Free THE BAZAAR (The Devany Miller Series) by Jen Ponce

shit. Walking on the ground was like treading on marsh. I kept expecting to put a foot through the ground and fall inside that rainbow-colored oil slick. 
    My stomach roiled. I put my hand out to orient myself, but even my perceptions curved away at odd angles. Things slid by me, things that weren't solid, yet had substance. What would my puke look like against the wavery ground? I fretted I'd soon find out.
    A huff of air made me look up. Tytan stared down at me. "What the hell are you doing?"
    "Getting sick." And I did. And though it was disgusting, at least it looked real. At least it looked substantial.
    "Come on." His hand gripped my arm and he yanked me through the quivering streets, down alleys, wherever it was he had to go. I shut my eyes, letting him guide me. I didn't care as long as I didn't have to look. When I looked, I wanted to heave again.
    Finally, we arrived at a large place—I couldn't call it a mansion, but I guessed it was the Slip equivalent to one—and he pushed me through the door.
    "One moment and I'll set it."
    I kept my eyes shut. I didn't know what he meant and didn't care. "Get me out of here."
    "There." 
    Hard-soled shoes scuffed at the floor, the first real sound since I'd gotten to this forsaken place, and I knew he was once again staring down at me with that vaguely condescending look he wore.
    "You can open your eyes."
    "No thanks."
    "Now." He barked out the word, reminding me I ought to tread carefully around him. He was a demon. 
    I squinted, waited, and then blinked my eyes wide. It was normal. Normal-ish. No wavering walls, no mushy ground. I straightened, my stomach settling. "What did you do? Wait, I don't care. Just, thank you."
    He grunted. "It's costly. Setting an entire manse is difficult, you understand. I expect you to embrace the Slip in its true form. But for now," he raised a brow. "For now I'll make allowances. I'd forgotten how tiresome humans can be." He said this as an afterthought as strode away from me.
    “Hey! I thought you said I wasn't human anymore.” Under my breath, I added, “Bastard.” I pushed myself away from the wall, taking my time as I followed and averting my gaze from the window and the roiling scenery beyond. It made me nauseous. Swallowing, I concentrated on my feet. "You in there?" This to my mental companions.
    The witch is scared. Trapped in Slip once, she says. 
    "Which means she's hiding? Lovely." Although, if Arsinua was as terrified as I was nauseous, I didn't blame her. I made a mental note to ask her how she managed to get trapped here and how she escaped. Later. When I was home, safe in my own bed.
    "Get in here."
    I made a face but followed the sound of Tytan's voice. It led me into a plush room full of black furniture, with black walls and a smell that reminded me of death. Lovely. He took a large, black mirror off the wall. He sat it in the middle of the coffee table and gestured impatiently to the couch. 
    I sunk into the cushions. I should've known hell would have a couch like this. Grunting, I floundered to the edge of the seat and perched there.
    Tytan shook his head, having observed my fight with the couch. I wasn't sure why he was giving me that look; he was the idiot who'd bought the fucking thing. "Done?"
    I flapped my hand at him. Get on with it already.
    "You're to hunt a fleshcrawler for me." He tapped the side of the mirror, then picked up a small glass bottle from the table. He poured a foul smelling liquid onto the surface that bubbled and smoked violently before stilling. As I watched, amazed, a scene materialized on the surface of the liquid. A swamp, it looked like, full of trees with dripping, slimy leaves and tall, silvery grasses glistening with transparent blobs of dew. From under the milky goo that swallowed the bottoms of the trees and lapped against small hillocks of grass, a pale-skinned thing rose up. Its face resembled a bat with a flattened, convoluted nose and large pale ears. Its mouth was crowded with