Chapter 32

After a quick bath, we both dressed; Liam in his royal uniform and I in my guard disguise. Zusa knocked at the door just as I was tucking my hair into the wig and announced that Major Antelz had arrived.

The Major bowed her head to Liam and then took one look at me and strode over to adjust the guard uniform in a couple of places.

She looks tired, I thought and on the heels of that came the realization that she’d had just as little sleep as Liam and I, probably less as she likely had many duties to attend to as Liam’s aide.

In an apologetic tone, I told her, “Major, we can do this another time if need be.”

She turned those bird-of-prey eyes on me. “Time is a factor for scenting, as you know. The longer we wait, the less likely it is that either of us will be able to scent the killer.”

She returned her attention to where Liam sat at the low table. “Tae Beun, all is ready.”

Liam gave her a curt nod and rose, strode over to the wall and lifted his sword from the bracket, sliding it into his belt. “Major, did you happen to select a location for us to train with our wolves?”

“Yes, Tae Han. I believe the best location for what you have in mind is Twisted Pines. It’s quite a few days' travel from here but it is heavily forested and remote; the nearest village is a four hour trip by horse, so we will have privacy to do what we must. The only drawback is that it is near the edge of Kin territory, abutting the Blood Eater’s demesne, though it has been held by your clan for several generations, so I doubt any vampire would dare enter it.”

Liam shot the Major an approving look. “Excellent. We originally agreed to make this trip after Tae Beun’s return, but upon further consideration, I’ve decided to leave first thing in the morning. Will that be an issue for you?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I am to attend the meeting to select a new warden and I have several other duties that must be tended to prior to any absence from the citadel.”

Liam scratched at his jaw as he considered this. “It might be better for you to stay and cover for me anyway. Tell everyone I’m still feeling poorly. We will make a separate trip with you at a later time.”

She bowed her head. “As you please, Tae Han.”

Without another word, she slid the door open and waited for us to pass through.

In front of the house was a cortege that I hadn’t been expecting, but upon further consideration, it shouldn’t have surprised me. We were going to the slave quarters in an official capacity and the crown prince probably wasn’t allowed to do much without a full complement of slaves and guards.

I still had much to get accustomed to in my new life; it was going to take quite a lot of getting used to, especially after being on the opposite side of that kind of lifestyle for so long. Perhaps I would ask Nanny for some guidance or etiquette lessons.

As Liam began walking in the direction of the slave quarters, Major Antelz fell in step behind him and I situated myself behind her like I had when we’d gone to the infirmary to check Emmi’s corpse. The rest of the guards and slaves followed behind in what I assumed was their usual formation.

When we’d left the house, the sun had just begun to set. By the time we arrived at the slave quarters, it was nearly full dark, though there were a few lanterns already lit along the length of the building.

We halted and Major Antelz went into the building, presumably to inform the quartermaster or his assistant that the crown prince was here to do an inspection. The minutes ticked by as we waited and it was full dark before the Major reappeared with a flustered looking quartermaster at her heels.

The Major resumed her position behind Liam and the quartermaster stood in front of Liam and gave a deep bow of his head. “Tae Han, how may I be of service?”

Liam’s voice held a thread of irritation. “I’m sure Major Antelz explained to you that I wish to inspect this facility.”

The quartermaster lifted his head and there was consternation upon his face. He stuttered a bit as he responded, his wispy mustache trembling as he spoke. “T-t-tae Han, this is most irregular. It is late and we are usually given advance notice of any inspection and-”

Liam raised a hand and the man immediately stopped talking, his lips pressed tight together in agitation.

In a dry tone, Liam said, “Wouldn’t advance notice defeat the purpose of an inspection?”

The man hemmed and hawed for a moment. “Oh, um, well, but you must see, Tae Han-”

Liam raised his hand again and again, the quartermaster stopped speaking.

Now Liam’s voice held an undercurrent of something dangerous. “What ‘must’ I see, Sir Quartermaster? Right now, all I see is that you are preventing me from performing my duties as the crown prince.”

The quartermaster’s eyes widened in alarm. “N-n-no, Tae Han! Of course not. It’s just that I’ll need to summon the seneschal; he prefers to be present for these inspections.”

All Liam did was to sigh deeply and the quartermaster was spluttering apologies. “I shall assemble the slaves immediately. J-j-just a few minutes, please.”

He took off toward the building at a near run, shouting commands at his staff as he went.

While we waited, several slaves came rushing out of the building and set up additional lanterns until the yard was well lit.

It was more like fifteen minutes, but in short order, there were several hundred slaves lined up in neat rows in front of the slave quarters, each and every one of them with their heads bent low and their eyes toward the ground.

The quartermaster, clearly still flustered, rushed up to Liam. “These are all of the slaves present, Tae Han.”

Liam surveyed the orderly lines of slaves for a moment. “How many are not present?”

“Um, hm, let me see…” The agitated quartermaster appeared to think on it for a moment. In an uncertain voice, he said, “I don’t have a precise number, Tae Han, but I would say there are about eighty or ninety on night shifts.”

I couldn’t see Liam’s face from where I stood, but there was a subtle tone of disgust in his voice. “Why don’t you have an exact number? Is that not your job as quartermaster?”

The agitated man wrung his hands nervously. “Y-y-yes, Tae Han. I, um, I just haven't taken the evening tally yet.”

Major Antelz interjected at this point. “I believe protocol dictates that the evening tally is to be done at eight o’clock sharp.”

The quartermaster stumbled over his words, quickly trying to defend himself. “Oh, well yes, usually. But, um, I was not feeling well, so, um, there was a bit of a delay.”

Liam’s voice was as dry as autumn leaves. “I am glad to see that you are perfectly fine now.”

The quartermaster gave a small, nervous laugh. “Oh, yes, well, um, it passed. Yes, it was just, um, a brief spell, Tae Han.”

“I am glad to hear it. Now, if you’ll just stay here a moment, I’ll take a look at the slaves.”

Without waiting for a response from the nervous quartermaster, Liam walked toward the first line of slaves with Major Antelz and me trailing after him as we’d arranged beforehand.

He walked slowly, his hands clasped behind his back. He paused every few steps, considering this or that about a slave, but what he was really doing was providing the Major and myself plenty of opportunities to scent each slave thoroughly.

We moved down row after row of slaves, Liam murmuring notes to me in a soft voice that I transcribed to the small notebook that I’d brought along. It had been a prop thought up by the Major to reinforce the illusion that we were doing a legitimate inspection, but Liam’s observations were actually keen and relevant.

This slave looked too thin, while that slave looked too fat, meaning one was not eating enough, while the other was clearly eating too much, which should have been impossible as all slaves were given a set ration of food.

A handful of slaves looked unwashed, a few were even as bad as Jerrek had been, looking as if they hadn’t bathed in days. Liam pointed out which ones looked sickly and should be sent to the infirmary to be checked by Doctor Finestri, as well as which ones needed new sets of blues. On and on it went, nothing missed between Liam or the Major.

I asked slaves for their names and scribbled in the notebook for nearly two hours until we finally reached the end of the last line. Liam made his way back to where we’d begun, stopping in front of the quartermaster.

His voice hard, Liam addressed the Major. “Major Antelz, place the quartermaster under arrest.”

The Major gestured at two guards and they rushed forward to grab the quartermaster’s arms.

He squawked like an angry chicken and struggled against the guards’ hold on him. “How dare you touch me! Release me at once!”

Liam stepped forward until he was only a foot away from the squirming quartermaster, who stilled under Liam’s fierce gaze.

“T-t-tae Han, what is this! Why are you arresting me? I’ve done nothing wrong!”

Liam remained silent but I could feel the air begin to pulse around us as his power rushed out of him in waves.

In a quiet voice so full of wrath that it was frightening, Liam said what I, and most certainly the Major too, had also noticed.

“I can smell you on many of the female slaves, as well as the smell of sex and fear. You have violated the law forbidding the rape of slaves. Your sentence shall be execution at dawn.”

The quartermaster let out a stream of incoherent babbling and resumed his struggle against the guards. Liam jerked his chin at the Major and she came forward with a set of manacles, which she clamped around the quartermaster’s wrists. There was a flash of light as the runes activated and locked his wolf away the same way that the slave collars did.

The quartermaster squealed and blubbered as they dragged him away.

Liam was breathing hard, his nostrils flaring. I could sense his wolf very near the surface and wished that I could do or say something to calm him, but I didn’t dare lest I give away the fact that I was no mere guard.

The Major, however, had no such thing to worry about. Stepping close to Liam’s side, her voice extremely low and her lips barely moving as she spoke, she simply said, “Tae Han, let us return to your residence.”

A growl rumbled out of Liam’s throat. “I want each woman with his stink on her interviewed immediately. Have the reports brought to me as soon as possible.”

Bowing her head in acknowledgement, the Major moved off to begin issuing orders, leaving me standing alone next to Liam.

In as soft a voice as I could manage, I whispered to Liam, “Tae Han, shall I escort you back to your residence?”

He looked at me and I could see a glimmer of wolf within his eyes. Taking a steadying breath, he nodded curtly and we left the Major behind as we returned to our home.