Swords of the Secret Son

Chapter 10 - Vander Treyani

I was hot and sweaty and lonely and I just couldn't take it anymore! Where was Jay? I had a migraine and I was dehydrated. I would yell in frustration, but my throat was too dry to make any noise.

"Vander!" I hurried inside from the gardens at the sound of my master's call at dawn.

"Yes, sir?"

"Groom the horses. Maxus and I just returned from the inner layer. Plow the fields and tell Renagarde to cook supper. The garden needs to be weeded as well and I want all the vegetables harvested by the market day. Skin the carrots and peel the potatoes."

"Yes, sir." I bowed timidly, biding my time, increasing my trust that Master Lysander had in me so I could make my big escape. I fiddled with the tight metal collar around my neck that disabled all magical abilities. "Could I ask you a question, sir?"

"You just did." I took that as a yes.

"Why did you bid so high so quickly on me that day?" It was the one question I had yearned the answer to for years. Master was either too busy or the other slaves were near or he had colleagues in the house or before then I was always in too low of a position to be in Master's presence. I took orders from a tall wizard named Hanred who also wore a collar to restrict his abilities.

"I knew you were that dragon," Master explained calmly after slapping me for no apparent reason."I could tell. You had the same scent. The same look in your eyes." That was odd. "I can See, boy. I'm a Seer. That's why I knew you would need one of those collars I had Renagarde forge."

"But all of your staff wears a collar, Master."

"I like to keep things interesting," he winked at me. I nodded and scurried down to the stables with haste to avoid his rage.

"Hello, Renagarde," I waved at the old elven slave in the stables.

"Vander," she croaked at me quietly and smiled timidly. I began to brush down the first horse, brushing its mane and refilling its trough.

"Master needs you in the kitchen," I told her. Once I finished grooming Maxus and the other animals, I headed outside to the fields where I shared the plowing job with a dwarf.

"Vander! You're late!" Edsneth the dwarf yelled.

"Sorry, sir!" Edsneth was the head slave for the field maintenance. I reported to him daily.

"Where have you been?" He reached up to punch me. Nothing I wasn't used to.

"M-Master ordered me to tend to his h-horse." Frankly, Edsneth scared me to death. He slapped me again.

"Then you should've done it quicker! You're to be here from dawn to two cycles before dusk! I'm going to have to keep you here late."

"But I have to weed the gardens before it gets dark!"

"You should've thought of that before you slacked off, you ingrate. You're just digging yourself in deeper." I immediately thought of my father's beatings and realized this was even the slightest bit better. It wasn't my own family abusing me, but a dwarf with anger management issues.

I sighed and got to work leading the horse with the plow.

Was this how I was going to spend the rest of my life? Master was going to kill me soon. I heard him talking with his wife. He was going to put me in a dangerous situation so I would transform into a dragon, kill me, and harvest my scales for sale.

I had to get out of there.