It didn’t take me long to relate, in between great, heaving sobs, the tale of my sordid deeds. The only detail I held back was that of the slave girl in the Overseer’s bed; I was too ashamed to admit what I might have done even to my closest of friends.
Briar insisted I change out of my soiled garb, but he was otherwise silent and still throughout my confession. When I finished, he sighed deeply and stood. “Come with me.”
For a moment I froze, wrestling with the impulsive fear that shot through me. Where would he take me? Straight to the Count, to confess my crimes and accept my punishment? And then? There was little doubt. A short stay in a dank cell, then a quick jaunt to the gallows.
Did Briar truly expect me to follow meekly to my own execution?
And yet, even as the thought raced through my head, I came to my feet and fell in behind him. The alternative was no alternative at all. I would not fight the last friend I had left in the world. I would not run from him. No. If Briar was to lead me to my doom, so be it. He had his duty, just as I had had mine. I had done what needed doing; now I would pay for it, if such was his choice. At least I would meet my fate with a friend beside me.
But he did not lead me to the Count’s quarters. Instead we travelled only the few feet of dark hallway to his room.
He closed the door firmly behind us and locked it. He turned to me, gestured toward the chair. “Sit.”
I sat. It was not wise to argue with Briar when he used that tone, even if I’d have the inclination.
He turned from me and began rummaging through his desk drawer. His fingers ran along the wooden bottom—there was a soft click. He lifted the bottom away. “There we are.” He reached into the hidden compartment and pulled out a stack of papers and shuffled through them. He took one and put the rest back. A moment later and he had the hidden bottom back in place and closed the drawer.
He turned back to me. His brow furrowed. He shook his head softly. “You have been a terrible slave, Telth.”
I could only nod. It was simple truth.
“Lift up your sleeve,” he said, pointing at my right arm.
The request confused me, but I had already resolved to take whatever punishment my master saw fit to dole out. I tugged my sleeve up to my shoulder, revealing, along with a sun tanned expanse of skin, the Count’s mark branded into my upper arm. I spent a few seconds staring it; it had been some time since I’d given the mark any thought at all. Every slave bore the mark of their owner, the undeniable proof that such a person was not their own master. Count Delokay’s mark was two crossed swords over a field of wheat. I’d always thought it a rather handsome design, though it would have been a far prettier picture had it not been seared into my own flesh. I could still remember the pain of the branding.
Briar’s hand went to his neck, pulling free a coin-sized medallion from where it dangled on a chain beneath his shirt. He eased the piece of metal over his head and set it in his palm. I was curious now; I couldn’t remember seeing that medallion before. I leaned forward for a closer look. The design on the medallion was a perfect match to that burned into my arm, save in full color instead of the rough outline of the brand.
Briar stepped forward and grabbed my arm, laying the medallion in his palm firmly against the brand. The metal was cold, far colder than it should have been, and the feel of it against my skin was a shock. I pulled back slightly, but Briar held on, even pressed harder. The metal grew warm. Then hot. Then suddenly it was burning, and I jerked away, cursing.
I threw an accusing look at Briar as I rubbed my arm. That had hurt.
But he just smiled at the pained look on my face. He gestured toward where I still rubbed my arm. “Look.”
I did, expecting to find a fresh burn on top of the old. But I moved my hand away from the brand and gaped. The slave’s mark was gone. As though it had never been. I ran a finger over the smooth, unbroken skin, marveling. How? I’d never heard of such a thing, hadn’t even known it was possible. Magic, I thought, in awe. It had to be magic.
Then reality struck me. With the mark gone, there was nothing to set me apart from any free man. I could be anyone. Anything. A worker, a hired servant. A soldier.
Briar no doubt enjoyed the shocked expression playing over my features. His voice sounded quite pleased with himself. “A neat trick, isn’t it? For what it’s worth, I free you. It’s something I always intended to do, somewhere down the line, when my father wasn’t constantly peering over my shoulder. He thinks I’m soft enough as it is.”
A smile appeared on his face. “No point in waiting now though, eh? Without the mark, they can’t use the medallion to track you.” He held up the paper from the hidden compartment. “This is an order to the household guard in charge of shepherding the new recruits to the Imperial Levy. It orders him to accept the barer without question and treat him like any other recruit. It bares my name and seal.” He passed the document to me. “You will go to him, tonight, wake him, and put this document in his hands. Spend the night with the other recruits—in the morning you will be on the way to Kemu. They’ll be looking for someone baring the slave brand, alone and desperate. I think you’ll have a great deal less trouble passing as a free soldier among a dozen others. Keep clear of anyone who might recognize you, use a different name…” He smiled weakly. “You just might live out the week.”
I sat there, blinking dumbly at the document I could not read. “You already had this all worked out? How could you possibly know…”
“You weren’t the only one to note Scratch’s absence tonight, my friend. And when you weren’t in your rooms…well, I suspected something was gravely amiss. And I know how stupid you can be when it comes to those you consider friends. A failing we share, apparently.” He shrugged. “Always have an escape plan, my father says. It seemed the wise thing to do.”
The full weight of his gesture hit me, then. I was free. Truly free. “You’ve been…that is, you didn’t have to--,” I closed my eyes and swallowed against the sudden rush of emotion. I wasn’t good at this sort of thing. I’d had no practice. After a few moments, I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. “Thank you, sir.” I said.
He acknowledged my thanks in his typical fashion, with a nod and shrug. As though it were a thing of small import; as though he hadn’t just saved my life. “Hopefully, no one will note the overseer’s absence until tomorrow. Even if we’re unlucky and someone does, I think some attempt will be made to hush things until the Imperial is gone. Won’t do to have the Empire thinking murder is a regular thing at the Delokay estate.”His brow wrinkled. “But, if by some chance it comes out before you’ve left, I’ll let slip I saw you heading for the woods to the south. That should buy you enough time to put some distance between you and any pursuit.” He worried a fingernail with his teeth, a thing he only did when particularly worried. “The only way they might be able to track you is to bring in a wizard, and I doubt very much anyone liked the overseer enough to pay for that. Certainly my father won’t bother. I can’t think of anything else.”
Nor could I, though my thinking was far from clear. My earlier calmness was altogether faded, leaving me drained and panicked. I was very glad Briar was there to help me.
It all seemed too easy, somehow. I’d murdered a man in cold blood. I’d done so knowing and accepting I’d likely die either in the attempt or shortly thereafter. Yet now it seemed that I might escape punishment entirely. Hell, it looked as though I was going to be rewarded for it. Already I was a slave no more.
I shook my head, scarcely able to believe it. Me, a soldier? Not in my wildest dreams had I ever truly believed I’d manage anything of the sort. I fought a grin as it attempted to spread out on my face. I lost.
If only Scratch were there to share it with. My stomach twisted at the thought, and the grin vanished. I’d never be able to share anything with my friend again.
Briar noticed my expression dampen, and seemed to understand. His voice softened. “I’m sorry about Scratch. I knew the overseer was a nasty sort, but I had no idea…well, you’ve dealt with him. I can’t say you were right in what you did, but I won’t say you were wrong, either. I do wish you had let me handle it, though.”
I met his eyes. “Could you have made sure he would never hurt anyone else? For certain?”
"Yes…well, no. Maybe. I don’t know. I would have seen him punished, yes, but certainly not with the finality you did.” He shrugged. “Maybe your way was the only way you’d be satisfied. Maybe he got exactly what he deserved. But if I’d handled it you wouldn’t have to leave.” He smiled. “And I wouldn’t have to spend the next few months training a new servant.”
I gave a weak smile in return. “Sorry, sir.”
“Oh, don’t be. You were never a very good slave anyways. Too willful, too eager to rise above your station. You were a much better friend.”
I made to reply, but he lifted a hand and interrupted. “We’ve wasted too much time as it is. Go. Sleep, if you can. You have a lot of marching ahead of you tomorrow.” He unlocked the door. “Stay out of trouble, if you can. If I find you’ve been hung for insubordination after all this effort I’ve gone to seeing you safely away…” He shook his head ruefully, then set a hand to my shoulder and squeezed. “The Seven guide you, Telth. Be wary, be well.”
Then he turned and closed the door behind me, leaving me alone in an empty hallway.
It was only after I was half way to the guard’s barracks that I realized I hadn’t even said goodbye.
The rest of the night passed without a hitch. I went to the guard captain, woke him, and handed over Briar’s orders. He grumbled at being roused, read the orders, shrugged and stepped inside, mumbling something about “those damn fickle nobles.” He handed me a travel bag and pushed me toward an empty pallet on the floor. I crawled beneath the itchy blanket, closed my eyes, and tried with all my heart not to think of all the things I’d lost. I failed.
The next day dawned and the recruits around me roused, assembled, and were lead off the land of Count Delokay. I marched with them, a small, lonely figure at the end of the line, an empty travel bag dangling limply over my shoulder.
And I left the life of a slave forever behind me.