Chapter 123

“Ah, yes, the venom,” Bane said looking contemplative, “Remember when we saw the man as he angered his mistress and she dropped a bit of her venom on him?”

“The man that died screaming before the moon shifted?” Evan asked. “I remember. We had to hear the misery of his family as they died one by one. It was awful.”

“They have venom?” I whispered.

“In their teeth,” Damien explained. “Nu-reeh told us they do not waste it on men, it kills us every time. They use it when they fight one another.”

“Why?” Christof asked, “Why raise us free and then take us and tell us we are slaves? It makes no sense.”

“You know why, Christof,” Damien scoffed. “They like us to have spirit. Have you seen the women when they come back from the couplings with the free warriors? They love it. They come to us now for specific reasons, but do you see the same joy on their faces when they are done?”

The men murmured agreement. The women liked to go to the couplings with the free