“Lyra, what are you doing?” Kaylee hissed at her friend in desperation. “Why are you saying this?”
“I’m sorry, Kaylee—it just slipped out.” Lyra looked at her wide-eyed but Kaylee thought she could see a spark of malice dancing far back in the depths of her “friend’s” innocent gaze.
“Lyra, I hope you have some evidence to back up such scandalous statements,” Lady Minora said. “If you don’t, there is no excuse for spewing such filth in my presence.”
“Oh, your Eminence, I didn’t mean to say it,” Lyra cried. “But I do happen to have something here,” she continued slyly, pulling her thin little Commnuni-K out of her yellow gotha-hide handbag. “Do you have a viewing screen?”
“I do indeed.” Lady Minora made an imperious motion with one hand and a muscular slave wearing nothing but a brief blue loincloth came forward and held out his hand to Lyra. “Give Manos here your device, Lyra,” the older female commanded. “Let us dim the lights and see if your accusations are well founded. If so, some serious punishment must be considered. Allowing a dangerous slave to escape by accident is one thing—setting him free after fornicating with him is quite another.” She fixed Kaylee with a stern and disgusted look. “I only hope that Lyra here is mistaken.”
“I…but I…” Kaylee couldn’t think of anything to say in her own defense. She watched in horror as the large, muscular slave hooked Lyra’s Commnuni-K to a home projection system, dimmed the lights, and pulled down a large white screen at the front of the room.
“I was originally just trying to document this for training purposes,” Lyra was explaining. “I mean, he was a new slave and I wanted to have a record of everything so we could see what worked and what didn’t. And then, well, things started getting out of hand…”
“Enough, Lyra. I will watch for myself,” Lady Minora made an imperious gesture for silence with one hand.
Kaylee wanted to sink into the ground as the screen flickered to life. She was filled with dread for what was about to be revealed. Not because she regretted what she had done with Solar—she couldn’t regret it no matter how she tried. But there was no doubt she would be perceived differently now—in a very negative light. Allowing a male to penetrate you was considered little better than bestiality on Yonnie Six—even in her small home town it would have gotten her shunned. Here in the capital city of Opulex, it was likely to get her imprisoned.
The scene opened with a shot of Solar standing with his muscular arms spread and bound in the dungeon. He looked up, as though staring into the lens of the Communi-K on purpose, his gold and green eyes flashing.
Kaylee was surprised at the surge of sadness that hit her at the sight of him. It wasn’t just lust she felt when she saw his big body—there was something more. Something that tugged her towards him like an invisible cord fastened somewhere under her heart. She couldn’t help remembering the hurt look in his eyes before he left and his words came back to her too… “Would you want to be bound to me forever?” he’d asked her.
It had seemed unthinkable at the time. She barely knew him and he was a male and a slave. But now Kaylee wondered—what would it be like to be bound to Solar? To know he was always there to care for and protect her? To be able to seek shelter in those strong arms anytime she needed to? To let him penetrate her every night and revel in the feeling of him inside her…on top of her…
The thought sent a shiver of pure longing through her. Even the dread of what was about to happen to her couldn’t dispel it. Suddenly she wished more than anything else that she’d gone with him. She couldn’t have kept him with her—she knew that now. On Yonnie Six he would always be a second class citizen, marked as unfit because of his gender. But there were other places in the galaxy where that wasn’t true. Worlds where males and females lived together in peace and harmony. What if they had found a world like that to be together on? Would it really have been so bad?
No, she thought, a little sob catching in her throat. It would have been wonderful. Much better than being stuck here pretending to be something I’m not. I’m not some powerful, fashionable mistress. I’m just a plain little shop girl from Tulga and I’ve been fooling myself with all this wealth and power. Letting Lyra tell me what to do so I could try to fit in and look where it got me! I’ll probably be thrown into prison or—
An indrawn breath coming from the elevated chaise lounge of Lady Minora interrupted her bitter thoughts.
“My Goddess.” Lady Minora sounded well and truly scandalized. “I can scarcely believe this!”
On the white viewing screen, a close up shot of Solar’s shaft sliding against her cleft was in full view. Her panties were pushed up and to one side, hiding her tiny patch of red-gold curls, but the inside of her pussy was clearly revealed. How had Lyra gotten such an intimate shot? She never would have done anything like this in front of the other girl if she’d realized she was being recorded!
She blushed with mortification, feeling all the blood in her body rush to her face as the scene went on and on. There was no sound with the recording—of course Lyra would have gotten rid of that. If she’d left it in, Lady Minora would have heard her urging Kaylee to “harvest” her new slave’s nectar and seed. As it was, with only the images to go by, the video was damming evidence indeed.
Kaylee closed her eyes, unable to watch anymore. This was going to land her in prison—she was sure of it. There was no greater crime on Yonnie Six than to allow male penetration. She would be labeled a dirty pervert and a criminal who had conspired to have penetrative sex with her dangerous slave and then set him free. They would lock her up and throw away the key. She would never see the light of day again. She—
“Lyra! What is the meaning of this?” Lady Minora’s sharp, angry exclamation made Kaylee snap her eyes open and focus on the screen again. What she saw made her jaw drop.
The penetration—or attempted penetration really, since she’d never gotten that far while Lyra was still in the dungeon—was still playing. But when the image went from a close up to a full screen view, the face of the girl who was trying to mount Solar’s shaft wasn’t hers—it was Lyra’s!
Kaylee blinked, trying to process this. How in the world could it be? Had Lyra somehow gotten to Solar when she wasn’t looking? But no—that was impossible. And besides, the body Lyra’s head was on was wearing the outfit Kaylee had been wearing yesterday. Somehow, someone had put Lyra’s head on her body but it had been done so seamlessly and perfectly that no one who hadn’t been there would ever have known it was a fake.
“Lyra!” Lady Minora snapped again. She clapped her hands at her slave. “Manos—turn off this filth! I cannot see it any more lest I shall be sick.”
“At once, my Mistress,” the big slave rumbled.
The video stopped playing and the lights came up, showing an angry Lady Minora and a red-faced Lyra.
“Your Eminence,” she began. “I assure you this is some kind of a fake—a forgery! I would never—”
“Except it appears that you did,” Lady Minora snapped. “What happened, Lyra—did you show me the wrong part of the vid by accident? Maybe you and Kaylee here took turns with her new slave and you recorded both encounters.”
“No, of course not!” Lyra protested, but Lady Minora was not to be stopped or interrupted.
“Silence!” she snapped. “I think I see what went on here. Kaylee is an innocent—she knows nothing of our ways here in Opulex. I know because my dear friend, Jamelda, told me so when she explained why she was leaving everything to Kaylee in her will. She had hoped that her niece would remain unspoiled by the wealth she left her but in that, I am afraid, her wishes were thwarted. Thwarted by you, Lyra.”
“Your Eminence,” Lyra sputtered. “I never—”
“You latched onto the poor, innocent Kaylee and got her to buy a slave that wasn’t suited to her at all,” Lady Minora went on. “And then you taught her depravity and filth. Oh yes, young lady—I know your reputation,” she continued, glaring at Lyra. �
��You think because your family is in the upper echelon of Opulex society you can get away with anything. Well, you are not going to get away with this.” She pointed a finger at Lyra. “I order you to pay a fine of fifty thousand credits for this act of gross indecency and another fifty thousand for corrupting an innocent.”
Lyra seemed to be having trouble speaking.
“A hundred thousand credits?” she sputtered at last. “Your Eminence, where in the universe am I going to get that kind of money? I’m just a poor second daughter and I—”
“How you get it is not my concern,” Lady Minora said coolly. “But I will tell you this, Lyra—until you pay the fine you will not be allowed into any society events or balls for the foreseeable future.”
Lyra went pale.
“No more parties?” she gasped. “No more dances or events?”
“No public social gatherings of any kind,” Lady Minora said firmly. “Until you pay your fine.”
“But…but I’ll never be able to pay it!” Lyra protested. “I’ll never be able to go to another society party again!”
“And may I say that Yonnie society is well rid of you,” Lady Minora declared. Then she turned to Kaylee. “You are on probation as well. I know that Lyra led you in the wrong direction but the fact is, you followed her. You must learn to think for yourself and act on your own—not just blindly follow where others lead. Be your own woman, Kaylee. Make your own path—that is what your Aunt Jamelda would have wanted for you.” She waved her hand. “Now both of you go! I have spent enough time on this foolishness.”
Feeling like she’d barely missed the hanging noose, Kaylee turned to go. Lyra, silently fuming, was right beside her.
They left by the same door but when the sliding glass panel shut behind them, Lyra turned on her suddenly.
“You little bitch,” she hissed. “How dare you do this to me?”
Kaylee frowned.
“I didn’t do anything to you, Lyra—you did it to yourself. I don’t know why you wanted to discredit me to Lady Minora but it seems like your plan backfired.”
“A hundred thousand credits! She fined me a hundred thousand credits because of you.” Lyra poked a finger in her chest, hard enough to hurt. “What I want to know is how you changed those images—how the hell did you manage it?”
“I didn’t,” Kaylee said coldly. “And I don’t know who did. Maybe your file got corrupted somehow. But you have only yourself to blame—if you hadn’t tried to ruin me you wouldn’t be in this position right now.”
“You’re going to be sorry for this.” Lyra glared at her. “I’ll make you pay—see if I don’t!”
“I don’t see how since we’re not going to be moving in the same circles anymore,” Kaylee said icily. “All I wanted was a friend, Lyra. I would have been loyal to you forever if you hadn’t done this. As it is, I never want to see you again.”
“Oh, you’ll see me again—even if we aren’t ‘moving in the same circles.’ You can be sure of that.” With a final glare, Lyra turned on her heel and walked away, the angry clicking of her designer heels echoing in the empty corridor.
Kaylee watched her go, feeling a mixture of dismay, anger, hurt and betrayal. She’d thought Lyra was her friend—her one friend in all of this huge, heartless city. Now she had no one.
What was she going to do?
Chapter Eight
Kaylee drove for hours, exploring some of the more deserted areas of the city. Solar had taken the little ship that Lyra had handled so effortlessly in his escape but Kaylee didn’t care about that. Aunt Jamelda had left her five more like it. She was in the one she and Lyra had driven to the inquest and she took it through its paces automatically, diving and dipping through the less crowded airspace.
She felt aimless…purposeless. She didn’t know where she was going and she didn’t know how she was going to get there. She was still filled with anger and sadness over Lyra’s betrayal but even more than that, her mind kept returning to Solar. The big Havoc had somehow lodged himself in her heart and she couldn’t let him go.
Forget him, Kaylee, she advised herself. He’s long gone by now and he probably hasn’t spared you a second thought except to be glad he got free of you. Get over it.
But she couldn’t forget him and she couldn’t get over it. She just felt…stuck.
Eventually there was nothing else to do but go home, to the big empty mansion at the top of the skyscraper Aunt Jamelda had left her. With a sigh, she headed there and parked in the private landing area.
Kaylee shivered as she climbed out of her little ship—it was creepy staying in the huge living space all by herself. Every step she took seemed to echo in the darkness—every shadow looked like a monster or intruder. Lyra had been company at least--now Kaylee was all alone.
“Lights,” she called and wished her voice didn’t tremble so much. A few dim lamps flickered to life but their feeble glow only seemed to make more shadows. “Lights, high,” she said louder, but there was no result. Huh—must be something wrong with the power source. I’ll have to call someone tomorrow.
In the meantime, she would just have to manage. After all, it wasn’t like the whole place was in pitch blackness. It was just a little dim. Kaylee told herself she was fine but she kept jumping at shadows as she walked from the landing area to the first living room. The least little noises made her heart jump.
Don’t be such a coward, she told herself sternly. You’re just spooked because it’s late and dark and you’re alone. This is the first night in forever that Lyra hasn’t stayed over. You’ll be fine. Just take a nice, relaxing dip in the bubble pool and go to bed. Things will look better in the morning.
Deciding to take her own advice, Kaylee made her way to the bubble pool, which was located next to the private spa on the first floor, and turned the heat and the bubbles on high.
The steaming liquid inside the vast, round pool was pale pink and it wasn’t water at all. It was Lavoshian pearlexence, a special moisturizer that cleaned and softened the skin and hair without making anything greasy. In addition, it could also be sipped as a warm and slightly alcoholic beverage as one bathed. The liquid was passed through special bio-filtering stations located throughout the pool which meant it was perfectly sterile and drinkable no matter how many people were in the pool.
As Kaylee stripped and lowered herself into the warm, pink liquid, she was glad she had it all to herself. The tiny fizzing, popping bubbles felt so refreshing against her skin and when she opened her mouth they floated up to land on her tongue leaving a sweet, slightly acidic taste that reminded her of some kind of tart fruit juice.
“Who needs Lyra?” she muttered aloud as she relaxed against the curved side of the pool and inhaled a few more of the floating, slightly alcoholic bubbles. “I’m better off without her anyway.”
“Yes, you are—and I’m better off without you,” a familiar nasal voice said in her ear.
Kaylee started to gasp but strong hands grabbed her under her arms and dragged her naked and dripping from the bubble pool.
“Who…what…?” She struggled against her captor but whoever it was, they were too strong for her.
“That’s right, Geemus—just hold her steady.” Lyra was standing there, tapping the toe of one expensive looking heel against the rowel stone floor which was heated from beneath by the same source that ran the bubble pool.
Geemus—who’s Geemus?
Kaylee looked around wildly and was horrified to see a huge male slave standing behind her, holding her arms behind her back. He was completely bald and he was grinning from ear to ear with grim glee. Kaylee felt her stomach do a slow flip.
“Let me go!” she demanded. “What are you even doing here?”
“Taking what’s mine.” Lyra glared at her. “Or what will be mine once I get my hands on your juicy inheritance.”
“And just how do you plan to do that?” Kaylee wished her voice wouldn’t quiver so much. She also wished she could hide herself—she didn’
t like feeling so naked and vulnerable, especially in front of the brute of a slave that Lyra had brought with her! But with her hands trapped behind her back, she was stuck. “Aunt Jamelda left everything to me,” she reminded Lyra. “You’ve got nothing to do with it.”
“Your aunt may have left it to you but now you’re going to leave it all to me.” Lyra’s eyes gleamed greedily. “Every last credit and this entire building as well. You’re going to sign it all over.”
“I will not!” Kaylee lifted her chin. “I won’t sign a thing!”
“You already have.” Lyra laughed--a nasal, unpleasant sound. “I slipped the papers in with that Havoc slave’s paperwork. You signed everything away to me in the event of any kind of accident or wrongful death. And you’re about to have a very wrongful death, my dear. I promise you that.”
“What?” Kaylee had been doing all right up until this moment but Lyra’s revelation made her feel like someone had dumped a bowl of ice cubes into her stomach. Basically Lyra was saying she wasn’t needed—at all. She could be disposed of and Lyra would move into her domicile, lock, stock, and barrel, and take over at once. Which was clearly what the other girl wanted—probably what she had wanted all along.
“You heard me.” Lyra smirked. “At first I thought that big Havoc slave was the answer—he seemed so brutal and terrifying. I was sure he would finish you off. I can’t imagine how you got him to leave you alive when he escaped. Did you let him penetrate you again—was that it?”
Kaylee felt her cheeks going hot.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Well it’s going to be everyone’s business soon,” Lyra sneered. “Starting with the peace keepers when they find you floating face down in the bubble pool.”
“You wouldn’t!” Kaylee gasped.
“Oh yes I would.” Lyra’s eyes flashed. “Of course we have to make it look realistic which is why Geemus here is going to come in handy. You see, it has to look like that Havoc slave of yours came back for revenge. We’ll stage the scene to make it look like he raped you savagely, then drowned you in the pool. It shouldn’t be too hard to set up…”
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