if he had not returned until a few minutes more, and he made a note to himself to tie his horse more securely at the next place. He marveled at the vice of this town. Still, his horse, Warkfin, was a hardened warhorse, and he knew that if anyone tried to steal him, he would trample them to death.
Erec kicked Warkfin, and they went charging down the narrow street, Erec doing the best he could to avoid the throngs of people. It was late in the night, yet the streets seemed to become more and more dense with humanity, people of all races mingling with each other. Several drunk patrons screamed out at him as he charged past them too quickly, but he didn’t care. He could feel Alistair within reach, and he would stop at nothing until he had her back.
The street ended in a stone wall, and the last building on the right was a leaning tavern, with white clay walls and a thatched roof, which looked as if it had seen better days. From the looks of the people going in and out, Erec sensed this was the right place.
Erec dismounted, tied his horse securely to a post, and burst through the doors. As he did, he stopped in his tracks, surprised.
The place was dimly lit, one big room, a few flickering torches on the walls, a dying fire in the fireplace in the far corner, and strewn with rugs everywhere, on which lied scores of women, scantily dressed, chained to each other and chained to the walls. They all appeared to be on drugs, and Erec could smell the opium in the air, and saw a pipe being passed around. A few well-dressed men walked through the room, kicking and nudging the feet of the women here and there, as if testing out the merchandise and deciding what to buy.
In the far corner of the room there sat a single man on a small, red velvet chair, wearing a silk robe, women chained to either side of him. Standing behind him were huge, muscular men, their faces covered in scars, taller and broader even than Erec, looking as if they would be thrilled to kill somebody.
Erec took in the scene and realized exactly what was going on: this was a sex den, these women were for hire, and that man in the corner was the kingpin, the man who had snatched Alistair, and probably snatched all of these women, too. Even now Alistair might be in this room, Erec realized.
He burst into action, frantically hurrying through the aisles of women and scanning all the faces for hers. There were several dozen women in this room, some passed out, and the room was so dim, it was hard to tell right away. He looked from face to face, walking through the rows, when suddenly a large palm smacked him in the chest.
“You pay yet?” came a gruff voice.
Erec looked up and saw a huge man standing over him, scowling down.
“You want to look at the women, you gotta pay,” the man boomed in his low voice. “Those are the rules.”
Erec sneered back at the man, feeling a hatred rising up within him, and then faster than the man could blink, he reached up and struck him with the heel of his palm, right in his esophagus.
The man gasped, eyes opened wide, then dropped to his knees, clutching his throat. Erec reached up and elbowed him in the temple, and the man fell flat on his face.
Erec walked quickly through the rows, scanning the faces desperately for Alistair, but she was nowhere in sight. She was not here.
Erec’s heart was pounding as he hurried to the far corner of the room, to the older man sitting in the corner, watching over everything.
“Have you found something you like?” asked the man. “Something you want to bid on?”
“I’m looking for a woman,” Erec began, his voice steel, trying to keep calm, “and I’m only going to say this once. She’s tall, with long blond hair and green-blue eyes. Her name is Alistair. She was taken from Savaria but a day or two ago. I’m told she was taken here. Is that true?”
The man slowly shook his head, grinning.
“The property you seek has already been sold, I’m afraid,” the man said. “A fine specimen, though. You do have good taste. Choose another, and I will give you a discount.”
Erec glowered, feeling a rage within him unlike any he’d ever felt.