Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [130]
Miko gazes at the approaching city and wonders if this will be the end of the line for him, where he will truly become a slave. With apprehension, he watches the city grow closer until finally they pass through the gates.
They roll on through the city for awhile until they arrive at a large compound where the wagon stops and they’re removed from the wagon. Feet still manacled, they’re led into the building and divided into two holding pens where their manacles are removed.
Miko is the second to enter the pen and he watches with dread as Black Tooth is ushered into his pen behind him. When Black Tooth sees him there, he breaks into the smile that sets Miko’s nerves on edge.
Trying to put as much distance between them as possible, Miko moves to a far corner and settles down there. He watches Black Tooth as he goes over to several guys in the corner and begins talking to them. From the way they’re acting, it doesn’t look to him like the others know him at all.
The only time when Miko leaves his corner is when they’re fed and when he has to use the slop bucket. It’s not long after they’re fed that the light begins to fade with the coming of night. The slaves in the pens begin settling down to get what sleep they can.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Miko is awakened when someone grabs him. Startled, he tries to break free but the man only laughs. Black Tooth! Frantic now, Miko struggles harder and strikes out with his elbow, catching Black Tooth in the side.
Black Tooth’s grip loosens slightly but it’s enough for Miko to wriggle away from him. In his haste to get away, Miko trips over a sleeping slave who cries out in protest.
In the dim light filtering in through the windows, he sees Black Tooth begin approaching him, something held in his hand, glinting in the dim light. Miko starts hollering “Help! Guards!”
Black Tooth says something and then rushes toward him.
Miko keeps hollering as he tries to get away from Black Tooth. The other men in the pen realize what’s going on and quickly move to the edge to get out of harm’s way. Some begin calling out and before you know it, the whole area is in a roar with words and cheers, none of which Miko understands.
A door opens and light fills the pens from several torches brought in by the guards to see what the commotion is about.
Black Tooth continues chasing him around the pen as the guards enter the holding area, and when Miko gets close to the men at the side, one of them trips him. Falling to the floor, Miko quickly rolls on his back and sees Black Tooth right on top of him.
The knife held in his hand strikes down, opening up a long cut on his left forearm.
Suddenly, the door to the pen is opened and guards rush in and grab Black Tooth before he can strike again. They immobilize his arm and remove the knife from his hand. They holler to others and as they take Black Tooth out of the pen. Two slavers come in with a wooden block and set it on the floor outside of the pen.
They take Black Tooth to it and lay his right arm, the one that held the knife, across the top of it as one of the guards draws his sword. With a quick motion, he severs Black Tooth’s hand from his arm.
Black Tooth cries out in pain as his hand falls to the floor and blood begins to spray out of his stump.
One of the guards takes a torch and places it to the stump, cauterizing the wound and stopping the blood flow, which causes Black Tooth to cry out again as his flesh begins to sizzle in the flames. The smell of burnt flesh and hair fills the pen with a nauseating odor.
When the wound is sealed, they throw Black Tooth back into the pen and one of the guards makes an announcement which Miko is unable to understand. But he gets the gist of it, don’t cause trouble or you’ll be punished severely.
Then the guards take the block away and once more leave them in darkness as they file out of the holding area. Once Miko’s eyes become adjusted again