“Yes,” said Jan in almost a whisper.
“Good.” The High Chamberlain then turned to the four Minervan men. “The same applies to you, though from what I know about you eunuchs disobedience is not in your nature. Even so you have been warned. Understand?”
They all nodded. Jan had a feeling of contempt for them which she quickly stifled. She was in no position to accuse others of cowardice. Nor could she be sure they were cowards. She had seen several Minervan men fighting alongside the sisters during yesterday’s battles. They hadn’t fought well, and had been swiftly cut down by the Sky Warriors but they had made the effort and she had respected them for it. At the same time, however, the sight of Minervan men wielding swords had filled her with deep unease … just as she had expected it would.
The High Chamberlain was glancing about enquiringly. “Presumably some of you have claimed slave rights on these survivors? If so, state your claims.”
“I, Gregory Tanith of the Third Battalion, and on behalf of Warrior Martin Sundin, also of the Third Battalion, claim the slave rights on this female Minervan,” said the Sky Warrior with the black beard who was still gripping her by the arm. Jan, surprised, realized he was ‘first voice’.
The High Chamberlain nodded impatiently and said, “Do you have official verification of this claim?”
“I do. Officer Kaplan of the Third Battalion will verify the claim.”
“Very well, the claim is recognized. Who do you intend selling her to?”
“We were thinking of Guild-Master Bannion. He’s had some losses among his glass walkers.”
The High Chamberlain gave an approving nod. “Good. If there is still any fight left in this amazon, working with Bannion’s mob will soon knock it out of her.”
“Oh Basil, it seems a waste to put her among Bannion’s louts. She’s such a pretty creature. Why not buy her for me? I could have her trained to be my maid.” It was the woman, who hadn’t spoken before. She spoke in a very cautious way. To Jan it seemed as if she was trying to imitate a little girl.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said the High Chamberlain irritably. “I’m not letting you have an amazon for a maid. Besides, we don’t know yet if she’s carrying any infections. If she is, let Bannion’s scum be the sufferers.”
The woman nodded meekly and said no more. The High Chamberlain then turned his attention to the claimants on the four Minervan men. Jan was distressed to hear that they were being sold to different ‘Guild Masters’, whoever they were. She didn’t want to be separated from the only other surviving Minervans, even if they were men. But suddenly she was being pushed through the crowd by her black-bearded ‘owner’ and all at once she felt very much alone.
She was marched to a wide doorway that had a sign saying DECONTAMINATION above it. In the room beyond a bored-looking man with very pale skin sat at a table. On one side of the table was a pile of clothing. A spark of interest showed in his eyes as he saw Jan. He leered at her. “And what have we here? One of those Minervan amazons?”
“The only one,” said Tanith. “The rest of the women opted for the drop. Apart from her there’s only four of their men left.”
“Wasteful,” said the man at the desk with a disapproving shake of his head. “So who’s she going to?”
“Bannion. Joining one of his hull crews.”
The pale-faced man grinned when he heard this. It was not a pleasant grin. The more she heard about Bannion and his people the more her anxiety increased. “What’s your name?” he asked her.
“Jan,” she muttered.
“Well, Jan, get your clothes off. Everything.”
It was what she had been dreading. “You’re going to … to—” she forced herself to say the hateful word—“rape me.”
The two men exchanged a glance and laughed. “Don’t flatter yourself, earthworm. Do you think we’re crazy? God knows what vermin you’ve got crawling about inside you,” said the man at the desk scornfully. “My job is to make sure that at least the outside of you is clean. So get your clothes off.”
Slowly and reluctantly Jan removed her kilt, vest and underclothes. Apart from her acute embarrassment she was terrified that they would subject her to an intimate search. She was painfully aware of the bomb inside her. It seemed to have expanded in size.
“Jeez, look at those muscles,” said the desk man as he got to his feet.
“All the amazons are—were—built like this,” said Tanith, trying to sound blasé. “But she’s smaller than average.”
The desk man kept running his eyes up and down her. Jan wanted to do two things—to punch him very hard in the face and to vomit. “Pity to waste this on Bannion’s creeps,” he told Tanith.
“Yeah. Look, I got to get back on duty soon so could you hurry things along?”
“Well, I don’t want to but I will, soldier.” He gave Jan a wink then, taking a stick with a hook on the end of it, picked up her clothes and dumped them into the opening of a chute in the wall beside his desk. He pulled a lever. Jan guessed that her clothes were now fluttering towards the ground. “Go through that doorway, girl—move,” he ordered, pointing at a narrow door at the end of the small room. When Jan hesitated he said, “Go on, you won’t come to any harm. Not in there anyway.” He laughed.
Jan approached the door warily and opened it. It led into a long shower stall. She felt relieved that they had made no attempt to search her. Being thought of as a disease ridden savage had its advantages.
She went and stood under one of the shower nozzles. She looked up at it expectantly and suddenly she was hit in the face with a jet of white liquid that both stung her eyes and smelt horrible. She gasped, rubbing her eyes, and stumbled blindly towards the door. All the nozzles in the stall were obviously spraying out the vile liquid and some of it got into her mouth, making her retch. She reached the door and turned the handle. The door wouldn’t open. She banged on it. “Let me out!” she cried. “Help!” The fumes were getting worse. She was finding it hard to breathe. She sagged, coughing and retching, to her knees.
The hissing from the nozzles died away. Jan looked about with streaming eyes. The white liquid was draining away through grills in the floor but she was covered with the stuff. She got up and tried the door again but it remained locked. The nozzles came to life again and she turned round in alarm but this time it appeared they were spraying out ordinary water.
Experimentally she extended her hand under the nearest stream, then licked it. It tasted musty but it was definitely water. She stepped under the spray and gratefully washed the stinging, and stinking, white liquid from her body. When she had finished the water stopped and the door sprang open.
She walked back into the room. Both of the men were regarding her with malicious amusement. She spat on to the floor, partly to clear her throat of the lingering taste and partly to express her anger. “Bastards,” she said. “You could have warned me. What was that stuff?”
Tanith walked over to her and casually hit her across the face with his gloved hand. The force of the blow knocked her down. “Rule number one,” he said, looking down at her. “You must never be insolent to a Sky Warrior or any Freeman. You can behave however you like with your fellow slaves but if you deliberately insult a Freeman again it will be the drop for you. Understand?”
Jan nodded silently as she clutched her throbbing cheek. Blood trickled from a slit lip. “The white liquid was just a powerful disinfectant,” continued Tanith. “Your skin and eyes will remain sore for a few days but you will suffer no long term ill effects.” He bent down and helped her up.