Phoenix's stomach burned then, a burning that was both hot and cold, one that left her chilled and breathless, her eyes going wide, her heart so, so heavy. It was only a quick flicker of those Implants that kept her from shaking her head, from gasping and clutching at her heart, but Willow Rosehip's eyes went wide, her hands already darting to tell Phoenix that Master Astor was dangerous. That was about all she could tell her before he grabbed her, pulling her under his arm and making her gasp, and all Phoenix could do was stare.
"Stand up straight, Willow," he said. "You're going to make me look like a bad Master in front of Gabriel, you don't want that do you?" he asked, and Willow whimpered, her eyes going so wide and shining wet, her jaw clenching shut and he laughed. "She's so beautiful, isn't she, Gabriel? I think she's the best one I've ever bought," he smiled. "I've made her a Favourite already."
Master Gabriel stared, not at Willow but at Master Astor, his eyes never blinking, his Implants flickering so softly. Willow was so quick, making as though the brush something from her face, but tapping at the side of her eye and crooking her finger. Phoenix wanted to answer, she wanted to ask so many things, but she didn't know how she could and her eyes flicked to him, knowing that Willow would understand what Phoenix was trying to tell her, but Phoenix hadn't expected the Master to nod a small, slight nod. She was also so quick, raising a hand to brush back some of her back from her shoulder and bringing it down to tap at her heart once.
"When did you buy her?" Master Gabriel asked.
"Same night as you," Master Astor smiled, turning to look down at her and Phoenix had to wait, watching Willow's face scrunch up in a wince until he looked away. "Hard to believe, isn't it, Gabriel, nothing for months and then three in one auction. How many did you bid on?"
Phoenix nodded at Willow then, only a slight nod, but Willow understood, her hand coming up to tap at her heart twice, and Phoenix almost gasped then, fighting that crease on her forehead, her finger circling around at her side and Willow nodded. All of them were dead, her father, mother and brother, only Willow was left, that's why there had only been three of them at the auction that night. Willow wiggled her fingers, crooking her finger at the end and Phoenix shook her head. Willow nodded, her shoulders dropping, her eyes half-closing and Phoenix wanted to do the same. She did feel better, her heart a little lighter now that she knew Willow hadn't seen Ash either and there was still a chance he was free.
"I was only interested in one lot," Master Gabriel said.
"Hmm, that's what I'm going to say too," Master Astor smiled, and there was another hiss then, Phoenix's heart already racing as her eyes flicking and searching for another familiar face, but it was another man dressed all in white, his face tight and stiff, the corners of his nose twitching like he was fighting back a scowl.
"Colton!" Master Astor smiled, and that twitching grew stronger.
"Astor," he said.
"Colton, this is the man I was telling you about," Master Astor nodded. "Gabriel, this is Colton, Master of InterCity Finance."
Master Gabriel smiled, a small, soft smile. "Welcome to my home, Colton," he said, but there was a long moment where Colton only stared, his eyes never blinking, his face then blank and stiff.
Finally he asked, "Shouldn't a Quarter-Master bow when greeting a Master?"
Phoenix didn't know why that smile on Master Gabriel's lips grew, his head tilting to the side when he said, "Not in his own home."
Master Colton's eyes narrowed, the corners of his nose twitching again, but then he shook his head and looked away. "I wouldn't know," he said. "It's so rare to see a Quarter-Master this far into The City."
She watched Master Astor smile, his eyes shining bright, something like a laugh hidden in his voice when he said, "Gabriel's very good at investing, Colton. You two should have a lot to talk about."
"Hmm…" Master Colton hummed. "We'll see. What exactly is it that you do, Gabriel?"
That smile was even bigger then, Master Gabriel's eyes so bright, those Implants flickering like they had that time he'd called for her after the pods.
"A little bit of everything," he said, and before long the room was brimming with people, too many to count, all of them too close for Phoenix to breathe easily.
Everywhere she looked there were eyes staring at her, some big and wild, some small and frightened, but always staring. It was only then that she realised that he had put them in the middle of the room, that any Master going either direction would pass them eventually, and she tried not to think about that, her eyes darting to him at the end of the room and watching those Implants flicker.
"How can a Quarter-Master afford all of this?" said a voice not too far away where a group of Masters huddled together, their voices hushed and low, their eyes darting around the room.
"Who cares about that? The real question is how could he afford a Woodlander."
"It's a disgrace," another said. "How could the Auction Master allow it?"
"Well if he had the money-,"
"That's not the point!" that second Master cut in. "I mean, have you ever heard of it before? He should be back in The Suburbs."
"And it wasn't just any Woodlander..." said another, and she felt them watching her, her skin tingling, her mouth going dry.
"Exactly…" said the second Master. "It's a bad example for the other Quarter-Masters. Next thing you know, we'll be bidding against them for every Woodlander."
She watched some of them nodding, some of them with their eyes down and staring straight through the floor, and then there were others with their faces tight and their eyes shining bright, but finally one of them laughed, shaking his head and taking a sip from his cup.
"I would never be outbid by a Quarter-Master," he said.
That seemed to be it for a moment, the group laughing, some of them nudging their elbows into that second Master's arms, but that second Master turned, his eyes narrowing, his face so stiff and tight when he said, "Well, he must've outbid you for her."
That other Master went quiet, the rest of them watching the two of them stare, the corners of their lips twitching like they were fighting back more laughs.
"I never bid on her."
"So you were at the auction!" another said.
"I never said I wasn't," he shook his head. "I just never bid on her or the one Astor bought."
"Hmm, that's what I'd say too," one of them said, the group laughing and drinking and watching each other again, but Phoenix's blood ran cold, her forehead lining in a crease as she stared at them.
Just how many Masters had bid on her that night and how close had she come to living with one of them instead? She didn't know and she wasn't sure she ever wanted to find out, but she stared at that man, trying to remember his face so she could share what she'd learned with the Master.
"I like them," she heard then, her eyes flicking to watch him, her ears straining to listen.
"It's just so unusual to have Implants out in the open like that… and on your face too. Don't you find it uncomfortable?"
Master Gabriel smiled then, a small, soft smile, his eyes bright and light. "Why would I?" he asked.
How different would her life have been now if one of those other Masters had bought her? If she had been in Willow's place or any other's? She wanted to shake her head as she fought that crease in her forehead, her heart beating a little quicker as she watched him and he must have felt her staring. He turned, his eyes never blinking as he watched her, those Implants flickering so softly, and then he looked away and raised his cup to a passing Master.
Why had the others called him a Quarter-Master? He didn't look any different to them, not really, his face so soft, his eyes shining so brightly as he stood there talking, sometimes here, sometimes there and always with different people, but it was only when he went back to his chair, that she saw Willow, kneeling on the floor by Master Astor's feet, bound by the leash in his hand and she wanted to scream then, she wanted to rip that leash from his hand and set her free.
"Gabriel!" Astor called. "Have you met Quintus?"
"Not yet," Master Gabriel smiled, but that man sitting with them was quiet for a while, his eyes never blinking as he studied Master Gabriel.
"You've done well, Gabriel, it's not easy to get some of these Masters in the same room as each other."
"Hmm," Master Gabriel hummed. "Astor's introduced me to a lot of people since I moved further in."
Master Astor seemed to double in size, a smile on his lips, his shoulders rising as he sat there, and Master Quintus nodded, his eyes flicking between the two of them as he sat back in his chair.
"Well, it's good to see you keeping good company for once, Astor."
"And what's that supposed to mean, Quintus?" Master Astor asked.
"You know exactly what I mean."
Those shoulders rose higher, his face scrunching up in a scowl, his eyes shining so bright as he glared at Master Quintus. "You take that back," Master Astor said, his voice high and strained.
"Or what? You'll set another cousin on me?" Master Quintus asked, his eyebrows rising, his laugh deep and low like a rumble of earth. "Do any of them still talk to you, Astor?"
Master Astor slapped his hand down on the arm of his chair then lifted it to point his finger at Quintus. "I'm warning you-,"
"More drinks?" Master Gabriel cut in, and Master Astor's face scrunched up so tight.
"Hmm," Master Quintus nodded, holding up his cup for a House-slave to fill. "Your first Woodlander, Gabriel?"
"Yes."
"I try to get mine a bit younger, it's always harder with the older ones… Still you seem to have trained her well enough."
"You know what I've been thinking," Master Astor said, leaning forward in his chair, his eyes flicking between the two of them. "My Willow was caught on the same night, I wonder if they know each other."
Master Quintus shook his head, his eyes half-closing as he stared at Master Astor. "Of course, they know each other," he said. "All the free-born Woodlanders know each other, you'd know that if you could keep one alive long enough to talk to one."
Master Astor slapped his hand down again. "I'm warning you, Quintus!"
"I heard she's the one who attacked the Head-hunters," Master Quintus said, his eyes flicking to Master Gabriel. "You've done well to-,"
"Anyone can make slaves stand in a line," Master Astor cut in. "When are you going to show us what she can do, Gabriel?"
"Some of us can't even do that," Master Quintus said, his eyes narrowing into slits.
"This is Gabriel's house!" Master Astor snapped. "And he doesn't take offence, do you, Gabriel?"
Master Gabriel was so quiet then, the tips of his fingers tapping at his lips, his eyes half-closed. "Astor is at a different stage of training," he said.
"Can you really call brining a slave out on a leash training?" Master Quintus shook his head. "If she does anything tonight, not even your cousins will be able to help you, Astor, I hope you know that… Have you got yours talking yet, Gabriel?"
Master Gabriel smiled, his fingers going still, his eyes shining bright. "You found something to talk about with them, Quintus?" he asked, and Master Quintus laughed, leaning back in his seat and taking a sip from his cup.
"Mine are the quiet type," he said, looking up at the woman who was sitting on the arm of his chair. Phoenix couldn't see who it was, her back turned to Phoenix, just like the man who stood beside her, but she was too old to be Iris. "But my trainer speaks very highly of your Favourite, Gabriel. He says she's undefeated."
"Hmm," Master Gabriel hummed, his eyes flicking down to stare at Cassie kneeling in front of his chair.
"She lost her first Fight," Master Astor said, and Phoenix felt her face go tight. Cassie turned a little, her face paling, her eyes half-closing, and Master Gabriel ran a finger across her cheek, his eyes flicking up to stare at Master Astor.
"She did," he nodded. "But the first Fight is more a test of the Master, wouldn't you say, Astor?"
"It's true," Master Quintus said. "The Master and the Trainer, not the Fighter," he shook his head. "And from what I've heard she proved herself afterwards… Maybe she still could, maybe you'll use her again now that you have a Woodlander, Gabriel."
Cassie's eyes went so wide, before she closed them, turning her head so that she was facing the Master, but Phoenix hadn't expected to hear him laugh, a short, curt laugh as he tapped the tips of his fingers to his lips and stared at Master Quintus.
"I like to hold onto Favourites," he said.
"Oh?" Master Quintus said, his head tilting to the side as he studied Master Gabriel. "That's a shame, but I understand, it's hard not to get attached, especially after you've got them trained the way you like them," he paused, his eyes never leaving Master Gabriel's face. "I'd still be willing to make you an offer."
Master Gabriel laughed again, the corner of his lip twitching like he was fighting back a smile. "She's not for sale."
"I see," Master Quintus nodded. "Maybe after you've picked from those three then?" he asked, nodding his head towards them.
"Only from those three?" Master Gabriel smiled, his eyebrows rising as he watched Master Quintus.
"You put them there for a reason, Gabriel," Master Quintus said, and the two men stared at each other for a moment.
Master Gabriel put his hands down on the arms of his chair, his head tilting to the side, that smile still on his lips when he asked, "Do you have something you want to ask me, Quintus?"
"I think I have my answer."
Master Gabriel hummed, leaning back in his chair and kicking one leg up over the other. "You do," he said, and Master Quintus' eyes narrowed, the light in them going cold and sharp, his forehead furrowing into a crease.
"And you put him there knowing my family would be here tonight?" he asked.
"On your knees, slave," she heard then, her eyes flicking back to man standing in front of them, her blood running cold.
That Master could barely stand, his eyes so pink and hazy, a smell coming off him that was sour and sharp. Her heart was racing, her back and shoulders so stiff and tense as he glared at Belfire, but Belfire didn't move, his face blank and tight, his eyes staring over that Master's shoulders. That Master's face scrunched up in a scowl as he swayed, his eyes somehow so distant and hazy, somehow shining so bright.
"I said, on your feet," he said, but he didn't give Belfire a chance to react, his hand whipping, diving into his robe and pulling out a knife, and then he plunged it into Belfire's chest.