Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Inside, I discovered a larger than expected room filled to the brim with laughing guests. Numbered jail cells lined the walls. There were twenty in total, and a lone male occupied each. They ranged in age, anywhere from eighteen to seventy, and they wore only a loin cloth. Unlike the women, they weren’t enjoying the party.
Jasher, who had waited for my entrance, tugged me into a shadowed corner. None of the guests noticed us. Too busy plucking snacks and drinks from trays carried by teenage girls, I supposed, and walking from cell to cell, examining the prisoners as if they were cattle meant to be auctioned off.
“Hello, hello, hello,” a grinning woman sang. Like, she actually sang, as if she starred in an opera. And she wasn’t done. “Welcome, guests. Welcome. Good evening, good times, and good fortune.”
Cue the crickets. The crowd quieted, all gazes sliding to the thirty-something woman as she climbed upon a small boxy dais in the center of the room. She possessed a thick mane of golden hair. Golden everything, really, from her eyes to her skin to her clothing.
Despite her beautiful voice and high class appearance, no one evinced interest in what she had to say.
Her grin vanished. “Clap,” she commanded.
In a blink, an overabundance of cheers rang out. Oookay.
Goldie flipped her lustrous mane over one shoulder. “Thank you, thank you. Now. For those who need a reminder, I’m Mayor Leona Gainly.” She paused for more applause, which she received, though not quite as enthusiastically as before. “For many of us, planting season proved tough this year. That’s why I decided to launch a special, bonus revenge lottery!”
Finally, real cheers and whistles.
She made a laughing bid for silence. “Here’s how this will go. I’ll draw a prisoner’s number and a citizen’s name. Each lucky lady will win the right to penalize her prisoner however she pleases for two whole days.”
This time, boos sounded. A surprise.
“All right, all right, calm down,” she said, showing her palms. “I know you’re usually given a full week, but this is merely a bonus round. The same rules apply. Prisoners cannot leave the cages. If you enter one, you do so at your own risk. There will be no sexual exchanges, period. And you can cause as much harm as you’d like, but you cannot kill. If you do murder, you’ll be prohibited from ever entering another lottery.”
Once again, cheers erupted. A few members of the crowd pumped their fists toward the ceiling. Cries rang out. “Drogan is losing an eye tonight!” “My mallet thirsts for a taste of Conner!” “I’ve got two fists of fury and a sock full of rocks!”
“What did these men do?” I whispered to Jasher.
“They are bounty hunters who captured sacrifices and returned them to their titleholders for punishment and death,” he whispered back. “Those sacrifices were people the citizens here loved.”
Ah. The lottery now made sense. “I guess I understand two of the rules. But not the one about you know.” I wiggled my brows to emphasize my meaning. If a winner fell for her prize, and vice versa, their love should triumph over all.
A corner of his mouth might have twitched in amusement. “No, I don’t know.”
My heart skipped a beat as if I were some sort of romance novel heroine. “A happy ending,” I explained, maybe kinda sorta blushing.
“What’s a happy ending?” He almost captured my gaze with his again, but I had the strength of mind to return my attention to the podium. “You’ll have to explain it to me. In great detail.”
There wasn’t a suggestive note in his voice, and yet I reacted as if he’d purred the words straight into my ear. Goose bumps spread over my limbs, inviting a warm flush to my skin. I…he…
Was Jasher flirting with me? No, no. Of course not. I was still reeling from the world’s sexiest embrace, that was all.
Not sure what else to do, but knowing I’d only get myself into trouble if I continued our conversation, I bumped my shoulder into his, and stated, “Okay, funny man, I withdraw the question.”
“So you do not wish to demonstrate on me? I learn by example.”
What the what? He did not just say that. Nope. He was teasing me for some reason.
Mercifully, he explained, “There is no fraternizing between a winner and her prisoner to prevent emotional attachment. Which happened in the past. A woman fell in love with a bounty hunter and set him free, intending to run off with him. He killed her and freed the others, and they burned the village to ash.”
What a brutal world this was.
From the left, a plump grandma type approached the dais holding a black bowl. From the right, a tall, willowy matron approached with a red one. Silence gripped the room as Mayor Leona drew a small piece of paper from both. “Kitty Higgenbothem, cage eleven! Congrats!”