"I don't know where I'm going. Only God knows where I've been. I'm a devil on the run, a six gun lover, a candle in the wind. When you're brought into this world they say you're born in sin. Well, at least they gave me something I didn't have to steal or have to win," Blaze of Glory by Bon Jovi

"Kender-" Harper started but stopped when I held a hand up warding her off.

I watched Hayden's glacial features and I knew. He didn't care about the other people. He just cared about one person. Really, I couldn't blame him. It was hard to care for people you don't know.

"I understand," Hayden said, pulling himself to a sitting position and straightening his clothes.

"Crash course in the life of the poor isn't that easy," I said, folding my arms across my chest.

Hayden nodded and –with the grace of a cat— leapt to his feet. "Let me rephrase, I understand... I just don't care. We all have to deal with the cards we're dealt. Most get a raw deal, but the one thing we have in common, Kender, is that family matters."

I tensed at the emphasis he put on my name. The way his eyes drifted over Harper with a slight glint of guilt before he returned his gaze to mine made me worry.

"Are you threatening me?" I asked.

Hayden heaved a sigh and took a step towards the wheezing Starling, offering him a hand. "You blew your chance to deal with me. Now it's my turn to deal with you, and I assure you, I won't be so kind."

Starling waved him off and got to his feet by himself. His wary eyes never left me.

Hayden pressed a tiny red button next to the entrance door and spoke into a speaker. "We'll be selling Harper. Get me the Kyanights."

The Kyanights were famous. They owned brothels all around the world and dealt with selling bought men and women at a half-hour rate. They were known for replenishing money the owners of the Owned had initially spent and then some. Making over three-thousand Yuan in one day for one person. The younger the Owned, the more money they were. The Kyanights didn't deal with children –they actually had a policy for it— but Harper wasn't a child, yet she was still young enough to make double for Hayden.

"You can't!" I said, finally finding my voice.

"Hold on," Hayden spoke into the speaker. He then turned towards me with his eyebrow arched. "You were saying? Hurry now, after I get Harper ready I'll call the authorities. I want you to see her all dressed up before you're carted off to prison."

He's not going to do it. He's trying to prove a point. Don't panic!

"Okay, I get it. You hold the cards!"

Something flashed in his eyes. Fear made my empty stomach ache even more. He casually walked towards Harper and reached down, clamping a rough hand around her bicep. Harper gasped in pain as he jerked her up so hard that her feet left the ground. I had a feeling the hurt look on Harper's face had nothing to do with that bruising grip on her arm. Hayden never looked at her once.

"You get nothing! Do you think I'm going to cater to the whims of a sixteen-year-old? I tried to be the good guy. I gave you your choice but you fought and now I'm taking it away!"

He was serious. My knees turned to jelly and I collapsed in front of him. I couldn't tell if it was from the reality of what he was saying or because I was going to beg him.

"Please don't! I'm sorry. I'll do whatever you want," I said softly. "Please..."

Hayden didn't release Harper right away, but after what seemed like an eternity his grip loosened enough that Harper could stand. Eventually, he dropped his hand from her arm and walked towards the com system to press the button. "I won't be needing the Kyanights services after all."

"Yes sir."

I exhaled in relief and glanced down at my trembling hands. That had been a little too close for comfort. In the back of my mind I knew it was a tactic. Hayden probably planned on using it even if I hadn't fought back. Just to make me realize the power he held over me. I thought I'd known before of that power, but I was wrong. It was a brilliant move that I should've seen coming.

The smug expression on his face as he turned around made me clench my shaking hands into fists. When this was over, when I had Marion in my hands, did he know the power I would hold over him?

"Turnabout is fair play," I mumbled.

His smile deepened. "As long as you have the heart for it and you have a bleeding one." He pulled at the cuff of his jacket to straighten the sleeve. "Marion's a sweet girl. Innocent in the ways of the world... a lot like your younger sister Parker. She's always willing to lend a helping hand or share anything she can. You'll like her, Kender. She likes to dye her hair too."

I swallowed. It was his way of saying he wasn't worried and I hated him for it. We really did live in two different worlds.

"How do you know Marion's not dead?" I asked.

"I got word from a rebel party that she was alive and in one of the worst prisons this side of the country... Baton. They offered to help get her out if I funded missions for them but the guy they sent in came back out with half of his flesh and muscle missing."

Flesh and— "The worst prison in what way?"

"In that the prisoners seem to disappear after awhile. Ten more rebels have disappeared within a year because of this place."

"And you want me to do something about that too? How do you expect me to do all this?" I whispered.

I was good at a lot of things. Maybe even a genius in martial arts, at least according to my sensei. Some things just came easy to me. It must be a twin thing because Spenser was the same way. If he hadn't been sick he probably would've surpassed me. But this –what Hayden was asking me to do— was too far beyond my reach.

"I'm sixteen-years-old. You said it yourself."

Hayden exhaled. "They won't expect you. You're young, but you're smart and very well trained. I need you to find my sister and get us information to take this place down. And Kender, just in case you do end up having the heart, I have people in place to pay off your parent's debt. The couple who want to do the transaction desperately want children, but they're both infertile. I showed them a picture of Ember and Parker—"

I bowed my head to hide my watery eyes. I could go down fighting and ruin my family or I could accept his terms and ruin myself. Such choices I had. "I understand. I hate you," I whispered, quickly wiping at the tears on my cheeks.

Hayden sighed at his gaze flickered towards Harper. "Sometimes I hate myself too."

"When do we leave?" I asked, feeling defeated and thoroughly exhausted.

Hayden glanced at his watch. "In less than an hour. You still have to get ready."

"Kender-" Harper's broken whisper cut me like a knife.

She could do nothing. The decision had been made in seconds. I'd just agreed to enter hell, and all I wanted to do was forget.

I didn't look at Harper when I walked towards the library door. Dragging it on would be pointless, and I hated goodbyes.

It is what it is.The quicker I started, the faster it would be done.

Starling jerked as I came closer. His once sleeked back blond hair was now a rumpled mess. Disheveled suited him far better than the pansy-ass rich look he had sported, but I'd never let him know it.

"You're coming with us," I said.

"Starling is one of the leaders of the..." Hayden started, but I cut him off.

"Don't care if he's one of the fourteen, he's not staying in here with Harper. Not so long as I'm around."

I took another step towards Starling, making eye contact. He was more boyish looking than I originally thought. He couldn't be much older than Harper. "Either walk yourself out, or I'll drag you out. That's a much better choice than what I'm getting."

"I suppose I should be glad you aren't crying anymore," Starling spoke for the first time since I'd hit him with that book. He sounded like someone had taken a piece of sandpaper to his voice box... or an exacto-knife.

My lips thinned, and I squinted at him. "Why is that?"

"You're clearly much more dangerous when you're crying," he said with a chuckle that made him wince and rub his throat.

I stared at him. If he was trying to be funny, he'd failed, and the already melting ice he stood on was almost gone. "Move."