by AJ Adams
The pain smoothed out, washing away. He was moving over me, sliding into me slowly, lifting his body as he delved deeper.
He was moving very slowly, his hands running over me. I closed my eyes and tried to switch off, but instead I became intensely aware of his touch. His fingers trailed over my skin, his breath whispered against my neck, and his body rocked slowly in small circles against mine. My body began to heat up, and then I was floating in the dark. I was soaking wet, feeling a beat start to pulse between my legs.
The hand in my hair shifted, running down and pushing my face against his shoulder. His mouth was against my ear, his breath brushing my neck. His cock was pulsing now, growing bigger and hotter. He was moving faster, his hips grinding against mine. The pain was gone now, and there was a slick, building sense of pleasure.
The beat of my heart was pulsing in a hot spot between my legs and in my nipples. My skin was electric, rippling with sensation. I became intensely aware of him, of his scent enveloping me, his breath in my ear, his body hard against mine.
He dipped his head and held me tightly. His body was hard against mine, strafing that hot spot. Suddenly, I was drowning in him, shuddering as he possessed me, awash with bliss.
He shifted again, moving hard against me. His muscled thighs were spreading mine wider apart. Then he was shifting me, keeping my head hard against him as he slid the other under my arse so he could fuck me deeper. My legs were trembling, split wide, and I was arching into him, rising to meet him, rubbing my tits against his chest as he used me.
I lost track of everything except his touch. We were alone in a private universe, with me floating in delight. His cock was pounding into me, his gasps ragged. He was sweating; the moisture was slick against my body. It dripped off his chest onto mine, trickling down in rivulets. My body was pounding, and I was seeing spots again. I tossed my head and spat out the tunic, and then I was moaning as our bodies danced together in sweet harmony.
“Mine!” He was growling, his voice hoarse, throbbing and ragged with want. “Mine!”
His fingers were curling into my flesh, his hips now pistoning against mine. As he began to pulse and gasp, my body banked and burned, shifting into a new level of bliss. I was aware of him lifting me up and banging into me, groaning as he fucked me, and then I was shattering in screaming rapture, shuddering as I drowned in ecstasy.
He was settling on top of me, his cock softening as he slowed. He was soaked in sweat, sucking in air in huge gasps. My body felt bruised and stretched, but so sweetly used that I felt like crying again. I was also uncomfortably aware of the sweat stinging in my eyes and the fact that I couldn’t do a thing about it.
I rubbed my eyes against his shoulder and he winced, thinking that I was going to bite him again.
“Coward.” I said it without thinking. Then my brain kicked in and reminded me that men take that as a deadly insult. I might as well have called him a little girl. He was staring into my eyes, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“Hey, Rune! Pass over?”
I froze, realising I’d totally fucked up. I’d planned on sweetening him, instead of which I’d chewed on him like a rabid dog, insulted his manhood, and now he’d get his own back by throwing me to the wolves.
I should have said something, begged or cried, but I couldn’t speak. Fear was throttling through me again.
Chapter Four
I woke up, not a clue where I was and sore all over. The second I moved, I became aware of the shackles biting into my wrists. Rune was gone, and there were people moving all about me. The sun was up, showing pink and light yellow.
On the one side I could see the circle of carts, the horses and the clearing where everyone had dossed down. The girls were still huddled together in the centre. They looked like hell, shattered, too tired to cry. I could see one who wasn’t moving. She was so still and so pale that I was convinced she was dead. Beyond them I could see a forest.
I struggled up, stifling moans of pain. I was black and blue, bruised all over from being clubbed to the ground, rattled around in the cart, and maybe from the fucking, too.
There were Beasts walking around, but they all ignored me. Last night, when they’d called, “Pass over?” Rune had gripped me tightly, raised his head, and called, “Not yet.” They’d gone away, and I’d fallen asleep right after, or passed out maybe. Now I was awake, and nobody was watching me, I had to make a run for it.
There was a problem, though. He’d pulled my tunic down again, and thrown a blanket over me, but my skirt was in a pile on the ground, and there was no way I could cover myself. But when it came to staying here or being semi-nude, it was a no-brainer.
I daren’t stand up, so I began crawling. I just kept my head down and shuffled as fast as I could. I got about ten feet when I spotted boots. Leather boots. With soft white fur peeking out the top. The hand in my hair was familiar. “Going somewhere?”
Rune. Not looking too happy, either. Once again he hoisted me to my feet. Part of me had thought he’d seemed huge, dark and feral before because of the night and the fear. But no. The man was a colossus in broad daylight, too, towering over me, unsmiling and decidedly dangerous.
“I need to go pee-pee.” Yes, I was five years old again. Pee-pee.
He was staring at me, eyes blank, face wiped of all expression. Then there was a paw on my shoulder. “Come.”
He took me to the trees.
“I can’t pee with these shackles.”
The idea was to get loose and run but it came to nothing because he removed them but then stood and watched me.
“Just look away, okay? This is private.”
No reaction but he did look briefly over at the clearing. “Hurry up. We’re moving.”
I hurried. The second I was done, the paw had me moving fast, the ground hard under my feet. “My skirt! I need to dress!”
He scooped it up and pushed it into my arms. Rolling up the blanket and bedroll took a second. Then I was being propelled by the paw again, while all around us people were yelling.
“Rune! We’ve six for a quick return and forty nine for the safe.”
“Rune! We have enough for one per times twenty. No reserves.”
It made no sense to me, but Rune was answering, cool and decisive. “Okay, we go safe, put in at King’s Cross and stock up there.”
I’d lost my shoes and my shift was trashed, but I managed to get into my skirt. Then he was chaining me again. Hands in front this time, but still. “No, wait!” Shoving him did no good. The man was a wall.
“Get in.”
My bum was on the floor of the cart again and he was chaining my ankles.
“No, don’t!” I tried to wriggle away but it was no use. “Wait!”
He just pushed me inside, me landing up against a pile of girls this time, and then the doors were slamming shut.
The cart was gloomy, only a little light filtering through the wooden slats, but I could see their faces clearly. I recognised a few: Tawny, from the market, who dealt with a lot of Vale farmers, and Becky, the brewer’s daughter.
They and the others were sobbing, but quietly. They were stinking, bruised and sore. Their clothes were rags, ripped and stained, just like mine. The only difference was that none of them was chained.
I was looking at the doors, thinking maybe we could break through one and escape. Sitting close to them, I could see out through the slats, and it argued we might be able to break out. But looking at the tear-stained faces behind me, I didn’t think they’d be any help.
The Beasts were busy, shouting as they hitched up the horses. I thought we were off, but then Siv popped up, making right for the cart. He was grinning, filled with evil. When he opened the door, the girls screamed and were surging back, chickens frightened of the wolf.
I was kicking at him, clubbing him with my hands and losing. He was dragging me towards him, determined to hurt me again.
“Hey!” Rune roared up, a tower of muscle. I was happy to see him
. “Lay off,” he said to Siv.
“But—”
Rune cut him off. “You got your revenge yesterday. It’s enough.”
The doors banged shut and I breathed again.
“You’d better watch out.” A girl with a black eye that matched her long black hair was nodding towards Siv. “He has it in for you.”
“Like it makes a difference.”
“We have to survive, and you’re in chains.” She seemed sensible, not like the sheep. She was also richly dressed. The skirts were in tatters, as was the tunic, but the material was thick linen and beautifully embroidered. “Janna and Megan died last night. The rest of us need to be careful.”
So that pale girl had passed on, and there was at least one other body. It made me furious and determined. “We’ve got to get away.”
She was horrified. “Are you crazy? They’ll kill us!”
“They will if we stay, too.”
She shook her head. “No, they won’t. They’ll send us back.”
I just stared at her. “And you think I’m insane?”
“Look, you don’t understand. They’ll take us back once the wergelt’s arranged.”
“Wergelt?”
So it turned out that the Beasts and the Citizens had a history. They traded every few years, the Beasts bringing furs and metal from their mines and the Citizens trading food, glass and medicines. Every now and again there would be a fight. That would lead to general destruction, and then they’d make a deal. An exchange of money and goods would fix it—until the next time.
“The Beasts are savages,” the girl explained. “But they understand trading. We’ll be all right.”
“When I was little, my mum told me they’re devils that come from our nightmares,” Tawny said. “They eat human flesh!”
“They’re real, but they’re just brutes.” Even with the black eye, the girl was awfully superior. “They live in the northern wastes, thousands of them, but they don’t know anything except how to hunt and dig. The rest is just stories to scare slaves and children.”
“Oh, I didn’t believe it, Mina,” Tawny said quickly.
Me, I wasn’t so sure. I remembered how the Beasts had referred to me as meat. Also, back in Caern, mercenaries had told tales of the far eastern isles where wild men with black skins hunted and ate each other. They were quite matter-of-fact about it, and so I knew the Beasts could be cannibals. It made me shiver.
“So these Beasts will hang around, waiting for someone to come with a bag of silver?” It didn’t seem likely.
Mina shook her head. “They’ll go north to King’s Cross or Haven. Our families will negotiate for our return there.”
“And you’re happy to wait it out?” I looked at her face, her scratched, bruised body. “Knowing what will happen every day we’re trapped?”
“Yes,” she said simply.
Crazy, right?
“Look, we can’t go back by ourselves,” Mina said. “It’s too dangerous!”
While I was staring at her, she was looking me over. “I’m Mina. I’ve not seen you before.”
“I’m Wynne. I’m from Caern, originally.”
“It was destroyed. The Llanfaes mercenaries razed it seven years ago.”
Mina’s look told me she thought I was a slave.
“My mother was from the Vale.”
She actually pulled away from me. “Oh.”
Not surprising really. Every city has its patron god, and as ports tend to cater to visitors, Brighthelme Citizens will happily offer wine to Apollo like in Llanfaes and roast meat to Tyr like they do in Tanwelt but the Patriarch, the Vale leader, is big on Ullr, the Glorious. The other gods don’t get a look-in, not even the ones for safe childbirth or rain.
I make my curtsy which is only sensible, but as Ullr is just like the Caern god Wotan, and neither seems to care much about women, never mind slaves, I’ve never been interested.
So I shrugged and smiled at Mina. “It’s not catching.”
“Right,” she sighed. “Look, you can’t fight the Beasts. Just keep quiet, and we’ll all get out alive.”
“If we stand together and fight, we might get away. At least some of us might escape.”
“Absolutely not!” Mina said. “If we make trouble, they might kill us.”
I didn’t agree, but the others were nodding.
“My father said to be brave and that he’ll come for me,” Becky said.
“Mine will, too,” Tawny agreed. “It’s a week to King’s Cross.”
“Right,” Mina was nodding. “We keep quiet, we live through this, and Wynne, I’m sure your people can make arrangements.”
I didn’t share her certainty but I nodded. “Yeah, they’ll be all over it.”
Right. I could just hear the Patriarch. “Pay? Pay Beasts to ransom a whore?”
Yeah, that’s me. Like I said, last time I travelled to Brighthelme with our neighbours, taking twenty pounds of our best honey and my uncle’s letter, and intending to return the next day with the same group. But the Steward was away, so I stayed an extra night. Then I went home and found myself in a world of trouble.
“The Steward signed and we got a better price than last time, too.” I thought the extra money would make them happy, but instead they began yelling.
“You’re not fooling anyone,” Cousin Bryce shouted. “What were you thinking, Wynne? You’re ruined now!”
“Ruined? I made a good deal!”
“Slut! You’re just like your mother!” Uncle Algar yelled. “Staying out all night, entertaining Citizens in back lanes, no doubt. It’s disgusting!”
That’s when I got it. “The Steward was away, so I slept in the kitchen, along with two of his housemaids,” I protested. “Ask him!”
“You’re wanton, a whore, just like your mother!” Uncle Algar screamed. “You’re not fit to be a Citizen!”
That’s when it dawned on me what he was after. “Meaning you want to steal my land!” I ripped back.
And so it was. After seven years of hard work, my family had found the perfect way to rob me. They accused me of whoring and petitioned the Patriarch to give my mum’s land to Cousin Bryce.
I sent a message to the Steward, begging for his help, but he’d not replied. By that time I couldn’t leave the farm, because the entire Vale community was on my case. I’d been accused, and the judgement was a farce.
“This is serious, girl,” the Patriarch said. “We don’t tolerate whores in the Vale.”
“I didn’t do it,” I told them. “I’m innocent! Ask the Steward! Ask his maids!”
“The evidence of housemaids, mere serving sluts, doesn’t count in my court,” the fat-gut bastard intoned. “And the Steward has gone to Llanfaes.”
“And when he returns, he’ll verify everything.”
But they didn’t listen. Actually, they seemed to want to believe the worst of me!
“Your mother was a slut,” the Patriarch said, “and the apple clearly doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“My mother was a slave, she had no choice. And as for me, ask the Steward when he returns!”
“A swift judgement is every accused’s right!”
Meaning they didn’t want inconvenient truths coming between them and what they wanted. So I was robbed of my chance to become a Citizen of Vale, which meant no inheritance, and I was sentenced to a whipping, too. Ten lashes, administered in the public square by the Patriarch himself.
Given the circumstances, I didn’t think my people would miss me.
“The Glorious One willed this!” I could hear the Patriarch saying it. “She’s in Ullr’s hands!” Meaning he’d not spend a copper on getting me back. My family would probably offer one or two for the Beasts to keep me, though.
“My father will arrange things,” Mina was reassuring herself. “Money’s been tight because of the disputes but we have good credit.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s a baker.”
That explained
a lot. You see, in theory there are Citizens who own everything, non-Citizens who do difficult and dirty jobs for a pittance, and slaves who don’t even get the pittance. But how it really works is that Guild members rule the cities.
Guild members make things that keep us civilised: muskets, bread, jewellery, medicine and more, so they’re influential and rich. Even with Brighthelme in flames, they’d have cash stashed somewhere. After all, with the nine cities rocked by fighting for ten years, it wasn’t like they’d be unprepared. They’d pay for Mina, no problem.
I sat in a corner, feeling sorry for myself, while Mina got the others to cheer themselves up. They sang, “I Will Serve in Ullr’s Glorious Hall” and “My Reward Will Come”. I didn’t join in because I’ve never liked those songs. I don’t want to serve anyone, had enough of that, and I want to enjoy this life, not wait for the next. See, I’m bad. I told you.
We travelled all day, bouncing about in the cart. I didn’t mind this time. It’s okay to travel when your face isn’t bashing against the planks and you’re not hurting. Even the shackles didn’t bother me. I curled up and tried to sleep. I succeeded, too, which was nice because I was starving. And thirsty.
I’m used to being hungry because going without meals is my family’s favourite punishment. In the time I’d been with them, I don’t think there was a week when I hadn’t been sentenced to plain water for a day. It was because of my tavern upbringing, you see. I swear like a drunken mercenary, my skirts are too short, and I’m too free when talking to men.
“Learn your place, girl!” Uncle Algar would roar. “No supper for you! An empty belly will teach you humility!”
So I was used to hunger, but it was unpleasant so I slept, knowing I didn’t mind so much while I was out.
We stopped again at sunset, at another field. This one had a babbling brook running through. At the sight, I was aware of how thirsty I was. The Beasts were in it in a heartbeat, splashing about and enjoying themselves. They left us in the carts while they set up camp, gathering firewood and breaking out food.
Knowing what was next, Mina and the others were getting tearful again. I wasn’t exactly cheerful, either. If it was just Rune, I’d be okay, but thinking that he would be handing me to Siv or another Beast soon made me shiver. The calls of “Pass over?” were ringing in my head.