It took less than five minutes.
Kieran had moved like a ghost through the crowd.
Vera watched from behind a row of warped totems, holding back her breath, heart pounding against her ribs...her eyes locked on Kieran’s back.
The pawn stalls were guarded, of course. But they were the kind of guards who rarely looked up...too confident, too accustod to fear and submission.
So all Kieran needed to worry about was timing...
He slipped behind the vendor.But then...
"You are going to get caught," Vera mind linked him as two patrols closed in.
"Then distract them," he shot back, clearly losing patience.
She exhaled...dejected...but did not argue. A second later, a crate toppled over near the far end of the stall with a loud crash. The guards snarled, turning towards the noise.
Kieran moved.
He snatched one,and then a second one before ducking back just as one of the guards turned, sniffing the air.
The other guard laughed, cuffing his companion’s ear. "Are you slling your own damn breath, you idiot?"
The mont stretched.
Then, with a grunt, the first guard turned away.
Kieran slipped back to Vera, tossing her one cloak.
"That was too close," she hissed, shaking as she pulled the heavy fabric over her shoulders.
"But it worked," Kieran muttered, adjusting his own cloak, pulling the hood low over his face. He glanced at her. "You ready?"
Vera swallowed hard, shaking her head.
Kieran pulled Vera close, checking for the embedded insignia needed to cross the first checkpoint, on her cloak!
Vera clenched her fists as Kieran leaned close. They had eyes on them.A random vendor’s assistant was looking up. Kieran paused...just a beat too long.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
The assistant squinted... eyes narrowing.
But then a scream echoed from across the yard...another girl refusing to cooperate.
All eyes turned as they devoured the spectacle while she got dragged away with a boot pressed to her spine.
The assistant turned his head.
By the ti he looked back...Kieran and Vera were gone.
They lted back into the crowd. Kieran’s expression cold, eyes flicking only once towards Vera.
She exhaled like she hadn’t been breathing the whole ti.
They didn’t speak. Just moved.
In seconds, they ducked into a stall of curtains, pulling sothing as they passed.
Kieran handed her a thick chain belt. "Loop it around your side, not the waist. The way they are wearing it...loose. Left shoulder forward. Don’t look anyone in the eyes unless they outrank."
"Got it," Vera muttered, adjusting the strap.
Kieran leaned in, voice hushed as he whispered in her ears. "Three gestures. Chin dip when you pass a superior. Fist across the chest when summoned. No salute unless spoken to directly."
Vera blinked. "You morised all that?"
He gave her a look. "I didn’t co here to play!"
They approached the massive gateway...the mouth of the skull to be exact. This was where the auction handlers lined up. There were seven ahead of them...each dragging chained girls or pushing tagged carts. None glanced back.
One guard at the gate eyed them.
Kieran dipped his chin, stepped forward with surety, and showed the sigil sewn into his cloak’s hem. Vera did the sa.
The guards sniffed the air, lips curling.
Kieran’s pulse slowed. His claws were still retracted. Calm.
A beat passed.
One of the guards growled low, but said nothing.
He stepped aside.
They were in.They kept walking without turning back still they were quite far inside.
And only then did both Kieran and Vera let out a really heavy sigh... together even.
The inside was actually quite sophisticated, very unlike the crudeness outside.
At the center there was a large circular platform and it was bathed in flickering spotlights.
There were girls lined up at its edges like props in a theatre. So were on their knees, so standing with their hands tied up...so gagged,so bleeding... All bore the sa vacant eyes. Drugged...broken.
Kieran looked up. There were balconies above which had already begun to fill with possible buyers.So wore jewels, others weapons... Kieran could tell those were VIP seats from their deanor.
Kieran’s jaw ticked as his eyes scanned for the girl he had bound and possibly Autumn (though he still prayed with all that he had that she wasn’t in there... that he was actually wrong for a change... )
"We split," he finally turned to Vera. "You take the east end. I will check the rear quadrant. Stay in the lines. Blend in..."
Vera nodded, already scanning.And then she was gone.
At first, everything felt fine. The illusion held.
Handlers barked orders. Girls were prodded forward. Coins clinked. Chains rattled. A young voice cried out. Another scread.
The enclosure was gradually filling up with smoke...and possibly mist...from incense sticks or sothing similar...a sweet intoxicating scent was starting to spread through the air...maybe a part of the ambience.
But what Kieran didn’t notice... was the shift.
Behind him, back where Vera walked... things had taken an unexpected U-turn.
Her shoulders were squared. Her steps were asured. She mimicked what she had seen Kieran do. The dip of the chin. The heavy pacing. She did it well.
But she didn’t know what he hadn’t told her.
Female handlers saluted differently.Not only that, Kieran had missed more things.
The female handlers didn’t walk alone freely.They moved in pairs. They wore tags on their cloaks.
And Vera had neither.
And the other male handlers noticed.One tilted his head. Another sneered.
Then... two more broke formation and started following her.
She felt it too late.
At first, she thought it was just coincidence. Just a few others walking the sa direction. But by the ti she turned the far corner, a dozen boots echoed behind her.
And no one passed her.Vera glanced sideways.
The group was flanking her now.
Slowly.Casually.
A trap had been laid.
She stopped just short of a locked cage, pretending to check the tag hanging from the bars.
"Oi," one of them grunted. "Batch number?"
Vera blinked.
"Batch?" she repeated, stalling.
The handler stepped closer. "Yeah, batch number. ID mark. You deaf?"
Another laughed behind him. "She looks pretty dumb for a handler. Maybe she’s new. New at, eh?"
Vera stiffened. "I am under command of..."
"Who?" Another one asked, stepping to her side. "Na. Rank. Pack mark."
"Right now," growled a third. "Or we are going to make it fun."
Vera could feel it... it was about to be her ga over. She scanned for exits.
There were none.
Another voice cut in, colder. "Remove your hood."
Vera’s heart thundered.
That would give her away completely. She smiled, pulling her smug smirk, hoping it did the trick. "You don’t want to do this."
The first handler bared his teeth. "Why’s that?"
Vera’s lips moved... but no words ca out.
Shit!!!
" Alpha! Fuck... " She tried to mind link. But Kieran responded a second too late.
Before she could finish, the first handler reached for her hood.His fingers curled into the fabric.
"Alpha...HELP!!! "
The link snapped.Everything blurred.
And the next mont... her hood was ripped back.
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