Chapter 6
Somewhere there was a voice yelling. Catherine stirred and tried to open her eyes, still heavy with sleep. She nudged Charlotte and the others as Dion and more men and women approached their cage-like prison. In the light of day, they had a better view of their surroundings. Last night they had indeed made it to the plantation. It stretched out behind the cage as far as Catherine could see. Fields upon fields filled with men and women working.
“Up! We do not have all day!” Dion growled, as their cage was unlocked.
Not even caring anymore about her nakedness, Catherine followed the other women out and lined up beside the men. Women and men of all colors stood before them holding piles of clothes and pairs of boots and sandals.
“Now then, you are to bath and dress over there,” Dion said, nodding his head to the side. Several metal tubs were filled to the brim with steaming hot water. A few women waited by them holding linens and what looked like bars of soap. “Once you are cleaned up and presentable, you will be welcomed officially into your new lives.”
Catherine got in line with the women. Nobody spoke, fear and distress was etched on their faces. While the tubs were being used, the others were offered more fruit and bread, fresh milk and juice. At first Catherine was confused. Why they were being treated well if they had just been bought at an auction? She wanted nothing more than to talk to her brother, but he was too far away and Dion watched them all with narrowed eyes. Was this man the same as the horribly cruel men on the ship?
His gaze turned and locked onto Catherine’s. She tried to look away, but couldn’t make herself turn. His lips twitched in a smile and she blinked, wondering what his smile meant. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself from such a man who terrified her. Someone grabbed her arm and she was yanked forward and very unceremoniously pushed into the metal tub. The water wasn’t very clean anymore, but it was still warm and it felt good to scrub her skin and hair with the soap and a rag. Anything was better than being back in that ship’s hold.
When she was finished, a young woman with dark skin helped her out and handed her a damp piece of linen so she could dry. The woman behind her handed Catherine a rough sewn skirt of dark green, a corset and a plain white blouse to wear. The sandals she was handed were way too small, but at this point Catherine didn’t want to open her mouth and say something out of line.
Rose sobbed the whole time she was bathed and dressed even though Mary did her best to comfort her without speaking. The other slaves looked on with blank faces. They didn’t pity them at all. They didn’t feel anything for these newcomers.
“Girl if you do not stop your sobbing I will tie you up and gag you until you learn to be quiet,” Dion snapped as he stalked towards her and took her chin in his hand. “Stop your tears. You could be in far worse places than here.”
He shoved her roughly and she stumbled into Mary and Charlotte.
He straightened his shoulders and yelled at them all to line up. The other slaves stood nearby, heads bowed as he spoke. “I am the Overseer here. You will call me Overseer. This is the plantation of Master Bastian Lavelle. He is a man of high regard. You should be grateful that you are now under his care.” He grinned but no one else joined him. “Those of you who are strong will work in the sugar cane fields. It is hard work but you will be fed well and treated fairly. We will need several girls for the main house. The rest of you will be transferred to the other island.”
“What island?” Catherine heard Michael ask and immediately turned her worried face towards him. What was he thinking?
Dion grit his teeth, but simply pointed behind him. “That island. Our masters here are different. They are much more powerful than any men or women you have ever met before. They have no patience for misbehavior,” he said and glared at Michael. “Do the right thing and you will survive and live a decent life. You are lucky Master Lavelle bought you. Others in these parts are not as kind and certainly not as generous.”
Catherine heard the whispers around her as the last bit of hope was shredded. They were slaves. They had been bought by this man and now they would work for him until they died. End of story. End of life. Catherine hung her head as she tried to stay strong. Dion described this Master Lavelle with such a tone of respect, she had to believe that maybe he was telling the truth and that life here would not be a nightmare.
“What right do these people have to be our masters?” Michael yelled so loud even the other slaves glanced up at him. “We were stolen from our village, we aren’t slaves. We are free men and women!”
Several others yelled with him and Catherine watched her brother amongst them. Even with wounds still on his back, he dared to raise his voice! She wanted to silence him, but when she made to move, Charlotte reached out and grabbed her.
“Don’t!”
“I have to stop my brother and Michael!”
“He’ll just hurt you too,” she said. “Please, don’t.”
Catherine shook her head and turned back in time to see Dion raise his hand. He backhanded Michael hard enough to send him to his knees in the sand. He landed with a painful thud as Dion called for three men to grab him. As Catherine watched, her heart pounding in her chest from fear, Michael was hauled to his feet and his hands bound with rope.
“You can’t keep us here! We are free! Get your hands off me!”
“Gag him! And tie up and gag his friend.” Liam was still weak and had no fight left in him. The men subdued him quickly.
Michael continued to fight as hard as he could against the gag, but Dion had heard enough. He grabbed his shoulder with one of his huge hands and with the other hit him again and again and again until his body sagged against the men.
“Let him go,” Catherine yelled as she took off towards them. “Get your hands off him!”
Charlotte cursed behind her, but Catherine ran to Michael, trying to protect him. Dion grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back hard enough to make a sharp pain ricochet through her body. Her eyes crossed as he gripped it hard and pulled her up until she could barely stand on her toes.
“You will learn to keep your mouth shut, girl, or it will be a very painful life for you,” he growled in her ear. “Take him to the island! And you my sweet, maybe a night tied to the stake will teach you some respect. Take her, but do not harm her. She is too valuable,” he said then tossed Catherine into the hands of two more men.
She screamed and fought, but Dion smacked her and everything went dark.
Slave to a Vampire - Book 1 Catherine Page 9
