“Who said that?” one of the slavers asks. With whip raised in his hands, the slaver rushes over to where the sound of the voice originated, looking from face to face in an attempt to determine who dared break the silence. Unable to find the source of the question, he looks around at them all and says, “The Slave Markets of Korazan.” After a moment’s pause to let that sink in, he adds, “Where you will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, to spend the rest of your lives as slaves.” Laughing, the slaver goes back over by the fire and resumes eating his meal.
“Oh, James,” Miko sighs quietly. “Find me!”
Chapter One
James wakes to find the two boys are no longer there. The two girls are over in a corner huddled together, and talking in hushed voices. He stretches and sits up, asking, “Where are Jiron and Tinok?”
Startled, Delia and Cassie cease their conversation and look in his direction. “They’re out looking for Jiron’s sister,” Delia explains.
“She was separated from us during the attack,” adds Cassie, her yellow hair shimmering in the candle light.
Concerned, he asks, “Do you think it’s wise for them to be about with all the soldiers in the city?”
“They’ll be alright,” Delia assures him. “Jiron knows how to keep hidden when he needs to.”
Cassie nods her head in agreement.
Worried about the boys, but even more worried they may lead someone here, he tries to relax. Resting his back against the wall, he realizes there is nothing he can do about it now but wait.
He still feels weak and a little drained from the battle two days ago. Even though he’s had two good nights of sleep and food, he still feels a little shaky. “Is there any more food?” he asks after his stomach growls loudly.
“Oh, yes,” Cassie says. She gets up and goes over to a sack sitting against the wall. She pulls out some bread and cheese, bringing them over to him along with a bucket of water.