Planet Athion: The Complete Series by Angel Lawson
76
Mercy
The entire birthingring facility is massive. Before I was locked on one wing, only able to access my room and the ward, but now that it’s occupied by the resistance I’m able to get a better understanding of how enormous it really is. The Master used this as his primary headquarters. A place to live, work, and house his many slaves and prisoners. No one here was free—even if they wanted to pretend like it. Those still loyal are locked down in the dungeons, the rest are divided into living quarters, given jobs and enrolled in the Athion workforce. There are a few with specific jobs and qualities, who had close connection to the Master himself, that are under careful watch.
Rhise is one of those people.
I knock on his door and it slides open. He’s sitting on a chair, flipping through his data pad. He looks up and smiles when he sees that it’s me.
“Mercy!” He hops up and embraces me. Way more intimate than when he was working for the Master. “You’re looking much better than you did a few weeks ago.”
“I hear I have you to thank for that.”
He waves his hand and goes back to his seat. I follow and take the chair across from his. “That was hardly me. Your brawny human had already taken care of that. I was just there for the aftermath.”
“Well, thank you anyway.”
He smiles again. “I’ve had a soft spot for you since the day you showed up in my dressing room. I felt the spark in you.”
“A spark?”
“Sure. That unique something an individual can have.” He crosses his legs. “A lot of girls and women came through my room. I did the best I could with each one, despite how lost or gone they were. But you were never lost. Or gone. You were always there, ready to fight. My spark vanished years ago, but it was nice to see in someone else.”
“How long were you under his control?”
“Since the virus wiped out half the population. I was young and plucked off the streets. That’s how most of us ended up here.”
“And this job?”
He shrugs. “The Master had an affinity for me from the beginning and I was able to understand him. I’ve always been an observer and I took notes about the kind of females he liked, the kind of females other males liked. I shared this with him and he gave me this job. It allowed me some freedom, it didn’t require manual labor,” he laughs, “and it made him a lot of money. Which always made him happy.”
“And that was your goal? To make him happy?”
His beautiful eyes darken and the smile slips from his face. “No, that was never my goal.”
“What was?”
“To survive.”
“I understand. I didn’t used to, but I do now. My goal has always been to help women. On Earth, I helped them with their pregnancies. Up here I thought I’d do the same thing, but life doesn’t always go as planned.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“I should tell you that he’s gone.”
He frowns. “Gone where?”
“The Master is dead. Dimka, one of the Custo and a former slave himself, eliminated him.” He’s quiet for a minute. “Are you okay?”
“It’s…it’s just weird. He was in control of my life for a long time. Having freedom is something that will take getting used to.”
“Well, I came here because I need your help, but it’s your choice if you want to get involved.”
His eyebrow lifts in interest. “How so?”
“There’s a plan in motion. It’s dangerous and it involves me going back on the auction block.”
“What? No.” He sits up. “That’s not a good idea.”
I take a deep breath. “I’m going on the auction block and I need someone to go with me, to turn me in, to get us inside.”
“You want me to reprise my role in the auction circuit.”
I nod. “I do, and I want to shut that brothel down for good.”
He thinks for a moment and I’m afraid I’ve made a terrible mistake. That he won’t do it. That he can’t. But he lifts his eyes to mine and says, “I’m in.”
I don’t smile. It’s not a happy decision but I do stand and give him a hug. I know it’s a risk trusting those from outside our circle. Look what happened to Cassidy and Amias. But this is life and life involves other people.
He releases me and touches my hair. “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow.”
He makes a face. “We better get started. You’re a beautiful woman, Mercy Ladd, but if you want to get in that brothel, I’ve got my work cut out for me.”