Lenora didn’t argue, but the words were hollow. Every punishment increased incrementally. Ten seconds, twenty seconds, forty seconds, a minute and twenty seconds. She was up to what? Almost three minutes. Three minutes of the most mind-rending pain imaginable. She would have given up a limb if it meant getting out of it.
Lenora looked around desperately. Could she run? Maybe there weren’t any robots guarding the ditch. If she sprinted up there and over the gully she could hide under the brambles until nightfall. Then maybe—
“Lenora Winquist,” Elentinus said.
Her eyes opened wide enough to make her look wild. She nudged herself to the edge of the bed. The bastard was standing right there, right in the slave barrack, with his evil servant beside him. Elentinus’ massive frame nearly spanned the walkway. He wasn’t ugly, with white hair and a reasonably handsome face, but Lenora was incapable of actually seeing him. The aura of evil she perceived around him was too thick for her to eyes to penetrate.
General Elentinus, she thought. His photo was at every war briefing she’d attended years ago. It was hard to believe the very same murderer now interacted with them.
Fear dissolved into searing hatred as she glared at him. The hate brought her to a familiar place. You’re a prisoner of war, Lenora. Remember—it’s all about survival.
“Yes, sir,” she said.
“Put on your shoes and come with me,” Elentinus said in his language.
Lenora understood him as clearly as if he’d spoken English due to some alteration the Dak-Hiliah had done to her brain. She forced herself to slip her bare feet into worn sneakers. The slave leaders moved back to let her stand.
“She’s still recovering, Lord Elentinus,” Dugan said.
The blue-skinned alien ignored him.
“He’s right,” Magpie, the eldest of the three, said. “Give her a few more weeks for God’s sake!”
“Shut your mouths,” Elentinus’ servant said in English.
“I won’t!” Dugan said. He grabbed the back of Lenora’s tunic and pulled it taut over her torso. “Look how skinny she is. She’s barely gained any weight back.”
Lenora kept still while her jutting ribs were displayed beneath the cloth. She wouldn’t let her eyes beseech Elentinus for mercy, but she wouldn’t resist her friends’ attempts either. How about it, Elentinus, you son of a bitch? You want me to die? One of your precious females?
“There isn’t going to be a public chastening today,” Elentinus said without emotion. “I’m removing her from the colony.”
His first sentence gave her hope. His second one destroyed it. The three slave leaders exchanged astonished glances.
“Removing her where?” Dugan said.
“That’s none of your damned business,” Elentinus’ servant said.
Elentinus stepped forward and grasped Lenora’s arm. “He’s correct.” He strode towards the exit with her.
She was walked to the main road leading out of the colony before Elentinus released her arm. Lenora rubbed the place where his fingers had been. She kept her head down and huddled herself in her arms. Keeping stride with the general took some effort. Lenora felt as if ants teemed under her skin on the side nearest to him. There was a tightness in her chest also. Part of her felt like was back in the sewers with the other cruel man she’d known. The sad fact that Elentinus was probably even more evil than that man from her past made her stomach turn.
“Are you still sick?” Elentinus said.
Should I lie? It depended on where he was taking her. A new slave colony would be fine, but what if he was making her one of their brides? She bit her lower lip.
“No, sir.”
“Why haven’t you gained any weight?”
“I’ve gained two kilos.”
“You needed to regain at least ten. You were granted unlimited rations and it’s been weeks. If you’re not sick then why are you still so thin?”
A potent wave of anguish swept over her, making her throat ache. She swallowed a heavy lump to mask the emotion in her voice.
“Sir, the only thing I’ve been sick with is dread.”
Elentinus didn’t look at her. “You fear my punishment and yet you don’t cease the behavior that brings it about. This time you dragged another girl along with you.
“I told her not to follow me, sir. I didn’t realize she was behind me until—”
“Vivian was innocent before you corrupted her mind with thoughts of escape. How did it feel to see your friend suffer the bite of the collar? Was it worth it?”
Lenora kept her lips sealed. Leave her alone, you vicious bastard. She’d been heartbroken when Vivian had revealed herself in the woods. The seventeen-year-old was young and happy. She had none of the poison Lenora carried in her heart. She didn’t need to suffer a harsh existence in the woods. This was Lenora’s fate alone.
She looked back at Elentinus. If I could only kill you. New tears threatened to spill themselves. This time they were born from the red haze of hatred tensing her middle. She hated that Elentinus coaxed her back to the darkest period of her existence—when she was capable of doing anything just to survive.
Thousands of slaves lined the road to watch Elentinus lead her out of the colony. When they reached the fence boxy silver robots with glowing cylindrical heads blocked the open gate to keep anyone from following. They went along an overgrown dirt road flanked by pines on either side. Lenora scanned the mostly obscured terrain with wide eyes. She mapped a few future escape scenarios in her head. Then she realized they were headed for a clearing where a transport shuttle was parked. The gangplank-styled door lowered itself open as they approached.
Elentinus led her aboard and then brought her to a round molded door that slid open. He signaled his servant to leave them. Lenora walked into the room before Elentinus could steer her with a touch on her shoulder. The door slid closed behind them.
The only thing in the small room was a bed. Lenora looked around desperately for something else. Elentinus was moving close to her. She crossed to the bed before he could touch her.
She turned around to face him with the back of her calves against the bedside. He had armor on his groin but she could probably still whack hard enough to stun him. Then she’d press her thumbs in his eyes and twist her legs in his to knock him down. There didn’t seem to be a button for the door. If it didn’t open automatically she’d ram it.
“You’ve earned three minutes of the collar,” Elentinus said, with his auburn eyes stoic.
Her breathing became rapid.
“What if I gave you a choice? The collar, or allowing a Dak-Hiliah to mate with you.”
“Allowing you? You think I’m going to let you rape me?”
He pulled out a small black box, which Lenora knew was the force field collar control unit. The infernal collar was always on her, even if she couldn’t see or feel it.
“The choice is submitting,” Elentinus said. “I’ll just give you your three minute sentence if you’re determined to resist.”
Angry tears began to streak down her face. No matter how repulsed she was she had to pick the rape. A collar blast that long might give her brain damage. She was limping for months after the last one of just over a minute.
“I hate you…so much.”
“I’m aware.” He put the shock mechanism in a compartment of his shoulder armor. “So you’d choose submission?”
Lenora let her backside drop onto the bed. The anger had her trembling now. “You disgusting…disgusting pig.” She took off her tunic and threw it onto the floor. A sports bra was beneath it. She intended on taking that off with the same gusto, but her trembling hands grew weak. It’s fine, Lenora, she tried to convince herself, you’ve been through much worse.
“This is exactly what you expected from me, isn’t it?”
Lenora eyed him. This wasn’t what she expected because she’d heard he was in a passionate marriage with Maritza the Traitor. But then, it didn’t surprise her either.
“Could you really go through with it?”
She swallowed. Fine, play mind games with me. Anything was preferable to getting raped or shocked.
“Yeah. I could.”
“Would it be easier if it wasn’t me? A different Dak-Hiliah.”
“It wouldn’t make much difference, sir. You’re all scum.”
He smiled briefly. “You can put your shirt back on. I’m not going to touch you. It was a test to see the extent of your mental deficiency. If you chose to be shocked then I would know there was no hope for you. Your irrational hatred would have run too deep. You’ve behaved how I wished.”
Lenora donned her shirt and spoke through clenched teeth. “Thank you. Sir.”
“I can place you in a situation where you would never have to fear being shocked by the collar again.”
She waited.
Elentinus closed his eyes. “I’d like to have you married to one of our Dak-Hiliah noblemen.”
“That’s a violation of the surrender agreement!”
He shushed her. “Calm yourself. The surrender agreement currently prohibits us from taking brides from the slave colony. If a woman volunteers to be a bride, it’s not considered taking her.” He paused and looked away from her. “I would like for you to volunteer.”
“I refuse.”
“Don’t be rash.”
“That’s not saving me from the shock collar. You bastards are constantly shocking your wives. If it’s not you doing it then it’s your psychotic servants. I’m also not interested in getting raped on a daily basis, or being one of the brood queens to help you monsters repopulate.”
Elentinus remained calm. “That’s how you think it will be?”
“I know that’s how it will be. You’ve been dumping the divorced brides in the colony, remember? They told me all about marriage to a Dak-Hiliah.”
He tipped back his head with enlightenment. “Ah, I see. That’s why you kept trying to escape.”
She turned away from him derisively. “I knew you guys were going to do a collection soon. I’m not going. I won’t be a victim again.”
His brow rose. “Again?”
Lenora clamped her lips shut. None of your fucking business.
Fresh horror started building in her stomach. Is that why he brought her onto the ship? To bring her to some evil Dak-Hiliah man?
“The information you got from those women is out of date. There were different circumstances and conduct rules when they were first married. Things have changed. You won’t be mistreated.”
She kept her voice low. “Bullshit.”
“That’s fine. You don’t have to believe me. You can learn for yourself.”
Lenora darted her eyes back at him. She hated how emotional he made her. “I said I’m not going to do it! There are plenty of girls in the colony dumb enough to want Dak-Hiliah husbands. Get Tara Schnider or Julie Xian—“
“Those women aren’t causing problems in the colony. You are.”
She felt herself begin to hyperventilate.
“It’s in your best interest to be married. You’re incapable of seeing to your own self-preservation. This is partly due to the extreme thinking you garnered from your military programming and partly due to the misinformation these ex-wives are giving you. The greatest problem you pose is that you’re enticing others to run with you.”
“I…I never enticed Vivian. I did everything I could to convince her to stay.”
“Punishment has no effect on you. As soon as you recover you escape again. You should fear dying in the cold woods or being shocked to death. Instead you’re scared of masters who have very little reason to be cruel.” He fumed. “Most of the other slaves are thriving and happy. Your distorted mind has left you incapable of contentment. A cancer like you must be excised for the health of the colony. And yet, you’re too valuable to be frivolously destroyed.”
Lenora felt as though the tumult in her breast was about to boil over. “Getting married to one of you…that was exactly what I was trying to escape.”
Elentinus examined her several moments. “My wife is human. We’re deeply in love and I’ve never been cruel to her. She’s found happiness as a member of our empire. You would be lucky to know this same fate.”
Lenora swallowed. “Your wife…is Earth’s greatest traitor.” It made her stomach twist to say it. She just couldn’t hold back. The monster’s wife exposed an escape route dozens of human women had used. She was a hero to the Dak-Hiliah, so of course she had a good life with them.
Elentinus turned away from her. Lenora had a fresh shiver of fear, but there were more words fighting to get out of her.
“You…you people swear up and down that you never violate your surrender agreements. You tell every planet in the universe that you’re noble conquerors. That they can surrender without any fear because you’ll always abide by your covenants.” She sniffled. “So, what? All that’s a lie?”
He was unmoved. “You can’t stay in the colony. Marriage is your only option.”
“No it’s not. You can let me free.”
“Freedom for you means death in the woods.”
“Marriage…to one of you…is a fate worse than death.”
Elentinus leaned back and drew a long breath. “Very well. You’ve steered me toward the third option. I wished to do this simply, but you’re too self-destructive to accept what’s best for you. There are several in the High Council who enjoy forcing defiant slaves to willingly submit. This is not my preference.” He looked downward. “You’re going to planet Dornovonia to participate in the Bride Games.”
“The…the what?”
“You’ll be presented with several challenges. If you succeed in them you’ll be granted your freedom. If you fail you’ll agree to become a consenting bride of a Dak-Hiliah nobleman.”
The sudden scenario struck Lenora with how reasonable it sounded. But then, Dak-Hiliah never played fair. Several Dak-Hiliah ex-wives at the colony told her about a game where their husbands made them pick between five drinks. If the drink was sweet they won the game and weren’t required to have sex that night. If the drink was sour they had to pick again. If there was no taste they lost, because they would have consumed a drug that made them so high they’d submit to sex without a problem. Of course, each of them had only played the game once. Every drink had the drug in it.
They only way to win a Dak-Hiliah game was not to play.
“What if I don’t—“
“I’m not giving you a choice. Let me make this clear. You’re too dangerous to return to the colony and too valuable to waste. If you refuse to participate I’m putting you and Vivian Thurski in a permanent coma. Your ovulation will be sped up and your eggs will be harvested until you’re infertile. Then you’ll be destroyed.”
Lenora’s lips parted. “Why…why are you dragging Vivian into this?”
Elentinus eyes turned their cruelest. “Because you care about her.”
Lenora placed her hand on her throat. She couldn’t get her breathing to steady.
“Do you volunteer for the games and accept the stakes?”
She forced herself to nod.
“Excellent.” He went to the door. “I’m so pleased you’ve decided to cooperate.” The white door slid closed behind him.
Lenora Winquist. Lysanter clicked on the tablet with her image once again. He chided himself inwardly for being so enraptured. He’d scarcely gotten any work done, and there was plenty to do with the three-day interruption looming.
Right now the girl was just a picture and a scant history. His mind was eagerly filling in the blanks. He daydreamed of idyllic scenarios where she would accept him, and he could hold her and protect her and show her that the Dak-Hiliah were not the terrible beings she imagined.
He groaned and looked away. His heart was getting too invested when he didn’t even know the girl. He was setting himself up for a sickening disappointment. Wasn’t that why he’d avoided taking a wife in the first place? The humans were fragile
. They incited every protective instinct within him, but in truth his own race was what they needed protection from. The misogynistic druid who was in the highest seat when they first conquered Earth demanded that women should be repressed and violently forced to breed. How many of those marriages had ended in ruin? How many of them were currently strained with two miserable partners?
Thankfully the child Pakpo was now in the highest seat and the god who possessed him was, in fact, a goddess. The rules had changed. He could treat this girl as something closer to an equal, which seemed to be what many of the human females were accustomed to. There would never be true equality, however. She had to breed. If he allowed her to think she had control over every aspect of her life then he’d be misleading her. This was a pity. Their decimated population tied his hands.
He still wanted to think this could work. He’d allowed the idea of a mate into his heart and his mind became entranced with the idea. How could he win her? How could he break through her fear and hatred?
“Master.”
Lysanter started. Hester had come in through the servant door behind his desk. He set down a tray of tea infused with a gentle stimulant.
“Why don’t you look up her history? If she’s ex-military they must have a great deal of documentation.”
Lysanter’s brow rose. “Of course. Thank you, Hester.” He tapped on the tablet to access the wider universal net. Hester lingered behind him.
“I’m surprised you’re not scolding me for ignoring my work.”
“Some things are more important than work, master.”
Lysanter eyed him. The Dornovonian’s black eyes took up most of his face somewhat like an insect’s. Though immobile, Lysanter had found them capable of glistening to express emotion. His slave’s eyes gave gentle hues of red that indicated the adoration he felt toward his master.
“I want this girl to make you happy. To show you there is more to life than your work and station.”
Lysanter screwed his lips. “I mustn’t get my hopes up.”
The Complete Alien's Bride Page 29