team consisted of our leader  - and my literal soulmate - Gabriella, as well as Delagio, Scarlett and newcomer Grey. With a bunch of new Awakening’s happening all over England, the Alliance was spreading us thin – too thin. Going into a blind situation of this scale with only a handful of first response Guardians was a bad idea, but choice was a luxury we hadn’t had for some time.
Besides, if I can only have four Guardians covering my back, these are among the best I could hope for. 

Next to me, Gabriella retrieved her Biomote from the pocket of her black uniform jacket, wiping a thumb across the beads of rain that had appeared on the screen.

“This is it.”

She flicked her head towards a looming sewer hole bored into the brick beneath the bridge. Water spewed into the reservoir gully from within the dark recess, resembling the maw of some giant sea creature. Gabriella turned to us and cleared her throat. “Okay so this is what we know from Moon’s Edge, and it isn’t much I’m afraid. Late last week, a handful of Rogues kidnapped one of Titan’s Awakening infiltration targets before they could get to her. According to Selene’s premonition, this is where they brought her. Her name is Andrea Bilson. She’s a twenty-three year old local. I’m still waiting on more background information, but so far that’s all we have on her. We’re pretty much in the dark on this one.”

“Not ideal,” breathed Scarlett, checking over the clasp of her Kapre belt. “Besides, why are we doing Titan’s heavy lifting for them?”

“Convenience. Titan are with Artemis investigating a series of Incubi related deaths down in Brighton, so instead of dragging them away Sage Faru’s put us on it. Annoying, but it’s the orders we were given.”

Scarlett rolled her eyes and fell silent.

“So is this a human or Chosen recovery mission?” I asked.

“I would put money on her being a Chosen already. There aren’t many things more traumatic than getting kidnapped. It would be more than enough stress to kick start an Awakening. That’s why it’s imperative we try and keep her calm when we find her. If she’s right in the middle of her transformation then she’s in a very unstable position.  If she suffers too much more stress her soul might eject itself. ”

Everyone made sounds of agreement. Chosen who lost their souls became the Depraved – vicious creatures that lived an aimless, twisted existence of pain and fury – unrecognizable from the people they had once been. It was a fate worse than death. Although, that was back when the Sorrow still existed – and that son of a bitch had been something to do with the whole process. No one really knew what would happen to person who lost their soul now the Sorrow was gone – still it was a question no one was seeking the answer to.

“Can I just ask, why would anyone want to bring her
here
?” asked Grey, wrinkling up his nose as he checked over the pistols and blades attached to his Kapre belt.

“My guess is to sell or trade her. A Chosen would likely fetch a high price at Misfortune Market,” replied Gabriella.

“A miswhat now?”

I turned to Grey. “Misfortune Market. It’s a yearly event hosted in various locations around England at some point during June. It used to be called Midsummer Market, but its reputation earned it the nickname.”

Grey nodded his head slowly. “Okay…but what does that have to do with this place?”

I pointed at the dark opening, which was still spewing its filthy waste into the grooved channel. “This overflow pipe leads to the old Victorian Sewer system. For decades it’s been a popular gathering place for vagrant Pandemonians - enough that it earned itself an unofficial city status about twenty years ago.”

Grey’s eyes widened. “There’s a
city
through there?”

Gabriella took over question time. “Yes. It’s called Inferus,” she said, loading a wooden stake into a Stinger revolver and reattaching it to her belt. “A self-sufficient economy, with its own trade and laws. Apparently it even has its own elected Mayor.” “We know that what goes on down here isn’t always legal, but it’s not enough to warrant investigation. However, from what we know, every now and then it’s taken over by the Misfortune Market. The things get a whole lot shadier.”

“In what way?”

“Things like interspecies prostitution, drugs and contraband weapon trading. That kind of way,” answered Scarlett.

Grey’s wide eyes narrowed. “Then why hasn’t the Alliance stopped it?”

“We’ve tried, but it moves about every year,” said Gabriella. “It can also be quite dangerous.”

“Since when has danger ever stopped a Guardian?”

Gabriella’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Agreed. To be honest, I don’t really know why we don’t intervene, but that’s just the way it is. Guardians are told to steer well clear and just let them get on with it, as long as they don’t directly harm anyone nearby. But bringing a Chosen here? That’s a different story.” 

Grey peered down the iron sights of a cocktail pistol before replacing it on his belt. “What would a Rogue even do with a Chosen they bought at a market?”

“Your guess is as good as ahs, but ah doubt it’s anythin’ good,” said Delagio, rolling a glass marble absently through his fingers.

Gabriella moved forwards and turned to face the group. “Right everyone, listen up. Here’s the plan. We leave the Kapre belts activated so we can mix in with the crowds without drawing unwanted attention to ourselves. Our primary objective is to get Andrea out with as little fuss as possible. The last thing we need is a couple hundred pissed off Pandemonians armed with god knows what coming after us. Crow’s Nest has agreed to emergency backup, but only in severe circumstances. I don’t want it to come to that. So my suggestion is to find the mayor of Inferus.” She glanced and flicked through the various screens on her Biomote for a second. “Apparently he goes by the name of Albert Henwick. Maybe he doesn’t know that a Chosen has been bought illegally to his city.” She shrugged. “Maybe he does. Either way, we put pressure on him and try and get him onside. We’ll have a much better chance of getting out in one piece if the man in charge is helping us. If that doesn’t work then it’s plan B – locate Andrea and get her the hell out as fast as we can, doing whatever we need to. Everyone clear?”

All of us nodded.

Gabriella took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”

We all moved towards the entrance. As we walked, Gabriella placed a lingering hand on my arm. “
Mio Caro,
are you feeling up to this?” At her words something slithered around inside me, just underneath my skin, making my tattoo itch.

She knows something isn’t right with me.
I knew something wasn’t right with me. The problem was I didn’t know
what.

I gave the most sincere smile I could manage. “Never better.”

She paused for a moment and then nodded. “Okay.”

We followed the rest of the team through the sloshing water, stepping up into the curved opening of the sewer entrance. The roar of the churning water echoed all around us as we entered into the long tunnel.

“Christ, it stinks,” gagged Grey, reeling backwards and covering his nose with a leather-gloved hand.

“It’s an overflow pipe that leads directly into a sewer, genius,” quipped Scarlett. “Were you expecting the homely aroma of a Sunday roast?”

Grey scowled but said nothing. We kept moving through the pipe. Water dripped down from the mouldy ceiling around us, merging with the foul waste that streamed around our feet.

“Oh my god!” gasped Grey.

Everyone froze on the spot. Gabriella drew her blades and spun around. “What’s wrong?”

“I think I just saw a condom,” he whispered with a shudder.

“Are you kidding me?” She holstered her weapons and frowned at the Guardian.

“Do you know how many diseases you can get from a place like this without proper safety measures?” he insisted.

Delagio chuckled. “Come on doc, how many sick Chosen y’all met since ya been at the Warren?”

“Uh…none I guess.”

“Exactly.” He gave a wink. “We’re made of iron. Aint no used funbag or anythin’ else in here gonna take us down. ”

A chorus of laughter rang out around the tunnel, including my own.

“Alright everyone, can we stop messing about now please?” ordered Gabriella. “Grey, I don’t care if you see a Yeti riding the Loch Ness Monster. If it’s not directly related to the mission, I don’t want to hear about it…okay?” Gabriella used her all-business tone.

“Yes, Huntmaster.”

We moved in a tight formation, sweeping down the long, dark tunnel. The large pipe merged into the sewers themselves, the slick walls becoming old brick plastered with mold and grime. Gradually the rush of water became less aggressive, until it was a murky stream that trickled past us. The tunnels ahead split into three and Gabriella pulled out her Biomote once more, aiming it in front of her and pressing a button on the side. A wall of green light burst from the unit, sweeping down the separate tunnels and reporting back data within seconds. A moment later, a map popped up on the screen. The Huntmaster placed her finger on it and swiped up, scanning the electronic web of passages for something. I peered over her shoulder and saw was looking for at the same time she did – a large area, filled with hundreds of red dots.

The centre of Inferus.

“I’ve found the market. This way.” She moved down the rightmost passageway and we followed, me doing my level best to ignore the acrid stench that emanated from within. Water droplets echoed as they dripped from the ceiling into the river of waste, creating ripples that petalled outward. As we pushed further into the sewers, evidence of life became apparent. Metal sheets and wooden planks had been placed over the stream, acting as makeshift walking platforms. Lanterns dangled from simple hooks thrust haphazardly into the walls, providing light where the original sewer electrics had long since failed. Deep sections of the curved brickwork had been hollowed out, creating alcoves with just enough space for ramshackle living spaces. We passed a sea of grimy faces that peered out from the shadows, staring at us with mistrusting eyes. Buckets of waste were stored near at the base of each alcove. The smell of urine and feces was almost unbearable.

“This is awful,” whispered Scarlett as she looked around her.

I had to agree - the living conditions were appalling. All of a sudden I felt guilty of my privilege. As a Guardian I earned a six-figure salary and had my own apartment in a luxurious mansion that could easily house a thousand people. In stark contrast a Pixie mother huddled with her two children under a threadbare blanket, shivering inside a recess that couldn’t have been more than 5 by 7 foot across. Ripped posters of popular bands and old movies adorned the walls of the pitiful abode and a lump of rat meat was cooking on a tiny camping stove, releasing a nauseating aroma. The children shrank into their mother as they saw us.

“What are they?” I heard one of them whisper, confused by the unidentifiable aura our belts gave off.

“I don’t know,” came the reply.

Gabriella gave her sweetest smile and waved at the youngest Elf – a girl with a mop of blonde hair and wide green eyes. The girl momentarily forgot her fear and gave a toothy grin back, her beautiful - but dirty - face lighting up. Delagio gave a wink and placed his marble down on the ledge. The girl reached out for it.

“Freya!” hissed the mother. She seized her daughter’s arm and yanked it away. “Get away from us, whatever you are!” she barked and pulled her children tighter into her embrace, giving us a protective glare until we passed by. Gabriella’s smile faded and Delagio turned his head away, looking sheepish.

This place must be pretty bad if it makes people this mistrusting of others.

We kept walking down the series of tunnels, doing our best to ignore the hollow-eyed stares and frail frames of those we passed. There was an almost endless number of the hovel spaces filled with countless Pandemonians, each as malnourished and poverty stricken as the next.

Further through the passageways the distant sound of music floated towards us and soon afterwards, we heard the sounds of laughing from not far away. A crowd of ten or eleven Pandemonians – a large mix of both Umbra and Luminar - which was an uncommon sight outside of the Alliance – appeared from around a bend. I had to rely on my acute senses to tell them apart, as they all wore brightly coloured overalls and grotesque masks with bulbous noses and garish flares. They were all quite drunk, talking loudly over one another and chuckling at obnoxious jokes. One of them turned to look at me – the mask resembling a pale face that had been stretched to breaking point  - and the searching, yellow eyes of a Bloodseeker stared through the deep hollows. A second later someone in the group said something and the Vampire turned away.