Free The Third Eye Initiative by J. J. Newman Page B

how small his voice sounded.
    “ Ah, lad. Too late for that. Yes, too late. We let you go, and it sends the wrong message to the other little shits. Can’t be soft now, can we?” The man hauled Tsaeris to his feet.
    “ Please. I’ve only been here a few days. I’ll leave, and you’ll never have to worry about me again.”
    “ It don’t work that way, boy. You’re coming with me, and if you make a sound I’ll kill you quick. Now move.”
    The man positioned himself behind Tsaeris, and pressed the knife point into his back. He marched Tsaeris deeper into the alley. Tsaeris felt himself on the verge of panic. He was sweating profusely, and he thought he might vomit. The man stopped him over a sewer grate.
    “Open the sewer, boy.” The man ordered.
    Confused, but not willing to argue with the man, Tsaeris did as he was told. As soon as the sewer was open, the man pushed Tsaeris hard from behind, and the boy fell into the darkness. He splashed down hard in filthy water, and he heard the man descend a creaky ladder behind him. Tsaeris coughed out a lungful of foul water.
    The man pushed Tsaeris further into the dark sewers, seemingly able to navigate the darkness with no need for light. Tsaeris considered trying to run, but decided that it was too risky. This man knew the sewers and Tsaeris did not.
    They seemed to walk for hours, and Tsaeris could not help but remember the Neutral Roads. He doubted The City Watch would be rescuing him down here. Finally the man put a hand on the boys shoulder, and the two stopped. He heard a loud screeching sound, and suddenly his eyes were blinded by torchlight. When his eyes recovered he saw that a small square of the brick ceiling had been pushed open, and the light came from beyond the hole. A false ceiling.
    Somebody above them dropped a rope ladder into the sewer. The man ordered Tsaeris to climb up the ladder. He climbed about half way, and then was hauled up roughly by multiple hands. He looked around. The room he was in was simple. It had some tables, chairs and a bar on the right wall. The wooden walls were worn, but clean. Dozens of men filled the room, and all of them were looking at Tsaeris. A greasy-looking man with a rat-like face and long, dirty hair stood right in front of Tsaeris, grinning an evil smile at the boy.
    The rat-faced man leaned over the hole in the floor, and yelled down to the man who was still in the sewers.
    “What’s this, then?”
    “ This is the one the boss was looking for. Don’t kill him before the boss sees him. I’m heading back into the streets,” the man in the sewers replied.
    Rat Face gestured to a man to reseal the hidden entrance, and then faced Tsaeris again.
    “ Alright. Come with me, boy. Don’t be doin’ nuthin’ funny.”
    Tsaeris was marched through the drinking room in what he had decided must be a Thieves Guild safe-house. The thieves all smiled at him, and Tsaeris felt his skin crawling. He was le d through a door at the far end of the room, and into a plain looking hallway. They passed several rooms before the man stopped. He produced a key, and opened a door, and then pushed Tsaeris into the room.
    “ You just sit here nice and quiet-like until the boss is ready.”
    The door slammed shut. The room was small, and empty. There was no furniture, no bed, and no bucket. Obviously they didn’t keep people in here for very long. Tsaeris did not find that reassuring.
    Tsaeris sat down with his back to the wall. He couldn’t believe Duncan had done this to him. He hadn’t even gone back to see Cyra. This wasn’t fair. This trip to market was supposed to be profitable, and maybe even fun. Now he was probably going to die. He wished Jason were still alive so he could kill him.
    Hours passed, and nobody came for him. He was hungry and thirsty, but hadn’t been offered food or drink. He wondered if they planned to kill him by starving him to death. How long did it take to die from hunger? Days? Weeks? Tsaeris had no