Arizona, 1885. The sun hammered down on the slave market so fiercely it seemed ready to set the whole stretch of earth ablaze. I moved slowly between the cages, searching for someone strong enough to lend a hand at my ranch. My name was Cade Hollis. I was 30 years old, a working cowboy, and the owner of a small spread that was slowly falling apart because one man simply couldn't keep up with everything alone.
That was when I saw her. She sat alone inside the last cage, separated from all the others. She wasn't like the other market captives. There was something about her that made a man look twice, though I couldn't have said exactly why. She was a patchy, young, maybe 26, with smooth brown skin, long black hair falling loose over her shoulders, and dark eyes.
Eyes that looked as though they carried enough secrets to fill every mile of the Arizona desert. Nobody went near her cage. The men wandering the market would stop for a moment, stare, then move on. Some curled their lips as though they'd smelled something rotten. Others leaned close to one another and whispered under their breath.
I walked over to the traitor, a heavy set man named Amos Pike. "What's wrong with her?" I asked, nodding toward the woman. Amos looked at me and let out a dry laugh that held no humor at all. "She's been sitting there 3 weeks. Nobody wants her." "Why not?" "Because she's strange.
Strange how?" Amos scratched at his greasy beard before answering. She's got marks across her back, damned peculiar ones. Some folks say they're tattoos. Others swear they're scars. Nobody knows what they mean.
Every one of the former buyers who's taken her away has brought her right back. Why? They say she scares them. Say there's something about her that ain't natural. Something dark.
Something they can't explain. A few even swore they couldn't sleep a wink while she was under the same roof. I looked towards the woman again. This time I realized she was already watching me. Her gaze locked onto mine and something shifted deep in my chest.
There was no fear in those eyes. What I saw instead was curiosity. How much? I asked. Amos Pike nearly stumbled backward.
You serious? You actually want to buy the mysterious one? I asked you how much. Normally, I'd want $200, but seeing as nobody can stand keeping her, 50, and she's yours. $50 was almost insultingly cheap. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the money, and dropped it into his hand.
"She's all yours, cowboy," Amos said as he pocketed the cash. but don't come crawling back tomorrow asking me to return your money. He pulled an old rusteaten key from his belt and opened the cage. The woman rose without hurry. She was tall and slender, carrying herself with the quiet grace of a wild cat that never truly lowered its guard. She stepped through the open door and stopped directly in front of me.
For several seconds, neither of us looked away. "What's your name?" I asked her. She hesitated before answering. Seiya. Seiya.
I repeated. That's a fine name. I'm Cade. She didn't smile. She didn't say anything else.
She simply continued studying me with those deep, unreadable eyes. Come on, I said. I'm taking you to my ranch. You'll regret it, she whispered. Why? because everyone does.