Page 53 of Shroud of Eternity (Sister of Darkness: The Nicci Chronicles 2)

Bannon’s lips curled, and he muttered, “Sweet Sea Mother, why would those inhuman creatures come here?” He snorted. “No doubt drawn by the smell of blood.”

Ivan inhaled a deep breath and threw back his shoulders. “Yes, exhilarating, isn’t it?”

Kor strode over, scratching the scar on his left cheek, accompanied by Yorik and Lars. By comparison, Chief Handler Ivan looked almost handsome. “So this is the source of that delicious meat,” said the Norukai captain. “I’m here to purchase fresh slabs to bring with us when we sail away. We’ll depart soon.”

Bannon knew they would come back before long with more slaves. He felt heat throbbing in his face as he flushed with anger.

The blood-spattered clerk bustled forward, intercepting the Norukai. “I can facilitate that, Captain. As you see, the meat is very fresh, and we have gifted butchers who can work preservation spells, so the meat will be fresh and juicy when you cook it back in your Norukai islands.”

Lars and Yorik nodded, and their expressions seemed eager, though their true feelings were difficult to read, due to the scars on their faces. “If we pay extra, could we slaughter them ourselves?”

“Why, of course,” said the clerk. “We have an assortment of slaughtering tools.”

“We have our own weapons,” Kor said.

“And we need more kegs of bloodwine,” Yorik interjected. “I don’t know what happened to Dar. He was supposed to arrange for the shipment.”

Kor turned his needle gaze back to Ivan. “Our companion Dar has not been seen in the past day. He vanished in your city, and we have to find him before we sail off.”

As he watched these men, Bannon felt the hatred inside him coming to a boil like a thick and poisonous stew. If they hadn’t stolen Ian as a boy, then Bannon wouldn’t be here begging to get him released. All those years his friend had suffered … He clenched his hands, ignored Amos and his companions. Bannon loathed the Norukai for what they had done, not just to his friend, but to all the other slaves dragged into the Ildakar market, as well as the even fresher wound of seeing how Kor had abused Melody at the silk yaxen dacha.

As emotions boiled up within him, before he could stop himself, Bannon blurted with a provocative sneer, “Your friend can’t be hard to find. The Norukai are so ugly.”

The three slavers turned toward him, surprised at the insult.

Bannon’s rage sharpened his words like a whetstone. “Or maybe someone killed him and threw him off the cliffs into the river. We could test the waters for poison and see if his body is down there contaminating the swamps.”

Yorik and Lars bunched their arms, reaching for their weapons. Kor snorted and looked at Amos. “Why do you tolerate this insulting weakling? Is this the hospitality we receive from Ildakar after we brought you a valuable cargo?”

Amos said quickly, “He doesn’t speak for the wizards’ duma. He is also a guest here.”

“He’s an unworthy guest,” Lars said.

“I am more worthy than your whole nation combined,” Bannon said, feeling the red anger controlling him, just like when he went into his maddened fighting state. “I have more honor than any Norukai could imagine. You are leeches.” His right hand twitched, longing for his sword, which wasn’t there.

Yorik spat a long stream of saliva coupled with a glob of phlegm that struck Bannon full in the face.

Like a crossbow bolt being released, Bannon threw himself forward, unleashing his pent-up anger. He was on Yorik, pummeling the man’s ugly face, but the Norukai drew back his well-muscled arm and punched Bannon hard on the side of the head. He reeled back, and Yorik slugged him on the chin.

Bannon lost himself in the fight, attacking the slaver again.

Captain Kor and Lars both got into the brawl, all three of them piling on Bannon, beating him so hard that his ears rang. Though he fought and clawed, the Norukai overpowered him, threw him to the ground. His outcries were louder even than the miserable yaxen being led to slaughter.

With heavy boots they kicked him in the side, and he felt his ribs crack. The wind whooshed out of him, but he kept fighting. From the ground, he lashed out at their legs.

In the back of his mind, he thought of how a group of thugs had robbed him in the alleys of Tanimura. They’d knocked him senseless before Nicci rescued him. But the beautiful sorceress wasn’t going to rescue him this time. Bannon kept thrashing, and the Norukai pounded him, bruised him, made blood spray out of his nose and mouth.

Eventually, his supposed friends, Amos, Jed, and Brock, pulled the Norukai away. Chief Handler Ivan glared down at Bannon, who could only see through swollen eyes in a fog of blood and anger.

“This man has insulted the proud Norukai,” said Kor. “He must be punished.”

“He looks punished enough,” Brock said. “Or would you like to have a few more minutes with him?”

Amos said, “On behalf of the wizard commander and the sovrena, I promise we’ll take care of this matter. Bannon Farmer is a guest, but the Norukai are far more important. We’ll think of something to do with him.”

Ivan grunted. “He said he was a fighter. Let me take him to the combat pits. Adessa will want him—to give her warriors practice, if nothing else. If that fails, we can feed him to my animals.”

Ivan yelled for slaves, and Bannon was dimly aware of several bodies clustering around him, reaching down to grab his arms and legs, lashing them together so that he couldn’t struggle. The broken-glass pain was so great he could barely move.

“No…” he groaned as they lifted him off the ground. He blinked, twisted his head, and his gaze met a smug-looking Amos. “Help me.…” The other young man remained unmoved. Bannon cried out again, his voice no louder th

an a croak. “Tell Nicci and Nathan. Let them know! They’ll help.”

Amos crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course we will, my friend. Don’t worry about it. We’ll resolve the problem.”

Bannon fought with the last shreds of his consciousness, and he lost the battle. As he drifted into blackness, he saw Amos and his companions turn away, flashing a smirk and a nod toward the chief handler.

CHAPTER 40

As clouds scudded across the sky, the wizards of Ildakar began to make preparations in earnest to raise their protective shroud. Their ritual would take place within two days, and at least a dozen of the new slaves delivered by the Norukai would be killed.

Nicci intended to discover a way to stop it before it was too late.

Nathan returned from Andre’s twisted studio, disheartened while the fleshmancer was simply matter-of-fact. “You need the heart of a wizard, but I have none to give you,” Andre said. “Be patient; there will come a time. Plenty of time, hmmm?”

“But you intend to raise the shroud again,” Nathan said. “We’ll be trapped inside.”

Andre’s bald forehead furrowed with surprise. “Trapped? We would consider it protected. You have a very dark view of the world, my friend. Under our shroud of eternity you need not feel threatened by the outside world.”

Nicci accompanied the two men as they entered the ruling chamber, caught in her own thoughts. The night before, she had slipped out into the dark streets again, seeking Mirrormask’s representatives, but found no one to talk to. She felt tensions brewing in the city, a simmering undercurrent of anger. She was sure the rebels would attempt something soon, and she wanted to participate. With her gift, she would be a powerful ally to their cause.

Mirrormask and his representatives must be watching her, but they made no contact.

Jagang had been willing to sacrifice countless thousands of foot soldiers, using sheer numbers to score tiny victories … until those small victories added up to complete conquest. Seeing the strength of the shroud spell, as well as the petrification magic that had frozen the army of General Utros, she knew how powerful were the wizards of Ildakar, but no one was truly invincible. She herself had killed Emperor Jagang.

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