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 the 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.

Chapter Fourteen.

As they approach Korazan from the north, a large complex of buildings comes into view over on the eastern edge of town with many pens full of slaves. "That must be where we'll find them," observes James.

"Let's go," Jiron urges.

"We need to get the caravan settled in first," insists James. "Then we can go scout around for Tersa and Miko." Seeing that Jiron is going to be stubborn, he continues, "If we don't behave like an actual caravan, we might gain attention that could prove awkward."

Seeing conflicting emotions running across Jiron's face, he waits. After only a moment's deliberation, he nods and says, "Okay, but let's do it fast."

"Agreed."

During their approach, they notice a large caravansary off to the north of town, closer to the lake. When they turn to leave the road and head for it, Hakir and Hakim take their leave, continuing on toward town to deliver their goods.

At the caravansary, they find a suitable location and quickly settle in. After the horses and wagons have been taken care of, Jiron looks to James and urges, "Let's go!"

James turns to Tinok and says, "Stay here and take care of things, okay?"

Tinok's face begins to fall as he realizes he's being left behind. Just before he starts to protest, Ca.s.sie calls over and asks, "Tinok, can you help me please?" Torn between conflicting desires, he finally says to James, "Alright," as he heads over to see what Ca.s.sie needs.

By this time, Jiron has changed into native garb, having chosen one that partially covers his face. If there are people from the City of Light in the pens who would be able to recognize him, they won't inadvertently give him away.

Taking Roland with them to act as translator, they make their way to the main gate leading into Korazan. Here, as nowhere else, the ratio of slaves to citizens is staggering. Wherever he looks, James can see slaves engaged in almost every facet of work. Hardly anyone is walking down the street without at least one slave of one kind or another trailing along behind. Many are carrying packages and other items, most though are simply following behind their owners.

James is totally disgusted by the whole thing and almost intervenes when they come across a man beating a young female slave for some slight infraction. Jiron takes hold of his arm which causes him to stop. "Not now," Jiron cautions when James turns to look at him, "we have people, our people, depending on us."

Coming to his senses, James realizes he was about to jeopardize the whole mission and says, "Sorry."

"We understand," Roland a.s.sures him. "But it's too ingrained, too well established to do anything about."

As they resume walking, James tries to shut out the crying, begging of the girl as she pleads with her master to stop, that 'she will do better'. Similar scenes are played out over and over again as they continue toward the slave markets. All he can think of is to get Miko out of this as quickly as possible.

When they finally reach the fence surrounding the slave pens, the guard posted at the entrance holds up his hand and says something. Roland makes a reply as he slips him a couple copper pieces. The guard takes the coins and then nods as he waves them on through.

"What did you tell him?" Jiron asks once they're past the guard.

"I simply told him that we wished to view the slaves before the next auction," he explains. "It's really quite common for a prospective buyer to do that. Usually you give some coins to the guard for the privilege"

"You seem to know a lot about slave market customs," Jiron accuses.

"I took a trip down here a while back with an a.s.sociate who was interested in purchasing some laborers," he replies.

Once through the gates, they find themselves in a large courtyard with two large platforms on either side that most likely would be used during auctions. Off to one side, James notices several posts sticking up from the ground stained a dark red, it looks like its blood. One appears to have been recently used. Whipping posts, he a.s.sumes, shuddering.

Another slaver greets them as they walk across the courtyard and he exchanges words with Roland. Turning to the others, Roland says, "I told him we wish to see the girls. That we are from a northern brothel and wish to purchase some at the next auction."

"When will that be?" Jiron asks.

Roland asks the man and then says, "Tomorrow."

Jiron nods his head in understanding, "Thanks."

The slaver leads them to a set of pens holding females and they walk slowly through them as if they were actually who they claimed to be. As Jiron searches the pens for his sister, James looks closely at the faces of those in the pens. The hopelessness, the fear and the degradation he sees there is almost more than he can bear. He feels a strong desire to let the magic destroy this entire complex and free everyone here.

Jiron looks anxiously at all the girls within the pens and then turns to Roland and James, shaking his head. Roland turns to the slaver and exchanges a few words before saying, "There is another pen which is full of recent arrivals. He says that you would not be interested in them as they haven't yet learned their place and would be difficult at best to handle."

Excited, Jiron says, "That's where she would most likely be."

Roland turns to the man and explains that they wish to see those girls as well, that many of their customers like to 'break them in'.

The slaver nods in understanding and then leads them out of this holding area to another. The noise level in this one is much greater than the last as the majority of the girls are either crying or talking amongst themselves. When they enter, all the girls turn their attention on them and it suddenly gets very quiet.

James can tell the difference between these girls and the previous ones. Some of these still have a defiant look about them that the previous ones had lacked. Some even look with content upon them as they pa.s.s by, others are fearful and sobbing.

Suddenly, he hears a barely audible gasp escaping Jiron. Glancing at him, he sees him nod his head, indicating that he's found her. "Roland, that's her," he says quietly, indicating a young woman with long auburn hair.

"You sure?" Roland asks as he locates the girl he's talking about.

Jiron just stares at him like he's stupid or something.

"Okay, okay," he replies. Then he turns to the slaver and points her out saying they want a better look at her.

The slaver motions for two guards to come over and they enter the pen. When the girls realize they're going to enter their pen, many squeal and they all press as far away from the door as possible.

When Tersa realizes that they're coming for her, she tries to escape to the back of the pen but the guards grab her. Scared and terrified, she tries to get free of them but to no avail, they drag her out of the pen and bring her to stand before them. The slaver asks Roland if this is the one they're interested in. With a nod from Jiron, Roland says that she is.

As Roland makes as if he's inspecting her, Jiron stares intently into her eyes. Suddenly, her breath catches as she realizes just who is standing there.

He barely shakes his head, telling her to say nothing and then gives her a wink.

With a barely perceptible nod, she tells him that she understands.

Jiron indicates to Roland that he's ready to go and Roland tells the slaver that they've seen enough. Once Tersa is put back in the pen, Roland asks if this batch will be auctioned at tomorrow's auction.

Shaking his head, the slaver says that these won't be ready for auction for at least a week.

When Roland relays that to the others, Jiron exclaims, "A week! We can't wait a week."

James digs out a gold piece and offers it to the slaver as he tells Roland, "Ask him if there is any way he can expedite it for us."

When Roland asks the slaver, the slaver takes the coin and nods. He tells Roland that the earliest is in two days and when Roland starts to protest, he says no matter how much they gave him, there is no way it can be done any quicker.

"He says two days and that is the best he can do," Roland explains to them.

Jiron looks back to his sister and says, "Two days then."

The slaver then leads them back out to the courtyard as Tersa is returned to the pen. Jiron glances back to her just before they leave and sees her there, staring at him, her hands gripping the bars. Jiron hates leaving his sister in there but doesn't have any choice.

"Can we see the young men now?" James asks, intent upon finding Miko.

Roland asks the slaver who nods and then alters his course as he takes them over to the other side of the courtyard. He leads them through a door and down a hallway which runs between several pens of young men and boys.

Two slaves are busy scrubbing blood stains off the floor and James asks, "What happened here?"

Roland asks the slaver and then translates the reply, "He says last night several of the new arrivals had tried to escape and two of them were killed."

James and Jiron glance at each other, suddenly worried about his friend. Hoping to find him still within one of the pens, he walks down the hallway. His nervousness rises when he fails see him within any of the pens. Chills run though him as he fears the worst.

While waiting on James, Jiron looks at the faces of the men and boys in the pens. His eyes widen in surprise when he recognizes a couple of the fighters from the fight clubs that he had fought with and against. One, a slim individual who is exceptionally deadly with sword and shield is leaning against the bars near the hallway. He walks down the hallway slowly toward him, acting as if he's inspecting them. Roland and the slaver remain back near the door.

When he comes close to the one by the bars, he whispers so only he may hear, "Don't move, say nothing."

The young man's eyes flick to who's speaking to him and widen when they recognize Jiron. He starts to say something when Jiron barely shakes his head and whispers, "Quiet, man." Sudden understanding comes over him and he settles down.

"How many are here?" Jiron asks in a voice barely audible.

"Five left that I know of," he replies softly. "There were more but a bunch made a break for it last night and two died, the others got their backs flayed off them this morning as an example to the rest of us." Then in an urgent whisper, he says, "Jiron, get us out of here!"

"I'll see what I can do," he says. "But don't tell anyone and I mean anyone that I am here, understand?"

With a slight nod, the young man agrees. Jiron turns and walks back toward where the others are and has Roland ask when these are scheduled to be auctioned off.

The slaver replies and Roland says, "Three days."

James is getting frantic at not finding Miko here and Jiron worries he may do something rash. Roland asks if there are any more fresh arrivals and the slaver replies, no.

Roland thanks the slaver and tells him they're ready to go. Grabbing James' arm, he gets him moving as they follow their guide out of the slaver's compound.

Once outside the compound and back on the streets of Korazan, they head back toward their caravan. James is quiet the entire way as he deals internally with not finding Miko. Roland says to him, "You don't know he was one of the ones killed last night."