I’ll scoop out the rest of his eyes—all three of them! she thought wildly. And I’ll scoop out his balls too, if he tries to get anywhere near me!
“Stop!” Kalis thundered, stepping between her and the big Trollox.
The Master of the Market blinked.
“Yes, Kindred—you have something to say?” he inquired.
“I do,” Kalis said gravely. “I have already named myself my Mistress’s guarantor and have said that any debts she owes shall be paid by me. The Trollox agreed to this when I offered,” he went on.
“I never—” Ripper’s yellow-eyed head began.
“Yes you did though, Ripper,” the three-headed Trollox customer put in, speaking up for the first time. He’d been hanging back, all three mouths agape as he watched the case unfold. “You did say that the Kindred could be the guarantor for her debts,” he went on. “You did.”
Ripper glared at the other Trollox with his one yellow eye.
“Many thanks, friend Thrasher,” he spat. “Very well then, I suppose it’s true,” he added, looking angrily at Kalis.
“You know it to be true, Trollox,” the Master of the Market said. “Therefore, choose a part of the Kindred’s body that you wish to take in repayment for the loss of your eye. It must be of equal or lesser value though—you may not choose his heart or lungs or any other internal organs he needs to live,” he added, warningly.
“Hmm…” Ripper stared at Kalis thoughtfully, an evil glint in his remaining yellow eye. “What part of you should we take, Kindred? Some folks say ‘an eye for an eye’ but we think maybe we should take something else.” As he spoke, he reached behind his back and pulled out the massive, bloodstained cleaver he’d shoved in the back of his thick, black belt earlier. “What about an eye for a hand, hmm?” the yellow-eyed head inquired.
“As you wish,” Kalis said stolidly and held out his left hand.
“Very well—guards, bring a cutting block,” the Master of the Market commanded.
All this time, Jillian had been standing, frozen to the spot. She was horrified at what seemed to be happening—so horrified she didn’t quite believe it was real. Surely Kalis wasn’t really going to let the huge Trollox cut off his hand—was he?
But when the two ostrich-necked guards shuffled in, bearing a heavy wooden stump covered in ominous brownish-red stains, the reality of the situation was finally brought home to her.
“No!” she gasped, as Kalis knelt to lay his arm on the chopping block. “No, Kalis, you can’t do this for me! I won’t let you!”
“It’s already done, little Mistress,” he rumbled softly. Looking up at her he added, “Please don’t worry—I can deal with the loss of a limb.”
“But you shouldn’t have to!” Jillian burst out! “It’s not fair! I’m the one who took his eye in the first place!”
“If you’d rather offer us the use of your womb to make up for the loss of our eye, girly, we’d be more than happy to take the deal,” Ripper said, leering at her with both heads.
“No!” Kalis glared at the huge Trollox. “Take my hand to pay my Mistress’s debt and let’s hear no more about it!”
“Trollox, you agreed that the Kindred should stand as guarantor and now you must abide by your word,” the Master of the Market creaked warningly. “Guards, bring out a tourniquet,” he added and looked at Kalis. “I know you mortal beings lose your sap rapidly when a branch is lopped off.”
Jillian was in tears as the two guards scuttled forward and tied a tight leather strap around the big Kindred’s forearm, just above his wrist. She couldn’t believe this was happening! Couldn’t believe that Kalis was willing to be maimed for her. They hadn’t even known each other a whole day yet! This was crazy.
“Kalis—” she began, her voice thick with a sob she was trying to hold back. “You shouldn’t do this!”
He looked at her calmly.
“I want to, Jillian. Please, stand back and let me. Don’t try to interfere—I wouldn’t want you to be hurt in this process.”
“Yes, female humanoid, stand back,” the Quinlow judge ordered. “It will be over soon.”
That was what Jillian was afraid of. She took several steps back and though she didn’t want to see, she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away as the huge Trollox took aim with his cleaver…and chopped Kalis’s left hand off at the wrist.
20
Kalis bore the pain of the lost limb stolidly. He’d had worse wounds in his Blood Circuit days and one Mistress had liked using a fire whip on him—just to see how fast he healed. As a B’varren Kindred, he could heal almost any wound, but he could only regrow a lost limb by switching to his other form.
But he didn’t want to change in front of Jillian. The little female had already had enough trauma for one day—she didn’t need to see him grow into a twelve-foot tall Ursus after she’d already been drugged, dumped in the Dark market, kidnapped, and nearly assaulted by a depraved Trollox. It would be too much for her to process.