couldn’t help but be amused by Nathaniel’s frustration. He was clearly used to working with individuals who understood what it meant to be one of Midnight’s mercenaries, who would give an assignment and an offer of payment and trust him to find the best way to carry it out. “Since I keep hearing it, I’ve arranged for a demonstration.” Nathaniel held out a hand, and said, “Aislinn, come here.”
The second-generation slave I had seen with Nathaniel in serpiente land suddenly appeared as if someone had drawn a curtain back. Her expression was serene—perfectly so, which meant she was probably terrified but subsuming her own emotions because her master had given her a command and she knew she needed to follow it.
“Aislinn here is a second-generation slave,” Nathaniel said. “She was born and raised in Midnight, and thus is an excellent example of the people you are concerned about. If anyone here can get her to disobey me, I will grant her freeblood status and let her go with whoever can offer her a happy and comfortable home. Who wants to try?”
“I’ll test her, but I don’t want to keep her.” The man who spoke stood near Shevaun, but when the mists revealed him, it was clear he was no vampire. His silver-blue eyes could have passed for a falcon’s if not for his bronze skin and dark hair, but the power seeping from him felt wrong for one of the shm’Ahnmik. Another kind of witch?
“She can come home with us,” the blond Macht witch who had spoken about her kin in Midnight said without hesitation. “Aislinn, you wouldn’t be a slave. You would be provided for, but free to make your own choices.”
Now the slave
did
look frightened. The notion of slavery was nothing new to her, but to a second-generation slave, “freedom” was a myth. As was free will. I remembered that terror well from my first few weeks with Farrell and the Obsidian guild. If he hadn’t bought me—and Jeshickah had let me live—this girl was what I would have become.
Nathaniel turned to Aislinn, and detailed the agreement to her. “What I want is for you to stand right where you are. That’s all. Just stay there. If you choose to disobey me, you will not be harmed, or punished in any way. I will legally grant you freeblood status, and you may leave here with anyone you like. The good witch over there has already offered you a place to stay where I am sure she will take excellent care of you. Do you understand?”
The slave nodded, and said, “Yes, sir.”
I didn’t want to see what happened next. Unlike others in this circle, I did not need to be convinced. Many people believed Midnight’s slaves obeyed out of fear of punishment, but it was deeper than that. Once the trainers were through with them, disobeying wouldn’t even cross their minds as a possibility.
Nathaniel ceded the circle to the witch and the slave, and walked toward me and Vance.
“This meeting won’t teach you two anything you don’t already know,” Nathaniel said, “but I do appreciate your coming.” He looked calm, but I sensed his concern for the slave. He believed in the necessity of this demonstration, but he didn’t like it either.
“This is your choice,” Gabriel whispered to the young human man he had restrained against the slick marble wall. “I offered rest. You chose battle. I offered peace. You chose pain. I can make all this doubt and frustration and fear go away. You just need to let me.”
“Who’s the witch?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the vision and what was about to happen. I had seen trainers do this kind of thing to test a slave’s obedience…or sometimes just for fun. Slaves learned that there was nothing they could do to stop or prevent pain. The only person who could take it away was their master.
“A Triste named Adjila,” Nathaniel answered. “He’s powerful for his age, and not squeamish, though unfortunately he isn’t strong enough to go directly against Midnight’s
The second-generation slave I had seen with Nathaniel in serpiente land suddenly appeared as if someone had drawn a curtain back. Her expression was serene—perfectly so, which meant she was probably terrified but subsuming her own emotions because her master had given her a command and she knew she needed to follow it.
“Aislinn here is a second-generation slave,” Nathaniel said. “She was born and raised in Midnight, and thus is an excellent example of the people you are concerned about. If anyone here can get her to disobey me, I will grant her freeblood status and let her go with whoever can offer her a happy and comfortable home. Who wants to try?”
“I’ll test her, but I don’t want to keep her.” The man who spoke stood near Shevaun, but when the mists revealed him, it was clear he was no vampire. His silver-blue eyes could have passed for a falcon’s if not for his bronze skin and dark hair, but the power seeping from him felt wrong for one of the shm’Ahnmik. Another kind of witch?
“She can come home with us,” the blond Macht witch who had spoken about her kin in Midnight said without hesitation. “Aislinn, you wouldn’t be a slave. You would be provided for, but free to make your own choices.”
Now the slave
did
look frightened. The notion of slavery was nothing new to her, but to a second-generation slave, “freedom” was a myth. As was free will. I remembered that terror well from my first few weeks with Farrell and the Obsidian guild. If he hadn’t bought me—and Jeshickah had let me live—this girl was what I would have become.
Nathaniel turned to Aislinn, and detailed the agreement to her. “What I want is for you to stand right where you are. That’s all. Just stay there. If you choose to disobey me, you will not be harmed, or punished in any way. I will legally grant you freeblood status, and you may leave here with anyone you like. The good witch over there has already offered you a place to stay where I am sure she will take excellent care of you. Do you understand?”
The slave nodded, and said, “Yes, sir.”
I didn’t want to see what happened next. Unlike others in this circle, I did not need to be convinced. Many people believed Midnight’s slaves obeyed out of fear of punishment, but it was deeper than that. Once the trainers were through with them, disobeying wouldn’t even cross their minds as a possibility.
Nathaniel ceded the circle to the witch and the slave, and walked toward me and Vance.
“This meeting won’t teach you two anything you don’t already know,” Nathaniel said, “but I do appreciate your coming.” He looked calm, but I sensed his concern for the slave. He believed in the necessity of this demonstration, but he didn’t like it either.
“This is your choice,” Gabriel whispered to the young human man he had restrained against the slick marble wall. “I offered rest. You chose battle. I offered peace. You chose pain. I can make all this doubt and frustration and fear go away. You just need to let me.”
“Who’s the witch?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the vision and what was about to happen. I had seen trainers do this kind of thing to test a slave’s obedience…or sometimes just for fun. Slaves learned that there was nothing they could do to stop or prevent pain. The only person who could take it away was their master.
“A Triste named Adjila,” Nathaniel answered. “He’s powerful for his age, and not squeamish, though unfortunately he isn’t strong enough to go directly against Midnight’s
Similar Books
