Chapter 17

 

Cassivan, Maertel, and Othid left their box, went down the stairs, and headed for a back room through a door. Finri followed them, dipping in and out of sight with the way she flitted between people. 

 

Amirya went the opposite way in the round room, towards a man calling out for people to come check out the auctions for slaves and fighters. He smiled at her as she approached and pointed down the hallway behind him and telling her to follow the purple light.

 

Amirya covered her nose as she walked, uncomfortable with the scent of dirt and blood. She already felt fried and overwhelmed by the powerful auras that exuded off the guests. In a plain room with wooden chairs lined up neatly before a small stage, a man with a fox mask laughed on stage, gesturing behind him. 

 

Amirya nearly froze up, a small lizard beast stood with a chain around its' neck, and the scales glistened in the candlelight, light green scales. It wearily blinked; its' yellow snake-like eyes darted across the room anxiously. The fear inside the beast made Amirya nauseated. 

 

In this room, too, she was careful not to look at the ghosts.

 

Her hands clenched into fists. 

 

This is why Finri is the main character - she stops the shitty things, caring about the people involved. Even though I read the book and knew about the Midnight Sins, I just… and what did I do before? Throw things in my room and demand for Valer?

 

She shook off her thoughts and forced herself back on track. They will be freed, but today, she had to stop Cassivan and that man from meeting.

 

She went to a servant off to the side and placed a couple gold coins in his hand, “I have someone in particular in mind. Take me to someone useful.”

 

The waiter bowed and handed his tray of drinks off to another girl, all in half face masks. He led Amirya to the far side of the room, through another hallway, towards a small office. She sat on a plush red couch and waited as the waiter directed.

 

“You must have quite the pouch to demand a private meeting - the meeting alone, it’s thirty gold coins.” A man said from behind her. She did not turn. He slowly circled the couch and plopped down on the twin furniture across from her. “You can pay that, won’t you?”

 

“You’ll have a lot more than thirty gold coins,” she said evenly, smiling beneath her own mask, a simple black one. She pulled a glass bottle from her bag and opened it. She drank half of it and then offered it to the man, who simply tilted his head. 

 

“A new drug,” she said casually. “It was cooked up in a noble’s house sponsoring alchemist, don’t worry. I’ll distribute this, and also, I want to buy a slave.”

 

“Even still, I can’t just…” The man trailed off as Amirya took off her mask.

 

She knew she was a beautiful girl. She smiled again, coyly this time. “They call it ecstasy.”  

 

 

“It gives you a boost of energy for hours, reduces pain, and provides a sense of euphoria. The sheer pleasure of it removes any feelings of humiliation or shyness, and it’s completely safe to mix with alcohol and the like…”

 

The man watched her carefully and laughed loudly. “Well, normally, I’d say no way…” 

 

Amirya stared into his eyes. She saw them through the holes of his mask, and she pushed as hard as she could with her mental strength. “Drink it,” she said softly, encouraging. She leaned across the table and touched his hands, pushing her energy into his skin. “Go on…”

 

She had been practicing bewitching with Yanafir, but that girl was already subservient to her mentally, so there wasn’t much resistance. This wasn’t a power she wanted to depend on, either. Elle had taught her how dangerous and warped it could get as well as how easy it was to break.

 

A small light pink ring glowed around the man’s pupil, and he grabbed her hand and grinned, snatched the bottle and chugged it back, never releasing her. His mind was weak to a beautiful face.

 

“...” He licked his lips, and after a minute, he laughed. “Wow… this does feel amazing… it works so fast, too.”

 

Amirya watched him closely. “Good. Now release me, and take me to the white hair fighter with red eyes.”

 

The man stood. He wavered slightly and grabbed his head, “That… that’s one, bought…”

 

“You’re going to give him to me.” Amirya said.

 

He had drank the obedience potion. That, combined with as much bewitching energy as she could muster, should have him listening to each command. Of course, the potion brewed with her blood as the master ingredient, made herself the apex of control, which meant it would not affect her if she drank it, only others. 

 

Perhaps - she could try a spell since the bewitching seemed much too weak.

 

After a moment of thought, Amirya said, “Cease any feeling of worry, obey me, quickly hurry, and let all the rest be blurry.”

Elle told her not to underestimate the power of a witch’s word. The power of a simple poem and how it can charm the will of the world around one to obey their magic. 

 

“Yes… yes,” the man shuffled to the wall and opened a secret door.

 

“Interesting.” Amirya muttered as she grabbed her mask and fit it back on, trailing after him down a dark staircase. It opened into a barely-lit basement with cobble floors and iron bars down both sides, animals and beasts in some of them. He walked past, and Amirya did her best to ignore the them. She felt their weary souls call to her. 

 

 

They passed two guards who only nodded to the man in front of Amirya - they eyed her but said nothing. Through another door, there was a hallway with several prison-like doors instead of bars. Amirya felt even sicker than before. How could even more spirits linger here?

 

The man went to the third cell and slurred his words as he spoke, “...The handcuffs…” 

 

“Give the man to me,” she pressured again. The half-potion would only last for half an hour, maybe even less considering there was no telling what else mingled in this man’s system.

 

He unlocked the door and pushed it open. The man who sometimes tormented her dreams sat on a bed; his dull gray and blue aura lazily swirling within him. He looked up with half-lidded, bored eyes, and smirked, “Is it time to fight again? Already?”

 

“Bought… already bought…” the man murmured. 

 

On edge, Amirya casted a quick glance at him and beckoned the white haired one over. “Come quickly.”

 

“Hm?” The man tilted his head but stood up. He came to the door and smiled down at Amirya, holding out his hands, “The cuffs, right? While you change out the necklace.”

 

The chain that hung around his neck was inscribed by a wizard’s mark. These types of devices were supposedly outlawed nearly twenty years ago, but the production never stopped on the black market. A person could inject their energy into the necklace and whatever companion component that was made with it to connect the two and allow the owner to punish the one who wore the necklace with pain as a way of control.

 

“Take it off,” she told the man.

 

“Off,” the man mumbled. He shook his head, “Not me.”

 

“Take us then, already,” Amirya said, impatient. 

 

The white haired man whistled, wiggling his eyebrows. She spun, following the masked man as the slave trailed behind her. Her anxiety kicked up several notches with the man who killed Raven behind her. They left the hallway and headed down the opposite way they came, going into another doorway and up, leading back out into another office. Another man stood in the room. Amirya swallowed.