The Outskirts: The Sky Raiders (Jace x OC)

Part 10

"Listen, Happy. Can you help us get out of here?" I said.
"I'd surely help if I could, but I'm just a face on some wood."
I glanced at Cole. Clearly happy wasn't going to be much help.
"Where will they sell us?" I asked, eager to get some information.
"The slave market at the Five Roads." He said.
"What kind of work will we do?" Cole asked.
"You never know, but you can always hope you'll get to do something amazing!" I felt bad that we were using him for information. "So we should never stop chasing the rainbow?"
"Thats the spirit!" Happy said, smiling widely.
"Follow a star! Keep your chin up and you'll go far!"
"Do the slavers know about you?" I asked, curious.
"The Shaper, Secha, does. She came and spoke with me one night. She told Ansel. But I'm tricky to remove, so they let me be."
"Secha is a Shaper?" I asked him.
He giggled. "Well she marked you didn't she?"
Cole traced his fingers along his bondmark.
"Does it talk too?" He said. I rolled my eyes.
Happy laughed hard. "Your bondmark? It's not even a semblance."
"Why are you so tricky to remove?" I asked.
"Liam wanted me to stick. If I get removed or destroyed, I take shape somewhere else in the wagon. They would have to scrap the entire to get rid of me."
If a happy face could look smug, he would.
"Can you move on your own?" Cole asked
Happy.
One of his eyes flattened in a wink. "A little."
"What else can shapers do?"
"It depends."
"Depends on what?"
"On what they want to make silly! And whether they can."
I sighed. Happy was cheerful, but not exactly helpful.
All of a sudden, the wagon stopped.
"What's going on?" I said.
"It's to early for lunch." Happy said.
After some time, Ansel walked away with a man I had never seen before. The man was shorter than Ansel, with graying hair and bushy sideburns. They walked out so they could be seen from all the wagons. Then faced the caravans.
"We've met a customer by chance in the road," Ansel said. "This gentleman works north of here with the Sky Raiders at the Brink. Those names won't mean much to you newcomers, but the raiders have a heavy need for slave labor, in part because the life expectancy is about two weeks for new slaves."
This caused a murmur to go around the wagons.
"Two weeks!" I said in disbelief. I fidgeted with my shirt, my ADHD going crazy. I had a feeling I knew who Ansel would recommend. I hoped I was wrong.
Ansel waited for the murmurs to die down before he continued. "Our customer was coming back from a supply run, but figured he should take advantage of our encounter by bringing back and extra set of hands. The wagons headed for the Royal Palace are naturally off limits, otherwise he can have his pick. Since the slave will probably perish shortly, I suggested the two slaves that caused a ruckus the other night." I looked at Cole, the panic in my face mirrored his.
He continued. "Due to my soft spot for my obedience, I denied him Tracy, who pointed out the clumsy thieves."
Ansel then led the man to our wagon. As they approached, they kids crowded away from us. If the stranger bought us, how would we ever find Dalton and Jenna and get home?
The potential buyer stepped up to the bars and asked. "Your the slaves that caused a ruckus the other night?"
"Yeah." Cole said.
"Any physical handicaps? Chronic illnesses?"
"We're fine." I snapped.
"A little hungry." Cole added.
"We feed them twice what most slaves get,"
Ansel inserted. "They're in prime condition.
Fresh from prosperous world."
The man nodded. "How do you handle heights?" He asked us.
"I'm not scared of heights." Cole said.
I hesitated, wondering if I should lie.
"And you, princess?" Ansel said.
I glared at him. "Not a bit."
"How do you feel when standing near brinks?"
The man asked us.
"It's never bothered me." said Cole. I nodded in agreement.
The man turned toward Ansel. "Easy as that. I'll take them."
The quick decision surprised me. The buyer turned away, and an tall, muscled, stranger came into view. He gazed at us distrustfully.
He ordered us out of the cage, Cole went first, but I hesitated. We might never see Jenna or Dalton again if we leave know. And I have no doubt Cole was trying to find a way to escape now that we are out of the cage. But honestly, I didn't think it was a good idea. The guy would catch us. We had better chances just following orders.
"Come on, princess." The man said.
I jumped out of the wagon, landing beside Cole.
"Don't try anything," I whispered. "We have a better chance following orders."
He looked at me like he wanted to argue, but said nothing.
"This way." The man said, pointing to his caravan. He had a bondmark on his wrist too.
"Are you a slave too?" Cole asked. The man cuffed him around the ear, hard enough to knock him to the ground. I winced. He stayed down for a moment before getting up,
"Dont speak unless spoken to," the man said.
"Get up."
The kids in the wagons were watching us, looking scared. Jenna and Dalton looked worried.
Cole made a bad decision, and decided to fight back. He turned and kicked at the man's knee, hard. But the man swiveled, and caught Cole's ankle in one hand and knocked his other leg from under him, with a brisk kick.
Cole's back hit the ground with a flat slap. The wind must have been knocked out of him, because he struggled for breath.
"Got any fight left in you?" The man said. "I could do this all day."
"Just leave him alone." I said.
The man swung his arm, but I ducked.
"Huh," he said. "You got fast reflexes. That might keep you alive at the Raiders." He started walking again. I yanked Cole to his feet, and we continued walking.
"Bye Happy!" Cole yelled.
"Bye!" Said a high pitched voice.
Several heads in that wagon swiveled toward the floor.
They kept walking. Well ahead of us, the buyer limped beside Ansel toward a group of burdened mules, who must have been pulling the caravan.
"Are those your mules?" Cole asked, which earned a cuff on the ear. Hard, but not hard enough to knock him down.
"You learn slower than most dogs," the man said. "Come on."
Cole opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off. "Stop talking." I ground out.
The man's looked at me and nodded with approval.
I watch the wagons as we walked by. I saw Jenna, still in her dress and flower crown. I waved to her, trying my best not to cry.
"You guys were brave to come for us!" She called from her wagon. The other kids distanced themselves from her. "Tracy deserves to be run over by ever wagon in the line!"
I snorted softly, and I totally agreed. That's why she's my best friend.
She continued. "Their taking my wagon to the High King. Whatever that means."
"This isn't over!" Cole called back. He ducked a swing from the man and dodged a kick, and jogged towards the wagon. I watched in horror as the man hit him over the head, hard. Cole curled up, cradling his skull in his hands.
"I misspoke," the man said. "I'm not willing to do this all day. Act up again, and we'll have to cart you to the brink in a wheelbarrow. On your feet."
I grabbed Cole by the arm and muttered just loud enough for him to hear. "Stop talking."
"Yes ma'am." He muttered back.
I smacked him lightly on the shoulder, smiling slightly, despite our situation. I saw Dalton in his cage, his clown makeup smeared and his costume dirty, he looked like the saddest clown ever. He shook his head, warning us not to speak. We nodded and Cole mouthed, we'll find
you.
Dalton waved, tears in his eyes. "We're going to the King too." He said, barely loud enough to hear. I nodded and waved at him, and we kept walking.
When we reached the mules, the buyer sat astride a horse. A long haired man with a shiny burn scare on his chin rode next to him.
"Come here, slaves." He said. We walked over to him. "I heard you sassing Vidal. Don't speak to your betters unless we ask you a question. Is that hard to grasp?"
"I'm a quick learner," Cole said. "All it takes is a concussion or two." I elbowed him in the stomach, hard. He groaned and glared at me. I glared back.
The man laughed, holding up a hand to stay Vidal. "He was answering a question. At least one of you has some sense."
"And some sass." muttered Vidal.
The man turned to me. "A little spirit might serve you well at the Brink. A lot will serve you ill." He warned me. I nodded as he continued to me and Cole.
"You're not from here, so our treatment of slaves might seem barbaric, but you'd better get used to it. Even I don't personally cherish certain aspects of slavery, we're teaching you the order of things for your own good. I'm Durny, this is Ed, and we have some riding ahead of us. You're now the property of Adam Jones, owner of the Cliffside Salvage Yard and leader of the Sky Raiders. Don't make problems, or you'll pay dearly. Understand?"
We both nodded.
He turned to Vidal. "Put them on mules, our business here is done."