The Binding

Chapter Twenty-Five

The smells were intoxicating. A barrage of spices spun in the air like a whirling dervish. Sria had wanted to wander through the Friday marketplace, and we decided to accompany her. I was delighted and dazzled by the wealth of scents and colors. Stalls had been set up along the streets. Bougainvillea vines dipped and swayed from the buildings, dropping deep burgundy petals like drops of wine on the people hawking piles of fruits, vegetables, spices, trinkets, and even cheap clothing.

Tightly woven baskets cluttered the tables in yellow, gold, orange, russet, blue, black, pink, and green. They were filled with every spice I'd ever heard of and many I hadn't. Nutmeg, paprika, peppers, teas, nuts, oregano, cumin, curry, and more varieties of saffron than I knew existed.

I felt a tug on my elbow and looked down to see a young girl holding out a half dozen Nazar. The blue amulets chimed sweetly as the glass clanked together. She said something in Turkish, and I shook my head.

"She's selling them," Ezra said suddenly by my side, "to protect you from the evil eye."

"Maybe we could use some of that."

"It's not anyone's eyes I'm concerned about." I turned back toward the girl. The blue amulets varied in size from a small coin to the size of a saucer. I lifted one as she smiled, handing it to me. The blue glass felt cool against my skin, and it fit neatly in my palm. Wrinkling my nose at Ezra, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a bill. She bobbed and smiled quickly before turning to run back to another stall, arms and legs flailing with exuberance.

I slipped the glass disk into my back pocket and walked toward where Sria and Yisu were huddled together. Yisu had her nose pressed less than an inch from a large cluster of dried red peppers hanging from a post while Sria scanned half a dozen kinds of saffron. An old woman with a bright green and yellow headscarf eyed them expectantly.

Ezra moved next to Sria, haggling with the woman while Yisu and I wandered down to the end of a long row of stalls. I smelled pickled vinegar and looked for its source. I finally spotted a square tub filled with marinating grape leaves. The stool behind the plastic tubs and buckets was empty. Where was the owner? Yisu, needing to smell everything, dipped her head to breathe in the scent. Didn't vinegar just smell like vinegar?

Something stung my face, and I flinched as small shards of stone flew out from the wall next to me. Another small crater exploded next to my head just as something yanked roughly at my shirt. I crumpled to the ground, smacking my jaw on the stall's countertop. A crowd of people moved lazily in front of us, oblivious. A long thin thorn from a bougainvillea branch bit obnoxiously at my shoulder, and I ducked closer to Yisu to get away from it.

"We have to move, there's too much sunlight here. There's shade down there," she pointed in a sharp gesture with her chin. "We can fade."

"I don't know how."

She half groaned, and half snarled and grabbed my arm. We darted quickly into a crowd of people that had stopped to browse next to a stall selling fresh honey. Her fingers dug into my arm and pressed the bones together. I fought the urge to shake her off. We ducked and skirted past the stall then flew into a narrow walkway between two buildings. About three feet wide, there was only about a foot of clearance past my shoulders. I turned and walked sideways, keeping my back close to the wall behind me.

Yisu crouched down, and I wrapped my fingers around her arm. "Stay behind me."

She glared up at me with venom. "I'm not the one who needs to be protected."

"Yes, but they probably don't know that."

She blinked and stepped back. "Right," she said with a wicked smile and slid behind me.