"He knows many of his guests stop here on the off chance of seeing one of us perverted freaks. When they get home, they can embroider fanciful tales about the harrowing things those 'filthy people' do. Tonight's incident will enthrall many a fireside gathering this winter... and it will bring a wave of new business here."

They took turns managing Norborn and were on their way back to their room when Heshri joined them. Sharing out the blankets, they bedded down for the night, the two Simes falling instantly into a deep sleep while Valleroys lay self-consciously stiff.

Valleroy's fingers sought the starred-cross that nestled on his breast. It helped. If only Aisha had such a secret weapon!

CHAPTER FIVE.

Choice Auction

NOON OF THE NEXT DAY FOUND VALLEROY RIDING Beside the channel while trying to avoid the carts and wagons that jammed the streets of Iburan. Unlike Gen towns, Iburan had no wall and no apparent defenses. It sprawled chaotically in every direction, reeking with the pungent scents of Sime living... a veritable metropolis compared to Valzor.

During that long ride through city streets, Valleroy was slapped with wet laundry from a second-story clothesline, clouted by a workman's ladder, which Klyd avoided with uncanny grace, pelted by thrown mudballs, and subjected to lewd jeers from street urchins who scattered at Klyd's merest glance. Valleroy endured stoically.

As they neared the auction, the indignities ceased. Here, the buildings were newer, the people brighter, and the streets quieter. At the end of a side alley, they found a stable where the horses would be cared for. From there they made their way on foot toward the stands that were already filling with spectators and purchasers.

The auction occupied a bowl-shaped amphitheater surrounded by tall buildings that seemed to crowd up to the wall and peer into the arena. The circular stone ledges that served for seats were unpadded except in the lavishly appointed boxes reserved for dignitaries. As they picked their way down through the occupied areas, Valleroy was glad for the way the Simes fastidiously withdrew from contact with the perverts. It left room to walk even in the crowd.

Pausing to survey the scene, Klyd pointed out the representatives of the Householdings in a segrated area near the stage. Stepping carefully, they made their way down toward them. Klyd marched right to the center of the Householder's section, nodding cordial greetings and exchanging comments with his peers.

Valleroy tried to acknowledge each introduction with due courtesy but found his eyes constantly drawn to the stage. Three silvery cages arranged in a triangle displayed three lovely Gen women, impeccably groomed and implacably defiant.

Here were no vacant, staring eyes or blank minds. These were people! People who were for sale to be killed in exquisite luxury... but nevertheless to be killed.

Klyd's hand on his arm brought Valleroy into a seat, but he continued to stare. In English the channel muttered, "Snap out of it, Hugh, this isn't the first time you've attended an auction with me, remember? Or do you want to be answering questions until the net of lies chokes us both?"

With an effort, Valleroy dragged his eyes away from the girl in the center cage, a redhead dressed in scintillating green and white with what looked like emeralds around her throat Klyd turned in his seat, scanning the ranks of the crowd behind them. "You take the right, while I check the left."

Obediently, Valleroy began scanning the right portion of the crowd. "What am I looking for?" he muttered barely moving his lips. The audience seemed a cross section of wealthy Simes, well dressed, well groomed, and, Valleroy noted, well armed with jewel-handled whips.

In an "of course" tone of voice, Klyd said, "The highest-ranking buyer who appears to be in greatest need."

"Oh," said Valleroy, as if that explained everything.

"Never mind. I've already checked your section. But you must at least appear to be doing your job."

"Yes, Sectuib."

Turning back to face front, Klyd bent close as if to hold a conference. "When I move over to talk with Sectuib Nashmar, you search my section until you find the woman dressed all in red. She's Deference Bidder since she is in greatest need. That means we can't outbid her. Until she makes her buy, I want you to watch her as if you were reading her bids and reporting them to me. Got that?"

"Got it. Seems there's more to being a Companion than I ever thought."

"Much more, Hugh. Much more. Let's just hope Lutrel doesn't take a fancy to Aisha... if she's here."

Klyd moved over two seats and went into conference with one of the other channels, Nashmar, wearing the green livery of Householding Imil.

Examining the man closely for the first time, Valleroy noted he must have had at least one distant ancestor who was oriental and one who was black. His face had the classical broad, flat oriental features, but his skin was an earthy brown. It contrasted oddly with the typical Sime build, wiry yet powerful despite the lack of obvious muscles. But the most startling thing about Nashmar was the blond hair and blue eyes so incongruous with the rest of him. Valleroy couldn't help staring several moments longer than he should have.

Nashmar's Companion was no less interesting. He appeared to be a nearly pure-bred black, a rarity such as Valleroy had never seen before.

With difficulty, Valleroy tore his eyes from the conference and squirmed around until he could see the woman in red. He couldn't see any obvious difference between her and the others in the stands... except that she was perhaps, a little richer... but he kept her hands in sight ready to report every motion she made.

Amid a flurry of drums, the auctioneer came onstage and began a rapid-fire patter that made little sense to Valleroy. The audience settled down while Klyd unobtrusively covered Valleroy's hands with his own, tentacles entwined among Gen fingers. Valleroy managed to suppress his reaction long enough to see that the other Householders had assumed the same position. He tried to relax and keep on eye on Lutrel. At least half the audience was watching her.

The three women were quickly sold, and three men were brought out. They were muscular specimens of hale manhood, fettered by chains that were much more than decorative. Bare torsos gleamed with oils that highlighted the contours of their well-developed muscles. Around their throats, cruelly barbed collars lay ready to pierce their necks if the slightest pressure was applied to the chain. A second spiked harness encircled their loins so that any sudden movements would be sheer torture.

The men stood still, eyes, flashing defiance, but helpless. Klyd muttered, "Zeor could use a few like them. I hate to attend these affairs when I'm not free to choose from the best offered."

Valleroy was about to frame an acid retort condemning the channel for a cold-blooded Sime bigot, but instead he warned, "She's bidding now."

Klyd's eyes flashed to the hands of Nashmar, who was getting Lutrel's bid from his Companion and repeating it for Klyd's benefit. As soon as the Deference Bidder's hands moved, all the other bidding ceased. The second male captive's sale was the quickest up to that point.

"She's leaving now," whispered Valleroy. "One of her attendants is coming down to take possession. She must really be somebody!"

"You don't know? Hugh, that's Lutrel." At Valleroy's blank stare, he elaborated, "Andle's wife!"

"Oh? Oh. Do you suppose she recognized us?"

"Probably not. Her need was intense enough to be thoroughly distracting. But you can be sure that at least one of her servants will be reporting directly to Andle. We must walk with extreme caution."

"You think Andle is directly responsible for Feleho's murder?"

"It's very possible. Zeor is a political keystone. Destroy us and the whole Householding Tecton could collapse. Look! That girl resembles..."

Valleroy's eyes shot back to the stage, all thoughts of Sime political intrigue driven from his mind. But none of the three dark-haired beauties that stood there was Aisha. "The one in the middle resembles her somewhat, but Aisha is shorter, with a more oriental caste to her eyes."

"Well, that's only the third group. Nine more to go. Deference Bidder is now the man dressed in black, the one in the box at the top of tier three."

"The dark-skinned one?"

"Right. Keep an eye on him."

Valleroy shifted in his seat until the new Deference Bidder came into his line of sight "Klyd, what reason did you give Nashmar for requiring his signals?"

"The usual... that I was training you in a new system and wasn't sure if we had it right yet."

"Stacy was right about you. You're good in the field."

"He was right about you, too, or we wouldn't have gotten this far. I just wish you had a little more self-control."

After the man in black purchased a hulking giant of a man, there were no more Deferencee Bidders.

Valleroy was allowed to repossess his hands as the auction took on some of the aspects of a free-for-all. Fortunes were changing hands, for the sake of one Choice Kill. As the seventh group-three stunning blondes tauntingly dressed in Zeor blue-were displayed, Valleroy said, "Why are these people willing to pay so much when they could get a Gen from the pens for practically nothing?"

"For exactly nothing, and that about all they're worth. There's a certain status in being able to afford the best, and in this case, quality is proportional to the degree of defiance the victim can muster."

"There's more of a thrill in conquering a fighter?" Valleroy knew his disgust was showing, but he didn't care.