Free Bones of the Empire by Jim Galford Page B

council’s patrols came to visit. The moment they saw you, they would execute you. To avoid this fate, you will be my slave—”
    “I said, I will not be a slave!”
    “—along with both of your friends. Invaders are normally not allowed to be kept together, but I see no other way. I am not a wealthy woman and only have one slave house. If you will indulge my poverty, you will be reunited with your friends out of necessity…though I must say, after today’s performance, I feel you have earned it. Will that be enough to calm the storm of anger you feel?”
    Raeln eyed the woman, searching for some trick in what she was doing.
    Instead, she motioned for him to go to Yoska and Dalania, bowing her head to him graciously.
    Getting his feet under him—a rather difficult action, with both arms bruised to the point they shook and his stomach still aching and bleeding—Raeln stumbled down the slope toward Dalania and Yoska. As soon as he reached them, Dalania grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Yoska took the lead, watching the sparse trees with narrowed eyes, as though he expected an ambush. With both of them unarmed, Raeln honestly found Dalania to be far more ready for an attack than Yoska.
    “What’s going on?” Raeln asked, glancing back to see Yiral alone on the hillside, watching them go. The woman certainly did look like she was evaluating their worth. “She—”
    “Shut up!” snapped Dalania, tugging him hard enough that he nearly fell.
    They led Raeln rapidly through the patch of woods and into the slave village, where the few dozen small huts either had smoke rising from makeshift chimneys or out open windows. Through several of those windows, Raeln saw elves and dwarves watching him, as well as two orcs. They continued past those huts, steering him to one in the middle of the village. Yoska rushed inside while Dalania stopped Raeln outside the door.
    “Is clear,” Yoska announced a second later, and Dalania hurried Raeln in and closed the door behind them.
    “Now can I ask what in the hells is happening?” Raeln demanded, nearly collapsing as he sat on the floor of the mostly empty room. There were four mats with blankets set up around the edge of the place, plus one large rug at the center, where he would have hoped to see a fire pit. “Shouldn’t they be skinning us or calling Liris in to finish the job?”
    “Yes, they should,” Dalania admitted, sitting on one of the mats directly opposite Yoska. She could not have chosen a spot farther from him, and Raeln knew her well enough to know it was intentional. “From what the other slaves mentioned, that actually is an edict by the council. A few weeks ago, a group of the council’s people rode into this clanhold and executed the clan’s orcs and wildlings. It very nearly started a war on the spot. This was the last clan to keep any slaves of those races, and none of the ones here now have been here more than a week, from what we’ve heard. They’re collecting the slaves they were supposed to execute.”
    “Then why protect me? And didn’t I see orcs in the other huts?” asked Raeln, flexing his fingers. Every bone in his arms felt bruised.
    Yoska peeked out the windows before closing the shutters tightly. “All orcs are new to this clan. There is also one wildling, and he is new too. They were traded to this clan from others. The price negotiated was a pledge of aid in every case. Is rather curious, no? Why go out of your way to accept forbidden slaves for no payment?”
    “Where are the others? Estin, Feanne, Turess…”
    Dalania shook her head and pulled a thin blanket to her chin. “We lost them in the fight. I saw Estin fall with a bolt in his chest. Feanne took several, and even she can’t take that bad of a wound without a healer. I don’t think they made it. Turess ran when the order was given, but I don’t know if he made far. There was blood everywhere…”
    Groaning and flopping onto his back, Raeln tried not to think about