Ishan scurried away, hiding deeper in the shadows of the dim room. “Carry her,” Cyrus ordered to the other man posing as a slave. “Boy, you follow quick.” Yara felt the burn of embarrassment as the heavy-chested Hannolen man wrapped her quickly in a thin bit of cloth, then lifted her into his burly arms. Cyrus removed her chains, leaving the cuffs on her wrists and ankles locked together. They had to maintain the slave deception until they were safely out of this proverbial mud pit. Yara closed her eyes and tried to fight off the lingering dizziness from the tranquilizers. As they left the Kronalen ship, a crush of noise rose up and swallowed them. Yara tried to stay conscious as they left the shipping docks and entered the auctions. Yara opened her stinging eyes. Fires burned on long posts, casting the thick fog in a creeping orange glow. People, naked and starving, huddled together in cages, the adults shielding children in the centers of the groups like wild sheep at the slaughter.
