Page 101 of Freedom Mine
“I’ve sent a request to find out who the creditor is. To see if he’d let us buy Kayo back.”
They could do that. Work the mine, make the money, buy Kayo back. They could do that! Her excitement quickly waned the moment she noticed Jace looked particularly grim, more so than the day Kayo had been beaten and taken away in shock cuffs.
“It’s Garitt,” he said.
No, she must have misheard Jace. Lack of sleep, too much worry. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Alli looked down to the harkifa, where she’d been petting his head.
“Why is the harkifa so listless?” She should focus on what she could do here and now, let Jace research the creditors and come up with a plan to get Kayo back.
Jace’s lips were tight. Probably wondering why she hadn’t reacted to what he’d said. If she cried or got mad or swore that Garitt owned Kayo, that would make it real. Garitt couldn’t have Kayo. He’d wanted Kayo dead for a long time, and he had Kayo for well over a week. That would mean. . . no, Kayo wasn’t dead and Garitt didn’t own him.
“Had to sedate him to reset his leg. He’ll perk up in a few hours.” Jace squatted in front of her, trying to get her to look at him. “Garitt sent a vid.”
Her stomach sank. She’d started this, and Jace was going to finish it. He was a realist who dealt in facts. Well, she did too, but not this one.
“He’s still alive,” Jace said.
She closed her eyes, thanking the gods. As soon as her brain wrapped around the fact that Kayo was still alive, her soul told her Jace hadn’t told her everything. “Tell me the rest.”
“Garitt’s caged him. He wants me to transfer the property and mines to him.”
“Oh, gods. . .”
“I can’t do it, Blue.” Somewhere between the words, she heard the pain in Jace’s voice, the regret, the resignation that Kayo would not be coming home.
“All of us would have nowhere to go, no way to feed ourselves. We’d end up slaves for sure, all of us. It was the one thing Kayo and I agreed on. I can’t transfer the property to Garitt.”
She understood what Jace was saying, but all she could think about, picture, was Kayo being caged again. He’d barely survived the three days caged in town. Garitt has had him for over a week, and there was no telling how long he’d keep him in there. Three years. Kayo wouldn’t survive that torture this time.
“How did Garitt know that caging Kayo. . .” She cleared her throat and wiped away the tears. “. . . that the cage was Kayo’s greatest weakness?”
“The cage isn’t. You are.”
Her eyes found his. There was nothing left to say. Kayo loved her enough to sacrifice the one thing they all cherished above all else. . . his freedom.
With Kayo in hell, there was no ‘moving forward’ as Runner had suggested a few days ago. Her eventual freedom meant nothing as long as Kayo suffered. No pretty words or altruistic intentions would bring Kayo home, or keep him out of the cage, or keep him alive. . . not while he remained in Garitt’s hands.
* * *
Alli woketo the sound of hollering. She’d fallen asleep on Kayo’s bed, the need to surround herself in his scent overwhelming after learning he’d been caged again. Once outside, she spotted the men currently off-shift crowding Runner. In the distance, Jace was running toward Sanctuary.
“A huge vein!” Masher said as he ran up to her, pulled her into a bear hug, and spun her around. “Sorry, Blue,” he said, lowering her back to the ground.
The group was heading to the longhouse now. Alli ran to catch up. The men quickly donned their mining gear. Apparently, a strike meant everyone helped out, or maybe they just all wanted to be a part of it. They’d worked hard for so long. Kayo had been right. Sanctuary would produce.
One week. One drekking week late.
She could feel their joy, their excitement, and she was happy for them, but it was hard not to think of Kayo, sitting in a cage, his mind turning against him as his body withered away. The men waved to her as they headed up the path.
Liet stayed back for a minute. “We all talked to Jace already. If he can find who has Kayo, we’ll put our money together and use it to buy him back. All of us, even those top of the list in line for getting freedom status.”
“You’d do that?” These men truly never ceased to amaze her.
“It’s Kayo,” he said, as if that said it all. And it did. She understood what he meant to them. He’d been the first one to treat them as human again, as equals, with the promise of freedom. Just as he’d done for her. He’d been one of them, and he’d sold himself back into slavery to save them. They wouldn’t abandon him.
She didn’t have the heart to tell them what Jace had told her, that Garitt had Kayo and would never sell him, not without giving up the one safe haven these men had. They’d get their freedom, but only some had a home to return to. The others had nowhere else to go.
No, she couldn’t tell them, at least not today. They needed this strike, not just for the income, but because it gave them hope of a real future.
Liet smiled and jogged to catch up with the others. Let the men mine the pozite and get their freedom. She’d find another way to save Kayo, even if it meant sneaking onto Garitt’s property and slicing his throat, just like Garitt had taught her how to kill Kayo.
