Fires of prophesy ms-2

by Brian S. Pratt

  “Doing it for Cassie?” James asks, trying to keep the smile off his face.

  Nodding his head, he says, “She just keeps going on about how nice you look. So, I thought if I did it too, she would be happy.”

  “No problem,” James replies. “Just wait here and I’ll get my stuff.”

  “Thanks,” he says, relief evident in his voice.

  Going back to the wagon, he grabs his kit and then returns to where Tinok is waiting. Showing him what to do, he holds the mirror while Tinok runs the knife over his face, removing what little hair he has. When he’s done, he runs his hand over his now smooth face and says, “Thanks a lot.”

  “Glad to help,” James assures him.

  He watches as Tinok goes back over and sits next to Cassie trying to get her to see his newly shaven face, without letting on that he wants her to. She, unfortunately, has no clue about what he just did and he’s crestfallen when she doesn’t immediately recognize his efforts.

  James just smiles and shakes his head at Tinok’s attempts to get her to notice. Replacing his kit back in the wagon, he goes over and joins them. The rest of the evening, Tinok continues trying to gain Cassie’s attention until finally taking her hand and rubbing it along his jaw line.

  Her eyes open wide as she finally realizes what he’s done and he at last gets the praise and attention that he’s been wanting.

  Before they fall asleep that night, James hears the hoof beats of the soldier’s horses as they leave, heading to the north.

  The following morning before they head out, they fill their barrels at the inn’s well, which only costs them a couple coppers. They also find out that Korazan is about two more days to the south. Eager to get there, they set a quick pace all that day, until having to stop for the night along the road.

  Shortly after starting the following morning, they pass through a village with not much more than huts and goat herds. The people there don’t seem too friendly, they just hurry out of their way, glaring at them as they pass. Having no reason to stop, they continue on through and soon the village disappears behind them.

  For the rest of the day, they’re all fairly quiet as they ponder the likelihood of rescuing their friends from the hands of the slavers. Jiron pushes them onward, impatient whenever they must stop in order to water and feed the horses.

  James is anxious too, hoping Miko has survived the trip down.

  When the sun is high in the sky, they begin to see a large lake in the distance. “Tears of the Empress,” Roland says.

  “What?” asks James.

  “The water there,” he replies, “they call it ‘The Tears of the Empress’. Don’t know why.”

  “Interesting,” James says.

  “Korazan is situated next to it, probably on the other side,” he says.

  “Good,” Jiron exclaims.

  As they follow the road around the lake, they can see numerous fishing boats out upon it. From the smell in the air, James figures it to be fresh water. The road follows the shoreline, curving around until they begin to see a large city appearing on the shore ahead of them. Korazan.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The snap of the lash across his back wakes Miko from another restless, dream-filled night. He quickly gets to his feet before the lash strikes again and looks around at the others in the slave line being kicked or lashed awake. There are a number of empty spots along the lines where those who were unable to keep up are no longer with them. He tries not to think about them, lying dead in shallow graves along the road.

  He remembers with anguish one old timer who collapsed in line and was lashed to get moving before they realized he was already dead. They had a couple of the other captives in line dig a hole in the ground to put him in. Thankfully, he was spared that duty.

  The first night they stopped was the worst. His body ached from the long march and his mind was dizzy from the heat, as well as the lack of food and drink. But that wasn’t what had made it so horrible. After they stopped and everyone had been fed and given water, the slaver returned to the girl who had insisted that she wasn’t a slave and removed her from the line. She screamed the entire way as they took her to one of the tents they erected. The memory of her screams and cries as they echoed through the night still continue to haunt him. No one got any sleep that night, even after her screams had finally stopped, several hours later.

  The next morning when he was awakened by the lash, he saw the girl had already been returned to her place in line. One eye was blackened and multiple bruises showed on every part of her body that wasn’t covered up. There was a vacant look in her eye and when given food she wouldn’t eat. Given water, she wouldn’t drink.

  When the line made ready to move, she still remained sitting on the ground. Two slavers came over to her and proceeded to whip her until she came back to her senses and stood up. Once she was on her feet, crying with tears streaming down her face, one of the slavers steps in front of her and says loudly enough so everyone can hear him, “Are you a slave?”

  A barely audible, “Yes,” escapes her lips.

  The lash strikes her across the shoulders and he just glares at her. “Yes, master!” she cries out loudly.

  Nodding, the slaver returns back to the front of the line by the wagon. Everyone in the slave line is quiet, unable to even look at the ravished, punished girl.

  Miko shudders at the memory as he gets his bowl of food and cup of water to drink. He hungrily consumes it all, wanting more, but knowing better to ask. After all the bowls and cups are collected, they get moving.

  He can’t remember how long he’s been walking in the line, the days are a blur of pain and exhaustion. The only thing keeping him moving is the certainty that James will come. He will! he insists to himself.

  It’s early in the afternoon when a commotion draws his attention to the front of the line. Looking up, he sees them pointing to a large body of water coming into view ahead. A large city sits on its shore.

  “Korazan,” announces one of the slavers. “There you will be placed at auction and sold to your new masters.”

  A hushed silence falls upon all of them as they continue marching toward Korazan, dreading what fate may befall them there.

  Every last person in line is quiet when they pass through the gates of Korazan. Miko looks around at the people in the streets and notices that they don’t even look at them there in the slave lines. It’s almost as if they aren’t even people to them.

  They’re taken through to a large complex at the edge of town, holding pens for those awaiting the auction block. There, Miko is removed from his line and the slavers begin separating the captives by age and sex. He’s herded into a holding pen with other boys and young men.

  Several fights break out by those being separated from wives and children, but in the end they go where they’re told, usually with blood running down their backs from the numerous lashings required to subdue them.

  Once they’ve been in their pen for awhile, one of the lads a few years older than Miko comes over to him and says in a whisper, “We gotta get out of here!”

  Miko just looks at him and asks, “How?”

  “Rush the guard, or something,” he says.

  “I don’t think it would do any good,” Miko tells him.

  Obviously not getting any support for his idea from Miko, the lad goes over to another group of boys where he can hear them whispering amongst themselves. I hope they don’t do anything stupid to get me killed, he thinks as he glances over to the older boys, huddled with their heads together.

  He gazes over to the other pens in the area and sees many such as his, holding young boys and men. The women and girls must have been taken elsewhere for he doesn’t see any sign of them.

  Another young man in the pen with him comes over and says, “Wonder what’s going to happen now?”

  Shrugging, Miko says, “Don’t know.”

  “Name’s Viktor,” he says holding out his hand.

  Taking the hand, he re
plies, “Miko.”

  Viktor glances over to the group of boys who are conversing together quietly. “Think they’re right?” he asks.

  “What? Those guys?” Miko asks, indicating the group planning escape.

  When Viktor nods his head, he says, “I doubt it. I would think the slavers are going to anticipate something like that, they’ve been doing this for a long time.”

  “But what choice do we have?” Viktor asks, his voice trembling slightly.

  “Right now, none,” he replies.

  Viktor starts sobbing, “I want to go home!”

  “So do we all,” Miko says, uncomfortable at the show of emotion Viktor is displaying.

  Viktor goes back over to a corner and sits down by himself, with his knees up and lays his head in his arms, silently crying.

  Doing his best to hold back his own emotions, Miko sits and stares out of the pen.

  An hour passes before several slavers come and bring them food and water, as well as a bucket for use as a slop bucket. When they get close to the door of his pen, the boys from the group move closer to the door and Miko gets set for trouble. Two of the slavers have crossbows, armed and casually aimed at the boys while another says, “Back up!”

  When the boys don’t move, he signals the crossbowmen who take direct aim on them and then he says again, “Back up.”

  With two crossbows staring down at them, the boys back up several feet, allowing him to open the door and place a platter of bread and old meat on the floor. Stepping back, he closes the door and then proceeds down to the next pen.

  When the door shuts, Miko dives for the food and grabs himself two big handfuls of meat and bread before the other boys have a chance to take it. The meat is a little ripe but the bread is only slightly stale. Not caring, he wolfs it down quickly before someone gets it into his head to take it away from him.

  Two of the boys are left with nothing to eat, one of them is Viktor. He just sits and stares at the empty plate, as if not believing that there’s nothing for him. Miko sees him start to say something to one of the slavers, but then he remembers the girl that had complained on the road and shuts his mouth. Rolling onto his side, he gets into a fetal position and starts sobbing all over again.

  The other boys look on him with disdain, and one of them says, “You better be faster next time.” The others just laugh. Miko feels bad for the boy but is unwilling to share his meager food with him. Even though he got as much as his hands could grab, it still wasn’t enough to quiet the grumbling of his belly.

  Miko goes over to a small window that overlooks a large inner courtyard. Looking out, he sees a large platform on the other side that looks like it could be used for auctions, though it’s empty now.

  Smelling something foul, he turns around and sees one of the boys using the slop bucket and he thinks it could get pretty ripe in here after a while. Leaving the window, he finds a spot as far from the bucket as possible and settles down to rest. The light outside is beginning to fade as night falls.

  During the night, he hears many of the boys crying and sobbing all around him, some crying out for their mothers. He eventually breaks down too, as silent tears roll down his cheek. One boy in a nearby pen loses it and starts screaming and trying to break through the bars.

  Suddenly, the door at the end of the pens opens up and two slavers come in with torches and long sticks. They move to the pen where the boy is screaming uncontrollably and opens the door. As soon as the door opens, the boy tries to leave and that’s when they start beating him with sticks until he quiets down. Either he stopped on his own accord, or they beat him into unconsciousness, Miko couldn’t tell but he was glad when the screaming ended.

  Once the guards left and it was again dark and quiet, he begins to hear whispers coming from others in his pen.

  “…there were only two of them…”

  “…no crossbows…”

  “…might be our only chance…”

  He hears some of the boys begin to move toward the door and then lie down near it. All of a sudden, one of them begins to act just like that other boy, screaming and banging on the door trying to get out.

  Just as before, the two guards enter the pen area and open the door to their pen. When the door opens, the slavers rush in and begin beating the one who’s crying out. With the landing of the first blow, all the boys who had stationed themselves by the door spring up and attack the two slavers. In short order, the slavers lie on the ground unconscious at the boys’ feet.

  The boys, now with the torches and sticks, and filled with hope of escape race out of the pen. Miko stays where he is and watches as they race down the hallway toward the open door the slavers had entered through. Suddenly, he sees one fall backward as a crossbow bolt strikes him in the chest. Another boy twists about then falls with a cry when another bolt strikes him in the shoulder.

  Soon the hallway is filled with slavers and the ill fated escape attempt is soon squashed. The boys caught outside of the pen are taken away and a couple slavers come back to where Miko and a few of the others had remained. They remove the unconscious slavers the boys had attacked and then begin to leave. One slaver pauses a moment as he looks at those remaining in the pen and then says something before closing the door to Miko’s pen. He turns to follow his fellow slavers across the room and through the door, closing it behind him. When the door closes, the pens are once more plunged into darkness.

  Miko can hear Viktor giggling over in the corner. He tries to shut out the noise and attempts to fall asleep.

  Early the next morning, shortly after sunup, they begin to hear a commotion coming from the courtyard outside of the small window. Miko rushes over to it, as do others in the pens along the same wall. Outside, they see the boys who had been captured in the escape attempt the night before being marched over to where a pole stands near one side of the courtyard. A hushed whisper can be heard as some of those in the adjoining pens relay what’s going on to those on the other side of the holding area.

  When the boys reach the pole, one slaver stands there as he begins to address the slaves still in the holding pen. “Last night, a few of you decided to try to escape,” he says loudly, so all can hear him. “These eight here are those that survived. Should any of you be contemplating similar attempts, let this be a lesson in what happens to those slaves who try to flee.”

  He says something to the other slavers with him and then the first boy is taken over to the pole where his arms are tied to ropes. A slaver behind the pole pulls on the ropes, pulling the boy’s arms high above his head, stretching him until only the tips of his toes are touching the ground. Then a man with a multi tongued whip comes forward and begins to lash him.

  As the lash strikes him for the first time, a hushed silence falls upon those in the pens. The boy cries out as the lash strikes him the second time. Each time the lash strikes, it leaves long, red welts which after the fist couple of strikes, begin to well blood.

  After ten lashes, the boy is screaming incoherently and blood is flowing freely down his back. At twelve, he loses consciousness and they remove him from the whipping pole, taking him away.

  Once he’s been removed they bring up the next boy, who by now is gibbering with fear. “I won’t try to escape! I won’t!” he screams, pleading with the slavers. As they string him up, he continues to cry and plead, to no avail. When he’s struck for the first time, his bowels let go and he soils himself.

  Boy after boy take their turn at the whipping post until they’ve all either been given fifteen lashes or they’ve slipped into unconsciousness. As the last boy is taken away, the man in charge looks around at the faces peering in horror out of the windows, then turns without a word and walks back into the building. The ground at the base of the pole is stained red with the blood that the whip had drawn out of the boys’ backs.

  Not long after that, they begin to bring in food and water again. This time, when the plate is placed within the pen, there is enough for everyone. The screams of t
he boys as they were being whipped continue to echo through Miko’s mind, causing him to shudder.

  A couple hours later, the courtyard begins to fill up with all sorts of people and a string of girls are brought out onto the platform. One by one, the girls are brought to the front, have their clothes stripped off and then the people begin bidding for them.

  Miko watches through the window as girl after girl are auctioned off, knowing that soon it will be his turn. He turns his attention back inside when he hears a commotion brewing at the entrance to the slave pens.

  A man of obvious importance is entering with a slaver walking beside him that Miko has seen here in the pens before, obviously distraught. The slaver appears to be pleading with the other man, but whatever he’s saying is having little effect.

  Several guards are following them and as the man walks through, he points to pens and the guards begin taking out the boys within and tying them to a line. When he gets to Miko’s pen he points to it and soon Miko and the others are tied to the end of the line. The guards come to Viktor who is lying on the floor, gibbering to himself. They look back over to the man and one of them says something. The man looks to Viktor and then shakes his head. His men leave him there as they move on to the next pen.

  After half the pens have been emptied, he says something to the slaver who looks to be about ready to argue with him. With a stern look, he stops any complaints the slaver might have had about him taking the slaves. With resignation, the slaver follows him back outside, the boys he’s selected following along behind.

  They’re marched through several adjoining pens until they come to the outside where several wagons are waiting. The guards untie the boys from the line and then direct them to climb up onto the wagons. The official gives a letter to another man who then climbs up onto the lead wagon and then they begin to roll out.

  Miko isn’t sure just what is happening, but at the moment he’s just happy to be out of there. They roll through town and are soon exiting through the southern gate. Unbeknownst to Miko, on the far side of town, James is entering Korazan from the north.