“I see. And you were going to sell me to that?” Her mouth twisted.
“The fucking machine I’m sure you’d have liked.” He headed across the street to the temple entrance.
To either side of a pair of tall timber doors, bright balls spun at the top of golden poles. The balls were decorated with mirrored squares and as they spun the sunlight reflected and was sent whirling over the walls, the pavement, and the faces of visitors.
The steps leading up to the entrance were almost too small for his feet, which only made him grumpier. There’d better not be anything to fill in in triplicate. The welcoming hall inside was close to empty.
“Early,” he muttered, aiming for the desk in the middle. A woman in blue robes was seated there. “Guess people aren’t out of bed yet.”
Their boots echoed. High ceiling, mosaic floor with tiny tiles. Stationed around the outer walls were guards with cloaks, swords and automatic laz rifles, in uniforms modeled on the temple’s blue and gold. All seemed aimed to impress.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?” She smiled up at him, her cute bob of dark hair swinging. “How may I help you?”
“I’m wondering who pays for all the prettiness, the guards...” he began. “Joking. It’s a business transaction I need to clear up. Let me explain. It’s to do with this one.” Takk drew the girl closer.
And so he did explain.
He explained to the woman, then to the high priest who arrived with a clerk and a copy of the contract. Apparently, to them, legally, once they’d sent the money, he had accepted all the terms and conditions as spelled out in the appendix, on pages eight to fourteen. Not that he’d ever seen that appendix. Plus they needed a new girl, urgently. So then he explained it again, because the ass of a priest did not understand the true picture. Which was how he ended up with four guards pointing their rifles at him while Avalon, the girl he was supposed to be protecting, was herded and hauled to the side by the priest and another two guards.
“This is not acceptable!” he began again, to hammer home the situation before he went full berserk like Timin used to do on the battlefield.
“Stop!” The girl frowned at him. “I’m going with them.”
Not even a Go tell the others, or anything that might be construed as a reason for giving in.
He was outnumbered, but, but...
Hurt, disconcerted, angry at himself and her, Takk found himself out on the street, with a line of guards before the temple doors staring down at him.
He should’ve brought more guns; well, a gun. He’d disarmed himself before coming because arriving at a religious place armed would be disrespectful.
“Fuck.” Then he gave them the finger, then all the fingers, several times. How was he going to explain this to Zo, Kon, and Timin? He’d failed them miserably. And her.
They were going to have to go to war on this temple. The priests would not know what hit them. He turned on his heel and strode away.
They’d need to organize fast before they had a chance to do anything bad to Ava. Unless the priests were all eunuchs, or her efsana state had waned, she was going to attract a lot of males once the perfume wore off. His soldiers had no heavy weaponry, but they did have experience at fighting on an uneven battlefield against enemies with more firepower and the higher ground.
Those temple walls might be best breached from the side. The local library would have the temple designs.
He had to get this done with zero casualties for his people.
Takk stopped on the spot, sighed. How easy was that going to be?
Not. At all. Yet he must make amends, if not for his men, for her. Wasn’t sure how or when he’d figured it, but he was certain she’d done that to get him out of a tight situation where he’d have ended up dead or worse.
She’d made him owe her. Takk wiped his face, thinking. He could leave the poor little thing there, forget her, if not for the fact the others would beat him to a pulp if he even suggested it.
Should’ve had Zo read that contract, or a lawyer. Though Zo was mostly away with the fairies. Kon was too stupid. Timin... now Timin was smarter than he looked.
Crap.
Too late for all that.
He cracked his knuckles, unsheathed his claws, and strode off with the dawn light at his back that surely silhouetting him in pinks, purples, and blues. Not his favorite colors. He scattered pedestrians with one growl and stare.
Time for war.
Then again.
As a leader he’d always been known for his calm head under fire.
If he’d had a gun back there, he might’ve used it.
Takk slowed his pace.
Leaving her at the temple had stirred him to rage. He identified what was at the base of that, the reason he’d exploded was, fuck it, a need to own her. She should be his, as well as Zo’s, Timin’s, and Kondio’s.
“You little bitch.” He rubbed his chin, considering the implications. Apart from the fact that he’d lost her to the priests, her hormones had affected him and were screwing with him.
He increased pace again. War was a stupid primary means to get her back.
When he leaned on the frame of the barn door, the others were already waiting for him.
“What went wrong?” Timin peered past his shoulder. “Where is she?”
“The priests took her, insisted the contract was valid, and they had a small army of guards.” Kondio handed back his pistol and holster. He strapped on the belt, did up the buckle. “Thanks. So what do we do now, because we are getting her back. And going in shooting is not step one.” Alas. “Zo?”
“Once the scent spray wears off this will be an emergency. Tomorrow at the latest.” Zo looked thoughtful. “Fate can go hang itself. We need to act. I was talking to the stable owner and that temple is a gold mine. There are also rumors they rent out the sacrifice girls to the rich for big donations.”
All of them cursed, solemnly and furiously.
“So you think what?” He was dying to go shoot them but that was her influence. “She’s got her claws in my balls too.” Takk smiled and shrugged. “Big incentive here.”
“Hah!” Zo sauntered close and punched his arm, leaning in and saying to his ear. “You were tempting Fate all the time, riding with her, fucking her. What did you expect would happen?” He stepped away. “Here’s what I think we do first, before we try blowing holes in their walls.”
“And getting ourselves killed,” Kon pointed out.
“Yeah. This is a legal thing. We need lawyerly advice.”
Zo was suggesting a lawyer? His frown was probably putting permanent creases in his face. Takk muttered, “Fuck, no. With all their money that could take days, weeks.”
“Guarantee I’ll get us on their steps with a claim today. With a lawyer at my side.” Zo looked determined. “Zendokai. We have our ways.”
“Good. Sounds good. You might convert me after all.” Takk straightened, stretched his hands high until he could grab the frame above. His spine made cracking sounds at the strain.
He relaxed down and pulled out his pistol, switched it on, then put it to his ear to hear the low whine of the power up. Then he turned it off and shoved the pistol home into the holster.
“I’m one of you again.”
“What’s that? You always were, Captain.” Timin shuffled, looked concerned.
From a pocket, he dragged a handkerchief and blew, stared at the ejected nose plugs, and folded the piece of cloth into a ball. “I’m finished pretending. The bitch has got me.”
When he had her back, he was going to fuck her so well she’d know to never leave his side again. Even if she was saving him from being shot.
He narrowed his eyes. Yeah, that was illogical, considering, but right now feelings trumped logic.
“War later. Let’s go fucking-well lawyer up.”
He faced the street and tossed the balled-up handkerchief. It rose into the glare of the sunlight, flaring into the brightness as if burned away, be
fore dropping and rolling across the dusty street.
War did have a ring to it though.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The priest led her deeper into the temple, abandoning the guards at one doorway. Once it clicked shut behind them, he continued on. The walls were garishly painted in primary colors.
“That was so unnecessary and messy,” he muttered, half to her. “You understand we must uphold our principles. You were bought by us and that is that. Tomorrow you will be our girl for the Dance of Love and will continue to be until the audience tires of you. Usually girls last a few months with our once-a-month ceremonies before we move them on.”
They’d halted again at a new door, passed through into a small foyer and a woman approached, dressed in the ubiquitous blue robe. Dots of bright blue on her forehead and cheeks matched those on the woman at the desk in the foyer. It must be some sort of ID, Avalon decided. Her bun was secured at the back by large gold hairpins.
Already she was gathering info, because that was how you escaped and evaded—you knew the enemy, back to front, and sideways.
Maybe she should explore inside them too.
“These ceremonies, the Dance of Love, I heard they involve fucking?”
“Shhh.” The priest waved a frantic hand at her. “We use the love word or lovemaking. Or love sacrifice. Our ancient machine performs all those love acts.”
She pinched her lips, wondering what would happen if she... “A machine that is a fucking machine then? Oops!” As if horrified, she clapped her hand over her mouth.
The priest’s eye twitched, his mauleon fangs clenched on his lip, denting it, and he stared down at her. “Yes. A love machine. Praise will instruct you in your duties. As well as disrobing and being sacrificed to the love machine tomorrow, you will be expected to do other menial tasks. Take care of our new sacrifice, Praise.”
He nodded to her and Praise then walked away.
“So,” Avalon said brightly. “You all believe this lovemaking brings down the satellites?”
“Your sacrilegious sarcasm is not lost on me, new girl. Too much of that and a spiked gag will be installed in you for a day.”
She decided not to ask for details on that punishment and merely waited with her hands clasped demurely.
“Good, I see you can learn. Follow me and I’ll show you your bed and then what tasks you will do. No trying to flee, there are guards and the doors are locked.”
She trailed after the woman toward the beginning of a corridor. “What happens to the girls when they cease to be the sacrifice? Are they killed?”
“No. You are sold again, to a man. Don’t fret about such things. Behave yourself and you will be treated well.”
The bedroom was shown to her—an austere but clean room with little in it but for the bed. A blue robe was given to her and she changed into it, cinching it at the waist with a gold cord. Then she was shown where to find cleaning equipment and Praise walked her through the temple rooms, past priests and others, explaining what she was to dust, what to wash. She was to ignore anyone she saw, not to speak unless spoken to first.
“So, how do they afford all this? Those guards and all? The building alone is amazingly big. The food for everyone?”
Praise smiled. “Ever since the satellites began crashing our congregation has grown exponentially. I know, I do the accounting. The donations! My, my. Everyone sees the profits in our planet rejoining the universe. Endless financial gain.”
“Really?” She must have sounded doubtful.
“Have you not read the records of old? Our planet was a major hub of commerce. Providing the others out there, those on planets circling other stars, haven’t exterminated themselves in a galactic war while we were locked down, our planet could regain its previous status easily.”
Providing no galactic war had occurred. She wondered why they were so optimistic. Judging purely by what had happened on this planet, bigger wars were a given.
“You do know that people like killing each other?”
Praise kinked an eyebrow, sniffed, wrinkling her broad and lightly furred nose. “Your attitude needs improvement.”
“Umm. Sorry?”
As an accomplished thief, the idea of having to clean this temple for them while they used her to generate income was especially concerning. Besides which, she was pining for her mauleons.
She’d finally found lovers who did really want her to be with them, forever.
Then there was Takk.
That mauleon had looked so crestfallen as he walked backward to the temple’s front doorway. She’d thought him a mostly emotionless prick but no, how could he be? He valued his brotherhood of soldiers. If she wanted to be truly a part of the lives of his mauleon brothers, of the lives of Zo, Timin, and Kon, she must make him a part of the relationship. Somehow.
But first, how did a thief escape this temple? She’d seen no windows in this inner section, only skylights high above. She might have to climb out. It was a long way up. A ladder or pitons would be required.
“You may begin here.” There seemed a malicious light in the eyes of Praise as she placed a dust cloth and bottle of cleaning spray in her hands. A broom, mop, and bucket rested near the door they’d come through.
“Oh. Thanks.”
She hadn’t been listening well and whatever Praise babbled soon vanished from her head. So much for learning. Avalon turned in place, examining this room, this stage really. There were seats for watchers beyond the stage.
In the very middle of the stage was what she thought she’d heard Praise call the sacrifice table. It was more of a Y-shaped frame, set horizontally like a table.
Praise’s words wafted back in: “The female is fastened down and her legs thusly strapped apart and spread for the better access of the lovemaking apparatus of the machine.”
“Whoa. I see.”
The wide skylight two stories above cast a broad shaft of light down upon the machine; the reflections of gold and silver made it seem more art than technology, more a creation of the heavens than a money-making fucking device.
And was that so-called apparatus the spear-like bit extending outward, with the black dildo thing on the end? Oh, boy, she was fucked.
Though used to the primitive machinery created in hobby cottages by tech enthusiasts, she recognized its era of production. It was old tech and so was smoother on the outside, with few visible moving parts. A large storage tank bulged at the rear. It resembled an insect on its six angular legs with the thumping great toes. This thing was big. It reached past her shoulder height, she guessed, not willing to get closer to check.
Though the feet were bolted to the floor.
The silver-and-gold head and body resembled a praying mantis from Old Earth. Emblazoned across the overly polished center of its chest were some thick letters. She presumed the blue paint on those was a new addition, since the hue matched the temple shade of blue.
ARBO.
Let it run about on the streets and this machine would rock to the very edge of the size a battle sat would want to blow apart. Almost, but probably just shy of being large enough. It fascinated her. An ancient machine, even if it was designed only to fuck. How... quaint.
“This is the Chamber of Love,” Praise smirked. “This is where Arbo, our lovely machine, will fuck you tomorrow...” The woman seemed to relish using the F word when no priest could hear. “...after we tie you down. Dust and polish it well. You will not be fed until your work is done.”
Then she stalked briskly away and disappeared through the rear door.
Which was when Nibbles chose to scurry onto the stage via the steps leading to the audience area. He was small and she supposed that’d make it easy to elude guards. The real question was, why was he here?
“Nibbles!” she whispered, crouching and smiling as he ran to her, golden eyes gleaming. “So, one good friend I do have. Now we need to conspire and break out of here.”
She needed to consider all the possibilities, the exi
ts and entries, the skylights, and maybe while she cleaned, she could count the guards and find some gear? This might take days.
Even looking at the large machine situated mid-stage made her wince. “I think I’ll begin by mopping the floor near the wall.”
What use would Nibbles be? If he fixed that fucking machine, as he seemed inclined to do, considering how he was hopping and scampering all over its contours, she’d only get fucked more efficiently.
Avalon sighed and trudged to the mop and bucket. Oh, crap, she’d forgotten this efsana state would do things to the males around her. Another problem to add to her pile. While she mopped, she kept an eye on what Nibbles was up to. He seemed fascinated by the love machine, by Arbo.
Dreading what she might see or feel when she ventured too close, Avalon dusted and cleaned everywhere except the center then left for the other rooms Praise had indicated she should clean. Hours later, hungry, and worried some of the guards she’d seen were looking at her as if she were a snack, she returned to the Chamber of Love.
Nibbles had not appeared to her again. He always had gravitated toward the thing most in need of repair. Quite possibly Arbo had never had anything much done to it... him, since Quarantine. His insides might be a haven of rust and spiders.
Too curious to stop herself any longer, she trailed her mop across the floor, leaving a wet line as she made her way to the center.
Upon her arrival at Arbo, the mouse-bot popped out from where it had been dwelling—the guts of this machine—with a long piece of plasticized white paper in his mouth. There was writing on the strip. Gingerly, she took it from Nibbles and read it to the end then flipped it over where there were more words.
Demo Mode. Remove this spacer after purchase to activate fully.
Recharge bot in sunlight daily to maintain battery life.
“Ooookaaaay.” What the fuckles? “Nibbles, what have you done?” She stumbled back as the Arbo bot shuddered and rose.
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