Page 33 of War Mage

There’s nothing I can do though, as the menacing magistrate says, “I am not such a bad master, though. You may even eventually grow to like me. Kiss my feet, orc, for my mercy,” before pushing Urim’s head to drive him to his hands and knees.

“The contract . . .” Urim starts, obviously trying to regain some control of the situation.

“The contract was void the minute you promised to bring Lord Grazrath twenty rare slaves and only brought one,” answers the magistrate calmly. “You should be thanking me that I didn’t give you travel papers. The minute you showed up to the palace at Evernight with one twentieth of what was promised, no matter your excuses, Our Lord would have had you tortured to death and that fate would have been a slow one.”

“But she is worth all twenty of those slaves combined!” Urim argues. “An air mage with abundant mana? Lord Grazrath will be unhappy if she is not delivered to him . . .”

“Oh, she’ll be delivered to him, do not worry,” Magistrate Zadicus interrupts again, still in that quiet way of his. “As a personal gift from me, a show of my gratitude for my position and Lord Grazrath’s trust in me. I am leaving for a war council in Evernight tomorrow night and I’ll take her with me. I thank you for arriving so fortuitously with the perfect gift for Our Lord of Pain and Misery before my departure. Perhaps the dark powers are smiling on me. Now, I gave you an order,slave, and I expect you to obey it.”

Urim hesitates again and I can almost see the workings of his mind turning as if trying to see if there’s a way to turn this situation to his advantage. But that hesitation costs him. The guard Leon stomps over at the pause and kicks the orc sharply in the side, a blow hard enough to break human ribs, but Urim doesn’t even wince. “Magistrate Zadicus gave you an order, bloodbag!”

Suddenly Leon is flung across the room, slamming into the wall.

“Did I tell you that you could discipline my property?” softly demands the magistrate, standing in the spot where the guard was. He moved so quickly that my eyes couldn’t track him. He must have fed recently on sentient blood, like the rest of the vampires in this room. Which means they are all fast, strong, and dangerous.

“My apologies, Magistrate Zadicus,” gasps out Leon, winded by the magistrate’s blow. “It will not happen again.”

“No, it won’t,” the eerie, quiet vampire says menacingly. “Or you’ll find yourself chained in the public feeding stalls.”

Silence greets his words as an air of fear enters the room. I imagine that going from master to slave would be considered a fate worse than death to these sadistic vampires.

“Now,” Zadicus says, turning back to Urim, who is still on his hands and knees. “My order?”

Urim has obviously decided that it would be best to go along with the current for now, as he lowers his head and kisses the vampire’s embroidered boot.

“Thank you for your mercy, Magistrate Zadicus,” Urim murmurs and I wonder what’s going through his head right now. He is a prideful orc and comes from a culture that prizes freedom. Is he glad not to be executed, or is this a nightmare for him?

“You may call memaster, slave,” the magistrate says, a small smile playing at his lips, a dark pleasure in his eyes as he stares down at the orc. “You should know how a good slave acts.”

Urim keeps his head down as he says, “Yes, of course, master. Thank you for your correction.”

“Hmm,” the vampire magistrate hums contentedly. “I can see the rebellion in your eyes, for all your pretty words. You amuse me, Vargan. All strong males like you do in the beginning. Breaking you and showing you your true place in the world will be a rare pleasure. I believe I will take you with me to Evernight and begin your education on the road.”

“Magistrate Zadicus,” one of the noble vampires in the room asks, a slight whine in his voice, “isn’t it a little unfair that you just have claimed such unspoiled merchandise for yourself without putting him up for auction? It’s been weeks since we had any fresh blood in the city, since the Adrikian navy has been stopping shipments from Terria.”

“It is my right as the appointed of Grazrath to dole out blood the way I see fit,” Zadicus declares in that quiet, unsettling voice of his. “And one of the slaves that he lost was mine. Would you deny me restitution for my loss?”

His words are innocuous enough, but something about the way he says them makes it seem unwise for anyone to argue with him or complain further. The vampires in the room must get that same feeling, because they all look to the floor, including the whining one.

“N-no, Magistrate Zadicus,” he stutters. “Of course not. Forgive me. I spoke out of jealousy.”

“Forgiven,” the magistrate says carelessly, but there’s a dark undercurrent to his tone. This male is not stable. He appears quiet but is quick to violence. I can see why Grazrath favored him with a high position. I imagine they are wolves of the same pack.

Zadicus turns to the guards, Leon having limped his way back over to Gair, and orders, “Take the Honorless and the mage to the wagons and chain them together. We leave at sundown.”

“Yes, Magistrate Zadicus,” the guards say, inclining their heads. Gair grabs Urim by his chains and yanks him to his feet, guiding him out of the room. The other grabs me by my arm in a painful grip and I try and fail not to flinch.

As Leon drags me past the magistrate, the vampire says, “Just a moment.”

The guard stops and Zadicus reaches out, tilting my head up so that he can see my face.

“What a pretty human . . .” he muses. “Shame that. Lord Grazrath takes special pleasure in ruining the pretty ones.”

The magistrate then looks at Leon, ordering, “Be gentle with her and let it be known that none shall touch her. Lord Grazrath will not be merciful to anyone who sullies his plaything before he gets a chance to break her.”

Then he lets go of my chin and waves us away. The guard yanks at my arm but is more careful than he was before. He yanks open a side door and pulls me through. As we turn the corner I catch a glimpse of Urim and Gair ahead of us and then the door behind us swings shut, and we are plunged into darkness.

The guard pulls me along dark hallways, none with light, just like the streets outside. I feel blind as a worm, and just as powerless. I can’t even see Urim ahead of me anymore. I don’t even know if we’re being taken to the same place. The same wagon. But, no, the magistrate ordered for us to be chained together, so at least that’s something.Shit, am I truly glad we’re being chained together? This whole mission has been fucked.

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