conditioned to take them where the former slave wants to go and release them. They will suffer terrible mental unrest if they do not follow that directive.”
“So you mind fucked them?”
Mingor considered. He had not fornicated with their brains, not in the literal sense, but he had altered their mode of thinking so he nodded.
“If you can do that, then why can’t you just fix them so they don’t want to buy slaves in the first place?” Noah sounded exasperated.
Compassion filled Mingor’s heart. “Because I am not capable of changing them that deeply.”
“But—”
“Please. I will try to explain but not here. We must go.” Mingor took Noah’s hand and startled a bit at how enjoyable the contact was. Any contact between souls in this manner was usually pleasant, but Noah’s touch was more so. Baffled as to why this was so, Mingor pushed the curiosity aside until he could examine it at his leisure.
“Where are we going, exactly?”
“To Thand.”
Chapter 3
“That’s your home planet?” Noah held a little tighter to Mingor even though he didn’t fear being separated from him. He clung to his hand because touching the beautiful purple man felt good. Really good. But then Noah thought that since he’d been deprived of gentle contact for so long, it might just be a craving for kindness that endeared Mingor to him. The only way Hindur had ever touched him was in brutal ways. The only way his guests touched him was in unwanted sexual ways. Any soft hand holding was striking compared to all of that.
“Yes, Thand is my home world.”
To Noah’s shock, he witnessed the cockroach guys helping slaves down from their pillars and then assisting them out of the house. They were walking almost side by side with him and Mingor but showed no interest in them. As he and Mingor continued out of the house, Noah witnessed Hindur’s guards helping the stunned slaves into vehicles of some sort.
It was the most remarkable display of power that Noah had ever seen. What made it a million times more impressive was that it was all so understated. Mingor didn’t make a big deal about his ability. He simply accomplished his goal and moved on.
“You don’t feel any need to brag, do you?”
“I do not feel a compulsion to boast about my abilities.”
“Can all Thandlings do what you did?”
“I do not know.”
Noah found it unsettling when Mingor simply answered a question without offering more information. He had a feeling that there was a lot going on in Mingor’s mind that he simply saw no reason to share. Unlike humans, who seemed to have minds like a whirling dervish flinging up sand, Mingor’s mind seemed to be calm. There was a huge amount of information swirling around in there, but it was meticulously organized and flowed smoothly, kind of like the rings of Saturn.
As Noah allowed himself to be led by Mingor, he watched as all the house slaves were brought out and then the other slaves, the Vaugars like Hindur, were unshackled and led away from the house. It seemed that all the slave buyers were now doing exactly what Mingor said they would.
“Where is Hindur?”
“He is freeing more slaves. He doesn’t always put all of them up for auction.”
Noah sensed there was something dark behind Hindur holding some back, but he didn’t need further proof that his former master was vicious scum. “How did you know?”
“I found it in his mind when I was suggesting he should free those he’d enslaved.”
“And you’re certain Hindur and the others won’t wake up and then take them all captive again?”
“They are not asleep.” Mingor moved over to a sleek transport that looked like a big, half-melted 1966 Jaguar.
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be shocked out of the state you put them in.”
“Nothing will stop them from their mission.” Mingor opened the door to the vehicle and let go of Noah’s hand.
The loss of his touch made Noah sigh with longing. While he’d