It was dark, the kind of darkness that doesn't let anything inside, the kind that swallows every light that might try to dispel or soften the raw edges of despair. It was his darkness, his despair, his blackness of the soul. He was dead. No, it was worse than that. He had failed, and with that failure, the little ray of hope for freedom, for a life without killing had been shattered into tiny pieces. Galeb dug his fingers into the velvet covering his legs and the lower part of his torso. He had failed.
The mattress dipped and something rustled before warm fingers entangled into Galeb's short, black hair and started to massage his scalp. The owner of the hand pressed his face against Galeb's cheek, his upper arm rested on Galeb's collarbone, and the smell of a fresh spring breeze and sandalwood descended over Galeb.
Galeb knew that it was a wizard. The touch of the fingers and the body that was warming Galeb's right side was soothing and, in a weird way, comforting. And as his body melted under the touch, Galeb's instincts, honed in training, screamed at him to jump out of the bed. And he would have, if he could have moved, but the pressure of words kept him immobile, he could feel the spell brushing against his skin. The only thing he could do was open his eyes, which were now staring at the violet canopy, and move his fingers. He curled them and opened his mouth. It was just a vowel at first, like his jaw didn't want to fully cooperate, but he managed to push the words out. "Don't...don't touch me."
"Somebody is cranky when he wakes up." The hand in Galeb's hair stilled, the mattress shifted, and the warmth disappeared. "And no fun at all."
"You should kill me." From the corner of his eye Galeb looked at the wizard, who looked like an angel with his golden hair glowing in the sunlight coming from the window. "Or otherwise I will kill you."
"I have no intention of killing you." The wizard took hold of Galeb's chin and turned it, so that Galeb was facing him. His mouth was still curled in a smirk, but his emerald eyes were serious. "And as you saw, you can't kill me."
But he could die trying, couldn't he?
The blonde released Galeb's chin and pointed his fingers at Galeb's forehead.
Galeb could feel a slight tingling that was over as soon as the fingers stopped touching his head.
"You can move now. Just move slowly, your body will need some time before the spell wears completely off. " The wizard sat up and got off the bed. He went toward the chairs and the low table, on which were various bowls and plates filled with food.
Galeb tested the wizard's statement. First he moved his head, then his hands, slowly, cautiously. Then he pulled himself up into a sitting position, too fast it seemed, because dizziness overtook him and he had to lean forward on his arms or risk falling back onto the pillow.
"I talked to your master." The wizard sat sideways on the arm of the living room chair, folded the long sleeves of his velvet, green and gold robe over his lap, then took an apple and a knife off the low table. "He thought that you had betrayed him when I showed up on his doorstep, and denied that he was your master. I told him that since he was the only one I knew here who was prominent enough to own a well-trained man like you, he was the only choice, but he stayed silent. After a threat or two and the truth serum, he confided to me that he was happy that you had failed, and that he hadn't expected a common whore would manage to best you." He cut the apple in half. "He also told me what he will demand in return for your failure. It seems he has had his eyes on you for quite some time."
"Why are you telling me this?" Galeb pushed the blanket away and frowned at the fact that somebody had removed all of his clothes and put him into loose, blue silken pants with drawstring binding at his hips and his ankles, and a small tunic.
"To let you know what awaits you and to offer you another option." The wizard put one half of the apple into a bowl with fruit and cut a thin slice from the other half. Holding the slice between the knife and his thumb he carried it to his mouth.
"Which is what?"
The wizard chewed the slice and swallowed it down. "Tomorrow I'm travelling west, to the Gamaris. You can come with me."
A dry chuckle escaped Galeb, and he shook his head. "And violate the Grand Consul's Seal! Do you know the punishment for that? An eternity in the Higrah's dungeons, being food for rats and insects."
"You forgot the thirst and hunger and the fact that no matter what, you can't die." The blonde cut another thin slice off the apple and put it in his mouth.
"Yeah, I heard the stories." Galeb threw his legs over the edge of the bed. Awful stories, that made him wonder how the Grand Consul could even have quarters over such a feared and tortured place like that.
The wizard swallowed his mouthful. "I didn't just hear the stories, I have been up here. On a visit, of course." A small shiver shook his body. "The atmosphere there… It's dark, cold and isolated, and it's hard to breathe, let alone walk. Just five minutes there gives you nightmares. But, you don't have to be afraid of that. I can quite legally alter your contract."
"The contract can be altered only with master's and Grand Consul's consent; you can't alter it on your own." Galeb pushed himself onto his feet. He staggered and used a bed pole to steady himself. "And why would you even want to help me? I tried to kill you and if I had the strength and my weapons right now, I would probably be trying again."
"Here I am, trying to do something from the goodness of my heart, and you talk about killing me." The wizard put the knife and the apple on the table, and pressed his hand to his chest. "You wound me deeply."
Galeb rolled his eyes and pressed himself closer to the pole. He leaned his cheek on the smooth wood. It seemed that the wizard had no intention of ending his life, so what was he going to do now? Return to his master and accept his fate? He closed his eyes.
The wizard stood up and went toward Galeb. He stopped a step before him, his hand cupping Galeb's face. "I'm serious. I can alter your contract, you just have to agree with it and sign it."
"Just like that?" Galeb opened his eyes, revealing the violet of his iris.
"Just like that." With his thumb the wizard caressed Galeb's lower lips. "But like everything, this has a price tag."
Galeb moved his head away from that warm hand. He couldn't say that he was surprised. In his life everything always had a price tag. "What do you want?"
The wizard crossed his arms and tilted his head, the golden tresses covered his forehead and an eye. "You as my Pet. For two years."
"Your Pet?" He should probably be outraged and flatly refuse, but he couldn't find the anger in himself. The man might be making a fool of him or trying to deceive him, and he shouldn't even think about the possibility. However, Galeb regarded himself as a rational, not-too-emotional human being and since the man had proved to be a highly-skilled wizard, who just might be able to do what he said he could, he found himself wondering what other kind of services the title Pet included. After all, in the end, anything was better than becoming his master's property. Anything-- he looked up into those emerald eyes -- even being this man's Pet. "You mean Pet, like a companion?"
"That too."
Galeb raised his brows. As much as just the thought of what might, no, what would happen when he returned to his master made him ill, he wasn't about to jump with closed eyes into something that might turn out to be an even worse situation. Just because the man had a beautiful face and a good body, didn't mean that he might not have a black soul. "What else?"
"You would have to be an errand boy, and cook for me, wash my laundry, give me massages, wash my back, that kind of thing."
It didn't sound as bad as Galeb had feared. "Why are you offering this chance to me?"
"Because I can. Because my last Pet's contract expired and I need a new one. And you seem suitable."
"If you can prove that you can break the seal, I might consider it."
A grin appeared on the wizard's face. "You gave in pretty easily." He took hold of Galeb's arm and pulled him away from the bed pole.
"You haven't broken the seal, yet." Galeb let him lead him toward the tall, black and red door.
"Yes, I have." The wizard pushed the door open. They stepped into a medium-sized room with a big, heavy desk, the window behind it half-hidden behind thick, dark purple curtains; low cabinets behind it on the right side of the room; and two chairs upholstered in the same fabric as the curtains before it. On the opposite wall there were two small, purple sofas with an end table between them, and on the left side was a black, tall folding door.
"What?" Galeb was pulled toward the desk. He looked around the room and wrinkled his forehead when he spotted a person sitting on the sofa beside the door through which they had just come in. It was his master.
"I already broke the seal." The wizard released his hold on Galeb and went behind the desk.
Galeb stepped toward his master, who sat quietly, his thin arms and legs and his big belly protruding through the golden and white tunic, looking like a life sized --and a little grotesque -- doll. "What did you do to him? And why is he here?"
"I need his signature." The wizard opened a narrow, brown leather folder that was already in the middle of the desk. "Leave him and come here."
When Galeb didn't comply quickly enough, green, transparent threads appeared and wrapped around his arms and waist to pull him toward the desk.
"If you are going to be my Pet, you'd better learn to obey."
"I'm not your Pet, yet." Galeb ended up beside the wizard, the threads retreating. He looked over wizard's shoulder at the document that he held. "That's my contract." He knew that by his name written in big letters on the parchment, but below where his master's name had once been, was the name Lintai Blackmoon, while the description of his service was empty. "How did you do that?"
"The seal." The wizard, Lintai, pointed at the silver square, the size of a child's palm, with a chain attached to it, on the right side of the folder. "Now, as for your services as a Pet." He took the silver pen that was beside the seal and started to write on the document. "I do hope that you're good at braiding. The last Pet couldn't touch my hair without making a terrible mess of it."
Galeb's eyes were on the seal. "Who are you? You have to be somebody really important to have the Consul's seal. Are you a member of the Consul? Or do you belong to the one of the four houses?"
"It's not a Consul's seal. It's a Mother's seal."
"Mother's seal," Galeb murmured to himself. He didn't know that something like that even existed. A seal of the creator of the world as they knew it, the inventor of the Triliti, the women old as time itself, had to have twice the power of all the Consul's seals combined together. He stared at the side of Lintai's face that wasn't hidden under his tresses.
"You are impressed. Don't be. The seal is not mine, it's my older brother's. He just loaned it to me." The pen stopped for a moment.
So it was Lintai's family that was important. "He has to be a man of importance."
"He is."
Galeb nodded, the finality in Lintai's voice telling him that the subject was closed. But, he wondered, why had the Oracle stones approved the murder of a Mother's seal carrier? The seals, beside other abilities, protected their carriers and Oracle stones never approved the impossible missions (or the killing of innocent victims). He might understand that he had been sent to assassinate a wizard with tenth level magic, which as hard as it could be was still possible, but to be sent to kill somebody he couldn't even bruise... He shook his head. He didn't get it.
He sighed and focused on the black lines and twists on the document. Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes,... then his eyes stopped on satisfying his master's bodily needs. "Hey, wait a minute." He wiggled his way between the desk and the wizard, his finger pointing at the line. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"What it says."
"I'm not going to have sex with you."
"It can mean a cuddle or massage."
"Or sex."
"You are so picky." Lintai sighed and he reached over Galeb, his body trapping him against the desk. He took the seal and with its edge rubbed all the words written after the offending line. The ink separated itself from the paper, the letters rose up and slowly dissolved in the air. He then made a bracket and wrote in it, no penetration unless the Pet is willing. "There, happy now?"
"No, I -"
"Stop whining. This is all you're getting." Lintai wrapped his left arm around Galeb's waist and pressed him flush against his chest. "Or should I cancel all the changes, and you can go home with the froggy there?" With the side of his face he nudged Galeb to turn toward the sofa.
Galeb's gaze landed on his ex-master. He discreetly tried to distance himself from the warmth on his back, but the arm held him tight. And something weird was happening to him; his breath became shallow and he could feel a tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach, spreading. "No, I..."
"I thought so." Lintai's breath was warm on Galeb's temple. "And besides, I don't know why you are even complaining. People pay a high price for my services, and you have the option of getting them for free. You should be grateful. All the other Pets were." He released Galeb, pushed him aside and leaned over the document again. "Now, where was I?" The tip of the pen started to scribe words over the parchment again.
Galeb stared at the wizard, his heart still thudding in his chest. He put his hand over his heart. What was with that? He counted to ten before he peeked over Lintai's shoulder, carefully maintaining the distance between their bodies and at the same time still keeping a close eye on what was written. There were some other ambiguous lines like entertaining his master when bored and warming master's cold feet at night, and he opened his mouth to say something, just to close it again. He would be a Pet for only two years, while he would be his ex-master's property forever. He had also seen the bruises and cuts on his ex-master's slave girl, the one he lost at a card game, and she had been protected by Slave's law. Not that that helped her; when Galeb reported her abuse, the soldier in charge was too afraid to act on it. But at least the master was on the black list and couldn't buy any more new slaves. So when Lintai wrote at the end of the document: Pet will obey his master without question as long as his life or health isn't threatened by the order, that was an additional plus in the whole Pet business.
"Done." Lintai signed his name at the end of the paper, put the pen down and straightened. He moved aside. "Read it and sign it."
Galeb stepped closer and leaned over the document. His eyes skimmed through the words until they came to the end. "Can I change anything?"
"No."
Galeb lifted his gaze and looked at the man who was already his ex-master. Galeb had spent the darkest and loneliest three years of his life with this man and even if the whole property thing hadn't loomed over him, the two-year deal instead of four was quite tempting. He bit his lip and shifted his gaze to Lintai. He didn't know what kind of man this wizard was, but since he didn't use his powers to hurt him when he could, or torture him, he couldn't be that bad, could he? So what if the wizard might demand his body? He could have it – It's was only for two years. He took the pen, his fingers gripping it tight, and signed his name at the bottom beside Lintai's.
Lintai took the folder and the pen away from Galeb, and on his way around the table, he also pocketed the seal. He went toward the man sitting on the sofa and squatted down before him. He slipped the folder onto his knees and put the pen between his lax fingers. "Sign."
The man's fingers wrapped around the pen and with his dead gaze staring straight ahead, the pen made a scrawl.
Lintai pulled the seal from his pocket and pressed it over the signatures. A violet glowing line travelled over the width of the paper, from bottom to top, leaving a glossy thick layer in its wake. Lintai pocketed the pen and the seal, then he stood up and taking the folder, he clasped it closed. "There. All done. You can go now," he ordered Galeb's ex-master.
The man stood up, looking like invisible threads guided his movement. He went toward the door opposite the desk, and went through it.
"What about my stuff? I have my-"
"You will find the chest with your belongings behind the sofa in the bedroom." Lintai closed the distance that separated him from the desk and Galeb. "See if everything is there, then eat something and get dressed. We are going shopping."