Worrying about Sam and Verna, Jace asked the female students if they had seen them. Surprisingly none of the women seen them all day. He was pondering what that meant that when a young slave ran up to him. It was a young boy of perhaps 6 or 7. He had noticed that the slaves working in the keep seemed to have got much cleaner and healthier looking since he moved in, so the fact the boy looked almost normal, except for the fact he was wearing chains and naked didn’t even register in his head.

The boy looked a little upset and scared. So Jace knelt down and spoke to him reassuringly

“Ok, calm down, you’re looking for me right?”

The young boy nodded.

“What is it?”

“Some people came and took everyone.” The answer was too vague to be helpful, though the contents certainly increased his level of concern. Thinking back he didn’t remember seeing any slaves this morning.

“Everyone? All the slaves?”

The boy nodded again.

“Who came? The other students?”

The boy nodded again. Jace took a moment to think, his frown growing.

“Was there anyone strange with them?”

The boy nodded again.

“Can you describe him?”

“He was wearing sparkly red shirt and had red hair like Verna. He was really mean and ordered everyone to follow him.”

Jace’s heart sank on hearing that. “Everyone? Even Sam?”

The boy nodded then added “He ripped her pretty white dress off her, and told her to get in line with the others.” The answer ignighted his rage. He actually had to take a few moment to uncleanch his jaw and continue speaking with the boy in a tone which wouldn't scare him.

“This was down in the slave quarters right? What about Verna?”

The boy spoke slowly “I didn’t see Verna. This was in the room we stay. I was taken out of the group and told by the red haired man to wait in the room until I heard you came back, and tell you about it. He said that um… He would be in the central building. He said um… To bring all the women back to the school. With you. He said he was um… an emissary of Elis, and um… you were to come quickly.”

Jace closed his eyes, he had a deep seeded fear of the Kindred. He had tried sparing against Verna and realized there was a limit to body enhancement magic. Especially since the kindred could do it too. Their mobility was just too much of an advantage in a fight. He prided himself on his defense, but he had little confidence he could manage against a serious Kindred. Worse, Verna was apparently missing. He couldn’t manage to beat Verna, the fact she was missing spoke nothing but bad for his chances.

To his shame his hands were shaking. He hadn’t really fought someone with his life on the line yet. Oh sure he sparred with no armor on and risked death, but that wasn’t against someone who was seriously trying to kill him. Nor had he ever killed anyone. Taking the balls of that slime Teral was almost too much for his heart. He remembered the sleepless nights after that. The nightmares. He could still feel the warm blood on his hands. It was pathetic that he was originally a hockey player, and the idea of killing another person was still this repulsive to him.

There was a huge difference from wanting to beat someone up and wanting to kill them with your bare hands. But what really terrified him was the boundless rage rising up in his heart whenever he thought about that scene just described to him of Sam being stripped and treated like a slave. He felt a killing urge almost overwhelm his sense of reason. The only reason he didn’t grab a sword and teleport straight there was the horrifying anxiety warring within him about the idea of fighting kindred.

The women in the tower of course were standing right there when the boy started talking. They all had different looks on their faces, some looked terrified, many looked angry though. A chunk looked like they wanted to hug him in sympathy. He wanted neither sympathy or pity.

He felt like he was getting light headed and realized he couldn't get up off his knee since he was hyperventilating and didn’t realize it. He looked at all the women and spoke quietly. “If you get into trouble because of me, I’m sorry. But I have to go to meet him. This emissary of Elis will likely kill me. Hold on to the things I gave you. Weather this with your heads down. And you’ll all either be witches or channelers by the time the day ends. All you need to do is come with me to the hall. You should promptly wait to the side and not side with me.”

One of the prettiest girls in the group stepped forward. She was wearing one of the unfortunate looking floppy hats, and not a stich besides it. It was such a strange combination that had he not been so worried he might have laughed. Either way he stamped down on the urge to tell her to dress. Until she ‘officially’ passed the test she couldn’t put clothing on. He actually couldn’t place her, but since she was nude that meant she was in the group he first saved. Looking closely at her eyes, he suddenly recalled where he saw this young woman. She was one of two girls giving him the stink-eye when he claimed the first group. She was so filthy then, he nearly didn’t recognize her. She looked much healthier, and no longer had that flat almost dead look to that pair of angry pale blue eyes. She spoke.

“Why would you not want us to stand with you?”

“It’s not your fight.”

“It IS our fight. Listen.” She gestured to everyone around. “I think I can say this for many. But you changed my fate. And Sa’manatha welcomed us into your home. We care for her too. We care for you as well. If you and Sa’manatha are in trouble I, no I think WE want to help.” Her words were met with a series of nods.

Jace closed his eyes to those nods and had to stamp down the urgent desire to break out in histerical laughter. He felt like the biggest coward in the world. Here he was, terrified over confronting these kindred and every single woman in this tower he thought he was protecting turned out to be braver then him. They weren’t conflicted in the least. The sudden urge to laugh washed away his terror, allowing his anger to heat up a bit.

“Fine, let’s go to it then. Put on some clothing, I witnessed you passing the test for channeler. You might as well die with your dignity intact. I’ll return shortly. I have to prepare.” He stood up on shaky legs and went back up the stairs to their room. He looked from one corner to the other. It felt so empty. This was the first place he felt like was a home since he came to this world. The smell of the sea coming through the windows. He could almost smell Sam in the air here. There was where Sam cried in his arms when he failed to come home one night. There was where he learned he’d be a father, and in turn cried in her arms. There was where Verna would sneak a peek and watch him dress in the morning, or from time to time watch Sam and him make love.

He looked up at the ceiling a long moment, collecting himself. At first it was an overwhelming loneliness and sadness that threatened to drag him away. But the more he thought about those faceless kindred who stripped Sam and forced her to follow them, he found that sadness melt away under the withering heat of a towering inferno of rage and frustration.

He seized his kindred style armor where it was left on a stand, and started putting it on. He eyed the kindred blade he won from Varngus. Win or lose he planned to make someone bleed for this.