59

Especially while my master was nearby. I rolled my eyes to myself. All these weird rules for a master slave relationship leaned toward the slave only paying attention to the master, and not being allowed to speak. I didn't like any of it. Once I got strong enough I would abolish slavery in the collective universe.

Keeping someone against their will, and forcing them to work for you just wasn't that great a plan no matter how I looked at it. The moment they got a little freedom they could strike back at you, and keeping them beat down so they couldn't lash out didn't leave them much strength to do what you needed them to. I sighed, and shook my head slightly. We were leaving the line of sight between us, and the normal people on the roads. The road we were taking was the most direct route to the capitol, but it was also one of the most dangerous routes to the capitol.

Only the rich or highly capable would take this route. Sekka stopped to get something to eat. Balock remained silent. Sitting near the birds quietly as he observed us both. Sekka enjoyed a simple meal, and watched the road cautiously.

I appeared to be relaxing not far from where Sekka was, but appearances could be deceiving. Despite the fact that my eyes were down, and not focused on anything in particular I was more aware of what surrounded us then Sekka. A single mistake from a passerby or beast would end with their death. I was more then certain there were a few people, and creatures on this planet that could give me trouble. I was kind of excited by the idea of bumping into one of these dangerous beings.

We were likely to bump into a beast this close to civilization, but this was a difficult road to travel. It wasn't unheard of for travelers to go down this road, and never be heard from again. My spatial senses didn't reach far enough for me to find out why some people disappeared, but I was excited to find out. I had to be careful though. Anything I killed would have to be thoroughly disposed of.

"Why aren't you eating?" Balock broke the silence.

"I'm not that hungry," I waved off the question.

Sekka stifled a laugh. That drew a curious glance from Balock. I didn't know what Sekka found humorous about the situation, but with how tense he'd been lately the break in the somber mood was welcome. I didn't react to the outburst. Trying not to appear affected at all.

Which was fairly easy since I was only mildly interested in what Sekka found humorous?

"Is he one of those species that has a second mouth?" Balock turned his attention to Sekka since I wasn't that willing to talk.

This only made Sekka cover his mouth in an attempt to hide the smile that split his face. There are intelligent species with more then one mouth? My curiosity, and surprise caused me to raise my eyes, but I kind of stared out into the road. I was trying to avoid putting too much pressure on the already stressed out Sekka. He had a bad habit of assuming my attention was negative.

"No," Sekka finally answered once he calmed down enough that he was certain he wouldn't laugh, "Let's just say that Wyatt here has a stomach big enough to fit both of us, and the birds if he wanted to."

"Oh really?" Balock's brows went up in surprise, "What happens to his body when he eats? Does he gain large amounts of weight or does it just disappear down his gullet?"

"It disappears," I cut into the conversation, "I stretch my mouth wide so I can swallow it whole if I don't like the taste."

Sekka paled slightly at the realization that despite how I looked now, I was still a massive creature capable of swallowing something the size of a human whole.

"Sorry," Sekka's glee died, "I spoke out of turn."

I smacked my forehead in frustration. His fear of me was starting to get really frustrating. I ran my fingers back through my hair before walking down the road a bit. I didn't go far. Maybe fifty feet or so, but I was trying not to snap at Sekka for being so terrified of me.

He was doing so good there for a while. I grabbed the trunk of one of the nearby trees, and rested my forehead on it. Stretching my consciousness out to Ethan so I could connect to all of my bonded through him. Ethan responded positively to my presence in his mind like always. Jax wasn't on the elven world at the moment.

Savannah was rearranging the rescued slaves based on their condition. The sicker weaker ones would be sent through first when the gateway reopened. Ethan was keeping the entire operation well hidden using the elven slave workers that ran the property. Everything appeared normal from the outside, but he was starting to have problems with suspicious neighbors. They were starting to notice that something was off with the nobles that lived on the property.

We were in the later stages of our operation so I wasn't too worried about getting discovered, but I did want them to remove any elves that found out if they could. The longer we kept that specific base under our control the easier it would be for us to withdraw from this planet. If I got cut off from the base then I could create my own spatial portal to return to earth. That kind of distance nearly drained my core each time I crossed it, but if it became necessary I would be able to do it. I pulled myself back to the present, and looked at Sekka.

He'd packed everything up while I was distracted. I scanned through our surroundings again. Making sure that nothing had changed while my attention was on Ethan. I didn't manage to check on all three of my bonded like I wanted to, but that was ok. Jax had pulled away from me as one of my bonded so I was sure he didn't mind being missed once in a while.