by Holly Evans
“Do you have a name?” I asked the feral.
“Feral slaves don’t have names, Dacian,” Vyx said sharply.
I held up my hands.
“I know jack shit about ferals. I’m sorry, but I don’t. I have never been amongst people who are shitty enough to keep slaves. I’m completely out of my depth here,” I said.
The feral watched me closely, his eyes scanning my face.
“These are good people,” Vyx told him.
The feral rolled his jaw and leaned back in the chair a little. Keirn stood and set about making some hot food. The main table stayed rigid and silent, a painful tension hanging over everyone.
“What do I do here?” I asked Vyx.
She smiled.
“Treat him like you treated me,” she said.
I sighed.
“We can’t keep calling you ‘the feral.’ Do you have a name you’d like for yourself?” I asked him.
He narrowed his eyes at me, and I began to wonder if he was capable of speech at all.
Finally, he said, “Tala.”
His voice was rough, but higher pitched than I’d thought. He looked barely a day over eighteen. His voice would likely drop yet.
“Well, Tala, this is apparently your home now. I’m Dacian.” I gestured to Vyx. “That’s Vyx, they’re Shadow and Luka, and that’s Keirn,” I said.
Tala gave a sharp nod and began shivering more violently.
“You’re smaller than me, but I think Keirn’s clothes might fit you. You can borrow something from him for now and we’ll get you your own clothes later. For now, why don’t you get a hot shower, and we’ll have some hot food waiting for you when you’re ready,” I said.
“They won’t lay a hand on you,” Vyx said firmly.
“Why don’t you get him a towel and show him where the bathroom is, little vixen? He seems more comfortable in your presence,” I asked.
“It’s better from you,” she said.
I assumed she didn’t want us reinforcing the idea of ferals being slaves and lesser beings.
“Come on, then,” I said to Tala as I stood.
He remained out of reach of everyone as he cautiously followed me to the bathroom, where I gave him a fresh towel.
“I’ll drop some clothes outside the door in a minute. Take as long as you need,” I said.
He flattened himself against the wall and bared his teeth when I passed him to get to Keirn’s room. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t like that, but it wouldn’t have done any good. He needed the time to see that for himself.
I went through Keirn’s wardrobe, searching for a pair of jeans for Tala. Everything felt bizarrely surreal. I’d gone out to the club expecting a few hours of bullshit talk about how much money they earned and come home with a feral. Keirn wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my jaw.
“We’ll make it right, Dacian,” he said softly.
“I’d never enslave someone.”
“I know. We’ll speak to Fein and see what can be done. Until then, we’ll give him a good home.” He reached past me and pulled out a pair of pale blue jeans. “These should fit him well enough.” He grabbed a black T-shirt and left the room with the clothes.
I felt lost. Isa had been one thing; he’d been skittish and hurt, but that feral, Tala, was something else entirely. Ferals could be dangerous. Some of them had very strong animal instincts and little humanity in there. I sighed and headed back to the living area. What had I gotten myself into?
14
Caiden came in late and immediately went into alpha state when he saw Tala. The cougars and Keirn looked to me to resolve the situation before it became an issue. Tala had curled up in Vyx’s armchair, a small tense ball with hard eyes that watched the rest of the room constantly. Caiden walked stiff-legged around the sofas to face Tala, who snarled at him.
I stood and put myself between the hound and the feral.
“Back off,” I said to Caiden.
His eyes ambered in response.
“Caiden. He’s mine, and I’m telling you to leave him alone. He’s a slave.”
“You took a slave?” he growled.
“Fuck. No. Yes. I was given him as a slave, but I would like to hope we’ll give him a good home while we find a magic breaker to break the bond and free him,” I said.
Caiden relaxed and looked around me to Tala, who was still growling.
“He’s staying in Keirn’s room?”
“Yes,” Keirn and I said in unison.
Caiden smiled and nodded.
“You want some more food, wolf?” he asked Tala.
“His name’s Tala,” I said.
Caiden’s smile broadened.
“Is that so?” Caiden asked me before turning back to Tala. “Did you pick that name, Tala?”
“Yes,” the feral ground out.
“It’s a good strong name. You’ll wear it well,” Caiden said before heading into the kitchen.
I returned to the sofa, where Keirn pulled me to him, and Vyx gave me a tight smile.
“You can’t free him, not without a good home to go to after,” Vyx said.
“Why not?”
What had I missed this time? Surely freeing him would be the best thing to do. No one deserved to be a slave, no matter how well we tried to treat him.
“Because he’ll be back on the streets. If that happens, the best outcome would be him becoming a slave again. At worst, the alchemists will get him,” she said.
“What do you mean the alchemists will get him?” I asked.
Vyx curled up tighter and retreated into herself.
“There is something about ferals that makes us very useful to alchemists. The mix of human and animal. Parents tell tales of alchemists coming in the night to take away bad cubs. No one knows the exact details, but people have heard trades being done for feral blood, organs, essence, and the rest of us. They say that they take their time slowly stripping everything away and keeping the victim alive while they do it. They want the essence within each part.” She swallowed and lifted her chin. “One of my brothers was taken by alchemists. The neighbouring pack heard his screams, but no one could do anything,” she said, her voice steady and cold despite the tear that tumbled down her cheek.
“I’m so sorry, little vixen, I had no idea,” I said, stretching out my hand for her to take if she chose.
She squeezed my hand briefly and gave me a sad smile.
“The world is a dark place for our kind, Dacian.”
I wanted to defend myself, to say that I hadn’t been coddled, but I had. Yes, I went to the rougher bars and got into fights, but I came from the upper class. I grew up being taught appropriate etiquette for society balls and restaurants that charged per plate what we paid for a month’s rent. I looked away from Vyx and Tala.
Keirn stroked my hair and held me close for the rest of the evening. Caiden gave Tala another full plate of food, but no one tried to speak to him. We had an unspoken agreement that we’d leave the poor wolf alone to acclimate to his new home. He remained pressed back into the armchair, every muscle tight, ready to defend himself. I couldn’t blame him. He likely didn’t know anything outside of abuse.
Once the second movie was finished and the cougars had retired to bed, I showed Tala to his room.
“What’s the catch?” he asked when he stepped into the room and eyed the bed.
“No catch. Sleep well, we’ll make you breakfast when you get up,” I said and left him to it.
Keirn had already made himself comfortable in what had become our bed.
“What am I going to do with him?” I asked him.
“Fein’s re-homed a good number of people like him, poor, broken creatures. Speak to him, he’ll likely know a good pack that will rehabilitate him,” Keirn said.
“I knew the cities had their darkness, their problems, but I never dreamed it was this bad,” I said softly as I climbed under the blankets.
Keirn’s fingers slowly ran up and down my back, rele
asing the tension from my muscles.
“It is an unfortunate fact of life. There will always be darkness to balance the light,” he said.
I nuzzled my face against his neck and breathed in the fresh scent of snow.
“I was made to help keep the darkness in check, but I’m scared. I still remember how it felt when the ink network gave me more. It was incredible. It’s so tempting to return to that. I can’t. I know the arguments, that I could help people, but it’s a slippery slope,” I whispered.
The ink network had chosen wrong in me. I wasn’t a hero. Kyra chose that moment to wriggle her way between Keirn and me and began purring as she slowly stretched out to try and take up half the bed. Keirn picked her up and placed her on the very soft pillow he’d placed on the bedside cabinet the night before.
“That is your bed. Stay,” he said firmly.
Kyra turned a few circles on the pillow before she settled and Keirn pulled me back into his arms.
“You don’t have to save the entire city, Dacian, just do what you can when opportunities present themselves,” he said.
I kissed Keirn’s cheek and took solace in his presence, the solidity of his support.
“I’d be lost without you,” I whispered.
“I know.”
He pulled me close and chased away the darkness as I fell asleep. He was my other half, and I was truly blessed in that fact.
15
I woke with a jolt to the sound of Tala’s scream. Kyra was at the door clawing, trying to get to Tala while I scrambled to pull on some boxers. Keirn was hot on my heels as we ran across the hallway and burst into Tala’s room, expecting another dreamwalker attack. The wolf opened his eyes, his face as white as a sheet and his skin drenched in sweat.
“What happened, little wolf?” I asked gently.
He gulped down air and fought to free himself of his sheets as he tried to put as much space between us and him as possible.
“Nightmare,” he finally choked out.
Keirn’s bear pushed past us and hopped up onto Tala’s bed, where he proceeded to place his head in the trembling wolf’s lap. I went to call the bear away, but Keirn put his hand on my arm and nodded to Tala. He was beginning to relax. His eyes weren’t frantically looking for weapons and escapes. Instead, they settled on the bear.
“He’ll watch over you,” Keirn said.
Kyra, not one to be left out, leapt onto the bed and curled up next to the wolf. Creases formed between Tala’s eyebrows and his mouth twisted in confusion, but he relaxed. His hands unclenched from the sheets and he slowly scooted back down the bed.
“Goodnight, little wolf,” I said.
Keep him safe I pushed to Kyra.
Of course
Caiden stood at the entry to the living area with a small smile. “He’s ok?”
“Yea, just a nightmare,” I said.
“See you in the morning, then,” he said.
With that, Keirn and I returned to bed and a short, restless sleep. I kept waking up and listening for Tala’s shouts. Finally, just after sunrise, Kyra pushed, He sleep.
I was glad to know the poor thing was getting some rest. I certainly wasn’t. The bond on my wrist felt like a shackle. It was wrong, and I wanted nothing more than to be rid of it.
It was late in the morning when Tala appeared. Vyx had hung back, as she understood him better than anyone. The others had all gone into the city for various tasks. Keirn’s bear, whose name I couldn’t wrap my tongue around as it was in elvish, walked at Tala’s side as he slowly walked into the living area.
“Come and sit, I’ll bring you breakfast,” I said.
He paused and looked at the exits before he continued between the couches to the table where I placed down a plate of pastries. The tense silence that had developed was eating at me, but I didn’t want to pressure him into anything. I cooked him a large breakfast of sausages, bacon, boar, and eggs. He pulled the plate close to him and guarded it as he ate.
“These are good people, Tala,” Vyx said.
The wolf exhaled slowly and glared at her. “He still frequents that club.”
Vyx looked at me.
“I go there because I want to stop the illegal things they do, but to do that, I need to get behind the scenes,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes at me and growled.
“And how are you going to stop them?” he demanded.
“I work with-” I glanced at Vyx; could I trust him enough to tell him that? She nodded at me. “I work with Fein. The elf,” I said.
I assumed everyone in the city knew Fein. They certainly seemed to.
“He’s the elf who shut down the blood brothels,” Vyx said.
“And why does he care about ferals?” Tala asked.
“Because he hates seeing injustice,” I said
The elevator opened.
“That’ll be Tyn. I thought he’d be able to help Tala understand,” Vyx said.
Tala flattened his ears, guarded his empty plate, and snarled at someone behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Tyn tuck his hands in his pockets and give the wolf an entirely nonplussed look.
“Kindly put your teeth away, I’m here to help,” Tyn said calmly.
Tyn proceeded to undo the buttons on his expensive shirt and shrugged it off into a neat heap near his feet. He stared at Tala, challenging him. Tyn’s abdomen was covered in pale white scars. He slowly turned around to reveal that his back was just as bad, if not worse.
“I was in a blood brothel. Fein, the man Dacian is working for, rescued me. If you’ll put your teeth away, then we would like to do the same for you,” Tyn said as he pulled his shirt back on.
Tala relaxed and lifted his chin.
“And what do I have to… to do, to be rescued?” he asked.
Tyn came and stood next to me.
“When in public, pretend to be an obedient slave for Dacian. When in private, relax, eat well, and heal. We will need your help to shut them down. We need every scrap of information you can offer us. Can you do that?” Tyn asked.
“I have to act his slave?” Tala growled.
“I swear on the gods above and below, I will never lay a hand on you or humiliate you,” I said.
“Fein is working to find you a good pack you can join. We just need you to help us for a little while,” Tyn said.
“No pack would take me,” Tala spat.
“There is a strong, fair pack in the Black Forest that we believe you’d be a good fit for. You’d be free to run with them,” Tyn said.
Deep creases formed around Tala’s eyes and at the corners of his mouth.
“You’re telling the truth…” he said, more to himself than anyone else.
“Yes. I am. Dacian can be an asshole, but he’s a good man. He’ll likely spoil you if you let him,” Tyn said.
The wolf took a deep breath and set his shoulders back.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
16
Tyn sat next to me, and Tala began to tell us everything.
“I was the second born in a litter of four. My parents lost a territory fight and didn’t have enough area within the city to find food for all of us. I was the prettiest, so I was sold off as a slave. None of the rich assholes that buy slaves deal with us directly, they’re too good for that. I was handed over to a trader and put into a small cage for a week while he passed word around about his latest acquisition.” Tala took a moment to compose himself before he continued, “I was passed around a number of wealthy homes, each with different ideas about what I was to be used for. None of them could break me. I refused to bow to them. My last master had enough and was going to hand me over to the alchemists, but the tattooists’ club bought me instead. At first, they planned on breaking me in as a barman for their club, the nightclub I mean. They like wilder things there. That’s where the illegal shit happens. The parties are vile, they use drugs and ‘let their darker sides loose,’ as they put it.”
I looked between T
yn and Vyx. Was this normal?
“They use blood ink and bone needles, too. That’s where their money really comes from. I don’t know who their drug supplier is, but if you want to get information on them, you need an invite to that nightclub,” Tala said.
“It sounds as though you have your next goal, Dacian,” Tyn said.
I felt like I was getting in far over my head. The worst part was, I wouldn’t have any back up. This wasn’t like the market, when I’d had the cougars at my back.
“Fein has a tattooing client for you tomorrow. A hedgewitch in the magical quarter,” Tyn added as he handed me a note with an address and a time on.
I looked to Tala with his scruffy hair and Keirn’s clothes.
“How does this bond work? Will I have to take Tala with me?” I asked Vyx.
She seemed to know how these things worked; I was entirely clueless.
“Yes. I can’t go more than thirty feet from you without the bond hurting,” Tala said.
“Is that permanent? That seems really inconvenient,” I said.
“No. Seven days. They think that’s long enough to break a feral,” he said, his teeth flashing as he did so.
“We’ll go and get you some clothes of your own this afternoon, then. If I have to dress smart, so do you,” I said.
“I don’t have money,” he said, staring me down.
“I have plenty. Don’t worry about it,” I said.
His eyes narrowed.
“I’m not going to take it in other forms!” I said, horrified at the thought.
“Ferals aren’t well thought of; be prepared for that, Dacian,” Tyn said.
“I am not going to allow harm to come to him,” I said, more sharply than I should have.
Tyn smiled in response.
