Chapter 580: Bargains in the Dark

Kairen immediately adjusted to a sitting position the moment he felt Orion’s presence.

Orion gave the man a look. "You look better than I thought you would," he told him.

The man gave a small smile. "Your people are less vicious than Victoria," he said.

Orion let out a light laugh, then signaled the guard to unlock the cell.

They obeyed, and he walked in. The moment he did, the guard locked it back.

"I have questions for you," Orion told him.

Kairen stared at him. "If it’s about the beast Victoria sent us to capture, I’ve already told you everything I know. The one who had more information was Darius, and your people killed him."

Orion nodded. "A well-deserved death too." He fixed his gaze on Kairen. "Now, Kairen, depending on your usefulness, you may end up like Darius did, or you may walk out—"

"...Don’t send me back to Victoria, please," Kairen said.

Orion paused. That was surprising. "Why?" he asked.

Kairen stared at Orion, his gaze unwavering. "I never thought I’d say this in my life, but the dungeons are more comfortable than being in the barracks back in the west."

Orion stared at him for a while, then laughed.

"You do not want to go back to Victoria because you are more comfortable here?" he asked Kairen.

Kairen nodded. "That, and if I go back, I’m about ninety percent sure Victoria would kill me. If she doesn’t, she will send me on a mission that would guarantee my death."

"But you are her warrior. Why would she do that to you?"

Kairen gave Orion a disbelieving look. "Victoria doesn’t care about a no-name warrior like me. She cares about people like Darius—and people she’s obsessed with."

"But if she kills you, it reduces the forces she has—"

"She has a lot," Kairen told him. "For people like us, to get your family to move packs, all you have to do is pay to become a warrior."

"People like you?" Orion asked with a frown. "You did not train?"

"Oh, I did," Kairen said. "I’m not privileged, after all, so I trained."

"But you just said you paid too. Your words were, ’for people like us,’ right?"

Kairen nodded. "I paid with sex. My family sold me so they could get a better life. One of the warriors took me because he liked the way I looked, and I used the opportunity to get into the ranks."

Orion made a disgusted face at that. "How old were you when you were sold?"

Kairen swallowed. "Ten, I think... I’m not really sure. It’s not something I like remembering."

"And how old are you now?" Orion asked him.

"Twenty-two."

"So you endured that for—"

"About ten years or so," Kairen said.

Orion had no idea if the man was being deliberately nonchalant so as to hide his hurt, but the disgust he felt for Victoria at that point... it was exactly what Annabeth had said.

People selling their children for food.

This was the same woman that people worshipped as a goddess?

He shook his head. He did not come here for this. He came for something else.

"I’m sorry you went through that."

Kairen shrugged. "It is what it is. Like I said, I don’t like to think about it... but do let me stay here. I’ll be in the dungeons forever if that’s what you want—I don’t care. I eat better here, after all. And though it’s cold, I will learn to cope. Just don’t send me back."

"You are so certain you wouldn’t end like Darius?" Orion asked him.

"I don’t plan to get on your bad side. I plan to answer every question you have for me. I’ll do what you want me to do," Kairen told him.

Orion nodded. "Do you know about the curse in the west?"

"Curse?" Kairen asked.

"We are calling it a curse, but apparently it’s the plague that has been circling around."

"Oh, that," Kairen said. "I heard through my former—" He gestured with his head, and Orion frowned.

"I don’t understand."

Kairen sighed. "The one who bought me... he still—um... he used to come to me sometimes. But anyway, I overheard him speaking to someone else one night about how the plague was caused by Victoria, and it’s not a plague."

Orion nodded.

"I tried to get more information about it, though, but it was a well-kept secret. Very few people knew about it. My buyer was of the opinion it was some very bad magic Victoria was using, but he had no proof."

It was even less than what Annabeth had given him, but it proved once more that Annabeth was right.

The plague was a curse.

"Do you know about a plant... a corpse plant?" Orion asked Kairen.

Kairen paused. He stared at Orion intensely.

"What do you plan to do with it?" Kairen asked.

Orion knew then that Kairen knew about the plant.

"I’m trying to get information about it," Orion said. "There’s something we found recently that has traces of it in it."

Kairen glared at Orion. "Is that the truth?"

"I don’t lie," Orion told him immediately.

Kairen was quiet for a while, thinking whether he should tell Orion what he wanted or not. Then he sighed.

"The corpse plant is a dangerous plant. It’s a poison. Most warriors in the barracks have it on their weapons so it kills faster. Some mix it with wolfsbane. The corpse plant makes the wolfsbane spread faster, making the opponent weaker and unable to heal."

He paused, then added quietly, "But that’s not the only use. And since I’ve already said I’ll do what you want... the corpse plant is used as an aphrodisiac when mixed with the appropriate plant. It has healing properties too, but it is majorly a booster."

"The way it helps the wolfsbane is the same way it can help boost other herbs when mixed with it. It also helps one with dreams... I’m not very certain—I think it has to do with sleeping well and dreaming vividly—but it could also cause hallucinations. All this depends on the plant it’s mixed with."