The Last Tail Of The Fallen Luna

3: The H

hina'

perhaps blood, dried and old to the floor. I could feel the pain in my head where he hit me

ed to me. The papers. Kael's

eyes again

see the shapes around me. Cages. They all were silent and still, some holding two or three bodies

quickly, and m

out my voice. No one answered.

ripped dress turned her face a

t divided us. "Talk to me, p

aid n

could see. Each and every one of them recoiled or simply looked through me as though I were not there. Some of the things they

against the cold bars and waited

ase of the men who owned everything they looked at. They began to file down the rows, and without a

m knelt and grabbed my chin and turned m

ied to the other. "

ack, strong arms grabb

tood with basins of water and folded cloths. They stripped me and bathed me and put me in a plain wh

wooden tag around my neck. I s

ched out to get the t

gainst the door, watching. He laughed,

uld be h

stared at him

s that were curling weakly against my back. "There are still just a han

w fast my anger turned to begging. "Please le

on't," he said,

ded with the guards who escorted me out of the room; I pleaded with everyon

ground hall that I couldn't see the end of. There was a lot of noise in the air, and occasional, low, grumbled voices fr

they were bargaining over cattle. I saw a young woman dragged off the stage sobbing, sold for a not insignificant price

se if I let myself make a sound I th

I hea

orty-S

into my back, pu

spered the guard

eyes, and when I came into focus, there before me were rows and rows of fa

s not just any offering, it is a nine-tailed bloodline that was once nine tails strong, but now has only three tails, b

. To my left, a man shouted out a number

s if I could embrace what little dignity I had left

eer. lThis blood line is rare; it

er. Higher.

ng o

room rose from among the others, and

ng t

e the gavel fall, couldn't bear to know

gavel failed t

the hall burst o

the stage swinging wildly on their chains. As the shapes crashed through the smoke and shattered

away from the stage and from the chaos in the crowd, but before we

f stuck between people I couldn't see clearly enough to tell whether they were friend or foe. I felt my hand on my wrist and fel

ne by one, until the last of them was ripped out of my presence. Roughly I was hauled up by some hands, strong, fir

hadow, their bodies still morphing from wolf to man – and I didn't k

ou? What's