Free Quillblade by Ben Chandler Page A

the choice to stay behind.’
    Lenis thought about asking his sister if she had gleaned anything about their fate but decided he didn’t want to encourage her. Besides, he could feel her excitement and didn’t want to dampen it. Gesshoku would be the first place in Shinzôn either of them had seen up close. He forced some levity into his voice. ‘Arthur, now, is it?’
    â€˜ Lord Knyght.’
    â€˜You just watch your manners, and if you have to look into his mind, do it gently. The last thing we need is to draw any more attention to ourselves.’
    Missy groaned. ‘Don’t you have Bestia to feed?’
    â€˜Have fun for me.’
    Missy stuck her tongue out at him.
    Lenis returned to his room feeling even more despondent. Between his show of power and Missy’s mental spying it wouldn’t take long before they were both sold off.
    He placed the dishes of food in the Bestia hutch and sat on his bunk to watch his charges eat. Aeris, as he had expected, ate with relish and then sat and cleaned herself. The others were more sedate, but he noticed both Terra and Atrum only picked at their food. He lifted them both and checked their ears, eyes and mouths before hugging them and settling themback in their pens. ‘I think we could all do with some fresh air.’
    If it weren’t for the Bestia, Lenis would never have dared to address the captain directly, much less remind him of his new slave’s impertinence. For their sake, though, he had to ask, so he picked up the speech tube.
    â€˜Captain Shishi, sir, I think the Bestia need some exercise and fresh air.’
    Lenis found himself unexpectedly wary when the captain replied, ‘By all means, Master Clemens, bring them on deck.’
    Lenis thanked him and carried the Bestia, two by two, into the light. Aeris and Aqua found a shady spot under one of the holds and curled around each other to sleep. The others scampered across the deck. Ignis and Atrum took it in turns to chase each other along the railings, on top of the holds, and even around the outside of the crystal-domed bridge. In this game Ignis had an advantage, as he could nip at Atrum’s much longer tail while Atrum had to make mad leaps to reach Ignis’s. Lucis went so far as to climb into the crow’s nest and was rewarded with a frightened shriek from Andrea. Terra stretched his long legs and began sniffing one of the holds.
    Lenis’s mood lifted considerably as he watched his Bestia enjoying themselves. He looked over the railing and was pleased to see that, although it boasted its own airdock, Gesshoku was a small village with few dwellings. The village’s wooden buildings were scattered seemingly at random andthe streets were wide and made of compacted dirt, rather than stone or wooden slats. The sturdiest of the village’s structures seemed to be the pigpens, and that was including the wall that surrounded the place. It seemed doubtful that the Shôgo’s agents would find them here. It seemed even less likely that the captain would find anyone here willing to buy or replace the twins.
    The reason for the small population of Gesshoku was apparent when Lenis looked to the west. The Wastelands that bordered Tsuki domain seemed to reach right up to the outskirts of the village. There had once been some sort of forest here, but the Wastelands had stripped the life from it. The greenish fog that drifted through the Wastelands had gathered into a great mass on this edge of the forest. Dead roots and branches poked out of the fog and seemed to claw at the healthy land. Tendrils of fluorescent taint spread through the Wastelands’ greying soil and into the sparse grass that grew on the narrow field before the walls. Though Lenis knew it would take at least an hour to cross that thin stretch of still-healthy ground between Gesshoku and the corrupted forest, if the Demons decided to attack, that time would be the only warning the