by Rosie Scott
“I am she,” I repeated, when Benji seemed too shock to move.
“Yes...yes. Well, I am humbled by your presence, Miss Sera. I will request an audience for you with Ali. He should be taking his morning bath right about now, but I can serve refreshments in the meantime.” Benji turned toward the marble home looming above us. “Come with me.”
“My gold,” I heard our guide hiss. I turned around, finding Nyx shoving twenty gold into his palms, before we finally parted ways from the sleazy man.
Benji led us through the door of the large home, where it opened up into a magnificent hall of marble, decorated with statues of all races of men in the midst of battle. Plants of all types sat above decorative pillars, vines of deep green flowing to the white floors, which were polished so intensely they also served as a mirror to both the ceiling and the room's occupants. Large paintings covered marble walls with scenes of landscapes or battles, made of thick oil paints which rose in hills across canvass.
We were led down a large hall and into a sitting room, its large picture window letting us peer directly outside to an extravagant garden. Though the window was simply the lack of a wall, like was the case in most of T'ahal's buildings, it had decorative iron bars that kept anything untoward from coming in, and kept people from going out. I wondered where Ali's slaves were kept, and if they were ever able to enjoy such extravagance. I thought not.
“Can I offer you a lovely wine, perhaps?” Benji asked, bowing slightly at the door he'd led us through.
“Do you have any ale?” Nyx questioned, ever the drinker.
“Oh...why, I believe we keep some in stock. I can fetch some for you.” He glanced around the room at the others, and we all requested different drinks. He promised a quick return, and hurried off through the open archway.
“What a beautiful home you can build off of the backs of others,” Theron mused, his eyes slowly scanning over the beautiful room. We all sat on seats and couches made of the softest, finest fabrics, and stuffed with expensive down.
“It will be impossible to charm him,” Jakan mumbled, frustrated. “This place is crawling with servants and guards.”
It was true. We had passed quite a few of both on our way to this room. I had nearly forgotten Jakan had that ability, but was thankful he was thinking for options as well. We could not turn this situation into one of violence. I needed to maintain a reputation here.
“Let me do the talking,” I said to the Vhiri, my voice low in case we had an eavesdropper outside of the room. “As far as they know, this is an inquiry about a transaction. No more, no less.”
Jakan nodded distractedly, though he wasn't happy about it.
Benji returned with a tray of drinks within a few minutes, serving ale, wine, and teas as we had requested. “Ali has been informed of your presence,” he alerted us, when he stood back up. “He will be ready to meet with you within the hour. He is very pleased to be visited by Seran royalty.” The old man smiled at me.
“The honor is mine,” I replied. It wasn't, not in this situation, but flattery could get one far with the rich. I was happy that I had decided to use my real name here. Perhaps it would gain me favor with Ali and he would be more apt to make a deal with me.
“Please, if you require anything of me during your visit, inform the guards just outside the room. They will fetch me.” Benji bowed again, politely.
“Thank you,” I said, before the old man left.
We drank exquisite wines and rare teas while we waited to be called upon by Ali. If anything else, visiting such a rich man was quite the experience. Despite being raised as royalty myself, I had only ever been used to entertaining other visitors when they came to Sera. Sirius had always had his own diplomats he would send off to do business in the name of Sera, so I had never been able to see what participating in such a visit would be like myself. Ali and his servants knew I was royalty, and they knew I brought gold. That's all that mattered to them, for we were treated well, and Ali ended up hurrying down to meet with us far sooner than his servant Benji had estimated.
Ali was a middle-aged, tanned human with a large gut that spoke of indulgences, and he was dressed in luxurious cream and white colored silks with no armor. He was accompanied by two guards in full gear, who both appeared mostly bored. Ali bowed toward me, freshly bathed and smelling of rich soaps, his thick black beard shining with a recent waxing.
“Kai Sera, it is a pleasure,” he greeted, with a beaming smile.
“The pleasure is mine.” I mimicked his bow. I figured by now that this was a standard pleasant greeting here.
“I am humbled by your visit,” Ali went on, ever the smooth-talker. “Come with me, and we will talk business.” He turned, and my friends and I followed him out of the room, the guards coming behind us. We walked through hallways of marble, past more expensive trinkets and exotic plants. Servants hurried by us in the midst of chores, some carrying loads of fabrics to be washed.
Ali took us up a flight of polished stairs, and into a large room which appeared to be his study. All manner of texts aligned the walls on shelves carved directly out of the marble, and the shiny floors were dotted with expensive, thick rugs. With a sweeping gesture of his hand, Ali welcomed us to sit in his chairs. The guards from earlier stood at either side of the door, keeping watch.
“My servants have said you are interested in buying a slave,” he finally stated, taking a seat in a red chair with a high back and thick cushions. He sat facing the rest of us, with me at the forefront.
“Yes,” I answered him, calculating my words. “I hear you are the one we need to speak to about purchasing Anto.”
“Anto?” Ali burst into laughter. “Then, my friend, it is a good thing you are royalty! His price is the highest of them all.” He hesitated, looking pensive. “Of course, I am assuming you are willing to wait until after his next battle? I stand to win a great deal. The public has been anticipating this battle for a long while.”
I exhaled slowly through my nostrils. “How much are you asking for him?”
“Now? Ten thousand gold.”
I couldn't help but notice a nerve jerk next to my eye at his words. The five of us put together couldn't afford that. “And after the battle?”
“Assuming he wins it, I'd be willing to part with him for five.”
Five thousand. We didn't even have that. I noticed Jakan's nostrils flare from two seats away. “Are you willing to negotiate?”
Ali shook his head. “I'm sorry, friend. He is my best gladiator. I cannot simply give him away.”
“You are aware of his competition?” I said, my gaze even with the slave owner's. “Gavriel will kill him next week, and you will not make a coin.”
Ali dropped his eye contact, if but for a moment. “I am afraid that may be so, but I will still make money off of his name before the show. If I sell him to you beforehand, I will make nothing more. None of my other gladiators stand a chance.”
“Neither does Anto,” I argued. “Gavriel is not human.”
“I do not see your point, friend. Neither is Anto. Very few of my slaves are human, and those who are do not go into battle.”
I was silent a moment, frustrated, my mind darting through options. “Is there no way to encourage you to pull Anto from the fight?”
“There is none.” Ali frowned. “You seem concerned for the slave's very welfare. What is it you plan to do with him once he is yours?”
“Free him,” I replied, simply. He didn't need to know more than that. “Who is Gavriel's owner?” Perhaps, if we found out about the other side of next week's battle, we could prevent it from happening at all.
“He does not have one, friend. He is a gladiator out of blood lust, and pockets every coin.” By the tone of Ali's voice, I could tell this bothered him. Cerin and I exchanged a quick glance. Gavriel's fortune was his own, contrary to Cerin's argument last night. It was further proof he was a god who was doing this for glory.
I looked over to Jakan, who appeared to
be on the verge of tears. He was staying strong like I'd asked him to, though, remaining quiet despite how I knew he felt. It made me even more determined to somehow find a way out of this.
“Can we see your slaves?” I asked Ali, next. If there was no way to talk Anto out of this battle, I needed to see where he was held and figure out a way to free him. I knew Jakan would appreciate being able to see his love for the first time in years.
“You are perhaps interested in another?” He questioned.
“Yes.”
He nodded. “I can take you there. I must change my shoes first.” He looked down toward his expensive shoes, which looked to be made out of the scale of some exotic reptile. “I warn you, the holding cells can be filthy.”
After Ali made the preparations, we followed him and his guards outside of the home, where we further left his property altogether, and trekked down the main road toward T'ahal's castle. The further we walked, the more my stomach sank. Clearly, Anto was kept on royal property here. Breaking him out would not be an option, either, for Ali already knew my real name, and any attempts at freeing him would be traced back to me. I could not afford to squelch my chances with yet another royal family. Not after what happened in Sera. Not when the goals I had for my own life and ambitions had yet to be realized.
I caught Cerin's eye on our way to the castle. He gave me a look by raising one eyebrow which said, We are running out of options.
Instead of leading us to the front gate, Ali and his guards diverted off onto a side path that circled around to the back of the sandstone castle, where a ramp headed down to the basement of the building between two walls which kept the sands from caving in the entrance. Castle guards stood at the gate, curved swords at their belts, though they quickly moved to the side upon seeing Ali.
We were led through a room of guards who were clearly on break, lounging around at tables and eating snacks. Then, we were led down a hallway crawling with guards, and to the dungeons. The dungeons here were much larger than in Sera, for there were many more rows of cells, and the room was expansive enough to make me think it spanned the entire castle.
Ali made a right turn, and led us to a section of the dungeon he claimed was for his slaves. I didn't really hear what he said after that, since Jakan spotted Anto.
“Anto!”
I glanced down the row of cells, my eyes scanning over its occupants. I had never met the man, so at first, I was uncertain as to which cell Jakan would run to. But then, I saw one of the occupants stand, his muscular body moving immediately to the bars of his cell, and pressing against them to try to find Jakan.
I wasn't sure what I expected. Jakan had said Anto lived as a humble blacksmith, and was a good fighter. I had once pictured him as human, maybe as muscular and as large as Bjorn had been. Jakan had never said otherwise, so perhaps that was my own bias forming a picture for my mind to grab ahold of.
No—Anto was no human. The thick fingers wrapped around two bars as the slave waited to see his love after a long absence were a greenish-gray, and the muscles that bulged outward from his chest, neck, and arms alike were much too thick to be naturally human. Anto's face was brutish and even cruel in appearance, two thick, yellowed incisors escaping his mouth, the tips overlapping his upper lip. His long, black hair was pulled into a top knot style, with all but the top of his head shaved. A field of black hair lay across his chest.
Anto was an orc, and a frightening looking one at that. Despite this, his eyes appeared almost human, his irises brown in the midst of white. They glazed over, and a tear escaped his right eye as Jakan collapsed into the bars from the other side. Anto's thick arms came through the bars as much as they could, holding Jakan tightly against them.
“You should not have come,” Anto murmured, though he held onto the Vhiri tightly. His voice was deep and held a naturally gruff edge, making him sound almost animalistic. “But by the gods, I am so happy you did.”
“I love you,” Jakan blurted, trying his best to hold his head against the brute's chest. “I have been trying—”
“Shh...” the orc whispered, before glancing up to us. “Am I free?” He asked Ali, hopefully, as his owner looked upon the scene with new interest.
Ali glanced over to me. “I see you have personal reasons for being here,” he mused. “If you pay the ten grand, he is free to go.”
Anto looked upon me with renewed interest. I knew he was curious as to who I was, and why we were with Jakan. My heart broke into shattered pieces watching the humble man try to comfort Jakan, even as I knew I could not free him.
“I...cannot afford that,” I said, my voice deflated and depressed. Jakan finally burst into tears at my words, and Anto's hopeful look slipped away. He laid his own head against the bars, holding his love as best as he could.
“Then, I am terribly sorry, but I cannot sell him to you.”
My heart pounded in my ears. I knew what it felt like to be apart from Cerin when he was imprisoned, if only for a matter of days, and we had only been friendly at that point. I could not imagine the pain these two men had been through for the past few years.
“This...battle...” I trailed off, watching the two men embrace from through the bars which imprisoned only one. “Is it possible for Anto to have a second?”
Cerin spun his head to look at me. “Kai,” he hissed, concerned.
“A...second?” Ali frowned at me. “You wish for me to throw two of my slaves into the fight, so that I may be an even emptier man by the end of it?”
“No. I wish to fight in Anto's place.”
Everyone was silent. Cerin stared at me as if I were crazy, and Nyx came up to me as if to try to talk me out of it. Anto watched me from his cell, trying to figure me out from his own perspective. I doubted he expected anyone other than Jakan to care he would lose his life next week, and here I was, essentially offering to sacrifice myself for his freedom.
“Kai, you're fucking crazy,” Nyx whispered near my ear, her voice burdened with concern.
“Gavriel will kill Anto. He might kill me. But I am the only one who can defeat him,” I retorted, trying to avoid letting my own anxiety work itself into my voice. “At least I have a chance.”
“What are you talking about?” Nyx protested, tugging at my arm with frustration. I hadn't yet told her of my suspicions that Gavriel was a god. “You saw him fight! You are strong, but you cannot match his physical strength!”
“You're right. I cannot. But he cannot match my magic, and I have ways of countering his strength.” Lowering my voice to Nyx, I added, “I will explain later.” I looked back to Ali. “Well?”
The man stared at me in shock. “Well, I—I don't know. I suppose I would have to send the messengers to Gavriel to see if he accepts this. But...he will kill you, you know. You are royalty, Miss Sera. Surely you do not think you can defeat such a foe.”
“If you are so worried for me, hand Anto's ownership to me now,” I said, testing him.
“As concerned as I am for you, requesting to take part in this fight is your decision, not mine.”
“Kai,” Cerin said again, moving close to me. “Do not do this.” The edges of his voice shook.
“Send your messengers to Gavriel,” I told Ali, ignoring Cerin for now. “Tell him that before he can attempt to fight Anto, Kai Sera wishes to challenge him. He is arrogant. He will not miss the chance to kill me and gain the fame my death would award him. Then, next week, I will fight him, and I will kill him. You will take all proceeds from your souvenirs, and then you will hand Anto's ownership to me.”
Ali hesitated, thinking this through. “You are mad, Kai Sera.”
“I may be mad, but I am also serious. Do we have a deal?”
The man blinked rapidly, caught off guard. The guards beside him exchanged nervous glances. “If Anto were to win, I would make those winnings. What do you offer if you do, indeed, kill him?”
“Anto will not win, and you know it. You will make the same amount next week that you would if he wer
e to fight and die, and you will not suffer the humiliation of defeat.”
Ali's eyes gave me a solid stare. “I want a percentage of your winnings. After all, you want Anto's papers. I will not give them freely.”
“Twenty percent. I will offer you twenty,” I said.
“Seventy,” Ali countered.
“That is seventy more than you would get if I did not risk my life for this,” I retorted, unimpressed.
“And thirty percent less than what I win if Anto fights and succeeds,” the man argued.
“How much gold is at stake here?” I questioned.
“Twenty-five grand,” Ali said. I nearly coughed at hearing the amount. It was much more gold than I would ever need, and way more than I could carry.
“I will offer you sixty percent, then,” I negotiated, my stare unceasing. That would leave me with ten grand of the winnings. “That leaves you with fifteen grand, which is five more than what you're asking for Anto now. Admit it: this is the best deal you will ever make, Ali.”
The man looked over at Anto and Jakan, who were still embracing. Jakan watched me through reddened eyes, even as the orc slowly stroked at his hair.
“Fine. It is a deal,” Ali finally breathed, looking back to me. “Let us head back to my home. I will draw up a contract, and I will send out my messengers tonight to deliver our proposal to Gavriel.”
“Wait.” The orc's voice called my attention back to the cell, where Jakan held onto the slave with all his might. “Can I have a moment with Kai Sera?”
Ali sighed. “Yes, but do not take your time. I have things to do to get this settled.”
I walked toward the cell, where the orc watched me approach, his eyes betraying intense admiration for me. I said nothing at first, waiting for him to speak.
“I appreciate your selflessness, but you don't know what you are getting into,” Anto said, his voice humbled and low. “I have seen Gavriel fight. Something about him isn't right. He can be hurt mid-battle and still come out unscathed.”
“Don't worry—I know. I've also seen him fight, and I've seen his powers. I know what he is.”