“Lord Barrat,” she said smiling. “I didn’t realize you had returned from hunting.” Barrat grinned and exposed his fangs. Vivian suddenly felt a chill. She didn’t like the way the large youth was looking at her. “Well…I must be going now,” she stammered, backing away.
“Come here, girl,” said Barrat.
Vivian swallowed as she looked down. It was blatantly obvious what Barrat’s intention was. Many women in the city would be pleased by this development, at least under different circumstances, but not Vivian. Until now she had respected and trusted Barrat, but she never desired him in that way. This was especially true now. Vivian couldn’t believe this. Taking a mutant female by force was a horrid crime even in the lands beyond Mavie, a crime not unheard of, of course, but very rare and unspeakable. Yet obviously this was Barrat’s intention. The girl didn’t have any illusions about being able to fight him off. Barrat was a mighty warrior with strength far surpassing that of most mutants who could be called strong. She, on the other hand, was rather weak. She was physically only as strong as a human. A powerful human man, true, but not even worth a sweat for a mutant like Barrat. Running was not an option either. She could never out run him, especially with him already so close. She had to buy time and then call for help.
“Pl…Please, my lord,” begged the girl, slowly backing away.
Barrat didn’t speak. He lunged forward and struck the girl hard in the face and then dragged her into the shadows behind the building they were near. Suddenly Vivian recovered and began to resist fiercely, and surprisingly, Barrat seemed to be having some difficulty subduing her. He began raining blows upon the girl and finally managed to deliver a telling blow to the side of her head. He struck the beaten and semi-conscious girl several times more and then brutally raped her. Vivian had never been with a man before. This would be her first time…and her last for many years. She would not see the red haired boy, think of him or anyone, male or female, in that way again, not for a very, very long time.
******
Mavie sat in her chambers in semi-darkness. In her hand was a glass of wine, half drunk. It was her third. Slowly, a portion of the wall moved and a tall attractive woman entered. Mavie looked at her and said, “Well?”
“It is done,” said the woman.
“The girl Vivian was chosen for you especially because physically she was practically human and was non-feral,” said Mavie. “She would not be able to catch your scent and would be fooled by what her eyes and ears told her. Also, there are those who want the girl and fear that she is getting too close to the males. She needed to be corrected before it was too late. Are you sure you were convincing?”
In reply the woman’s form began to change and soon a large male warrior the very image of Barrat was standing before her.
“I see,” said Mavie. “Well done. It was a foul deed, but one that had to be done for the good of our people. I know it was hard for you.”
Inwardly the other woman smiled. The only hard part was subduing the girl. She quite enjoyed the rest. The best part was that the girl was even a virgin. The other woman then resumed her true form and backed back into the shadows.
“Remember what you promised me in return for my talents,” said the woman.
“Have no fear,” said Mavie. “You are ideal for many reasons. I shall introduce you when the time is right. Have all steps been taken to remove your scent? If a feral should detect a smell not Barrat’s and trace it back to you…or me…”
“All was taken care of by our sisters,” said the woman.
“Good,” said Mavie. “Goddess willing, this will be the only time we’ll have to do this, but be prepared for the worst. I have several weak females targeted that you should be able to overcome easily.”
In the darkness the other woman smiled. Unlike Mavie, she was hoping that the worst did happen. She rather enjoyed taking what she wanted by force. She even admitted to herself that she enjoyed brutality as well. Vivian had been clearly incapacitated, yet she beat her brutally more just for the pleasure of it.
“I await your bidding, my lady,” said the woman. She then slipped back from whence she came and the wall slid back into place.
Mavie downed the rest of the wine in her cup and then threw it aside and began to drink directly from the bottle.
“Yes, for the greater good,” she said to herself.
******
Barrat loved his family, but like all his kind, he needed to prowl the forest and hunt from time to time. His mother would occasionally return to this region and was pleased with what she saw on this last visit. She saw her son and grandson enjoying what she had thrown away with a mixture of envy and happiness, but she wouldn’t stay. Lord Cato’s prophecy seemed to had come true, so she returned to her search. The last hunt they had together in the wild would be a pleasant, but ironic memory.
Returning to the capital, Barrat would find the city in an uproar. A mutant woman was attacked and violently sexually assaulted…and she had accused him.
“This is absolute nonsense!” cried Barrat in outrage. “Anyone who knows me knows that I am incapable of the deed! The woman lies!”
“Telepaths have scanned the girl’s mind, my lord. She speaks true,” said Mavie coldly. “Shall we scan your mind as well?”
Barrat was filled with indignation at this suggestion. “My word is not enough?!”
“It was he!” screamed the girl in tears of shame and outrage. “Do you think I could mistake anyone else for him?!?”
Barrat looked at the girl in shock. She was indeed a sorry sight. Obviously, she did not have advanced regeneration, because her face and body still showed the battered bruises and marks of the assault. There were claw and teeth marks as well. “I have been hunting as is my habit,” said Barrat, not without compassion. “I have not touched you.”
“How do we know you were hunting? Yes, you do leave civilized habitation from time to time, but who’s to say you were truly away this time?” said a woman of the council. Barrat recognized the woman as, Lady Betty. She was one of the hardliners of the old Mavie School. “Is there anyone who can verify this hunting trip? Were you alone?”
“No,” said Barrat, trying to control his temper. “My mother, the Lady Tamara was with me.”
“The whole time?” pressed, Betty.
“Yes,” replied Barrat.
“Excellent!” said, Mavie. “Then when she returns she will verify what you have said.” Then looking to Queen Maya and the council she said, “In the meanwhile I demand that this man be held in custody and collard until she returns.”
“My mother will not return for a very long time, if ever,” growled Barrat. “She seeks my father in earnest now that things have changed for the better here.”
“How convenient,” someone said.
“I am innocent!” said Barrat firmly. “The woman is mistaken.”
“It was him!” screamed the battered girl. Several of the assembled women were looking at Barrat with hate. This was a very serious crime anywhere, but in this fragile society this early in its transition, and by someone like Barrat, it was horrendous.
“Because someone says a thing it is?” said Barrat.
“My lord,” said Maya, her voice shaking. “The victim, and clearly she was the victim, has accused you. I must judge this matter fairly.”
“Truly, my lady,” Barrat said in understanding, and then he looked at the others. “I well understand that the guilty man will plead his innocence, but the innocent man will as well. Do you really believe that this woman would even be alive if I had attacked her with such obvious force and brutality? Read my mind if you doubt my word, but no collar will come anywhere near my neck!”
“He defies the council!” shouted, Lady Betty.
“Hold!” cried, Maya. “Let us scan his mind for the truth first! If he is lying, our telepaths will know.” Five powerful
telepaths came forward, two male, three female. For several agonizing moments no one breathed. Then the telepaths looked at the queen and council.
“He is innocent!” said one of the men firmly. Immediately the women looked to the female telepaths.
“It is as he says,” whispered one of the women. Her companions nodded.
“No!” the battered woman screamed, “It was HIM!!”
Maya looked at the assembled council, particularly the women. “Have these telepaths ever failed to find the truth of a matter?”
“No,” said one of the women. The others assented to this.
“Then my husband has been cleared. We will investigate this matter further and find the true culprit,” said Maya gravely. There were at first some angry shouting, but these women were dragged away. “I will now retire. Come, my lord!”
There were words in private between Barrat and Maya. Both the victim and the accused had been mind-scanned and both had been proved to be telling the truth, thus proving nothing. This incident had left a sour taste in the mouths of many. Lord Barrat had at one point defied or indicated that he would defy the council if they ordered him collard. Did he believe himself above the queen’s law? Also, the men had rallied to Barrat’s defense believing him innocent just as quickly as the women believed his guilt. This was one ugly and unresolved incident, and already it was beginning to undermine the work Maya and Barrat had achieved, especially in their own home…and it would get worse.
“Why would Vivian lie?” said Maya. “She admired you.”
“Why would I lie?!” shouted Barrat angrily.
“That is a very stupid question, my lord,” said Maya. “I mean…if you were guilty.”
“My mind was scanned! My innocence was proven!” cried Barrat.
Maya couldn’t meet Barrat’s eyes. “I…I know, lord. But…”
An angry Barrat stormed out of the palace a week later after some more words with his wife and yet another attack was soon reported.
“It’s true, my queen. Again, all the physical evidence points to, Lord Barrat,” said the woman in sarcasm. “But the mind-scans of both parties have turned out the same again.”
“Couldn’t a shapeshifter be behind this?” asked another woman. “Have feral’s been put to the scent. A person may be able to change their form, but not their scent.”
“Yes, Lady Kima,” said a woman, “but the villain has thought of everything. No scent was found anywhere. I believe this was deliberately masked somehow, thus making Barrat all the more guilty looking! Besides, there are no mutants among us that have the ability to take another’s form so completely.”
“That we know of,” mused, Lady Kima. “I believe that people are seeing what they want to see. I personally do not believe that Lord Barrat is so stupid as to destroy everything he hoped to build. He steps out, someone is raped. He goes to hunt, someone is raped. How convenient. I see another hand here.”
“Barrat is a man!” said one of the women, “and that says it all!” Much to Kima’s surprise, she noticed that for many of the women, indeed most, this logic was enough.
The Lady Rachel leaned close to Queen Maya. “My lady, I would keep a close eye on your mate. Men have been known to betray those closest to them. Maya thought on this. Rachel had been introduced to her by her mother and had proven a good confident over the last few months. “The men may be protecting their lord, too,” she whispered. “Perhaps it is the male telepaths participation that is so confounding the results of the mind-scans, hmmm?”
“I hear your words,” was all Maya said.
At home, life was becoming intolerable for Barrat. His wife professed her trust in him, but her actions and body language suggested just the opposite. Also, she had ceased to go into estrus for some time now. THAT was the biggest indication of her distrust. Only very negative emotions could cancel out the hunger. And then there was that woman that was now creeping about. She was always around now, almost like Maya’s personal bodyguard. Barrat saw the way she looked at Maya, and he didn’t like it. He wondered if Maya did. At last enough was enough, Barrat decided to move into the ‘Men’s House’ for a while and within a week of this, another attack occurred. This time his scent was placed at the scene and witnesses had marked him fleeing the crime. It didn’t seem to matter to the women that at least fifty men and boys could vouch for Barrat’s whereabouts that night. The Mavie women were now about to explode.
******
“I tell you it wasn’t me!” cried Barrat in outrage. “I was in the ‘Men’s House’ with my comrades the whole night! We drank, fought and laughed much of the evening and then passed out!”
“They passed out,” said Maya, coldly.
“You openly doubt me?!” said Barrat in outrage.
“Yes,” said Maya, bluntly.
“How many times must I have my mind scanned?!”
“You are no ordinary man, my lord,” said Maya. “For all I know, you may be strong enough to block or misdirect the telepaths. Or perhaps, your men are helping you.” There were shouts of outrage from the gathered men of the council. “Did you not swear that no one would put a collar on your throat? You protect yourself from our justice! And you wonder why we don’t trust you?”
Barrat looked at his wife for a long moment and then sighed. “No one will put a collar on my neck…I will do it myself! If I do this thing and you still find no evidence of guilt in my mind will you be satisfied?”
“Aye,” said Maya, “but only female telepaths will participate this time…agreed?”
“Agreed,” growled Barrat.
A control collar was produced, and true to his word, Barrat placed it on his own neck with his own hands. He glared at Maya in outrage, but he had kept his word. She summoned her telepaths and again his mind was scanned.
“Well?” said, Queen Maya.
“It…I…We found nothing of the crime in his mind, my queen. It is as he said. He was in the men’s dormitories the entire night.” There was a moment of silence at this.
“There!” said Barrat. “Are you satisfied?! Now release me as promised!” Immediately there were screams of outrage from the assembled women, none louder than from the women who were assaulted and their families.
Queen Maya stood up. “I never promised that I’d take the collar off, you stupid man. Did you think I was a fool?” Barrat just looked at her in shock. “I always wondered how you could be guilty, but yet no evidence could be found in your mind of your crimes.” Then she looked to the Lady Rachel.
“It would be a simple matter for you to have such incriminating evidence removed from your memory,” Rachel said with a grin. “I believe your men on the council and their male telepaths are accomplices in your crimes.”
“WHAT?!?” cried Barrat.
“Seize them!” cried Maya. Barrat felt a blade at his neck. The men cried out in fury. “If you resist, your lord will die!”
“Forget me!” suddenly shouted Barrat. “Fight! It is some Mavie plot! Fight and clear my name later!” But the men would not risk their lord’s life and surrendered. They were immediately collared.
“Now, my overheated love,” said Maya coldly. “I’ll get the truth out of you!”
In the following weeks, Maya, with her mother’s and Rachel’s eager help, began to undue the perceived damage that Barrat had done to Mavie society. Many men fled the capital while others, and their women, formed defiant bands in the outlying regions. To his credit, no one would rise in open revolt and march on the Mavie in the city for fear of Barrat’s safety. If they knew what was happening in the palace dungeons, an old but recently unused section of that building, they would have done so. The male telepaths and former councilmen were put to torture and many soon told Queen Maya anything Mavie and the Lady Rachel wanted them to say, and were immediately executed. Barrat, on the other hand, proved to be of much stronger stuff. He prof
essed his innocence no matter how he was tortured. Curiously, there were indeed women among the Mavie who believed him.
The Lady Kima was a logical woman. She urged the queen not to be too hasty in condemning her former mate. She would find the truth, proving his guilt or innocence in a civilized and reliable way. Maya gave her leave to do as she willed, but despite this, allowed the Lady Rachel and her cronies to have their way with Barrat.
******
“Sisters, I’m ashamed to call myself ‘Mavie’. Do you know Queen Maya allowed that animal Rachel to torture, Lord Barrat?”
“Do you know, Sister, “said another woman, “that they castrated him yesterday?”
“Goddess, no!” gasped Kima.
“Yes, Lady Rachel let the women whom he allegedly raped take their revenge on him. And yes, Queen Maya approved it. Her only condition was that he not be killed. I do not know if she clearly understood or was explained the nature of what their revenge would be though.”
“Madness! Madness!” cried Kima in disgust and horror. “You know he is innocent, don’t you?”
“Yes,” said the other woman with a sigh. “It is so obvious. The moment that man put a control collar on his own neck to prove his words, I knew he was telling the truth. He really must have loved the queen greatly to do that.”
“Oh he was framed alright,” said Lady Kima, “but by who? It’s really not that hard to figure out in a broad sense. Mavie traditionalists’ hell bent on stopping progress, even to the point of the unspeakable, to be sure. The problem is finding the proof and the individual. The true rapist is obviously a shapeshifter who has not only cross-gender ability, but is also someone capable of complete mimicry. Planting Lord Barrat’s scent on the scene of the last attack would be a simple task as well for someone with access to the royal families living quarters. With the lord gone, taking an item of his left behind would be a simple matter. I trust you know who I mean?” The other women nodded. “It’s curious that no one bothered to notice or point out that the scent of Lord Barrat just appeared, neither leading back to the men’s dorms or even the palace. I warned the queen not to do anything rash until I had the truth, but I fear I’ve taken too long with no results and now she’s made up her mind. I have a terrible feeling things will get much worse.”
The Mutant World Page 18