Chapter 70 The Suspicious Neighbour* (2/2)

Rassa caught the sound of the small gasp from the woman next door, though it was quiet enough that he shouldn't have heard it, so he didn't react. Not that he had to try hard. She was exceptionally boring.

”Seri here was charged with theft from the mine, it seems to be an increasing occurrence these days. The cells above were full so you understand, I'm sure,” Zaroth pressed.

Lies. All lies. Rassa could hear the stuttering beat of his heart, smell the sweat on his palms. To anyone else that was present, Zaroth probably sounded quite convincing, a practiced liar, but he couldn't hide his body's natural reaction, the thrill it got from convincing others of falsities.

”Sounds like a mighty big problem there, Doc. Perhaps you could save some money and feed a few to me instead of just locking them up or buying more slaves,” Rassa stated. He was across the cell in an instant, one hand around the waist of the slave and the other covering the slave's eyes as he tilted the young man's head back to expose his neck. Rassa was large enough to meet the height of an adult slave now. And considering how neglected the slaves were, there were often times when Rassa's imposing presence dwarfed them.

”After all,” Rassa stated as he let his fangs extend, ”I'm not opposed to an extra meal”.

His fangs sunk into the neck of the slave as he looked over to the other cell, meeting the eyes of Seri as he did so. He saw her fear, but he also saw her intrigue. She was a very pretty young woman, but her beauty didn't change the fact that she was most likely a spy sent by Zaroth.

Zaroth didn't look at all phased by Rassa's display. But then, Rassa had long learned that Zaroth thought he was the ruler of this little mine, that everything in it was beneath him. He had a rude awakening coming his way.

The slave dropped to the floor, and Rassa switched his gaze to Zaroth.

”Either remove her, or feed her to me. She has no business trying to garner sympathy from me,” Rassa threatened, then he turned and went back to his drawing on the opposite side of the cell.

”What are you drawing today?” asked Zaroth, ignoring Rassa's threat.

Rassa didn't deign to give a reply, just kept on carving with the white rock, of which there were less and less he found in his little cell.

The cell door was unlocked, and the slave dragged out. Rassa never bothered to attempt an escape, as they'd set up a two-door system when Rassa's behaviour started becoming more violent. The second door could only be unlocked from the outside, and only after the first door was closed. As much as Rassa would love to test it, no one was stupid enough to come into his cell arrogantly anymore, let alone unlock a door for him.

Despite his insistence, Seri was left in her cell. Leaving her and Rassa in, thankfully, a silent darkness once more.