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Then whatever the hell he’s been up to will be forgotten.
“There are girls,” the little man says to me, pulling me from my thoughts. “Lots of girls,” he adds, and then I do put my blade away.
Fuck.
I’m no hero.
I’m not going to march into the auction and kill all of the bastards who are buying women. That’s not my style. That’s not who I am.
I’m discreet and I like to stay to myself. I don’t usually cause a lot of trouble, aside from the stealing habit, and I don’t usually get in anyone’s face. I like to fade into the background. I like to blend in. I don’t like people looking at me and although Dreagle has inhabitants from every planet around, Sapphirans don’t frequent the planet unless they absolutely have to.
I’d say that right now, I have to.
“I don’t want a girl,” I finally say. The man looks relieved that my knife is out of sight.
“Why don’t you come give them a look?” He suggests, waving his arm toward the building behind him. It’s run down, dirty. It’s a two-story warehouse and the sides of the building are falling apart. The wood is rotting: probably because Dreagle is always fucking damp.
“Fuck off, little man,” I say, and I turn away. This isn’t my problem. Not today. My boots splash in a puddle and I feel the water soak through the lower part of my pants. Fantastic. Now I’m pissed off and wet. What else could go wrong for me tonight?
“We have boys, too,” he calls after me. “Orchidians! Dragons! And a human female!”
At that, I stop. I turn back.
“A human?” Why the fuck do they have a human? It’s not uncommon for human males to come to Dreagle, but it’s uncommon for a woman to come here alone because of shit like this. It’s easy to get kidnapped on Dreagle. It’s easy to be stolen away, to be taken. Unless you stay in the main sector designed for visitors to the planet, you should never, ever visit Dreagle without protection.
Now I have to see.
I have to see what this man has done.
I have to see this woman.
With a heavy heart, I turn back to the man and give him a curt nod, but I don’t speak.
“No cover charge tonight,” he says quickly. “Not for you, friend. We’re friends.”
“Right,” I mumble, and I follow him inside the dark building.
I don’t know what’s waiting for me inside, but I have a feeling I’m not going to like it.
Chapter 2
Fiona
It’s cold and I’m wet. Damp. Soaked. Every part of my body is freezing and I shiver, wishing I had something to cover myself with, but I don’t. All I have is a sliver of hope that someone will save me, that my family will find me, but that’s quickly fading.
Auction.
I’m going to be auctioned.
That’s what the man in the cloak says when he tells me to shut my mouth and stand still.
“Some people want to buy the mouthy ones,” he warns me. “And I don’t think they’re the kind of people you’re going to like.” His words sound threatening, but then he lowers his voice, like he doesn’t want anyone else to know what he’s saying.
Like he’s offering me some sort of help, or hope.
“You aren’t going to want them to break you, human, and that’s what they’re going to do.” His words are quick and sharp. Once he says his piece, he leaves, closing the door to the room I’m in. It’s a cell, really. I can’t see out of the room, but I hear his footsteps echo down the deserted hallway.
His words have the intended affect and I shut my mouth tight, pressing my lips together, not wanting to make another sound. There is no help coming for me and yelling isn’t going to change that.
