Page 7 of Freedom Mine
“Blue, are you in here?” He edged the door open farther, enough to see her fast asleep, or pretending to be asleep, on a pile of ragged blankets and paper.
She’d built a nest for herself. A damn nest, like a rat. Kayo took a deep breath and forced the rage down. He hadn’t been this unsettled in a long time, and it was all because of her.
“Blue?” he said, louder. He wasn’t stepping in there again. “Blue!”
She jolted upright, her beautiful blue eyes filled with fear and her face pale as if she hadn’t seen sunlight in ages.
“Hells.” He released his breath. Of course, she was disoriented, her first time waking up in a new place. She was likely exhausted too, given the day she’d had. Arriving on a new planet after countless hours shoved in a cargo hold with other slaves like cattle, only to be put on display, groped, fondled, and sold. She needed time to rest and acclimate, but she had to know why she was here as well.
“Sorry. I was just trying to wake you.”
She blinked. Fear. . . confusion. Her face showed every emotion when her guard was down. In those few seconds, before she had remembered where she was, a peace had graced her lovely face. Would he ever see that look again?
“Follow me.”
She followed, ever obedient, damn it. Fear once again filled her eyes. Beautiful blue eyes that he could gaze into forever, if he were so inclined. She was nothing to him, though. Merely another slave. He’d had a moment of weakness at the auction house and now he had to figure out what to do with her.
The sun was already setting. He wanted to show her around before the second shift returned which meant more men staring at her, expecting answers he didn’t have. That was no way to ease her into life here.
Fortunately, she followed him down the steps so he didn’t have to go into the attic again. They made it past the longhouse without running into any of the men.
When they reached the road that led out, Kayo turned to face her. Her expression remained guarded. His fingertips slowly glide down her arm, along the shapely contour of her elbow, then her forearm. She felt so soft and smelled sweeter than hecka drops, but she tensed at his touch. It was going to be hard keeping his hands off of her, but he had to. She’d never trust him if he kept touching her.
His hand fell away, earning him a slight tilt of her head. “This is the speech I give all the men, I mean workers here. If you have any questions, speak up. No need to wait until I’m done. I prefer honesty to manners, though I don’t mind manners. They’re not a priority with me, that’s all.”
Gods, he was fumbling like an untried schoolboy and this certainly wasn’t a date, nor was it the speech he gave the newcomers. This was one lone woman who managed to turn his world upside down without trying to!
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus. “My name’s Kayo. Probably should have told you that in the landglider, but I wasn’t thinking straight at the time, so that’s on me. Anyway, everyone here on my property is free, including you.”
No change in her expression. He found himself staring at her arm and he rubbed his forefinger and thumb against one another, to keep from touching her.
“I’m not a wealthy man by any means, but what profits I make from the mine are poured into paying for slaves at auction and bringing them here. I’m not great with managing my money, and that’s no secret, which is why there are so many men here at the moment. They still have slave status.”
Her eyes drifted to her arm, where he’d been glancing. She pulled her arms behind her to hide from him. That made him focus on her face once more, or rather her forehead since she’d lowered her head. He took a long, calming breath and continued.
“When the mine produces, I buy freedom status for as many men as I can. And we usually have a party too.” He smiled thinking of those small celebrations that meant a lot to him.
Not even a snicker of disbelief, the usual reply he received from the men. He hoped she was listening.
“It’s a first-arrive first-leave basis here. That means the next person I buy freedom status for is whoever’s been here the longest. That’s Masher at this point. The problem is we’ve hit a dry spell. Nothing coming out of the mine at this point, which means no money to pay for Masher’s freedom status. But he’s next up. Eventually, you’ll have your freedom, Blue. That means a legal upgrade to your chip, showing you’re free. Are you following what I’m saying?”
She nodded. She was listening, but she doubted everything he said, they all did when they first arrived here. All he could do was lay it out there for her and hope she’d believe him eventually.
“I don’t force anybody to work, but I make it clear that if they don’t do their share, well, they drop to the bottom of the list. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise. And everyone works here, including me, because there’s no other way to earn the money to pay for their freedom.”
She shifted from foot to foot. Gods, he hated the first days of having a new slave. Too much tension and suspicion perverted every move, every action he’d take until she had a chance to get to know him. It had been the same with each of the men. As the only woman here, though, she’d be more suspicious than any of the men had ever been.
“Bottom line, you stay as long as you want, but if you stay, you work to help pay for your own freedom and the next guy I see at auction. It’s a group effort and you’re either part of the group or you’re not. Simple as that.”
He finished his speech, glad to be through it. Sooner or later, she’d ask the other slaves for the truth. Male, female, it didn’t matter. When it came to learning the rules and routines of any owner, the slaves tended to deal straight with one another about their common enemy, the owner.
Owner.
Gods, after all these years, the words still twisted his insides.
He walked to the edge of the property, motioning her to follow. The green lights on top of the entry pylons scared her from getting too close. Once a slave entered the property of registry, they couldn’t leave again unless the pylon lights were red, indicating they’d been deactivated. Only the owner’s code could deactivate the pylons for a slave to exit. That’s what kept slaves from escaping Varkos and other planets in the Althiran Empire, that and the retina and chip scanners at every port. The Althirans were nothing if not protective of their property, the bastards.
Kayo stepped through the pylons. “These two pylons won’t zap you again, even though they’re green. The other pylons around the property will, and they’re set at the highest level, high enough to kill if you get trapped in the field. Varkos may look like a backward planet, and perhaps it is, but the Varkosans are very strict when it comes to obeying Althiran law here. If you ever decide to run for it, go through the main pylons only.”
