“If you don’t do what I say, my friends will make you. Understand?”
She worked her mouth, trying to get enough saliva so she could respond. “Yes.”
The hands released her. “Good,” Relio said. He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you here?”
Staggering to her feet, Tereka clasped her shaking hands together, searching her mind for the best answer. Did it matter anymore if she hid the truth? She blinked a few times, then met his gaze. “Here in this brigade, in the camp, or alive?”
Relio’s eyes widened. Then a slow smile crossed his face. He settled back in his chair and held a hand out to the side. One of the prisoners put a tin mug in his hand. The brigade leader took a sip, never taking his eyes off Tereka. “Let’s start with where you’re from.”
That was easy. “Trofmose.”
“And what did you do in Trofmose, Tereka?”
“I was a trader.”
A few of the watching men snickered. “So you didn’t steal the brown clothes. Interesting.” Relio raised his eyebrows. “It would take courage for a woman to be a trader, especially in these times. What was your crime?”
When Tereka didn’t reply right away, he smirked. “I know it’s got to be spectacular. What was it? Did you try to assassinate the Prime Konamei?”
She winced and shook her head. She was no assassin, but she might as well have been, considering how threatening the konameis found the Desired One.
Relio twitched his lips into a smirk. “I suppose they didn’t tell you. There are all-women’s brigades. Most women end up there. The young and pretty ones go to a special brigade for the guards’ entertainment. The worst criminals, like you, are put in men’s brigades. The idea is they are sent to us for our amusement. Most don’t last too long.” He ran his eyes up and down her body. “So why did they send you to me?”
Tereka put a trembling hand on her waist where she kept the amulets hidden. Maybe the sky-god, if he really existed, would help her. Without knowing where the words came from, she answered. “I was born.”
From Relio’s raised eyebrows, she assumed he was as surprised by her response as she was. When he chuckled, she knew it was the right thing to say.
“That’s it?”
“And I offended my aunt. By being born. And breathing. And just about in every other way.”
“Who is your aunt?”
“The syndic of Trofmose.”
Relio laughed and slapped his leg. “Your aunt, a konamei of the northern regional center, sworn to uphold safety and fairness, found a way to get rid of a niece she despises?” He looked around at the seated men. “I think the girl’s got a story to tell.”
“Then save it for another day and let her have something to eat.”
Tereka started at the sound of a melodic feminine voice behind her. She whirled and nearly bumped into a woman about her height, with sardonic tawny eyes and coppery skin, her dark hair a short stubble on her beautifully shaped head.
The woman took her arm. “It’s about time I had a friend, anyway. Right?”
“As you wish.” Relio nodded and waved toward Tereka. “We’ll leave the girl in peace tonight. Tomorrow night, we’ll hear her story and then decide.”
“Here, sit with me,” the woman said, pulling Tereka to a corner of the room.
They settled on piles of straw. Tereka tried not to imagine what vermin crawled in them.
“I’m Savinnia. It’s lucky for you Relio hurt his back in the mine today.”
Questions circled in Tereka’s mind, but her dry mouth prevented her from asking them. Savinnia didn’t seem to notice. She kept talking. “I hope you’ve got a great story. Relio won’t be happy if you don’t.”
“What would he do?” Tereka croaked the words out.
Savinnia let out a long breath. “You don’t understand, do you? If you weren’t sent to a women’s brigade, you’re meant to entertain the men here.”
Tereka’s eyes widened. “You mean— ”
“Yes, imagine the worst, and you won’t be far off.” Savinnia ran a hand over her shaved head. “They shove us in a men’s brigade, knowing we’ll be easy prey for whatever they want to do. The idea is that we don’t survive too long.”
As if being in a prison camp and working in the mines wasn’t bad enough. Tereka could barely breathe.
“It’s not always a death sentence.” Savinnia had Tereka’s full attention now. She leaned toward the other woman and stared into her face. “I was fortunate. When they stuck me here, they made a mistake. Somehow they didn’t realize my brother Naco was already here.”
“How— ”
“Naco stepped up and fought three men over me. He’d already gotten in good with Relio, but after he took care of three of the worst troublemakers in the brigade, Relio was even more pleased with him. Soon after, Naco and I overheard some guards planning to assassinate the commander. We told Relio, who passed the word on. The plot was foiled. Relio was rewarded. And Naco and I became Relio’s trusted seconds. Between the three of us, and two others, we run the brigade.”
“So no one attacked you?”
“After what Naco did to the three he fought, no one was fool enough to try to get through him. And then… ”
“Then?” Tereka’s heart lurched. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“I became Relio’s. It was the only way for him to protect me. These men,” she waved a hand at the room, “they’re not about to let an unclaimed woman go to waste, as they say. Better to belong to one than to be abused by many.”
Tereka gulped. Was that the fate in store for her?
“You’ve bought yourself some time. What you need to do— ”
The opening of the door interrupted her. Two tall men entered, staggering as they lugged a large covered basin. One had a sack slung over his shoulder. They set the basin down in front of Relio.
Savinnia touched Tereka’s shoulder. “Food.”
Men formed a line in front of the basin. Savinnia stood, then offered Tereka a hand up. “I’m sorry. Since you’re the newest one, you’ll have to go to the end of the line.” With a shrug, she went and stood next to Relio.
Observing the others, Tereka pursed her lips. Savinnia removed the lid from the basin and set it on the floor. She took a metal cup from the sack and handed it to Relio. He dipped it in the basin, then drank from it. He sipped slowly, at times chewing on something in the soup or on the hunk of bread Savinnia handed him.
When he’d finished, he handed the cup to Savinnia. She dipped it in and drank. Then one of the men who’d carried in the basin took the cup. He resembled Savinnia, the same muscular build and coppery skin. Was that her brother?
Then she realized, and she gulped. She was going to have to drink from the same cup as all the others before her. Stifling a shudder, she took her place at the end of the line. By the time it was her turn, each man had drunk of the contents of the bucket, which turned out to be some kind of broth. Barely a mouthful was left for her. She had noticed some of those at the front of the line chewing as they stepped away, so she assumed there’d been something, maybe some meat or vegetables in the soup, just enough for the favored few. She was going to have to do something or she would starve to death. She needed to quickly figure out how to gain Relio’s favor and move up in the pecking order.
She returned to her seat by the wall, let her eyelids droop, and set herself to watch. Nearly everyone had a closely shaved head. Tereka scratched her scalp and her skin crawled. Everyone was wearing tattered and filthy gray clothing. A glance around showed that no one besides her wore brown. So she was the only trader. What had the others been? Savinnia had a crimson band around the left shoulder of her dress. She’d been a questor’s clerk. Tereka then cast her eyes over the group nearest to where she sat. A few orange bands, some green, a few dark blue or brown. Hard to tell with all the dirt. She shook her head. Did it really matter what people did before they ended up here?
Relio let out a guffaw. Savinnia wa
s draped over his lap. The chair they occupied was the only one in the room. Better get used to sitting on the floor, then. In the center of the room was what appeared to be a firepit. It must get cold here in the winter. So, they were somewhere in the middle of the country. Along one wall were six piles of straw, two or three with tattered blankets. Near the other wall was a pile of dry blankets. Along the back wall was nothing.
Last in line for food probably meant last in line for a blanket. It didn’t look like there were enough blankets in the pile to go around.
Tereka bent her knees up and rested her face on them. No way would she give herself to that filthy brute. She would have to find another way. The problem was, could she find it before her strength—and her will—gave out.
41
Tereka blinked in the morning light. She hadn’t slept much between the sounds the men made in their sleep and the noises that Savinnia and Relio made. She shuddered. She hoped she wouldn’t be driven to that.
She clambered to her feet. The men had already lined up in front of a barrel. Each man took a drink from the dipper and a hunk of bread. She inched her way toward the end of the line.
“Come here, girly.”
Relio’s command startled her. She slowly walked toward him.
He was a big man, covered in ropy muscles. His olive skin made his grey eyes stand out. He looked Tereka up and down, assessing her. “Hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Tired?”
“Yes.”
“And smart enough not to waste my time with complaints,” he said. “Now, here’s the story. Everyone here has a place. I say what it is. You earn your standing.”
“How?”
“Make yourself useful. You’ll see when we go to work.” He smirked. “Or there’s a faster way.”
Tereka raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”
“You do me some favors, I’ll move you up.”
From Relio’s leer, Tereka had a good idea of what those favors would involve. “I see.”
Relio chuckled. “You’re like all the others. Not interested at first. If you survive being fair game for whoever wants you, it will only take a few days and you’ll do whatever I want.” He waved for her to take her place at the end of the line.
A few hours later, Tereka wiped the sweat from her face. She’d never noticed the heat of the summer sun quite like this before. Riding in a wagon was a lot different from scratching copper out of a strip mine. There was no breeze in the pit, just heat that intensified as the day wore on. By mid-morning, the mine felt like an oven; by noon a kiln. Tereka felt as if her skull had baked like pottery and would crack open at any moment.
She knew she wouldn’t survive long. She and Savinnia were expected to meet the men’s quota of copper. Savinnia followed close behind her brother, who dropped ore in her bucket from time to time. Tereka clenched her jaw. She had no one. Whether she would die from lack of sleep or starvation, she didn’t know and was too tired to care. Three days, maybe, and that would be the end.
Shortly after noon, the guards signaled for the prisoners to take a break. The workers staggered to the water buckets and lined up. Tereka jostled for a place and bumped into another prisoner. “Hey, w-watch yourself.”
She ducked her head. “Sorry.” She stared at the man’s brown-clad back. Brown. He was a trader. She edged to his side to look into his face. His skin was dark brown. Her heart jumped. Not too many dark-skinned traders had a stutter. She put a hand on his shoulder. “Can it be you?”
The man spun, his fist raised. Then his jaw dropped. “T-tereka? What are you doing here?’
A wide smile spread across her face. “Poales, I was going to ask you that.”
“I got t-tired of trading, so I thought I’d try mining. You?”
“This wasn’t my idea, that’s for sure.” She told Poales about her trial and sentencing. “You?”
“I guess I defended myself one too many times.”
“Move along. Time’s about up.” A guard slapped the man drinking on the back.
Poales shook his head. “Look, we don’t have much time.” He shuffled forward a few feet, following the man in front of him. “Who’s the leader in your brigade?”
“Relio.”
“Oh.” He frowned. “You’re in a men’s brigade?” He stared at her. “Relio’s one of the t-tough ones. Has he put you at the back of the line for everything?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve got to change that. This afternoon, try to work near him. Put a little of your c-copper in his bucket, help him out.”
“I’m barely going to be able to finish my quota as it is.”
“Don’t you see? If you help him, he’ll help you.”
“How did he come to be in charge anyway?”
“Who knows? It’s not important. You need to worry about survival. Help Relio out, you’ll move up in the ranks. Just don’t be obvious about it.” He glanced at the guards overseeing the water bucket. “If the guards see you, it will be worse for you.” He took a step forward. “And stick with your brigade. Don’t be caught alone. Ever.” He took a drink from the dipper, refilled it, and handed it to Tereka. “I’ll look for you tomorrow.” He walked off to join his brigade.
Tereka took a deep breath. Poales was right. She needed to get Relio’s favor, and preferably not the way he’d mentioned earlier. She shuddered. I cannot give myself to that savage lout. And I don’t even want to think about what Poales meant about being caught alone.
She gulped the tepid water and made her way back to where she’d been working. She took a position a few feet behind Relio and picked up her tools.
As she worked, she watched Relio out of the corner of her eye. The big man sliced through the rock with quick, efficient motions. He didn’t seem to need any help getting his quota done, but then he straightened and put a hand to his lower back. He rubbed the spot, then bent to his labor. Maybe he could use some help after all.
A guard made his way through the ranks of toiling men, checking their buckets for ore. Tereka winced as the guard cuffed one man on the head, knocking him to the ground. “Lazy rat, do your part,” the guard said. Tereka didn’t see how injuring a worker would make him more productive, but maybe the guards didn’t care. It seemed the idea was to work the prisoners to death and replace them with others. If some starved to death, it was no more important than the deaths of fleas.
The seam she was digging allowed her to inch closer to Relio. When the guard was busy harassing another prisoner, Tereka tossed a few chunks of ore into Relio’s bucket. He started at the sound but didn’t turn. Instead, he pried a chunk of ore from the ground, and carefully placed it in his bucket. He turned his head to see who was behind him. When he saw Tereka, he nodded his head almost imperceptibly.
Tereka swung her hammer and hit the end of her chisel. She needed to make sure she met her quota. She held her breath and kept her eyes down as the guard strolled past, desperately hoping he wouldn’t look at her, that he wouldn’t pay her any attention.
When the man had strolled past, she squatted back on her heels. Her bucket was only a third full, but it was almost midday. She stood up and stretched her arms out, glancing around. Where can I find a better seam of copper?
A muscular arm snaked around her waist and yanked her against the chest of a sweating man. “Whatcha doin? Want to take a break?” His hand stroked her stomach, then moved upward, squeezing when it found her breast.
Her heart pounded. She dug her elbow into his ribs and stamped on his foot. He yelped and released her. She jumped a step away. He grabbed her shoulder.
“Don’t try your tricks on me, girly.”
“Stop it, Sebezh.”
Naco strode toward them, fists clenched. Sebezh shook Tereka like she was a toy and shoved her to the ground. “I’ll see you tonight, trader girl. You’ll want to trade with me then.” He strode off, laughing.
“Did he hurt you?” Naco squatted near Tereka.
She raised her head from th
e ground. Her lip stung and something trickled down her chin. She touched her lip and stared at the blood on her trembling fingers. “No, not badly.”
He helped her to stand. She clung to his arm, willing her shaking limbs to still.
“We need to get back to work before the guards come by. Where’s your bucket?”
Tereka pointed to where it had stood. Now it lay on its side, empty, with only a chunk or two of ore on the ground. Her jaw dropped. “Where did my ore go?”
“I think Sebezh’s friend took it while he was playing with you.” Naco retrieved his own bucket and dropped a few pieces of ore into hers. “Better get on with it. Stay close to me, right?”
Nodding her thanks, Tereka picked up her tools. She forced herself to work, only pausing to swallow the bread and water the guards passed around. Her fingers were stiff, her palms blistered. Her scalp burned as if she’d laid her head on a fire. She couldn’t stop. What would they do if she didn’t have enough? Was there a worse punishment than being stuck in a men’s brigade?
The sun inched to the west, scorching the rocks and the top of Tereka’s scalp. She worked her dry mouth. When did I stop sweating? Soon she’d dry up, just like the dust on the ground. Pressure built in her head and her lip throbbed. Sebezh stood a few yards away. Her breath caught. No. Don’t think about him. She scratched feverishly at the rock. If there is a sky-god I could use his help about now.
Warmth pulsed in the pocket where she kept the amulets. She found it odd but then remembered they were supposed to have healing properties. She slid a hand into her pocket, wrapped it around the larger amulet, and drew it out. She touched it to her lips, then replaced it. “Help me.” She whispered the words so only she could hear.
She nearly dropped her chisel. The throbbing in her lip stopped, and the tension in her head eased. Her heart began to beat faster. What kind of power is this? She pursed her lips. The amulets supposedly gave guidance to those who asked for it. “Sky-god, where is the ore?”
Suddenly, she had an urge to dig a foot to the left of where she had been digging. Ten strokes of the chisel revealed a rich seam of copper. “Naco. Can you come here?”
Flicker of the Flame: A YA Epic Fantasy Page 23
