Carrick was returning from an early evening ride as Mika was being shown into the house. He removed his gloves as he walked from the back door through to the sitting room, slipping them into his jacket pocket.
Carrick had been toying with the idea of purchasing new slave for some time. He suspected it would be years before he finally stopped thinking of Hermes, but in the meantime, he needed a new boy. Dealers from across the region had been emailing him their stock, but before he made a decision he felt like trying something new. Willard Schmidt had offered him the use of his own slaveboy, and Carrick had readily accepted. He'd seen Mika fight more than once and had admired the preternatural grace and strength, though it was never far from his mind that the boy had been enslaved as punishment for killing a Supernatural. His own father in fact. Some time in service to one of the island's harsher masters might be just what the boy deserved, he thought.
The vampire entered the sitting room silently, standing composed and quiet for a moment while he looked the slave over.
"So you're Mikhail." His pale eyes swept over the tall, thin form. "I've seen you fight," he commented. "You have talent."