My face hurt.
I woke up laying on the trail with my hands cuffed behind my back. I’d felt this before, back at the Cathedral, when I thought I’d been arrested. I had on magic blocking cuffs, and I had no doubt that it was also sealing my crystal band as well.
I rolled over and saw that all of the students had been caught and we were being separated into piles. Aelin, Fray, and Ether were over by me, while Gesai, Oz, Ren, Justia, Rix, and one other Noble were in another group. Further down the trail I saw the brown-haired Bandit giving orders to the three remaining ones as they were sorting through the remaining students.
The Bandit leader noticed that Rix was awake, because he walked over and sat her up.
“Little Rix went and got a Mantle?” He clicked his tongue. "Too bad you didn’t get it before you broke out of the Cobras, all that wasted experience.”
She struggled against her bonds. "It won’t go to waste now!”
The man laughed. "Still full of fight.” He looked over at the dead bandit. "You know if it wasn’t for the bounty on you, I’d finish you right now on principle. I kind of liked Jonas.”
Rix screamed at him, but he just ignored her.
He turned to his men. "Jax! Find anything else any good!?”
“A few minor Nobles, nothing with ties back to one of the major houses.” Jax reported as he scanned another student. He rolled them towards the other pile. "Another dud.”
I struggled to stand, but was able to.
“Sit back down boy, Mundanes aren’t worth a ransom even if they are Mantled.” The boss looked at me. "Stay put and out of my way and you’ll go free.”
“What are you going to do with them?” I remained standing.
The boss walked over and stood in front of me. His Aura was so strong that I couldn’t look him in the eye while he was staring at me. “Why do you care?”
“Because they’re part of my team.”
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“You’re mad because I’m running off with your girlfriends?” The man slung his arm around my shoulders and started walking me towards the middle group. “Look, this is how the world works. And this is how I make my living.” He pointed at the women they’d segregated. "I’ve got two Alards, a Reace, a Dinx, and a Zavel. If I can find a Garn in there, then I’ll pretty much have a whole set of Nobles that will fetch me a handsome price. But don’t worry, they’ll pay up and you’ll see your girls again in a few weeks, in roughly the same condition.” He laughed as we walked past Gesai.
“What about Rix?”
He stopped and turned towards her. "The Kind Killer?” He shook his head. "The head of the Burnt Cobras is willing to pay a hundred thousand All for that one.” He looked me over. "Unless you are some Noble who never got a mark who has got that kind of coin.”
“How do you know I’m not a Noble!?”
He flicked at my collar. "You’re a Mundane, kid.” He pulled back his own collar to reveal a bare neck. "Nothing wrong with being a Mundane, but don’t start thinking that just because you got a Mantle that you’re one of them. They’ll throw you out in a heartbeat just to keep warm.”
My mind started spinning with how I was going to save them. The man with his hand around me had to be at least level forty, which meant I had no hope of beating him. I began to wonder why Trent hadn’t shown up yet. I’d expected him to come running over here as soon as trouble showed up, but maybe it took him time to get places.
“That’s all of them!” Jax yelled.
“Well." The Bandit leader turned me so that I was facing him. "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, kid.” He gave me a little bow, “Maybe I’ll see you again some day.”
“Don’t take Rix." I grabbed his shirt. “Please.”
“Kid." He easily pulled me off of him. "There are lots of redheads in the world, you’ll find another one that doesn’t have a bounty on her pretty little head.” He pushed me and I fell down.
“Wait!” My mind was spinning. Even if Trent showed up, I had my doubts that he’d run right after them to save Justia until I was safe. By the time he tracked them down, they could have already sold Rix and I knew for sure that the ArchBishop wasn’t going to send anyone after her. There was only one person that the ArchBishop and Trent wouldn’t stop searching until they found them. And that was me.
“Kid, you're starting to try my patience.”
“What if you missed one.” I swallowed. "What if there was someone here that was worth more than a hundred thousand. Would you leave Rix behind if I gave you that information?”
“Atlas!” Rix struggled in the man’s grasp. "No!”
He turned and looked at me. "Depends on how much they’re worth.”
I started thinking. "At least a quarter million All.”
That got their attention.
“There’s no way there’s a royaling in here that we missed.” He shook his head. "Besides, the Realms with kingdoms are on the other side of the world.”
I took a deep breath and hoped it worked. “My name is Atlas Vowler.”