A number of hours went by with nothing happening, and then the guard reappeared in the company of others like himself. The captives had been given nothing to eat or drink, but for Tain that was more a kindness than deprivation. The only sanitary facilities available was a short bucket in each cage, a bucket that stank even without being used. No field agent was actually fastidious, not with what usually had to be put up with in the field, but there was a big difference between using a bush or tree in the woods and using a stinking bucket.

The guards began to open cages, starting with the ones farthest from the door they’d entered by. One or two of the women tried to refuse to come out the way the guards wanted them to, but a brisk order got them out and on their feet. Deliberate orders couldn’t be refused by them any more than Ennie had been able to refuse the guard who’d punished her, which meant it wasn’t long before Tain’s cage was also opened. She was gestured into line in front of the woman who’d been released just before her, and then Ennie was taken out to stand in front of Tain.

The look Ennie gave Tain just before she turned to stand quietly was filled with desperation, a silent plea Tain had no trouble ignoring. It was no one’s fault but Ennie’s that the two of them now had big trouble, but the girl clearly expected Tain to get them out of that trouble. Tain could have freed herself from the cage by getting a guard to take her out for punishment, but then what?

Even if Tain knocked out the guard or killed him and then released Ennie, where would the two of them have gone? There was no knowing what lay beyond the door the guards had used, and even if they’d found it possible to get outside the building where the cages were they would probably have found themselves in the middle of the slavers’ compound. Tain knew just how good she was in a fight, but taking on two dozen roving guards was beyond even her expertise.

So Tain simply stood and waited until all the women were lined up to the guards’ satisfaction, then she moved forward when they were told to do so. Ennie still seemed to be squirming where she stood, and when the line began to move the girl made very soft noises under her breath with every step. Tain now had a guess about why Ennie was acting like that, but if the guess turned out to be true there was absolutely nothing either of them could do about it.

The women at the head of the line moved through the doorway with two of the guards leading the way, and when it became Tain’s turn she could see that they moved through a rather large room with chairs and tables. It wasn’t hard to see that the room usually held the guards who were now all around them, which was hardly surprising. When you have valuable merchandise, you tend to guard it well.

Rather than being taken outside, the line was led deeper into the building. The floor they walked on was stone and the walls were plain stucco, nothing in the way of decoration to be seen anywhere. Lighting consisted of what looked like oil lamps on the walls, other rooms along the corridor hidden behind closed, plain wooden doors. Tain pretended to look at nothing but where the line was going even as she studied as much as she could of her surroundings, but the studying did no good. Without a decent opening trying to escape would be a waste of time, and nothing in the way of a legitimate opening came by.

The line was finally directed into another room, this one much larger than the ones they’d already seen. There were a couple of women already in the room, but they were taken out by a door opposite the one Tain and the others had used even before the entire line made it through the doorway. The women were directed to line up along the lefthand wall, and once the entire line was in place the guards went into waiting mode.

And we weren’t told we could sit if we liked, so we can probably be called at any time, Tain thought as she glanced around. It’s fairly obvious that we’re about to be sold, and I wish they would hurry up and get it done. Once I’m out of here I ought to get some kind of break.

Or so Tain fervently hoped. She had a small edge the slavers weren’t likely to know about, but it was a very small edge and couldn’t be wasted. One chance would be all she’d get, and then—

“Do something, Halliday!” a very faint whisper came from Tain’s left, obviously from Ennie where she stood and squirmed. “I can’t stand any more of this, so you have to do something now! And when are they going to give us our clothes back?”

Looking at or answering Ennie wouldn’t have been very bright, so Tain continued to ignore the girl while she made sure the faint smile she felt on the inside didn’t show on her face. Some of the guards were looking over the new crop of slaves, their stares very direct and not in the least shy. Ennie was squirming even harder under the inspection of one particular guard, finally having noticed that she stood stark naked and men were looking at her body. Tain wasn’t particularly happy about the situation herself, but what did the fool girl expect her to do? Challenge all six of the guards and beat them to a pulp? Sure, right, maybe tomorrow.

With the guard staring straight at Ennie, the girl made no effort to repeat her demand. A number of minutes went by with nothing happening, and then that other door opened again. The first two women in line were directed toward the door and the guard in the doorway who was obviously waiting for them, and once the women had hurried through the door was closed again. Ennie and Tain were now third and forth in the line, but when the door opened again and the next two women were taken they became first and second.

Just about the same amount of time passed before the door opened again, and now it was Ennie and Tain who were gestured through. The guard on the other side of the door took Ennie’s arm when she got close enough, and a second guard, waiting in the short hallway beyond the door did the same with Tain. At the end of the hallway was what seemed to be a considerable amount of light, but Tain’s curiosity wasn’t immediately satisfied. Ennie was taken ahead to a short flight of stairs and up into all that light, but Tain was held back by the hand on her arm.

Ennie glanced back at Tain just before she was taken out of sight, the glance filled with a good deal of nervousness and downright fear. It seemed clear that it hadn’t occurred to Ennie that she and Tain would be “sold” separately, and Tain wouldn’t have mentioned the point even if they’d been able to speak privately. Ennie wanted what she wanted when she wanted it, and that kind of person isn’t known for being reasonable. Not even when other people are suddenly in control of your life…

It might have been Tain’s imagination, but it seemed to take longer to sell Ennie than it had taken with the women who’d gone first. At one point the sound of laughter came floating down the stairs, mostly male laughter but women’s voices undoubtedly adding their own amusement. Some of the upper class women also bought female slaves, which made Tain’s department’s job even harder. Even if they managed to get one of the male leaders talked into the idea of getting rid of slavery, if his wife liked the situation just as it was all their efforts could end up being undone.

The guard who had taken Ennie up the stairs had come back down alone, and he finally gestured to the guard holding Tain’s arm as he himself headed back toward the door they’d come through. Tain’s guard moved her to the stairs and up them, and once Tain reached the top she almost had to squint against the increased light level.

At the top of the stairs there was a stage of sorts surrounded by lots of lamps as well as mirrors, the mirrors doing their job of increasing the light coming from the lamps. Tain could tell that the large area beyond the stage held a lot of people, but it wasn’t possible to make out any faces.