Loren felt a wave of cold wash over her. She thought she managed a credible show of indifference, however. Not that she was particularly interested, but she had a bad feeling that it could be really dangerous, possibly for both her and the men, if ‘fish-man’ Lecur got the idea she was. “I was just curious. One of them said something about fighting. I didn’t realize that was what he meant. Do you get to go to the fights?”
“You like see men try kill each other?”
Loren felt the blood leave her face. Nausea rolled through her. “I don’t know. What sort of fighting do they do?”
“Try kill each other … sometimes to de death. Sometimes not.”
“I’ve … I’ve never seen that kind of fight,” Loren responded, unable to maintain any appearance of interest even though it had seemed to divert the creature.
The creature shrugged. “Hirachi no do dat. Refuse. Make Lecur angry, very angry. Just beat down till can’t get up no more. He threaten kill dem. Dey no care. Still refuse. But dey good fighters. Bring much men to watch, much money.”
It seemed to her that the female was saying that Lecur was already unhappy with them. She sure as hell didn’t want to add to it!
Fortunately, there were new arrivals before the concubine could interrogate Loren any further. She turned at the sound of the door opening and watched as Lecur and his guards brought in Karen and an alien woman. There was another Hirachi with him and three that looked to be the same species as the alien woman.
Surprise and uneasiness flickered through Loren when, instead of leaving the two women, he summoned her. Trying to tell herself that this was a good thing—her removal from the harem—Loren moved closer to Karen. They were ushered out and down the stairs again, but they didn’t stop at the ‘ground’ floor. They descended another flight and she discovered a vast ‘basement’ … that was filled with males of several different species, all of them huge and most of them really, really scary looking.
The worst, she discovered, was yet to come. Beaming, Lecur motioned the gladiators closer and invited them to examine the prizes he’d bought for them. Loren and Karen exchanged a horrified glance but they were completely surrounded within moments. Loren didn’t know about the others, but she was pinched and patted and stroked until she was ready to scream. One of the other women did. She didn’t know if it was Karen or the alien female, but Lecur called a halt and told them they’d had enough time to examine the prizes.
The gladiators drew back, but with obvious reluctance. Loren was shaking like a leaf in strong wind by that time.
“Winners de next games get night wid de prizes!” Lecur announced.
Loren, Karen, and the alien woman looked at each other in absolute horror. All Loren could think, though, was that her mother had always said to be careful what she wished for and that she was very, very sorry that she’d wished so desperately to get out of the harem!
Chapter Three
Loren had never been as excited about clothes before in her life. She was so grateful when she was finally pushed into a cell-like room and given a ‘handkerchief’ to cover herself with she felt like weeping for joy. It barely covered her from shoulder to groin and it looked like it had been made out of tissue paper, and she wasn’t given anything at all to cover her genital area, but it was something!
She was less happy about the accommodations. To be more accurate, she was less happy about the location of her accommodations. Apparently Lecur had decided they would stir the men up a lot more if they were close enough to look at whenever the mood struck them. There were bars for a door, which was somewhat reassuring at least in the sense that the gladiators couldn’t actually get to her, but there was next to no privacy when they only had to walk by to peer in at her.
They didn’t actually walk by. For hours after she was pushed into her little cubicle, they stood at the bars, staring at her so hungrily that she was a nervous wreck within an hour. The only time those at the front left was when the ones that couldn’t get a view punched them and urged them to leave. She very much feared there might have been some serious fights among them if not for Lecur’s parting warning that fighting outside the ring would not be tolerated and anyone caught at it would not take part in the next gladiatorial game.
She was near tears when the gladiators finally seemed to get their fill of gawking at her and wandered off. There was a latrine and a tiny bowl for water in one corner in the back and she’d been thinking about it longingly for a while before the men finally left. The only privacy offered, however, was a low wall and even as short as she was she couldn’t use the damned thing with anything close to privacy. She supposed she should’ve been grateful for that much. Clearly the entire area had been built to house the gladiators and no one seemed to think men wanted or needed privacy for such things, but she did.
It was just too … degrading and as demeaning as her entire experience had been since she’d been shanghaied, she thought she just couldn’t handle that one more thing without breaking down. It seemed likely that this would be a very long term situation, at that, and she just couldn’t see ‘holding’ it until everybody fell asleep. She needed to do something to preserve what little remained of her dignity.
Sighing shakily when the men finally wandered off, she began studying her surroundings with an eye toward ‘engineering’ some sort of privacy. She wasn’t a designer, but it wasn’t as if she wasn’t familiar with working with things. Unfortunately, there were no tools. In fact, the room was virtually empty. Beyond the cot, which was actually a fairly large bed, no doubt because it had once belonged to a gladiator or had at least been built for one, and an unadorned and unpadded bench, there was nothing but the toilet, the tiny water fountain/wash bowl … and a shower head she discovered protruding above them. She stared at the shower head thoughtfully for a long time and then down at the blanket she was covering up with.
She could sacrifice the blanket for privacy to attend her needs, or have something to cover up with. That didn’t especially appeal to her. It was cool in the basement. She was comfortable enough in her tissue toga at the moment, but she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep very comfortably without a blanket.
She studied the bench for several moments and finally got up to examine it and the low wall. It was certainly tall enough, she decided, to give her a good bit more privacy. The question was, could she lift it and was it too wide to sit on the ledge?
She would’ve felt better if she’d actually had something to measure it with, but she used her hand and lower arm to take the measure and the index on her other hand to mark the measurement and compared it to the wall.
Iffy, she thought skeptically, but it looked like it might not be too wide to perch on the wall. She thought at first that the damned thing was bolted to the fucking floor, but she finally managed to shove it across the room until it was next to the wall. There was going to be no lifting it dead up. She knew that, but she decided to see if she could lift one end high enough to settle it on the wall.
She was out of breath by the time she managed it, but she did manage it. Panting for breath, she leaned against the wall to rest, glancing toward the door. A jolt went through her when she saw an alien man standing there but recognition dawned in almost the same moment.
A thrill of pleasure went through her even to see one face that was just a little familiar and she couldn’t help the smile of welcome that lit her face. Kael looked surprised, but he returned the smile tentatively. “What doing?” he asked, nudging his chin toward her project.
Loren felt her face redden with discomfort. “Engineering a higher wall for privacy,” she said ruefully, pushing away from the wall she was propped against and moving a little closer to the door. “I guess they don’t lock any of you in?”
His smile died. “Sometimes. Now, lock out.”
Loren couldn’t decide whether the jolt that went through her was spawned by fear or pleasure, but she finally decided it was a little of both.
“Lock all fi
ghters out. Keep little ting safe … for now.”
Loren felt her color fluctuate. Fear clawed at the back of her mind at the reminder of her predicament and yet she couldn’t deny that she thought it was sweet he’d referred to her as ‘little ting’. Of course, he was as big as a tank. She could’ve been a hell of a lot bigger and still been a ‘little ting’ to him. “My name’s Loren.”
He tried it out on his tongue several times, struggling to pronounce it as she had and finally managed something close—and just garbled enough by his accent to be charming. Dakaar joined him at the door. Kael flicked an annoyed glance at him when Loren smiled at him.
“Little ting alright?”
It warmed her that he seemed concerned. At the same time she felt a shiver run through her at the reminder of what she’d endured earlier. To her horror, she also felt her nipples harden in response and there was no doubt in her mind that both Kael and Dakaar noticed it immediately. Their gazes zoomed in on the peaks tenting her thin shift. Trying to be casual about it, she lifted her hands and rubbed her arms. “It’s a little chilly in here,” she muttered.
It seemed to break their trance. Both of them met her gaze for a long moment and she saw the same hunger in their eyes that she’d seen in the others. It had an entirely different effect on her, however. Instead of being unnerved, she felt warmth flutter through her belly.
“Pretty little ting is Lau-ren,” Kael said.
“Lau-ren … pretty,” Dakaar murmured.
She couldn’t decide whether he was saying she was pretty or her name was, but she felt her cheeks flush with pleasure at the compliments from both of them. “Thank you.”
To her horror, she felt tears well in her eyes at the tiny bit of comfort they’d offered. Actually, she amended mentally, the great deal of comfort. They hadn’t been among those who’d crowded around her and handled her and pinched her and she was as grateful for that restraint as she was for the soothing words and compliments even while the disturbing thought arose that maybe they hadn’t been interested enough to feel her up like the others had. She blinked the tears away with an effort and sniffed, afraid if she broke down they’d leave and she needed some sense that she had friends—needed to believe they, at least, wouldn’t hurt her even though they were almost as big and scary looking as the others. “Have you been here long?” she asked hurriedly, trying to find something to keep a conversation going.
Their faces hardened to her dismay.
Dakaar glanced at Kael.
“No way count time here. No sun. Only darkness all time,” Kael said finally.
“Long time,” Dakaar said. “I count three mayhap four years our world.”
Loren’s dismay deepened and sympathy for them made her chest tight. “Three years!” she echoed. “Fighting?”
Another Hirachi joined the two already at the door. Loren recognized him as the one who’d been with the fish-man when they’d brought Karen and the alien woman.
“Long time for games. Most no fight that long.”
Loren blinked at him when he spoke. “So you only have to fight for a few years? Then what?”
“Die. Most only one year. Some two. Only Hirachi last three.”
Horror washed over her in a cold tide. “But … the fish-man’s concubine said ….”
Kael’s lip curled up at one corner. He frowned at her quizzically. “Fish-man?”
It occurred to Loren abruptly that she’d noticed something along their arms and legs that looked a lot like fins, but she dismissed it. If they were … some sort of sea people, they couldn’t survive out of water, she reasoned. “Sorry. He just reminds me of a fish—the face. I can’t remember his name.”
He seemed to think that was funny, to her relief. He chuckled and said something in their own tongue to the others. She didn’t know what, but the other two grinned at her.
The newest arrival noticed her incomplete project. “What do dere?”
Loren felt her face heat. “Not much yet. It’s heavy.”
“Weigh same as you,” he commented, looking amused. “You tink can lift?”
She frowned at him and plunked her hands on her hips. “I got one end up,” she said pointedly.
His eyes gleamed teasingly. “Light end.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “They both weigh the same.”
“What name, pretty ting?” he asked, grinning.
Loren couldn’t help but chuckle. Despite his broken—whatever language—it sounded so much like a pick up line it increased the sense that the Hirachi were human.
“Name Lau-ren,” Kael said, not sounding the least bit amused. He pushed away from the bars abruptly, turned, and left.
Loren bit her lip, struggling with disappointment. As hard as it was trying to talk, and understand, when none of them seemed to know that much of a common language, she’d enjoyed the little conversation she’d managed with Kael.
“Name Balen,” the newcomer informed her, promptly taking Kael’s place and blocking her view of his departure.
She smiled at him tentatively. “You brought Karen.”
He frowned as if thinking that over. “Same you but hair different?”
Loren nodded, moving a little closer. “Is she alright?”
“Scared … same you. No be scared. We Hirachi take care ob little tings.”
It was an unlooked for offer that took her breath away and yet, as big and strong as they appeared to be, the Hirachi were badly outnumbered and beyond that, slaves just as she was. She couldn’t decide how to respond. She wanted to jump at the offer and kiss him all over and thank him, but guilt arose as soon as she thought about it. Taking care of her and Karen might well cost them their lives if what they’d said before was true. Or they might die in the next ‘games’ as so many apparently did.
He wasn’t likely to believe her if she tried for a polite lie, however.
“I appreciate your willingness to try to help. Believe me, I do. But ….”
Dakaar interrupted. “Can,” he said grimly, obviously observant enough to realize she had doubts about it. “And will.”
Loren chewed her lower lip. “If I’m your … uh … woman, you mean?”
Both men looked slightly taken aback. Dakaar frowned. Clearly he hadn’t liked the suggestion that he’d only offered because he wanted to protect the pussy and he felt as torn as she had when Balen had made the offer. “Take care ob little ting because need protect. Too little protect self. Dis is duty ob warrior. Take care ob weak.”
Loren hesitated. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.” She struggled with her discomfort for a moment and moved a little closer, trying to ignore the fear churning in her belly. “You wouldn’t …? I mean …. I would be your woman if you wanted me to,” she finally managed to say, feeling her face turn fiery red. “I … uh … I wouldn’t feel right if you risked so much for me and I didn’t … offer … uh … you know … something.”
“You be our woman … yes. Take care,” Balen said. “No. Still take care.”
The two exchanged a look and turned and left. Loren watched them leave, unhappily certain that she’d stuck both feet in her mouth and insulted them mightily. She wasn’t sorry she’d offered even though it would never have occurred to her to make such an offer before. They were right, though. She wasn’t capable of protecting herself and she needed someone to protect her. It still didn’t seem right to expect such a thing, regardless of their ‘honor’, and offer them nothing at all and she didn’t have anything else to offer.
They’d seemed interested, but maybe she’d just jumped to the wrong conclusion?
For that matter, she didn’t even know if she had sex to offer, she realized abruptly. Lecur had said she was one of the prizes of the winners and she knew what that meant.
Dismissing it after a few moments, she returned to the bench and struggled to lift the lower end to the wall. She succeeded, but it was a near disaster. She had to strain so hard to lift the thing so high that she was afraid f
or several moments that she’d torn muscle or damaged her back and the thing damned near went over the wall and landed on the toilet. She had no doubt that it was heavy enough it would have shattered the thing, or crushed it, and creating a real mess, but she managed to balance it.
She had to go lie down for a few moments to recover before she could even muster the energy to drag the blanket off the bed. Once she’d thrown the blanket over the bench, though, she was almost deliriously happy to discover she had a hiding spot to take care of nature—and showers!
She was so exhausted from her labors and her ordeal that she pulled her thin shift off and showered on the toilet. She could’ve brushed her teeth at the same time, too, but there was no tooth paste and she wasn’t ready to try the soap.
The bastard that had kidnapped her had no doubt sold her bag and everything in it—including her toothbrush and her toothpaste!
Anger hit her for the first time when she finished showering, scrubbing off the sticky residue from her stint in the pod on the ship and the soiled feel that remained from when the gladiators had pawed her, only to discover she had nothing to dry off with. It made things worse that the moment she turned the water off she began to feel like she was freezing.
“Damn it! Damn it to hell!” she growled angrily. After thinking it over for a few moments, she added a few more curses she was familiar with. “Fuck! Shit! God damn it to hell!”
She felt marginally better after she’d expressed her frustration, but she was still fucking wet! Uttering another expletive, she snatched her ‘toga’ down and dried with it.
She discovered when she pulled the blanket down to wrap up in it that she had an audience. She glared at them and then stalked to the bed and climbed in, turning her back to them. She shouldn’t have been able to fall asleep with eyes boring into her back but the knowledge that all they could do was look—not get to her—added to emotional exhaustion and physical exhaustion was enough to knock her out after the therapeutic effects of her hot shower.
Enslaved Book III: The Gladiators Page 4