The Sleeping King (28 page)

Kendrick's next stop was a weapon smith's establishment. He went through the same routine, laying down two long swords, a beautifully inlaid bow, a short sword, and a pair of jeweled daggers on the counter for sale. This time it was Cicero who pulled a face at the final price.

However, Kendrick snatched up the coins hurriedly and headed for what appeared to be the worst neighborhood in Dupree. His destination was a large, run-down warehouse built of rotting wood.

Cautiously, she and Cicero followed Kendrick inside … to a slave auction of the worst possible kind. The slaves were filthy and half-starved looking, chained together in tight gangs of men, women, and children of various races. The slavers yelled harshly and treated their product little better than sheep, prodding at them with long canes, and striking them if they disobeyed. It sickened Raina to see it. The slavers here were white tiger rakasha and looked none too reputable. Even Cicero wrinkled his nose in distaste.

“Those are Kithmar slavers,” he muttered to her. “Thieves, cutthroats, and mercenaries for hire when they're not slaving. They're one of the few changeling clans to join the Empire. I heard that they were royalty among their kind at one time, but I find it hard to credit.”

“What is the story on those men over there?” she asked, gesturing toward a pair of well-dressed humans with prominent snake tattoos on their forearms. One of the men appeared to have a bodyguard, a burly troll born—part man, part troll. The other was accompanied by a beautiful young woman.

Kendrick muttered scornfully, “Those are Anton's lackeys. The one with the troll born lackey is Bogatyr, the Dupree Entertainer's Guild Master. He's probably here on the hunt for combatants for the Diamond.”

She'd heard plenty about Diamond arenas, but her parents had never allowed her to attend a spectacle at one. They deemed the armed combat and gambling far too violent for a young girl's sensibilities.

Kendrick continued, “The other man is Kenzarr. The Dupree Slaver's Guild Master. That's his daughter with him. Mistress Richelle Devereaux. She's also with the Slaver's Guild.”

Raina started to ask Kendrick what could possibly bring him to a place like this, but she had her answer as soon as she turned. He'd moved over to a row of slaves and was speaking with two young janns, a male and a female with the swirled markings of the elements on their skin. Brown stone coloring dominated in the big, muscular youth with a touch of red fire coloring, whereas the female was heavily blue water marked, with only a hint of stone coloring her visible flesh. As the girl moved, a striking iridescence shone in her water markings.

Kendrick moved toward the nearest Kithmar, a female, and Raina sidled closer to hear the conversation.

“… willing to buy those two jann now and forego the auction block. What price for them?”

She could not hear the Kithmar's growled answer, but dismay was clear on Kendrick's features as he turned away from the slaver. Kendrick rejoined her and Cicero without comment. They waited through sales of a dozen slaves before Kendrick's male jann acquaintance was shoved up roughly onto the auction block.

The bidding was more spirited than it had been on any previous slaves. Apparently, his youth, health, and the known talent of janns for magic made him valuable. Not to mention his obvious physical strength. His brawny body was wreathed in muscles that made him look as strong as an ox.

Kendrick entered the bidding and refused to be topped. Clearly, he was determined to have this particular slave. Raina suspected that the fellow bidding up the price was in cahoots with the Kithmar, and she tried to tell Kendrick that, but he would not listen to a word she said, so intent was he on winning the auction. Finally, when the price had risen to triple what any other slave had gone for so far, the auctioneer declared the sale.

Kendrick sighed in relief. But as he counted out his coins to the slaver who came to give him the jann's leash, despair crossed his face. The elemental fellow's leash was passed to Kendrick, who immediately handed it over to the jann.

“I don't have enough left to buy Marikeen if she goes for a fraction as much as you.”

The jann replied bitterly, “She'll go for double or more than I did. I heard the slavers mumbling last night of marking her for Anton's harem and making him hand over top price for her.”

Kendrick frowned. “Maybe we can work that to our advantage.” He rushed off to speak with one of the Kithmar, leaving Raina and Cicero standing with the collared and slave-marked jann.

“Uhh, hello,” she said awkwardly. “I'm Raina. And this is Cicero.”

“Eben,” the jann replied shortly, his attention on Kendrick.

What did one say to a slave? Particularly one who was so brusque and seemingly unimpressed by his predicament?
So. How did you come to be enslaved?
Or,
I'm sorry your life is ruined. I hope you have a happy slavery
. Stymied, she chose silence.

Kendrick returned and announced under his breath, “I gave them the rest of my gold in return for their promise to wait a week before selling your sister to Anton. I told them I'd pay double what he offers for slave girls of her ilk.”

“And they agreed?” Eben asked quickly.

“Aye. One week. That should be enough time to go home, explain what happened to my father, get the gold we need, and find the slavers.”

Eben nodded. “Thanks be for my rescue, at any rate.”

Kendrick replied, “Don't worry overmuch about Marikeen. The slavers won't mistreat her or mark her. She's too valuable unmarred and healthy.”

Raina glanced over at the jann girl worriedly. Apparently, Marikeen had come to the same conclusion as Kendrick, for she looked supremely unconcerned. She was not chained with the other slaves and had been given a stool to sit upon. Her ankles were chained, but with fleece-covered shackles that would not rub her skin raw.

Kendrick tried to speak to her, no doubt to let her know he was working on securing her release, but three male Kithmar formed a wall and refused to let him approach her. She smiled jauntily at him and her brother, however.

Raina had to give Kendrick credit for his efforts to secure his friends' releases. She'd misjudged him, an unusual mistake for her. Or perhaps it was this new view from the bottom of society looking up that had wrongly colored her initial impression of the impetuous young noble.

As soon as they left the warehouse, Kendrick used his belt knife to slice the heavy leather collar off Eben's neck. Raina breathed a sigh of relief along with Eben.

Kendrick commented sourly, “Yon ritual slave mark may not prove so easy to remove, my friend. Let us try, though, shall we?”

Kendrick led the party, now increased by Eben's presence, deeper into the vast capital city to a huge square dominated by a single gigantic guild hall. It was painted a rich royal blue and accented with a gold stars-and-comets motif. It took up the whole of a city block, and she could only stare at its palatial dimensions. She had never seen the like before.

Raina was careful to completely power down her magic so that not even a hint of glow remained about her hands. The last thing she needed was for this bunch to snatch her off the street and demand that she serve them.

Funny how fast she'd begun thinking like a peasant. Her reluctance to reveal her magic begged the question of how many peasants with a latent talent for magic hid in the countryside, never developing their skill rather than serve the Empire. For a mage, the only source of training and advancement was usually within the Imperial Mage's guild—or for those with healing magic, the Heart.

She supposed, though, that life under the thumb of a guild was preferable to scraping and starving for most people. And after all, what other choice was there? The Empire was pervasive, all-knowing and all-powerful. She had not realized just how much so until she'd left isolated little Tyrel, tucked away on the edge of nowhere and barely touched by the Kothites and their empire.

She listened with interest as Kendrick inquired about having Eben's slave mark removed from his right cheek. Apparently, his chain links would require a second ritual to be taken off. Seventy gold was the price quoted to perform the ritual and provide the components from the guild's stash. Ritual components were various items magical in nature whose power was drained by a trained mage to achieve a particularly difficult magical effect.

“And the cost if I provide the components?” Kendrick asked, sounding taken aback.

Twenty gold was quoted for the casting alone. While Kendrick explained he would have to return home to gather the components and gold, Raina tried to contain her shock. She'd secretly been training to do ritual magic for years, and she'd had no idea the skill was worth so much. Mayhap working for a guild would not be so bad if they would share a reasonable portion of her earnings with her. She dared not ask the Mage's Guild man any questions, though, lest she draw too much attention of the wrong kind to herself. There must be an indirect means of finding out the guild pay structures.

“We make haste for my father's home,” Kendrick announced to her as they emerged from the guild building “You and your man are welcome to spend the night there while you get your bearings in the city,” he offered.

Raina glanced over at Cicero for his opinion, and he nodded slightly. It was never a bad thing to travel dangerous streets in large parties with multiple swords at hand. Not to mention Kendrick's noble status would serve to protect them from rude soldiers or roving slavers looking to grab victims illegally.

She declared, “To your home then, my lord.”

 

CHAPTER

13

Will stared, slack jawed, as the
Tough Knut
rounded a lazy bend in the river and, without warning, the great capital city of Dupree sprawled before him. It covered the entire valley, from hilltop to hilltop, arcing around the wide blue harbor toward which the river flowed. Buildings seemed built on top of buildings, crowding one another nearly as tightly as people packed the streets. He'd never seen a tenth so many people in one place before, not even on the largest market days in Fort Southwatch.

“What business on Urth could so many people have all in the same place?” he demanded.

“Bumpkin,” Rosana declared.

He scowled sharply at her. She might be right, but she did not have to point it out so bluntly. He pitched in to help throw the heavy mooring lines ashore and the captain clapped his shoulder in gruff thanks. Will and Roan Ironknot had struck up a friendship of sorts over the course of the voyage downriver. Will found the Kelnor's no-nonsense view of the world to be not far from his own forest-raised way of thinking.

“Safe travels to ye, boy. Don' forget, now. If'n ye got troubles, ye've but to ask me kind for aid. Tell 'em an Ironknot said you's good people.”

Will replied, “If you ever reach the end of the Southwatch Road, ask after Ty the cobbler and tell him Will said to show you his finest blade work.” Stars willing, Will's father would be there to fulfill the request.

“Done.” They grabbed each other's forearms in the dwarven tradition while engaging in a mutual back thumping that Will was certain would leave bruises on him. He leaped ashore and turned to offer Rosana his hand.

“I can jump myself,” she declared.

“I'm sure you can,” he replied patiently, “but my mother would skin me for not offering to assist you.”

The belligerently independent gypsy actually reached out and took his outstretched palm. Her hand was small and soft in his and the warmth of her touch startled him. Her gaze snapped up to his, and her eyes were wide and surprised.

“Thanks be,” she murmured as she stepped daintily ashore.

He mumbled something incoherent and was saved from having to say more by Roan tossing their packs across to them. He grunted under the impact. Cursed dwarf didn't know his own strength. Shouldering both packs, Will turned to follow Rosana down the long dock to the pier.

But at the end of the dock, a nasty surprise met them. An intensely officious-looking soldier blocked their way, announcing, “We have received word of a fugitive pair, a man and a girl who fled soldiers upriver two days past and departed by barge. Are you that pair?”

Will mostly forgot what a tiny thing Rosana was, due to the size of her personality. But she barely reached this Imperial soldier's shoulder as she drew up straight and replied formally, “I am on official Heart business, sir, and you block my way.”

“Are you the pair who fled my men?”

Uh-oh. His men? This is some sort of senior trooper then?
Will dived in to smooth the storm gathering on the soldier's brow. “I assure you, sir. We would never flee the rightful authority of the Imperial Army. We travel under the auspices of a Heart writ, which my companion will be more than glad to produce for your perusal.” He threw a warning glance at Rosana that exhorted her to mind her tongue and her manners.

Scowling, she rummaged in her pouch and pulled out the letter from the Heart sister. The soldier took it and read it quickly.

“You're not them. I'm looking for a human girl and an elf. This says here you bear important tidings. What is your news?” he demanded.

“Did I not already tell you it was Heart business?” she snapped.

Will grimaced. While she might technically be within her rights to tell a soldier to keep his big nose out of a Heart matter, the practical reality was that Anton's legion trumped all other Imperial agencies in the colonies in actual power.

“Heart business is Imperial business. And Imperial business is
my
business, young healer.” The menace in the soldier's voice belatedly seemed to register on Rosana.

“And who might you be, sir?” she asked a trifle more cautiously.

“I am Captain Krugar. If there is any news that affects the safety and security of Dupree, it will end up on my desk. What is it you plan to report with such urgency that the Heart will pass on to me, anyway? Have there been more orc attacks?”