Kwin Read online

“They’ll soon learn,” the traitor replied. “If they weren’t such good stock I would use one of them for the demonstration.”

  Kwin did nothing to stop the doctor using his magical abilities on his body. He wondered, momentarily, why the doctor wasn’t using magic to hurt him, to force him to comply, then realised he probably couldn’t. In Tippet, medical practitioners swore to do no harm. Maybe it was the same in Wayvern. Or maybe he had never been taught how to use his powers to hurt others.

  When the man grabbed hold of his testicles, it took all of Kwin’s will power not to react. It had been a while since he had been touched there and he didn’t like a man having his hands on such a personal part of his body.

  Eventually the doctor finished his ministrations and moved on to his next victim. Kwin was shoved out of the pen he was in and into the one housing all of those who had already been examined.

  “Well that was fun,” Gareth said sarcastically as Kwin made his way over to him. “I don’t know about you, but I’m tempted to try out just how these bracelets react to magic.”

  “Not yet,” Kwin said. “Apparently there is going to be a demonstration.”

  The last few prisoners were processed then the interpreter climbed onto a platform and got everyone’s attention. He explained what the copper collars and bracelets were for, then demonstrated on a victim the doctor had earlier segregated. Gareth and Kwin were as horrified by the man’s actions as Shona had been, but kept their thoughts to themselves.

  “A few of you are wearing silver,” he said once he had killed the prisoner he had used in the demonstration. “That denotes you can use magic. I wouldn’t advise it.”

  The guards then dragged forward a young woman, shackled the same as Kwin and Gareth. She was struggling against her captors, but they were much stronger.

  “This woman here has volunteered to show what happens when magic is used when you are wearing the restraints,” the man called out. He sneered at his next victim. “I can see you want to kill me. Go ahead and try.”

  Kwin could do no more than pray that the woman would do nothing, but his prayers were not answered. He had no idea what she tried to do, but the result was dramatic. She screamed as bolts of lightning passed between the bracelets and the collar. Her whole body lit up with flashes of blue and she began to convulse. Her screams continued as smoke appeared in her hair.

  Eventually her legs gave way, but the screaming didn’t stop. It seemed to last forever as her body jerked violently on the floor of the platform. When she finally went quiet, silence filled the pen. It was evident she was dead.

  The man on the platform had a smile on his face when he spoke. “That was not my doing. I did nothing to cause that. Her attempt to use magic activated the shackles. I suggest nobody else try it.”

  “I don’t know how,” Gareth whispered to Kwin, “but when I get free that ferret of a man is going to die.”

  Kwin nodded his agreement.

  The show was over, so everyone was loaded onto the wagons which had arrived while the prisoners’ attention had been diverted. None of them offered any resistance; the demonstrations had done their job.

  The journey to the city didn’t take long. The wagons were driven around the outskirts to a series of stone buildings. The prisoners were told that they were going to be washed and made presentable for the auction that evening.

  Kwin and Gareth joined the line outside one of the buildings and awaited their turn to enter. The sun was beaming down on them and they were glad that they didn’t have to wait long.

  It was hot inside the building, but it was a blessing to be out of the sun. Half a dozen women were standing in front of buckets with sponges in their hands, cleaning down the prisoners who stood before them. All were from Tippet, wore copper bracelets and collars and looked like they had not smiled for a very long time.

  A young girl called Kwin over, but he instructed Gareth to go first. He couldn’t imagine how hard her life was and letting her have her hands on Gareth’s body instead of his own was the least he could do for her. A slight smile crossed her face, telling him he had done the right thing.

  He looked around him as an elderly lady cleaned his body, her ministrations firm but gentle. He hadn’t been bathed by someone since he had been a child and it wasn’t an experience he was enjoying. The same couldn’t be said for Gareth, who was smiling broadly as he was rubbed down with a rough cloth. The young lady seemed to be taking her time and Gareth’s body demonstrated how much he was enjoying her attention.

  Once he was clean, Kwin was ushered into a different room, where he was oiled down and dressed in a loin cloth and sandals. He noted how long it was before Gareth finally arrived. He rolled his eyes at the way his friend was smirking.

  Gareth, too, was oiled down, but he was left naked.

  “I guess they appreciate your body more than mine,” Kwin said as Gareth sauntered over to him.

  “You can’t hide perfection,” he replied.

  Glancing around, Kwin noticed that everyone else was clothed. “Why do I have the feeling you are going to be the first one on the auction block?”

  “What’s the plan?” Gareth asked.

  “I don’t have one yet,” Kwin said directly into his mind. “Do nothing for now. Behave like the perfect slave until we know more about how closely we are watched, that sort of thing. Stay in touch and whatever you do, do not use magic.”

  Gareth grunted his reply.

  Soon the auction began. As Kwin had predicted, Gareth was the first one to be led away.

  From inside the building, Kwin could hear all that was going on. From the gasps, it sounded like a lot of women were there. Gareth was told to turn around, showing off all of his assets. Kwin couldn’t see what was going on, but Gareth told him that a young lady had been dragged onto the auction block and made to excite Gareth’s body. The ladies bidding on him now knew exactly what they were going to be buying.

  Kwin had been taught a little of finance in Wayvern so was surprised at the starting bid. It seemed very high. The bids kept climbing. Someone was going to make a great deal of profit from Gareth.

  “Are you hearing this?” Gareth’s voice sounded in his head.

  “Yes. If I had known you were worth that much I would have sold you myself long ago. I could have retired a rich man.”

  Gareth chuckled. “We’re down to the last two bidders now. One is young and quite attractive. The other looks like a warthog’s backside.”

  Kwin laughed. His friend was being sold and had no idea what his future held, but he still maintained his sense of humour. Not many men could do that. Then again, Gareth wasn’t like any other man Kwin had known.

  “My luck is holding,” Gareth said. “Warthog has pulled out.”

  “Goodbye my friend. We will meet again soon. Don’t do anything to get yourself killed.”

  “I won’t. Let me know what price you go for.”

  Kwin didn’t reply. He had no intention of letting Gareth know how much less he would be sold for. It would only be a fraction of the amount Gareth’s new owner had just paid.

  Guards entered and selected another slave. The evening dragged on and Kwin noted that it was the most attractive men and women who were auctioned off first.

  There were only half a dozen men left when the interpreter entered the building. “The auction is over for today. You will all remain here until the next one in a few days. The ladies and gentlemen here tonight wanted pleasure slaves. You lot are better off being used for hard labour.”

  Kwin was pleased to hear that. He would not make a good pleasure slave. He enjoyed sex, but only with the right woman. If he had been purchased, his owner would have been disappointed with his performance and would probably have demanded her money back within a week.

  Guards rounded up the remaining slaves and herded them like cattle out of the building. They were pushed into a holding pen, which contained little in the way of shelter. They were each given a blanket, but nothing more.

>   “Well I guess this is home for the next few days,” Kwin said to nobody in particular. It was a warm evening, so he rolled up his blanket, laid down on the ground, placed his blanket under his head so he could use it as a pillow and closed his eyes.

  The next few days were boring. They were fed and watered, but otherwise ignored. More kidnap victims arrived, both male and female, and were processed before being put in the pen.

  One was a brute of a man. It took three guards to subdue him until his shackles were in place. As soon as he was in the enclosure, he grabbed one of the girls, who looked barely into her teens, and announced he was going to have some fun.

  Kwin casually sauntered over, tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention, then hit him with a right hook. Luckily the man had a glass jaw. His knees buckled and he hit the ground. There was no rope available so Kwin tore his blanket into strips and used them to tie the man up. The guards witnessed everything, but did not intervene.

  Kwin pulled the girl to her feet. “Are you alright?”

  She nodded her head as tears continued to flow down her face.

  “He won’t hurt you,” Kwin said in as reassuring a voice as he could manage. “I will make sure of that.”

  Had he a weapon, he would have killed the would-be-rapist while he was unconscious and he seriously considered finding a large rock that would do the job, but decided he would give the man a second chance.

  His thoughts were interrupted by guards entering the pen. There was no translator with them, so none of the prisoners knew what was going on. From what the guards were saying to each other, Kwin was able to ascertain that the men were to be taken into one of the buildings, but no explanation was given as to why.

  One guard took a look at the bound man and shook his head. Leaving him where he was, he shoved Kwin in the back, hard enough to make him stumble.

  Once inside the building, the men were washed again, the same as they had been when they first arrived. Before being oiled down, they were seated in chairs where women then cut their hair and shaved them.

  Kwin ran a hand over his smooth chin. It had been a while since his skin had been exposed to the elements. While Gareth always made time to shave, Kwin found it an inconvenience. The only time he bothered to use a razor was when he was going to visit Gareth’s family. Gareth’s mother disliked beards and Kwin didn’t like the scolding he got the one and only time he had turned up without taking the time to shave first.

  Once he had been oiled down, so his body gleamed, Kwin took hold of his loin cloth, but it was snatched away from him. The middle-aged woman who had rubbed the oil into every part of his skin that was visible, shook her head.

  Keeping her voice low she said, “You have to remain naked. Some rich woman is coming here to purchase a pleasure slave and she will want to see everything.” A look of disgust then crossed her face. “Some even want to try the merchandise before handing over their money.”

  Kwin thanked her for the information before he was sent into a pen behind the building with the other men. He glanced at them. All seemed uncomfortable being naked, and a little scared. Except for one. One man stood on his own, arms outstretched as he soaked up the sun. He was an attractive man with a fit and trim body. He obviously believed he was the best specimen available and Kwin found himself agreeing.

  At least there was shade in this pen. Kwin walked over to a tree and leaned against it, softly whistling to himself as he waited for the buyer to arrive.

  Chapter 7

  Luka looked out of the window of the carriage and sighed. How had she let her sister talk her into this? She didn’t need or want a pleasure slave, but now she found herself heading toward the city to purchase one.

  She glanced over at her sister. She was really only a half-sister as they had different fathers, but neither of them let that affect their relationship.

  Though only a few years separated them, Luka always looked upon Fain as her little sister. She protected her and did whatever she could to make her happy. Which was how she found herself in the situation she was now in.

  As she was now in her mid-twenties, Fain had told Luka the previous evening that she was considering settling down. Luka had laughed. Fain’s slim body and attractive features made her popular with the male population, much more popular than Luka, and Fain loved the attention too much to choose just one man. It would be a few more years yet before Fain would marry.

  When Luka had left home a few years previous to live in her father’s house when he died, leaving Fain behind had been her only regret. She had tried to persuade her sister to go with her, but she had refused, stating a woman’s place was with her mother until she married.

  Luka couldn’t get away from their mother fast enough and would have moved in with her father as soon as she turned of age had Wayvern law permitted it, but no man was allowed to live alone with a woman, even if they were father and daughter, unless they were husband and wife. After her father divorced her mother, he never remarried, choosing to live alone with just his slaves for company. Luka visited often, but that was all she was permitted to do.

  Her father’s death had left her very rich. As she could support herself, as soon as she reached twenty-five and became officially an adult, she moved out of her mother’s house. It wasn’t unheard of for a woman to live on her own, but it was rare. Her mother had argued against it, but Luka had reached an age where she no longer had to listen to what her mother said. She had tried to stop her taking her slaves with her, but they had been presents so Luka held their ownership papers; legally they were hers and there was nothing her mother could do about it.

  Luka dragged her mind back to the present. She had more than enough slaves to run her household; she had no need or desire for one more. But it would make her sister happy, so she would go ahead and purchase one. It would be the first slave she had ever bought and she was not looking forward to the experience.

  Fain had contacted the auctioneer which their mother usually used so not only did the man know they were on their way, but also the sort of slave they were looking for. The men would be cleaned and polished, displayed to look their best, and Luka was dreading it. She didn’t find a naked male body particularly attractive, at least not from the front.

  Fain, on the other hand, was practically bouncing in her seat in her excitement to get there to see what was on offer. It didn’t seem to bother her that the men and women at the auction had all been kidnapped and forced into slavery. It weighed on Luka’s mind a lot. While she understood the need to use the people of Tippet as slave labour, she didn’t agree with the way it was accomplished. She would have closed down all of the auction houses if she could.

  All too soon the carriage came to a stop and someone ran out of a nearby building to open the door for the two ladies. Luka allowed Fain to go first and a well-dressed man, who Luka assumed was the auctioneer, immediately approached. He bowed to Fain then proceeded to layer her with compliments. Luka hated people sucking up to her, but Fain liked it.

  Neither lady mentioned that it would be Luka who would be choosing the slave and handing over the money. Fain was enjoying herself so Luka let her carry on her little charade. It would give her the chance to view the potential candidates without having anyone’s attention on her.

  The auctioneer led them through a building and out to the pen behind it. Luka couldn’t help noticing that he was waddling and his fat stomach was swaying in time to his steps. The man was overfed while those he was in charge of were probably starving. ‘At least I will be giving one of them a better life,’ she thought to herself.

  The auctioneer let Fain know that all of the men in the holding pen were for sale and had been prepared for their viewing. All were shackled, but he advised not to get too close to them just in case. When he offered to stay with the ladies while they observed his merchandise, Luka had to say something. She couldn’t stand being in his presence any longer.

  “That will not be necessary,” she said loudly, taking th
e man by surprise.

  He started to protest, but Fain interrupted him. “You heard what my sister said. Leave us. We will notify you when we have made our decision.”

  The auctioneer had the sense to pose no further argument. Instead he bowed low and went back into the building. Guards stood nearby, but didn’t approach as the ladies moved closer to the pen.

  “There doesn’t seem to be much available,” Fain said. Luka could hear the disappointment in her voice. Then her eyes lit up. The man she was looking at was tanned, muscular and attractive. He was also well endowed. Seeing that he had their attention, he began to flex his muscles.

  “You have got to buy him,” Fain said.

  Luka shook her head. “If I’m going to have sex with a man, it won’t be with someone who is in love with themselves.”

  Luka turned around in surprise when she heard a soft, deep laugh. Nobody inside the pen should have been able to understand her comment. She glanced at the slaves inside, trying to spot which one had laughed.

  When her eyes fell on a man standing nearby, she knew he was the one. He was the only one who seemed unfazed by his nakedness, neither proudly displaying his manhood nor trying to cover himself up. He stood alone, picking at his nails as though bored. His dark hair had been cut short, the absence of a suntan on his neck revealing that it used to be much longer.

  He may once have been handsome, but his features had been hardened too much to still be called attractive. The way he held himself suggested a military background; the muscle tone across his torso and down his legs reinforced the thought, as did his scarred face. He had either been captured recently or had found a way of keeping himself fit.

  He glanced up at her, his grey eyes filled with contempt, though whether for her or the situation he found himself in, she wasn’t sure. There was no sign of the resignation and despair that slaves usually displayed. She walked closer to him.

  “What is your name?” she asked. He said nothing so she continued. “I know you can understand me so don’t play ignorant.”