Page 23 of Steel & Thunder
“What happens when my blood touches the paper?” I really wish I had Mikey here to ask about blood magic. “Does it, like, bind me to you?”
“What? No.” He drops the knife, head tilted in confusion. “I told you. It is just a signature.”
“Why does this paper need blood but not the other two?” I argue.
“This paper is more important,” he counters.
“What happens if I don’t sign it?” Because I’m really not sure I want to.
There’s a beat of silence before he answers. “Nothing. I would still own you, you would still go home with me, and your friends would still be in jail. It would simply be an unfinished piece of paper.”
I eye the form warily, his red signature flashing like a warning sign.
He sighs and fiddles with the knife in his hand. “I am not going to force you to do this, but it is something that will have to be done eventually, and I honestly would prefer to finish it now so we can get on with the rest of our day.”
“So sorry that my aversion to being enslaved is inconveniencing you.” He gives me a really unimpressed look at that. “...Fine.” I sigh and hold out my hand.
He takes my hand, holding my finger steady between his thumb and forefinger as he brings the knife closer. There is just the slightest pinch of pain when the blade touches my skin. The pink is replaced by red, and my hand is released. The paper is pushed toward me and a blank spot on the bottom right pointed out. He’s going to make me do this on my own. My hand hovers over that paper, my finger up, for one, two, three seconds. I know this form means nothing. I know he says it’s just a signature. But it feels like I’m about to sign away my life to a demon.
I tip my hand and watch the drop of blood fall. It hits the paper below, and with a sizzle, my signature—my actual signature—is etched onto the page.
I hope my demon is a merciful one.
Chapter Seven
Our magical signatures are still sizzling when Orduk returns to the office, grumbling. “I swear the council gets off on dragging out pointless meetings.”
“I feel your pain, brother. Two weeks ago, Councilman Murbank dragged a hearing on for four hours. Over stolen cheese.” Ironstorm smiles a little wearily while handing him the completed paperwork. “We just completed the last of these.”
“Excellent. Let me look them over, and I can send you on your way.” He takes the stack of papers as he sits on the other side of the desk, flipping through them quickly. “As thorough as always, sir. I will get these filed right away.” He and Ironstorm both stand and lean over the desk, clasping each other’s forearms the same way I saw the orc at the market do. After a bow to me that I awkwardly return, my leash is grabbed, and we make our way out of the building.
The park has emptied somewhat, the sun no longer high in the sky. It’ll be sunset in maybe half an hour. We walk back through the park, but when we cross the street after exiting, we don’t seem to be following the path we took here. I know we have one more stop to make but don’t know what for. Just that it may involve buying me underwear, which feels a lot more ominous than underwear has any right to.
We walk for a while, and if I wasn’t so used to walking literally every day for the last month, after a month of being stuck on a boat, I’d complain. As it is, this is pretty nice. I don’t usually get to walk around a city like this; we’re usually in and out. You spend enough time in the woods—you start to miss the sounds of other people just existing around you.
We’re in another commercial area now, multiple orcs moving in and out of buildings, most with the doors wide open. I see a lot of bars and taverns. Big surprise: orcs like beer as much as the rest of the world. There are a few inns as well and...is that a brothel? Two tall, lean, and scantily clad orcs, one male and one female, stand outside wearing little more than black leather straps placed precariously over their more sensitive bits. The male orc catches me looking and smirks when we make eye contact, forcing me to turn away. Why are we in this part of town? I try to push the knowledge that I will be getting underwear somewhere around here to the back of my mind.
We pass one more bar before entering the next building on our right. It’s a little larger than the clothing shop was, though with fewer shelves. Instead, there are a lot of things hanging from the walls. Some of it is clothing—I think—and a lot of the other items look like they’re made out of leather. There are tables in the corners, each holding a large, irregularly shaped rock that glows and illuminates the room. Before I can get a closer look at anything, yet another orc is coming toward us. This one matches the captain’s height, though I’d say he’s got a good 50-60 pounds on him, and not necessarily muscle. His large, dark brown beard includes a few braided strands adorned with small metallic rings, and he’s got a large one made of gold hanging from his nose. His head is shaved, and he’s got a number of markings tattooed on his arms.
“Khazak!” Another old buddy, maybe? “Been expecting you.”
“Brull, it is good to see you friend.” The two hug their hellos. “I apologize if we are early. I wanted to make sure we got here before your usual evening rush.”
“Nonsense. Started working right after we talked yesterday. I’ve got almost everything you need ready.” Brull turns to me. “So this is him up close. What’s his name?”
“David.” I answer for myself because I’m right here.
“Feisty.” He chuckles before giving me a once over. “I bet taming him is gonna be a lot of fun.”
“I have been up to the challenge so far.” Khazak—because he can’t control what I call him in my head!—jokes to my left. “I appreciate your fitting me in on such short notice.”
“Always happy to help a brother.” Brull waves off the concern. “Besides, it’s not like we hadn’t talked about your plans for this sort of thing before.” What plans? “I still need to make a few adjustments. Let me get a measurement of his neck, then you can show him around the shop while I finish up. Can you take off the collar?”
Ironstorm moves over to me and pulls out his keys, unhooking the padlock on my collar and removing it. I move my neck around once it’s free, rubbing the uncovered skin with my hand. That feels a lot better after having that thing on since yesterday. Brull steps forward, wrapping his thumb and forefinger on both hands around my neck, and again against my collarbone. It feels oddly less threatening than I’d expect.
“Perfect. Give me just a few minutes.” The larger orc steps into a backroom, leaving the two of us alone in the front.
“He seems...nice.” Not really sure what to make of the man who just wrapped his hands around my neck. Why do I even care?
