And... I didn’t like that Oba Shufen’s male attendants were fucking my women.
Growling, I opened my eyes.
I was getting a wicked headache. The magic that the women were raising was pounding incessantly in my mind.
“We need to go,” Candace said. She still wasn’t dressed.
“You can’t go like that,” I said, snapping at her. She wasn’t my favorite person anymore, after all the shenanigans.
Candace sighed. Then she said, “Follow me.”
Intrigued, I watched her walk to the other side of the room. Candace had a nice ass, even if she was a bitch.
Instead of turning right, to go back to the pool, she turned left instead.
Grumbling, I got up and followed her.
Candace opened a door. Outside, I was surprised to hear a large crowd. Walking out onto a balcony, I looked down at a tunnel that sloped away to my right.
Men and women, mostly naked, were talking excitedly. Clothing was entirely optional. Many of the women were topless, or almost. I saw bodies covered in see-through sheer dresses, sparkling chain-mesh that only accented their beauty, and lots of Midnight spider silk. Gold, silver, and platinum necklaces, rings, and tiaras complimented their natural beauty. Every gem ever mined was on display.
Almost all of the women wore some sort of slipper or sandal on their feet, even the naked ones. The floor was too rough for their delicate feet to walk barefoot.
The men wore kilts and sandals. Muscles bulged everywhere in a shocking display of flesh. Like the women, they had gems on their hands and necks. And, most of them had tattoos that encircled their skin in wild Celtic knots.
A cloud of smoke floated over the throng of men and women. The crowd’s eyes were wild and unruly, as the drugs pumped through their system. Bottles of alcohol were being passed back and forth, making the group even louder.
Amongst the commoners were people that had to be nobles. Unlike the naked masses, they wore armor that was designed to impress instead of protect. Midriffs and breasts were on proud display.
And, they rode giant bats that crawled along the tunnel like horses.
I stared at the creatures in shock.
I hated bats almost as much as I hated insects.
And, these monsters were massive. They were the size of a small wagon, with thick fur and leathery wings. Noses with thick wolf-like muzzles sniffed the air with whirl covered ridges. Their ears kept twisting and turning, as they kept watch for trouble.
I hated how they crawled along, shuffling forward quickly, in quick, violent starts and stops.
Non-human slaves surrounded the nobles. Orcs, half-giants, trolls, dwarves, and even a few elves filled their ranks, along with more exotic creatures like giant man-shaped beetles and pixies. The pixies were the most interesting. They looked like glowing balls of light with strings made of metal that tethered them to their owner.
Golden chains flowed from their Master, or Mistress’s hands to manacles around the slave’s necks. Each of the slaves held a lantern to form a cocoon of light around the rider.
A snort drew my attention to the left. Turning, I saw Mockery was sitting on an albino bat, smiling at me. Like the nobles, she was wearing armor, but her’s was a midnight black. It lifted her breasts, like she was wearing a corset and splayed them wide, leaving a long swath of skin that flowed down unimpeded to her belly button. A thick white fur cloak covered her shoulders and legs.
Mockery’s only piece of jewelry was a huge emerald and silver necklace that pulsed with an inner light of its own.
James stood in front of her with a lantern in his hands. Around his neck was an ebony manacle that led back to Mockery. He was the only undead slave that I had seen. His skin, like Candace’s, was a rotting pale green that oozed purification at every step.
Two additional manacles hung from her fingers.
“I told My Lady where we were,” Candace admitted.
“He can’t go like that,” Mockery said with a sigh.
“He won’t listen to me,” Candace told her, walking toward the woman who called me her husband. Kneeling in front of Mockery, she accepted the black shackle and clicked it around her own throat. In the lantern light, she looked a lot like James. My blood was waning inside of her. Instead of Caucasian skin, her flesh was rotting again.
Candace was turning back into a zombie.
And… she knew it.
I could see the realization in her eyes as she glanced back to me. My flesh and blood had brought her back to life, but without a constant supply, she was doomed to be a zombie for the rest of eternity.
That made me wonder. How had she broken Mockery’s control earlier? My blood couldn’t have brought her back and broken the witch’s mental chains.
Why hadn’t I thought of that before?
“You told Candace to attack you,” I whispered to Mockery. My words were barely loud enough to hear over the merry throng.
Mockery smiled. “There is hope for you yet,” she mused. “Every word that comes out of my mouth is a lie. I am a faithful attendant of Chakravarti… The Deceiver of Reality, the Child of Chaos.”
I blanched. Chakravarti was the goddess of lies, intrigue, and death. She presided over the funerals of liars, whores, and thieves. Conmen were her priests and her mouth-pieces to the world. The Goddess of Deceit especially liked hangings. It was said that the tune that the men and women tapped out with their feet, as they suffocated, was her sacred music.
“But,” Mockery added, drawing my tortured thoughts back to her. “You are mine, and I am yours. I will always do whatever is best for us… no matter who it hurts. I will gladly slaughter a thousand children to save you.”
Her rib within me made a throbbing groan within me. It felt like a dagger had been shoved into my side.
Gasping, I put my hand on it and bit my tongue not to scream.
Mockery moaned and swayed on top of the bat.
Without thinking, I rushed forward and steadied her. She looked down at me with love in her eyes.
“When I speak the truth to someone I love… it hurts,” she whispered.
Leaning down, she kissed my lips.
Tian was a horrible woman, capable of killing innocents. But, something inside of me… wanted her. I gripped the back of Tian’s head and pulled her mouth tight with mine, burying my tongue inside of her. She squirmed against me, fighting to breathe as I claimed her lips.
When I let go, she gasped with happiness.
“I love you,” she whispered, sending a knife of agony into my side. I swayed, nearly sinking to my knees. My hands instinctively grabbed the bat’s fur to keep myself from falling.
Then words tumbled out of my mouth without any thought.
“I love you, too,” I gasped, hating that I did. I was drawn to her evil and lies like a moth to a flame. No matter how much I knew she was bad for me… I wanted her.
Having someone who would do anything to save me… even committing murder… touched something deep inside of my soul.
It made me want… more.
- 16 -
“Strip,” Mockery said, as she bent down and kissed me again.
Then, she bit my bottom lip, hard. The pain shocked me, stepping back, I wanted to hit her. Tears filled my eyes, and I almost swung.
Mockery leaned in closer so that I wouldn’t miss.
Shit.
I stepped back again.
She wanted me to hit her.
“Pain is just another lie,” she whispered. “Do it.”
I lowered my hand; I would not hit her, even if she wanted me too.
Mockery rolled her eyes and rattled her last remaining chain.
“Strip, Goblin,” she declared again. “We have a Princess to save.”
While we had kissed, Candace had watched us intently. Her greedy eyes were now staring at me with interest. She had already seen me naked. But, watching me remove my clothing… at Mockery’s orders excited the human who was almost a zombie again.
I shivered.
Then, I slowly unbuttoned my pants.
Both women watched me with interest. Smiling, I turned away from them both and kicked off my boots.
Previously, I had made a slit for my new tail. I was still getting used to having it, and half the time, I forgot about it altogether.
But, I could feel both women watching it as I slipped my pants down just a little, and kept it swaying back and forth. I could feel the cold air on my ass. It made me shiver with excitement.
Typically, I wasn’t into doing something like this, especially with hundreds of people walking by. But, right now, I was having fun.
I looked back over my shoulder and then turned around.
Candace had looked away with a blush on her rotting face, but Mockery was still watching me closely. So, I dropped them down just a little bit further.
Then, I walked toward her, never breaking eye contact.
“Drop them,” Mockery ordered, and I felt the command reverberate through my soul. Her mother had definitely tampered with Tian’s rib before she put it into me. Her directive was pounding at my self-control, trying to force me to do her bidding.
“Tell me a truth…” I mused, “and I will.”
Tian looked at me, then she looked away.
“I don’t like… sharing you,” she admitted.
The rib throbbed within me, shooting pain through my side.
Gasping, I dropped my pants to the ground. Her admission that she wanted me all to herself surprised me.
Breathing hard, Mockery looked down at me. Then, she smiled and held up the manacle.
“This is the only way that a goblin can come to the party,” she said, shaking the chain.
--M--
I followed Mockery’s giant bat as she rode through the crowd. Being a chained participant was a humbling experience. The denizens of the city were in a merry mood and copping a feel was in the spirit of the event.
“I’m a slave,” I kept mumbling to myself, even though I wanted to kill almost everyone around me. Tian wasn’t well known enough that the crowd was worried about annoying her. So, instead of keeping their distance, we became part of the mob.
Hands touched me way more than I liked, but at least no one could steal my spellbook. Giving it back to Mockery had hurt something inside of me. I just wanted to find a safe place and study for about a week, but apparently, that wasn’t in the cards. After we rescued Brynn, then maybe I could spend some time studying.
We rounded a corner, and the noise of the crowd grew. Tian rode the bat up to an entrance that dozens of other nobles had already entered. Most of the group split off from us, entering through two other tunnels below us.
A massive coliseum had been carved deep below the Earth. As we entered our level, I could see six levels open up below us, filled with half-naked commoners who were screaming and cheering in delight, as gladiators ripped monsters and slaves to pieces. Our level was a massive circle that was filled with armored nobles, their paramours, and slaves.
Mockery slipped off of her bat and handed its reins to an attendant. Then, she led us forward, moving through the crowd until she stopped at a private booth. A green tree was carved into the door that she walked through. Skulls and bones covered the base of the tree, while teeth and tentacles were intermingled in the branches.
It was Felmorna’s private booth. Sighing, I realized that I would have to talk to her. I needed to find out how connected she was to the Malignant Lady of the Plants. If they were still married, then we would have a problem.
Mockery led us inside, leading all three of us by our tethers. Acting out her part, Mockery secured the chains to a link by a throne that gave her a bird's-eye view of the festivities. Meanwhile, we had to sit on the floor and watch.
We had snuck into the party, but I wasn’t happy to be here. There had to be thousands of people cheering on the competitors. Guards with armor, swords, and guns were stationed everywhere. Not to mention dozens of mounted soldiers on bats that swooped and glided overhead. Stealing Brynn out of this fortress would be almost impossible.
Two waitresses slipped into the room, bringing Mockery a cup of wine and several appetizers. Candace didn’t even look at the food. Like James, she just stood and watched everything. Leaning closer to her, I saw that she was barely breathing. For every seven or eight breaths that I took, she only took one shallow breath.
My blood had almost worn off. And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give her anymore. Candace wasn’t a woman to be trusted.
Then, I snorted. None of the women around me should be trusted.
A large gong thundered on the sands below us. The gladiators left the area, and a vast stone runway began to lift out of the ground.
Brynn’s mother strutted across the stone. Soldiers in gleaming golden armor, bearing the crest of a green serpent with wings, walked on either side of her.
And… Brynn was being dragged behind them.
My wife was naked and shackled. Chains adorned her wrists and ankles. They had stuffed a metal gag in her mouth to keep her from speaking. The guards had wrapped a choke collar around her neck that made her gag and cough as she stumbled to keep up. One of the larger soldiers held the end of the leash in his hands.
Brynn crashed to the ground, and the fucker just kept pulling her forward. Trembling, she fought her way to her feet, but the bastard gave the chains a yank and dumped Brynn to the ground again. The crowd cheered as he dragged her down the rock walkway.
I wanted to fucking kill him.
Then, the crowd starting chanting, “Failure,” again and again.
The word poured over Brynn, and even from fifty feet away, I could see her spirits collapse. Tears filled her brown eyes, and she looked down, letting her long hair cover her face.
Instead of fighting her way to her feet, she let the soldier drag her down the runway. Brynn had left Savannah intending to reclaim her birthright.
My wife should have abandoned it.
I looked at the crowd and cursed them all. They didn’t deserve Brynn. With her devious mind, she could have made Ashmouth the capital of the new world. Instead, they beat, whipped, and cursed her.
Fuck them.
Someday. I would burn Ashmouth to the ground.
- 17 -
Brynn’s mother raised her arms to demand quiet. Tonight, she was wearing all white. Her gown, shoes, and cape were the color of ivory. Of all the nobles, only Addisyn Cantrell wasn’t wearing armor.
The crowd immediately quieted. Even stoned, drunk, and rowdy, they didn’t want to challenge Addisyn. Brynn’s mother was the leader of the cabal that ran Ashmouth with an iron fist. Disrespecting Addisyn brought death.
“Yes,” she murmured. Her voice whispered in my ears as if she was cozied up against me, holding me tight.
“My daughter failed,” Addisyn continued. “She was captured and returned to my… loving care… three weeks ago. And, as is our custom, now she is to be publicly flogged and stripped of her titles and wealth.”
Looking out at the crowd, she snarled. “Her filth of a husband has been executed by our servant, Charles Vanaken. So… no one will champion her now.”
Addisyn turned around and spat in Brynn’s face.
My wife looked at her mother in complete despair.
“Bring her to the stake,” Addisyn ordered.
The soldier who held Brynn’s tether smiled. Then, he yanked my wife’s arms and dragged her to the center of the stage. As he advanced, a coil of chains lowered from the ceiling with a large ring on the end. The man reached up and tied Brynn’s tether to it.
Brynn let out a whimper as the ring rose higher and higher… until she was standing on her tippy toes in front of the crowd. I could almost feel their anticipation. They wanted blood and violation, and now they were going to get it.
> I turned around and stared at Mockery. Seeing my reaction, she licked her lips. Then, the Necromancer snapped her fingers and waved the attendants off. When the door shut, she climbed off the throne and kneeled in front of me.
“If we try to save Brynn now, all will be lost. We have to wait until they bring Abigail out.”
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of my daughter’s name.
Tortured Silence Page 7