by Eric Vall
Chapter One
I stood outside the wooden doors of the grand hall and listened to the distant chatter of aristocrats. People pushed past me, most of them high-class women dressed in ball gowns. A few of them glared at me out of the corners of their eyes, and I lowered my head as I’m supposed to do.
“Isn’t that Charles?” A woman whispered under her breath as her icy blue eyes cut into me over her shoulder. “Charles Rayburn?”
My hands curled into fists at my sides as a tall woman with perfectly styled blonde hair turned halfway around to glance in my direction. Then the blonde placed a perfectly manicured hand on her corseted waist and turned entirely around to stare at me in the foyer of the Grand Duchess’ home. With a loud snap, the blonde woman pulled a large, embroidered fan from the inside pocket of her dress and hid her face from me.
I didn’t need to see her lips to know she was smirking in my direction, I could tell from the sparkle in her hateful, blue eyes.
“Strange,” the blonde hissed as her eyes narrowed on my face. “Is he a guest or here to serve us?”
A second shorter woman erupted into giggles, and the blonde simply cooled herself with the elaborate fan.
I cleared my throat and avoided both of their gazes while they disappeared from the foyer into the grand hall. I couldn’t help but feel the age-old shame bubble up from the pit of my belly, but there was more than that, there was also anger. This was how our society had always been, men were seen as second-class citizens, while the magic-wielding females sat at the highest point of society.
But as much as I hated them, I was still a bit pleased I’d been invited to this gathering. As far as I knew, I would be the only male non-servant in attendance.
A few men brushed past me, and I watched them as I stood deliberately in front of the doors. Each one of them wore pristine white suits, and their shiny dress shoes clicked loudly against the marble floors. Each of them kept their heads low, and their shoulders slumped, and I felt the rage burning within them, too. Every man I came into contact with had suffered the same discrimination as me, but there was nothing we could do about it. Women in this society were more powerful than other beings, maybe even the gods residing in the heavens.
“Are you going to stand there all goddamn night or are you going to open the door for me, swine?” a voice snapped from behind me, and I barely had time to react before I was shoved aside.
The accent was thick as if the speaker’s tongue was swollen to three times its normal size, and I breathed calmly as I turned and leveled my gaze with the rotund woman standing behind me. I didn’t know her, but I had seen her around the city and in the Duchess’ courts.
“Ahhh, I know you.” Her muddy brown eyes traveled across my face as I stood a little straighter, I knew this look, I’d seen it a hundred times before. Here and all across the country, men were seen as three things, workers, servants, and consorts, and from the way this old toad looked at me, I was the latter to her.
“Oh?” I asked.
“The alchemist Rayburn,” the rotund woman purred. “Fancy meeting you here, but then again, I suppose you are the only male that does deserve to be here. How goes your work for the Duchess?”
I inwardly seethed at that but plastered a smile across my features despite it. I wasn’t an ‘alchemist.’ I was a doctor, a scientist, a seeker of truths and the power of the gods. I was a man in constant pursuit of discovery, and not a charlatan promising to turn coal into gold or other such nonsense. Not that any of these women would understand the depths of my professional intellect and capabilities, especially this ugly creature before me.
“Good Evening,” I finally breathed as I offered her a hand. “I don’t believe I’ve made your acquaintance yet.”
“Delphine Vallantine,” the stout woman replied as she hastily covered her hand with a handkerchief, gripped my pointer and middle finger, and shook it. “Charmed, I’m sure.”
“I prefer to be called Dr. Rayburn,” I cleared my throat as the soft texture of the handkerchief touched my fingers. “If you don’t mind.”
“Ahhh, yessss.” Her voice was a cross between a purr, a growl, and a frog trying to croak. “I’ve heard of your intellect, but you do know that only women are allowed to be doctors, yes?”
She pulled her hand away, and I took in her appearance while I attempted to ignore the revulsion roiling deep in the pit of my belly. Delphine stood barely to my elbow, and her sickly gray hair was curled and styled on top of her head in a disarrayed pile. Feathers billowed from the mass and shifted in the air as her brown eyes moved over my tailored clothes. The rotund woman’s skin hung in folds and looked so thin that it could’ve been made entirely from crepe paper. Delphine’s cheeks were bright pink with too much rouge, and when she spoke, her breath reeked of whiskey, but I had to be on my best behavior tonight.
“The Duchess has given me that title because of the work that--”
“Which brings me back to my first question, Good Doctor, how goes your work?” Delphine asked, “Ohhh, I know she has tight lips, and has probably told you to keep your simple male lips tighter, but I can be very persuasive and enticing, don’t you think?”
Delphine winked pointedly, and I inwardly cringed, I didn’t want to know what her implication was, so I shook my head as I allowed light laughter to spill from my lips and pulled my invitation out of my breast pocket.
“Yes,” I said as I nodded. “The project is somewhat secretive. If she tells you, then fine, but I am not allowed to speak of it.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” the grey-haired woman smirked as she waggled her bushy eyebrows in my direction. “Are you looking for other projects, Doctor? I could think of a few things you could work on for me.”
Her meaning wasn’t subtle anymore, and I fought the wave of nausea as I stared down at her. I ignored the comment as I kept the smile in place and shook my head.
“It’s of the utmost importance to the Duchess, and I’m afraid that it takes all my time. Besides, you never know who could be listening in.”
I glanced around us, and Delphine nodded decisively as she glared at the servers moving to and from inside the grand hall. The men barely looked at us, and I hated to speak of my own kind this way, but there was nothing else for me to do. If I wanted to rub elbows with the upper-class, I had to be like-minded as them. I hated the way men were treated, but to get what I wanted from the Duchess, I had to pretend that I saw males in the same light, despite my own gender.
I had to be on my best behavior here because regardless of my silver tongue or blameless actions, I was still a mongrel to them… a mongrel with a few redeeming qualities.
“Yes, yes,” Delphine nodded as she grabbed me by the upper arm and steered me toward the door. “You never know what the nasty beasts will do or say, that’s why we have to keep them on such short leashes. I am so glad the Duchess found you, Charles, you are one of the good ones… which makes me wonder how good could you be for me?”
I stiffened instinctively but plastered a grin over my features as I gazed down at the vile woman. I had met her only a few moments ago, but I already knew that I hated her. I wasn’t here to be a servant and certainly not to become a consort to one of the upper-class, I was simply here to speak to the Duchess.
Two of the men stationed in front of the wooden door bowed low to Delphine and I, and then swung the doors open with a flourish. The lit lamps above our heads bathed everything in a golden glow, and I moved my eyes over the room as I searched for the Duchess. I wanted nothing more than to speak to her about the task she’d asked of me, and then return home to my experiments, but I couldn’t see her through the massive crowd of upper-class women.
; A few men milled about the room, but their number was nothing compared to all of the women. I could tell from the males’ clothes that these weren’t servants or workers, these were the consorts of the wealthy women in the room. Each of them was scantily clad with their chiseled chests revealed and long leashes tied around their necks. I knew it was something that the aristocrats did with their consorts, but seeing it in person caused my hands to curl into tight fists. It was unfair and disgusting, but… there wasn’t much the population of men could do, we were utterly powerless compared to the females of our society.
“Oh, my,” Delphine gasped as one of the aristocrats passed by with her consort trailing behind her on a length of woven cord.
I glanced down at the chubby woman in surprise, and from the tone of her voice, she almost sounded shocked by such a display, but when my eyes met hers, I knew it wasn’t true. Delphine’s hand tightened on my forearm, and she practically salivated as her muddy eyes cut into mine.
“Wouldn’t you look just dashing in that style of collar?” the gray-haired woman purred up at me, and this time, I couldn’t muster even a twitch at the corners of my lips. “I personally didn’t like the idea of collars and leashes until a few months ago. They are all the rage in the capital, all of the wealthy women have them, and I see they finally made their way to our tiny town.”
I’d been trained my entire life to nod my head and agree with the women in charge, but this, I certainly couldn’t agree with Delphine on this. We were already treated less than animals in our daily lives and seeing men pulled around like literal beasts made me sick to my stomach. Delphine waited patiently for my agreement with her face upturned to mine, but thankfully, I didn’t have to force it out.
“Excuse me?” a voice as soft as a mouse murmured from the other side of the gray-haired woman.
The server standing on the other side of Delphine reached out to tap the plump woman on her shoulder, and quick as a flash, the gray-haired woman slapped his wrist away from her body. Delphine’s gullet wobbled as the corners of her wrinkled lips pulled down into a scowl. I physically felt the rage pour off of her as she raised her hand again toward the servant, but Delphine’s hand froze in the air as a clear voice rang out.
“Charles,” the voice stated in a frigid tone from a few feet away. “There you are.”
“Ahhh, fantastic.” I wouldn’t say relief washed through my body with the Duchess finally in sight, but it was something akin to it, so I plastered a large grin over my lips as I wrenched my arm free from the gray-haired woman before I took two steps closer to the woman who ruled over our small city.
The Duchess was tall and willowy like a tree without its summer foliage. Her small round face was almost childlike with bulbous, pink cheeks and small, puckered lips. Her corseted waist was tiny, and the fabric of her dress looked too heavy for her slight frame.
Her long honey-colored curls were styled similarly to Delphine’s, but I could tell the difference in quality, the same with her dress and jewelry too. The gray-haired woman may have been wealthy, but her riches were nothing in comparison with the Duchess. Our ruler’s strange violet eyes burned in their sockets like flames in the darkness, and I couldn’t help but feel unsettled in her commanding presence.
Even though she was beautiful, I wouldn’t say I was attracted to Edony, in fact, her presence caused my stomach to form itself into knots, but she was my patron, and I might have had to conduct my experiments in secret if she had not offered to support me.
Not only was the Duchess wealthy, but she was powerful in more ways than one. Most of the women in the hierarchy wielded massive magical power and the overwhelming aura that surrounded the Duchess had the crackling charge of lightning right before it strikes. I’d never seen her magical abilities at work and I had to admit, from the oppressive feeling that oozed from her very pores, I didn’t want to. There was no doubt the reason why she was the dominant Duchess in our city, if she didn’t receive something she wanted, she could simply take it with her abilities.
“Edony, my dear,” Delphine purred as she attempted to follow after the Duchess and me. “You look stunning as ever and the gardens of the duchy! You must tell me what flowers you’ve planted, they are so gorgeous!”
Edony Lockton turned and glanced over her shoulder at Delphine. It was clear from the look in her violet eyes that she wanted nothing to do with the plump, gray-haired woman at this moment.
“They are Juliet roses,” the Duchess replied over her shoulder as she gestured for me to follow. “The rarest in the world, I doubt you’d be able to afford them, Delphine. Now, Charles, come.”
The way she called me reminded me of the way one would call a faithful dog, but nonetheless, I had to obey. Duchess Edony’s presence was massive, and as she moved through the crowd, her guests stepped out of her way and bowed their heads slightly. Voices all around us whispered her name from behind raised hands, and I felt their eyes as they burned into my back.
Of course, I’d receive this type of attention, the Duchess wanted a private conversation with a man who wasn’t her favorite consort, and it caused quite a stir. I followed in the open space behind her and ignored the whispers around us until she led me to a closed-off area with very few people milling about.
Finally, Edony turned to me as she snatched a flute filled with golden liquid off a passing tray. The beautiful woman studied me for a moment as she pursed her lips, and her long fingernails tapped against the glass of her drink.
“How is the project coming?” the Duchess asked in a low voice as her violet eyes scanned the crowd in the distance. “I need results, Charles, I’m becoming impatient with both the process and you.”
I licked my lips and cleared my throat as Edony tilted her head at me curiously. Earlier in the year, the Duchess sought me out and contracted me for something she only referred to as the ‘project.’ No one but the two of us knew what she’d asked of me, and we rarely spoke about it openly. The Duchess of Edenhart wanted ‘super-soldiers,’ beasts with the strength of twenty men in a single body, and I was the one who would give them to her. I wasn’t my place or my right to ask her why she wanted these ‘super-soldiers,’ but from the way she acted, she was maddingly desperate.
“Hello?” Edony asked as she snapped her fingers inches in front of my face. “Answer me, Charles. I need to know what’s happening with my pets, you haven’t kept me updated in weeks. You know what I can do with you if I don’t see results, and I need to see results.”
I already knew that I needed to give her updates, but what I had to tell her would only enrage her. The tests, every single one of them had failed, and horribly at that. I’d built a machine, especially for the creation of these creatures, it was impeccable, magnificent if I were completely honest, and yet, every time I used it, it failed horribly. I wasn’t sure what was missing from the equation, the Duchess had given me access to male test subjects from the local jails to use in the experiments, but I wasn’t sure if the issue was with the patients or the crystals I used to infuse with their mortal bodies.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Duchess,” I stated as I squared my shoulders and looked evenly into her harsh, violet eyes. “The experiments are going… terribly.”
“I figured as such,” Edony hissed through her teeth as venom dripped from her tone. “The warden told me that you’ve been asking for more and more prisoners. Why isn’t it working, Charles? I gave you the funding, I gave you the viable prisoners to work on, I practically gave you the goddamn machine you’re using, why aren’t I getting the results that I want?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I don’t know what variable is missing. Every time I experiment with a new prisoner, it malfunctions, and… the patient is burnt to a crisp in the second compartment of the machine.”
“Then figure it out,” Edony snarled as she raised a hand to slap me across the face, but then she stopped herself and instead jabbed a single finger in the middle of my chest. “I’m not funding this whole
endeavor just for you to fuck around and take my money, Charles. Do I need to remind you that your life is on the line and this isn’t a fucking game?”
The Duchess was nearly shouting, and a few passersby stared in our direction. Edony hastily lowered her voice as she jabbed her finger once more into the middle of my chest, her violet eyes heated with rage.
“I understand,” I cleared my throat. “I will make sure that--”
“Figure it out, Charles,” the Duchess rolled each word off her tongue like an exploding bomb. “Do you know how easily I could have you taken from your home and lynched in the street? With a snap of my fingers and my men would be on you within seconds. Your body would hang from the gallows for all of the city to see for months until you’ve rotted away to nothing but bare bones. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I stated with a slight nod, and Edony breathed out slowly as she sipped her drink. “Maybe I need more funding to make changes to the machine. I just don’t know what’s going wrong each time I repeat the experiments. I place the crystals and minerals in the first compartment and the prisoner in the second, but something goes wrong between the two. My calculations say that it should work, I just need a bit more time, and more funding, and then I will deliver what you need.”
“How confident are you in the structure and build of this machine?” Edony asked over the rim of her glass as her eyes slashed into me. “What is the quality of work that went into it?”
This was an obvious trick, and she tried hard to hide it in her eyes, but I caught it easily without much effort. I’d asked for more funding, and she expected me, as a lowly man, to talk up my prowess. I was smarter than her, that I already knew, but she thought that my ego as a man would trip me up? Not a chance.
“If I’m completely honest,” I lied through my teeth as I feigned disappointment across my features. “Not good, I’ve had to make changes to the size and shape of each piece of it. If you want this done, Duchess, I’m going to require more funding.”
Edony thought for a moment as she stuck her tongue into her cheek. She looked understandably annoyed, but I kept my expression calm and almost pleading. Finally, the blonde sighed and rolled her eyes as she threw back her head and downed the rest of her drink.