“Yes...master.” I gritted my teeth.
“Very well. Travis, you will remain out here with her. She obviously cannot be trusted.” Balthazar handed the chain to Travis, who nodded.
After the two vampires went inside the tent, I wandered closer to see if I could hear anything. Travis watched me intently but didn’t make a move to stop me. He was a strange fella, this Travis, but as long as he didn’t blow our cover or endanger me, I had no issue with him. Hopefully. Even so, I missed the comforting weight of my blades and wished I had them with me.
The tent muted anything happening inside, and I stalked away. I paced the space in front of the tent flap, feeling stares on me like ants crawling across my skin. Jason looked worse by the second, and each time he tried to enter the tent, he bounced back. I supposed it wasn’t surprising that whoever was inside wanted to retain as much privacy as money could buy. Warding away ghosts wasn’t hard if you knew how.
“Slave, you may enter now.”
Lackey opened the flap from the inside, and I saw nothing but inky darkness waiting for me. Is the other person inside also a vampire, hence the low lighting? They could see in the dark, but my vision was only a fraction better than a human’s. As I stepped forward, Travis released my chain, and it brushed against my bare foot. The cold metal caused me to flinch and lift my foot away from it.
“I see you are fairly new. Not used to the touch of your chain, are you?” a deep baritone voice insinuated as I stepped inside the darkened space, one that tugged at my memory.
Why does it sound so hauntingly familiar?
“You certainly did get a prize. How exactly did you say you came across her?”
“Her parents requested the assistance of my coven for protection while she grew up. Unfortunately, they allowed her quite a few liberties in her youth. I’ve found that she’s too much of a project for me to take on, as my coven is very new.”
It was all so close to the truth that I flinched.
“Have something to say, little duckie?”
Icy fear froze the blood in my veins. The man I met when I first arrived in town called me that, and again when I saw him in the Mystic bar. That was why his voice sounded so familiar. Did he remember me? What were those words he said to me? Fuck, I can’t remember. The more I chased the memory, the faster it slipped from my mind.
“Come closer, duckie.”
My nerves felt raw hearing him call me that, but I did as he asked. The lights in the room flared as I moved further inside the tent. The interior had been glamoured to look like an office rather than a tent in the middle of nowhere. The ground was still packed-hard dirt, but the walls looked as if they were made from sturdy wood. Oil lamps were mounted around the room, their flames flaring and becoming brighter as I approached the buyer.
He was seated behind a heavy desk, as if this was just a regular day job, and he was doing his paperwork. The thought made my magic flare, which caused a sudden spike of pain in my veins. It was like getting hit with a powerful volt of electricity but inside my bloodstream. He stood and walked around the desk to meet me halfway. His willowy frame and neatly combed blond hair sparked signs of familiarity.
Stopping in front of him, I tried to smother the smirk that crossed my features when my chain swung forward and hit his legs. It wasn’t hard enough to actually hurt, and he didn’t give an outward reaction.
The buyer responded, “I find that being an aggressive male gets me little results. My acquisitions never know what to expect from me at first, but they learn. If you like, I could train her for you.”
“No, I don’t have time to waste on an unruly blood slave. I need one I can use and trust now, since my coven is working hard on finding a traitor. We need a necromancer who will follow orders, and compliance is not quick to acquire,” Balthazar said.
I hated the way they spoke as if I wasn’t there, but I had to keep my mouth shut.
The buyer laughed under his breath as he checked over me again. He saw too much; his gaze was all-consuming and very sharp. This man wasn’t someone who saw only what was on the surface, which worried me. I didn’t expect someone this savvy being in charge. But the others had to know what I would be walking into. They believed in me.
“Well, she is certainly a find. While I trust your word that she’s a Curse Breaker, I would like to confirm it. Then we will discuss the numbers. I expect a sixty-five, thirty-five split of the money.”
“Forty-sixty, and I will not go lower than that. While I appreciate you moving such a sensitive piece of merchandise, as I stated, my coven is fairly new. I will not sacrifice their needs for this. I’d sooner pass her over to another coven to forge an alliance,” Balthazar said, reaching for my arm as if to leave.
“I’ll agree to your terms, if you allow me to keep her in my possession until after my client has decided to pick her up. Think of it as collateral,” the broker said.
“I agree.” Balthazar held out his hand, and the elusive broker reached around me to take it.
“Delightful.” The smile that graced the other man’s face said it was anything but delightful. “Willow, come in.” The buyer didn’t take his gaze from mine, and I saw the hint of fire in his eyes. A fire I recognized well. The same one that lived inside of my roommate.
A small figure with white-blonde hair stepped into the room. Her hood was down this time, and I saw the blue flames rise in her eyes. She looked like the picture-perfect view of compliance. Controlling my reaction, I kept my sights on the broker. While I was unsure of her motives, I certainly didn’t trust his.
“This is my daughter, and she is the best at what she does. Willow can detect if your blood slave is what you claim her to be.”
“Is this really necessary?” Balthazar argued.
“It is. Willow?”
Willow stepped forward and touched my shoulder. Her eyes flared with power, but other than that, she didn’t act like she knew me. The blood rushed into my ears, blocking out all other sounds.
“She’s a Curse Breaker,” Willow confirmed, peeking up at me with tears filling her eyes. Before stepping back from me, she blinked them away and schooled her features into an expressionless mask.
“Excellent! I accept the terms. As of now—” he snapped his fingers, and blue flames formed a band around my wrist, “—she belongs to me. I will contact you within a week.”
Chapter 24
The next couple hours were more stressful than the night I discovered Abel had gone missing. The broker didn’t offer a name or anything to call him by, but Balthazar and he spoke of what would happen next. I would be kept at an undisclosed location until the time of the auction. The broker had to build a list of potential buyers and gauge interest. Since they were both in it for the money—supposedly—they wanted to get the best client list that would include the highest bidders.
The broker sent Willow away once she confirmed my status, and I was made to stand exactly where I was. The cool fire from the magic-made cuffs on my wrists flared each time I tried to move or when my powers flared. Balthazar sat in the chair across from the desk while the broker took his seat behind it. He kept his focus trained on Balthazar, but I couldn’t help but think he was watching me the entire time.
Did he sense this was all a ploy? He couldn’t see through our plan, could he? Worries flitted through my head at one hundred miles per hour, but as they concluded their business and it became apparent that Balthazar would soon leave, my panic increased further. Was I ready for this? Then I thought of Jason, who couldn’t be in the tent with me because of the spells. He didn’t get a choice when he was sold. He had no one waiting on the sidelines to swoop in and save him.
Once business had been concluded, the broker stood and produced a cellphone through a flare of magic. It looked like a burner phone, and I wondered exactly what a wisp’s magic entailed.
“I will contact you when the deal is done to provide you with the details of the transaction. Thank you for your business.” The broker nodded
his head and handed the phone to Balthazar.
Balthazar followed suit and took the phone, and then turned and left the tent without a second look. It was something we’d discussed, the fact he would need to leave without looking back. No attachments. We were a business deal from the first place to the last.
“You took that remarkably well for someone in your position,” the broker remarked once the flap was pulled back over the entrance.
The silence in the room felt deafening. How do I answer him correctly?
“Speak plainly, duckie. That is your one freedom here.”
“I doubt I have any freedoms here,” I muttered, unable to help myself.
“Ah, there is the spark I knew was inside of you. So complacent since you arrived here, yet your eyes track every movement with a fiery rebellion. I see why he was eager to unload you onto me. But don’t fret, duckie. I will make sure you know your place.”
The broker stepped out from around his desk and circled me, inspecting me from all angles. I fought the urge to turn around once he stepped behind my back. Cold fingers pulled the hair off my neck and laid it over my shoulder. My breath hitched as my fear escalated. I had kept the brand hidden from those closest to me, yet he zeroed in on it immediately.
“I’m glad to see he at least had the sense to do this.”
As he pressed a sharp nail into the design of my brand, blinding pain forced my knees to buckle. I screamed until my throat was raw and fell to the ground on weakened knees. He took his hand off the magical seal; the only sound in the tent was my heavy breathing. Sweat dotted my forehead, and my mouth went completely dry.
The broker leaned in close, his breath moving the hair around my face. “Let me make one thing very clear, duckie. I will see that fire extinguished, if that is the desire of your new master, by any means necessary.”
He pressed his finger against the brand again. With my strength depleted, I couldn’t stand the pain any longer. My vision faded.
****
The feeling of waking on a concrete slab with gravel that jutted into my back would have been comforting. It wouldn’t have lulled me into a false sense of security. Instead, I slowly came into consciousness with a silky-soft pillow under my head and cool, crisp sheets on my legs. Rubbing my feet against the sheets, a quiet moan built in the back of my throat. Maybe it was all a dream. The painful press of my brand that knocked me out cold; the broker, who also happened to be Willow’s father; the hungry way Balthazar kept sneaking glances at me.
Instead, as I opened my eyes and blinked through the haziness, I realized this wasn’t the apartment I shared with Willow.
As I slowly came face-to-face with reality again, I checked my wrists and peeked down at my ankles. Everything came back clear. No shackles, either of the metal or blue flame variety. Only the staurolite band on my arm and onyx ring on my thumb remained. I touched the black stone, finding it to be cool to the touch with no magic pulsing from it. Letting out a breath of relief, I swung my legs off the bed. My lips twisted in a grimace when I realized I still wore the ridiculous slip.
The room was mostly bare. The bed was on a raised platform frame. Out of curiosity, I kicked it, and it remained exactly in place. Bolted down...good to know. A desk sat on the opposite wall. What purpose does it serve? I wondered.
There were no windows and only one door, which I was sure was locked. The walls were painted a soft green color that was probably meant to be calming.
“Fuck, it took forever to find your room,” Jason grumped as he stepped through the walls.
Well, it was good to know he was able to slip past any wards the broker had enacted. His tent had been smaller and easier to fortify, but if this room was in a bigger house, it would be harder to protect.
“Do you know where we are?”
“No, unfortunately.” Jason flickered, and I realized how hard it was for him to remain in this space.
“Are you all right?”
“Not really. It feels like I’m losing my mind.”
Jason flickered again, and I realized I needed to send him away. If he tried to stay with me, it might scramble his brain. Ghosts were more delicate than we made them out to be. Forcing themselves into a place warded against them could tear their minds apart if they weren’t strong enough to resist it.
“Leave, Jason. I’ll be good for a couple days. Tell the others where I’m at, but tell them to be safe,” I said, infusing courage and confidence into my voice.
Pushing a bit of my power into the command, he opened his mouth to resist before he was pushed out of the room. I felt his presence growing more distant by the second. Then, silence settled.
****
I’d lived through a week of torture with the vampire coven in a setting a hell of a lot worse than this. At least the bed was nice, and the room was kept at a decent temperature. But during my other confinement, at least I had someone to banter with. Even in those hellish dungeons, I had Willow. Uncertain how much time had elapsed since I first arrived, I assumed by my sleeping and waking pattern that at least a day had passed.
Throughout my ordeal in the tent, my bladder was empty without any food or drink, but as I woke, it burned with a desire to be relieved. I went to the door and pounded on it for what felt like hours, until my fists were sore. Hearing no movement outside, I sat on the floor next to the door, knocking my fist against it every so often.
After an indeterminate amount of time, I heard footsteps outside, and my heart pounded. I pulled away from the door and waited until the lock turned over, and my eyes flicked up. I scrambled to my feet when the door opened a crack, revealing Willow’s slight frame as she squeezed inside. When her eyes landed on me, her shoulders relaxed.
“Hi.”
“Is that how we’re going to play this?” I asked, folding my arms and trying not to think about my screaming bladder.
“I’m so sorry, Rowan.” Willow stepped closer with outstretched hands, as if she wanted to grab mine.
“Can we please, for the love of fuck, put this on hold for just two minutes? I need to pee. Badly,” I groaned, twisting my legs together.
Realization dawned, and she nodded before running back to the door. She poked her head out and looked both ways before waving me forward. Opening the door wider, Willow nudged her head for me to follow. I did, but only because it was a matter of urgency.
After a quick trip to the bathroom, Willow led me back to my room, and we found ourselves back in the same position as before. Willow didn’t look up at me at first.
“I don’t hate you, but I want to understand what’s happening,” I finally said, breaking the silence.
“My father, the man who is going to auction you, is named Euan. He’s a dangerous man, Rowan. If you came for me, it was stupid. He...” Willow glanced at the door as if expecting him to come busting through it and catch us red-handed.
“It wasn’t only for you, Willow. Did you know he was doing this? That he might be connected to the murdered Curse Breakers?”
“He’s not the only person who sells them, but yes, I knew. He was the one who sold me to the same vampires who took you. Technically, I was on loan to them. He had accidentally sold them a dud, and in exchange, he offered my services to them for some time as repayment.”
It didn’t escape my attention that she was being intentionally vague about how long she was supposed to serve them, but right now, we needed to stay on task. Make our next move.
“I need to find out who he’s been selling the Curse Breakers to and who has been killing them.”
“Rowan, you don’t understand what you’ve gotten yourself into. The people in those auctions don’t show their faces.” Willow crossed her arms and rubbed them vigorously as if trying to chase off the threat that loomed over us both.
“Yes, but if we can spark their interest, if I can get a friend in there with me, he might be able to get a memory or two back. I might be sold to the same person who killed him.”
“No! My father will
drug you. That’s how he does it. He strips everything away from you and slowly tears you down to nothing. Takes away your pride, your dignity...anything you hold dear.”
Her words should have spiked fear in me, but instead, all I felt was a sense of urgency fueled by the inferno that grew hotter and stronger inside me. I couldn’t leave others to this fate. Not when my fears hung over my head just waiting to come down.
“It’s too late,” I answered.
Her blue eyes filled with tears. The tip of her nose turned red. “You’re right. I promise to help you anyway I can, but you have to trust me. No matter what,” Willow pleaded.
“I trust you.” She helped save me once before, and I’d trust her with my life again. Anxiety filtered through me. I had to trust my gut on this one, even if my stubborn mind wanted to reject her word.
Chapter 25
Time stood still in the gilded cage, and the lack of distractions brought me to my knees on what I assumed was the third day. It simultaneously felt like seconds and years since I’d spoken with Willow. With nothing to distract me from my hunger or thirst, I started to pound my fists on the door again. I suspected the others didn’t have to go through this waiting period. Since they were just taken off the streets, the slavers knew they weren’t already slaves.
The quietness of everything is what drove me insane. I didn’t know how long I sat with my back to the wall, knocking. Eventually I slept, waking with a kink in my neck and my back feeling like it had aged about eighty years. Rubbing the grime from my eyes, I blinked and straightened my back. The lack of food and water caused my head to pound.
In my delirium, I swore I heard water sloshing around in a bottle. Pressing the heel of my palm into my throbbing eye, I glanced up to see none other than Euan himself sitting on the bed. He wore a tailored suit, his hair was slicked back, and he looked ready to step out to go to an important meeting.
“Allow me to get out of your way,” I greeted him snidely as I used the door as a brace to help myself stand.
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