“Sorry, sir—the little Sacred Blue chewchie is not here,” one of the searchers said at last.
“Damn!” Fundreg growled and shook his head. “Well, it shouldn’t matter—we have what we need. Come on—let’s go.”
And though Ellina kicked and screamed and even tried to bite his hand, he simply picked her up and took her down the corridor towards the dungeons.
Forty-Four
“Ty? Ty, can you hear me?”
The little voce was like a bee buzzing around his head. No, it was buzzing inside his head, Ty realized.
He looked around, trying to make out who it was in the darkness. He had finally overcome the last of the paralytic in the drug they’d given him and had been spending the last five minutes trying unsuccessfully to either break the lock or bend the bars. But his first assessment had been correct—the cage he was in was rusted and tough—there would be no breaking out if it.
“You don’t need to break out of it—I’m here, silly!” the voice exclaimed. “I’m here to help you.”
Suddenly Ty recognized the little voice.
“Tisa, what are you doing down here?” he demanded. “It’s not safe, little girl—you shouldn’t be here!”
“Nonsense.” Tisa’s mental voice was brisk. “Even though I’m not regarding you right now, I felt that you were in trouble through our link. So I left Ellina and Lor and came to find you. How did you end up down here?”
“That bastard, Kikbax had me drugged and dragged down to the dungeons,” Ty growled. “But listen, Tisa—it’s not safe for you down here. He wants to…” He had to swallow hard before he could continue. “Kikbax wants to kill you.”
“Kill me? The nerve of that man!” Tisa sounded more outraged than frightened at the idea. “I am a Sacred Blue chewchie! I was sent by Thufar himself to be the companion of the Lan’Graven. How dare he even think such a thing? Why, it’s sacrilege! Blasphemy!”
“That’s exactly what Captain Fundreg said,” Ty told her. “But Kikbax pointed out he was the High Priest and said he’d give him some kind of spiritual pass for killing you. Which is why you need to leave now, before they come back down here.”
“Leave my person all alone to be hurt or killed by those monsters? I don’t think so!” Tisa exclaimed and Ty got a mental image of her fluffing up her fur and straightening her tail in anger.
Clearly she wanted to stay and fight—but since Kikbax and his henchman were both about a hundred times bigger than the little chewchie, it was a fight she would inevitably lose.
Ty began to feel really afraid for her.
“Listen, little girl,” he said coaxingly. “I know you want to stay by my side but the best way you can help me now is by getting out of here before they come back. Please…” He reached up to pet her soft fur. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you,” he told her in a low voice.
“But I can’t leave you, Ty!” she protested. “Not if there’s any way I can help.”
Ty shook his head.
“I don’t see how, little girl. I’m sorry.”
Suddenly he felt a burst of inspiration coming from the little creature.
“I’ve got it, Ty—I know exactly what to do!” she exclaimed.
And before Ty could ask what she was talking about, she had scampered away, into the darkness.
He had a moment of doubt. Was she going to try to steal the keys to his cell? He certainly hoped not since Fundreg held the keys and had standing orders to kill her.
Protect her, Goddess, he prayed. Keep my little girl safe—watch over her and Ellina and Lor too, Please!
He got no answer and there was nothing he could do but pace in the cage and wait.
Forty-Five
Ellina was dragged down the dungeons steps, the scent of damp and rot rising in her nostrils. The last time she’d been down here it had been to witness the masterful little play the High Priest had put on with the prisoner who was supposedly from the Southern Continent.
She wondered now, how he had pulled that off. Had the prisoner been an actor, paid to portray a part? Or maybe he really was from the Southern Continent and he was crazy enough to say anything. The radiation the people absorbed down there changed them—made them strange and insane. So really, either scenario was possible, though she doubted that the man had known Kikbax was going to blow his head off.
The thought of that casual violence brought bile to her throat now. What would she do if the High Priest tried to kill her? Would he dare such a thing? She supposed he would. After all, he had dared to send men after her to capture her and drag her down to the dungeon. What fresh horror awaited her when she reached the bottom of the stairs?
Her question was answered all too soon when she caught sight of a torch flaring in the darkness and saw that it was being held by none other than Kikbax himself. The flickering torch flames were glinting off his golden breastplate and he had a very unpleasant smile on his face—as if he was about to commit an act of cruelty which he expected to enjoy very much.
Despite her fear, Ellina stiffened her spine and lifted her chin.
“What is the meaning of this, Lord Kikbax?” she demanded in her loudest, most imperious voice. “How dare you have these men lay hands on me and drag me down here? I am the Goddess in the Flesh!”
“Yes, and soon you’ll be the Goddess of the flesh,” he remarked, lifting his clenched fist.
Ellina shied back at first, thinking he was going to hit her. But instead, the High Priest opened his fingers, revealing a small mound of pinkish dust in the center of his palm. Taking a deep breath, he blew the dust directly into Ellina’s face.
“Wha…what are you doing?” Ellina demanded, coughing and choking as she tried to get the dust out of her lungs and mouth. It had a strange, sickly-sweetish taste that she disliked at once.
“Making certain this time that your Heat Cycle will start, my dear Potentate,” Kikbax said, giving her that same cruel smile again. “I don’t know why the lust dust didn’t work on you when I put it in your wine—which is the general application—but this should be foolproof. Inhalation is the fastest way to get it into your bloodstream.”
“Lust dust?” Then the rest of his words registered and Ellina had a sudden realization. “It was you who drugged my wine those two times! You’re the one who did it!”
“Indeed—I don’t deny it.” He bowed and gave her a mocking smile. “And before you ask the obvious question—why—let me explain. I was trying to start your Heat Cycle so you would have no choice but to accept what—and who—was good for you. Which in my best judgment was Hennessy Tolland.”
“You were manipulating me! Or trying to, anyway!” Ellina exclaimed. “How dare you? I told you I wanted nothing to do with Hennessy.”
“So you made abundantly clear, my dear,” Kikbax said dryly. “But that’s a moot point now, since the late Barron Tolland is dead. Which is why I have taken it upon myself to choose another consort for you.”
“I told you, I will choose my own consort!” Ellina snapped. “I want nothing to do with any of the nobles you picked for me. I loathe each and every one of them!”
“Rejoice then, my dear, for I didn’t choose any of the nobles you so despise,” Kikbax said. “I chose someone quite different. Someone who can satisfy you completely when your Heat Cycle finally kicks in—which shouldn’t be long now.”
“As if I’d take anyone you would choose,” Ellina spat. “Who did you pick?”
“Why, me, of course.” Kikbax made another sweeping bow. “Lord Kikbax, High Priest of Thufar at your service, my Lady.”
Ellina felt her stomach roll over and she had to fight not to gag. Let herself be bred by this disgusting bastard—this horrible excuse for a person? For a moment she couldn’t even talk, she was so disgusted.
“Of course, the High Priest becoming the Potentate’s consort isn’t a usual practice,” Kikbax went on, clearly taking her silence for ascent. “But it’s not unheard of, either. And once I get an
heir on you, no one will care how it came about…”
“I’d rather be bred by a diseased toldr,” she said flatly. “So you can forget it, Kikbax.”
“Oh dear…” He shook his head sadly and made a tsking sound with his tongue. “I think you’ll change your tune once your Heat Cycle begins to ramp up, my dear. Once it does, you’ll be begging for my shaft inside you—anything to stop the dreadful breeding pains, you know. But since you’re not inclined to be respectful right now, I think we ought to put you away for a bit until you’re feeling, shall we say, a bit more cooperative.”
He made a hand motioning to Fundreg who grabbed Ellina by the arm again. With the High Priest leading the way, they hustled her down the corridor and around a corner, deeper into the dungeons.
“Let me go! Let go of me!” she shouted and struggled but then another guard took her by the arm and she was being dragged helplessly along with no chance of escape.
“You’ll be safe in here,” Kikbax said as Fundreg shoved her into a small cell made of thick, rusted plasti-steel bars. “I’ll come back for you in a little while—once the dust has had a chance to work.”
“You bastard—take your hands off her!” a familiar voice growled.
Ellina turned her head and, in the flickering torchlight, saw a face she had never expected to see again.
“Ty!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing down here?”
“Let’s call him leverage,” Kikbax said smoothly. “I have you exactly where I want you now, Your Majesty.” He spat the title as though it tasted like mud in his mouth. “You’re going to do everything I tell you to do from now on. If you don’t, your Kindred dies. Do you understand?”
Ellina felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach. Apparently the High Priest had decided it would be much easier to rule the planet through her if he had someone to dangle over her head—someone she loved.
And he was right, she thought despairingly as she looked at Ty through the bars of her cage. I love Ty far too much to ever let him come to harm. But what can I do? I can’t let that horrible Kikbax breed me and become my consort! I’d rather die first!
But it wasn’t death she had to fear now but her own body—once her Heat Cycle started she was going to be in terrible pain and craving male seed. Soon she would have to make a choice between the man she loved…and doing something she hated.
Gods and goddesses, what was she going to do?
Forty-Six
“Ellina, are you all right?”
Though Kikbax and Fundreg had gone, taking the torch and the only available light with them, Ty reached through the bars to her. After a moment, he felt her small hands in his.
“Ty? What are you doing here? I thought you’d gone.” Ellina sounded upset and worried as she grasped his hands tightly.
“I was going to,” he admitted. “But that bastard Kikbax had someone shoot me with a poisoned dart and then dragged me down here. But are you all right? I’ve been worried sick about you, little one!”
“Don’t call me that.” Ellina abruptly withdrew her hands. “Not now. Not after…the way we parted.”
“We parted because I’m a damn fool,” Ty said harshly. “I know that now. I’d like to ask you to forgive me but I understand if you don’t feel like you can.”
“I found out that you could be my consort after all, you know.” Ellina’s voice was sorrowful in the darkness. “Grandmamma told me that the gene for Sacred Blue always breeds true—meaning I will have a Sacred Blue daughter by anyone I choose for my consort—even an off-worlder, Ty.”
“I heard Kikbax and Fundreg saying the same thing,” Ty told her. “Apparently the Priesthood of Thufar has been suppressing that information for generations so they can guide the Potentate’s choice of consorts. What else did your grandmother tell you?”
“That…that was all she had time to say—besides that she loved me—before she…” Ellina let out a little sob. “Before she died.”
“Oh, sweetheart, no! I’m so sorry!” Ty wanted badly to hold her and comfort her. The sound of her sobs from the other cell were almost more than he could bear. “Please come a little closer—I know you’re mad at me right now and you have every right to be, but let me at least hold your hand,” he begged softly, reaching through the bars.
After a moment, he felt Ellina’s hand in his again. He squeezed it, trying to reassure her, wishing he could be holding her in his arms as the sobs wracked her instead of only holding her hand.
At last she stopped crying enough to speak.
“I’m sorry. It just happened and I feel…I don’t know how to feel. I miss her so much already and I don’t know what to do.”
“You’re going to get through this is what you’re going to do,” Ty told her gently but firmly. “We both will.”
“But how?” Ellina demanded. “We’re locked in here, Ty. And I know you well enough to know that you’ve already tried to break out, but these bars are too strong for even you to bend.”
“That’s true,” Ty admitted reluctantly. “The lock seems to have possibilities, if only I had something small enough to reach in and wiggle the locking mechanism. But so far I haven’t found the right tool. Do you have anything?” He asked hopefully. “A hairpin or something like that?”
“I’m afraid not.” Ellina sounded regretful. “If I had on my full Court regalia I’d have any number of pins or pics to work with but I took down my hair and changed into my more comfortable evening wear when I decided I wasn’t going back to Court today.”
“Well we have to do something. We can’t just stay down here and wait for Kikbax to come back. We need to get out and be ready to take him down when he does,” Ty said fiercely.
“And then what?” Ellina’s voice was dull. “You’ll defeat him, stop the coup, return me to my rightful throne and then leave me, just like you planned in the first place?”
“No!” The exclamation was drawn from his lips in a fierce whisper which echoed in the darkness. “No, I never want to leave you again,” he told her.
Ellina’s grasp tightened on his hand.
“You mean that? Is this because you know that the Sacred Blue breeds true? Because you know we can be together now?”
“It’s more than that,” Ty admitted. “It has to do with my past…”
Taking a deep breath, he told her all about himself. How he had been genetically altered before birth, formed and trained to be the perfect Body Slave.
“I was conditioned for years—up until the age of nineteen cycles—to worship and protect the Mistress who would eventually buy me,” he told Ellina. “After the Kindred rescued me, the conditioning was broken. But in the back of my mind, I’ve always had the fear that I might revert to that—to being a mindless slave who only wants to be used for his Mistress’s pleasure in any capacity she chooses.”
He heard Ellina draw a shocked breath.
“No wonder you didn’t want to stay with me,” she whispered. “No wonder you felt like it was impossible for us to be together.”
“I wasn’t sure if my love for you was true…or something that had been conditioned into me back when I was being held at the Slave Station,” he admitted. “I hated myself—I felt like a freak for the way I was manipulated and raised. I guess…” He cleared his throat. “I guess that’s why I identified with you so strongly when we began to get close—because you seemed to feel the same way about yourself.”
“I did,” Ellina whispered. “Until you made me feel beautiful.”
“You are beautiful,” he said fiercely. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever met and I love you.”
“Do you mean that?” She sounded doubtful. “Do you truly love me or is it just a product of your early conditioning?”
“I truly do,” Ty said firmly. “As for my conditioning, it might enhance my love for you, but it couldn’t create it in the first place.” He leaned forward, clasping her hand more tightly. “Don’t you see, Ellina? Now I know. Now I understand why I was built to b
e the perfect Body Slave—the perfect consort. It was because the Goddess knew you would need me.”
“The Kindred Goddess?” She sounded doubtful.
“Yes.” Ty nodded, though he knew she couldn’t see the gesture in the darkness. “She came to me briefly while I lay here in this cell, hating myself, and told me that. She told me that I was made the way I was with her blessing—all so I could one day serve and protect you. And love you, little one,” he added. “Which I do—so damn much.”
“Really?” Her voice trembled with hope and emotion. “You really love me, Ty? You want to stay with me and be my consort?”
“That’s all I want,” he swore softly. “The minute this is over, I’m going to call my commanding officer and give my resignation to the Elite Espionage Corps. I’ll stay by your side the rest of my life—if you’ll have me.”
“Oh, Ty, yes—yes, of course I’ll have you.” She leaned through the bars as far as she could and Ty’s heart swelled as he longed to take her in his arms. “I love you,” she whispered in a soft voice filled with emotion. “Gods and goddesses, Ty—I love you forever.”
“Well, well—isn’t this a touching scene?”
The sneering familiar voice shattered the mood like glass and the torchlight which had just returned showed the faces of Lord Kikbax and Captain Fundreg.
“Apparently there’s some trouble going on up above,” the High Priest said, his eyes flickering greedily over Ellina in a way Ty didn’t like one damn bit. “So I came back a bit early. I’m afraid we’ll have to speed things up considerably.”
Forty-Seven
Ellina drew back as the door to her cell opened. She stood on wobbly legs and backed away as Kikbax came towards her.
“What do you want?” she demanded shakily. “Stay away from me! The dust you blew on me hasn’t taken effect yet. I thought you wanted to wait for that.”
“I would have liked to wait—the lust dust does ensure conception,” Kikbax remarked. “But since, as I said, we are having some problems above and might be found at any moment, I must be certain you are tied to me now—so that you can’t pick another consort later.”
Guarding the Goddess Page 24