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Standing in front of the government building, I take a deep breath. After Fynn and Tobis came to my rescue two days before, I hadn’t seen them since. But I had been summoned to speak with the investigator.
Pulling the door open, I step into the cool interior. It looks like every other government building. Plain boring drab walls. My boots click on the stone floor as I make my way to the office at the end of the long hall.
Knocking, I pull the door open to see Tobis, Fynn and the two men who had attacked me.
“Ms. Ronzi?” The investigator asked, his brown hooded eyes looking over the rim of his glasses at me. He was a tall man, his brown hair, long on top and then tapering down to the nap of his neck. His nose looked as if it had been broken once or twice.
“Yes. I received a summons.”
“Have a seat.” He pointed to a chair between the two sets of men. “Now that we are all here we can clear up this mess.”
He pulls a handheld device out and taps it a few times.
“Now Ms. Ronzi. You stated that these men and the two who died attacked you for no reason?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Mr. Tobis and Mr. Fynn came to your assistance, saving your life?”
“Well, I guess so.”
The investigator looks at the two men to my right. “You have refused to state what you were doing here and why you attacked Ms. Ronzi. Do you have anything to say now?”
I looked over at Zayin and Bryce, wondering if they would speak, but neither says a word. They just stare past the investigator.
“Then I have no choice.” The investigator pushes a button on his desk and two large men that look like they could be cousins or brothers of Relly walk into the room. “Please take these two to the cages. They will join the next auction.”
The giants walk in and pull Zayin and Bryce to a stand, dwarfing them. Before they have a chance to say anything, the giants whisked them out of the room. The investigator looks at the door for a few more minutes before turning to me.
“Now, Ms. Ronzi. Xistrosie has few laws, but the one that we hold most sacred is that if a life is saved then a life is owed. If a life is taken, then a life is owed. In your case, you and the gentleman next to you owe your lives. We will cancel out the life taken debt as that was in self-defense. But you owe your life to the men before you.”
“Wha-?” I start to ask, but he holds his hand up stopping me.
“What this means for you is complex. Tobis and Fynn are serving a debt, which makes them unable to claim your life debt. You may choose to take on part of their debt and serve until their owner deems the debt to be paid in full. Of course, this means that Umbri will be obliged to take your food, housing, and clothing out of your wages, so it will take many years to pay off the debt.
“Or you can choose to purchase Tobis and Fynn’s debts. They will be yours to do with as you please. But you need to decide now.”
I don’t even look to Tobis and Fynn to see what they would want. There is no choice and realizing that they are essentially slaves angers me. “I will pay their debts. Then they can do as they please.”
“Don’t you want to know the cost?” The investigator asks, his eye raised.
“No. Whatever the cost, it isn’t worth slavery.” I hold the investigator's eye as my blood starts to boil. This planet might look like a paradise, but beneath the surface, it is full of depravity.