Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“What kind of tasks?”
“Again, not a proper question! But important things, Eason. So they can maintain power. But I already know what you will ask me next, and I can’t tell you my task. It’s between me and them. All you need to know is that when they tell me to do something, I do as I’m told. And if I do that, we get to live this life.”
We were sitting in a Bora Bora hut with a view of the sandy ocean floor on the other side of the glass beneath our feet. Benny liked the finer things in life. He had a whole drawer of Rolexes in the closet of his London apartment. He owned six mansions—four on proper estates—a couple of jets, half a dozen helicopters, and too many cars to count. All of this was family money. But with me, he could make his own fortune. I was… a hobby, I think. A pet. A racehorse. Something to keep him busy.
“I like this life,” he said. “It’s nice, right?”
It was. I mean, he pretty much took me everywhere with him. Like I really was his little brother and we were just bouncing around the world like a pair of asshole rich kids.
“So… after you win”—he pointed at me—“and you will win—things will change for you. You will be given things, Eason. All the prizes. And some freedom too. And I know what you’re thinking. You have a lot already. But you will get more. You will get a woman, and you will give me a child, and we will get the loser’s camp.” He gave me a little playful punch at this point. “All those talented boys—and maybe even a girl or two—and we will build up your camp. Dead Eyes. This name will be on the tongues of the world’s most powerful men. You will win. Over and over again. You, Eason, are the new Sick Heart. And when you kill him, you will be the most powerful, most influential fighter in all the Ring camps. We can sell those babies, Eason. Dead Eyes babies. Your babies. The price we could get…”
I just watched his mouth, stunned, as these words started spilling out past his lips.
Because he had no idea that what he was saying was so repulsive, I wanted to throw up. It was just… life to him. It was all he knew.
That’s when I figured out how they kept the evil going.
The children were groomed to be immune to it.
He had no idea how sick he was.
Owning teenage boys and putting them in death fights was one thing. Something I could, at least, wrap my head around.
But selling my babies to other owners so they could have fighters with my bloodline was much, much too close to being an actual racehorse.
And now I understood what he was telling me. Both parts. One. I will fight. More than once. I will win and his holdings in the Ring of Fire will grow. I will make babies for him and these babies will be sold to other Ring camp owners.
“It’s bloodline that’s important,” he said. It took him whole minutes to get to the point of this conversation, which was Eoin. My baby brother. “He’s your blood too, Eason. Do ya see?”
And this was the other thing he was trying to explain. At first I thought Eoin and the baby selling were connected, but no. They weren’t.
“He comes from the same family,” Benny said. Continuing to clarify for me. “He had the same early training. He’s won some fights already.”
“What?” I hadn’t even thought about Eoin since Morocco. I counted up the years as Benny went on. Six. He would be six. “What kind of fights?”
I had interrupted Benny. He looked annoyed for a moment, but then he softened. “What?”
“What kind of fights? For Eoin? Death fights?”
“Of course.” And Benny laughed. “Your father… he bought his way into the lower rings using you. Didn’t you know that?”
I couldn’t even speak. I just shook my head. My mind was spinning with where all this was leading. They need to control you, Eason. I need your babies, Eason.
“Oh.” Benny was surprised. And he chuckled at it. Not my shock, but his surprise. “I thought… well… OK. Maybe I should start there? Your brother Declan is dead. He was your father’s first try after you were sold. He didn’t even make it one fight. But there was a back-up, wasn’t there? Conor, I think?”
I nodded. Still too stunned for speech. But again, I was figuring it out. It wasn’t lining up exactly just yet, but I could see the full evil of what he was saying coming towards me from a distance.
“Conor. He made it two fights.”
“When? When did these fights take place?”
“Oh, years ago. Before I bought you, of course. Which was a good thing, because I got a deal on you. Your older brothers didn’t amount to much. My father had put a strict budget on my first purchase. It was twenty-five million. You ran over, just a little bit, but I put in my own money for the rest. After your wins, though, Eason, after that Eoin was very valuable—”