“Count yourself lucky if the most you can complain of is that you might not be able to force yourself on an innocent female in the future,” Terex growled, his eyes flashing. His fangs were fully extended, as sharp as knives. “If you come near Elaina again, you’ll be pissing through a straw for the rest of your short life!”
Tunard’s already pasty expression went even paler and he took another step back from the big Kindred.
“Your Majesty!” the tall, skinny Maldred complained. “How can we seek adjudication from you if we’re being threatened like this?”
“The plaintiff is correct.” Krumf frowned at them. “You cannot threaten during these proceedings. And I’m afraid you just proved their point for them—we cannot have females running amok as your slave, Elaina, appears to have been doing in the Baths.”
“She was simply trying not to get molested and raped,” Terex argued. “I can’t believe it’s a crime for an innocent female to protect and defend herself.”
“Not in your backward society, perhaps.” Krumf gave him a lofty look. “But here on Nixelle Prime-Beta we have one defining rule which trumps all others—in any given situation, the male is always in the right. And I’m afraid, Master Valdor, that your slave has contravened that rule most seriously.”
Elaina felt like her heart was beating somewhere in the vicinity of her throat. She’d been afraid of this—afraid that the adjudication was rigged against them from the first. Maybe we should have made a run for it, like Terex wanted to, she thought. But no—if they did that, how could she get the little healer for her sister? They would just have to stay and take the consequences—whatever they were.
But despite her determination to deal with whatever came, Krumf’s next words made her feel ice cold inside.
“I’ve heard enough—I rule in favor of the plaintiffs,” he announced. “Lords Maldred and Tunard have been deeply wronged and there must be a penalty for the one who wronged them.”
“And what penalty is that?” Terex growled. “What fine must I pay?”
“Fine? Oh no, my dear Master Valdor.” Krumf shook his head. “This is a serious offense—a very serious offense indeed. I’m afraid payment for it goes far beyond a simple fine.”
“What?” Terex frowned. “What are you planning to do to us? I warn you, Elaina is under my protection. I’ll never allow—”
“I know you won’t,” Krumf interrupted. “Which is why this is regrettably necessary.”
He nodded at one of the guards, who, Elaina now saw, had crept up behind the big Kindred.
“Terex!” she gasped, his true name slipping out before she could stop it. “Watch out!”
The big Kindred started to turn but the guard was already there. He shoved the blunt end of his black electrical billy club into the nape of Terex’s neck and gave him what must have been a massive jolt.
Elaina gasped in horror as she saw his big body stiffen and then go limp, collapsing on the floor.
“Oh no! Oh, please,” she moaned, bending over him. But rough hands had her by the wrists and she was being dragged away.
“Take them both,” she heard Krumf saying in that nasal, self-satisfied voice of his. “Take them to the Punishment room and strap them down.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Terex awoke with a throbbing head and a sharp, coppery taste in his mouth like he’d bitten his tongue. Which he had, he soon found. His fangs had pierced right through it in several places. Only why had he had his fangs fully extended? And he must have—it was the only way they could have done such damage.
Protecting Elaina, he thought, his head still aching. But had he? Had he been able to protect her?
He opened his eyes but his vision was blurry. He couldn’t see a damn thing.
Where is she? A fierce wave of protective possessiveness rushed over him. She was his—his to cherish and protect and care for. If anyone had hurt her—
“Is he coming round at last?” a hateful, familiar voice asked. “Very good. Guardsman, you shouldn’t have used so much power to stun him! This is taking far too long.”
“Forgive me, your Supreme Excellency,” another voice answered humbly. “But as he has Kindred blood in him, I didn’t want to take a chance. The legends of how protective they were of their females and how violent they could be when the females were threatened persist to this day.”
“With good reason, it seems,” Krumf said. “Here now, you…” He snapped his fingers under Terex’s nose. “Are you awake? We need to get on with this sentencing and punishment—I’m overdue for my body rub and massage as it is.”
At last Terex’s vision began to clear and what he saw wasn’t good—not good at all.
He was in a large stone chamber that looked a little like a dungeon he’d once seen while touring an old castle on Earth. Indeed, he was strapped to something which resembled a torture device from that same dungeon—a metal cross that held his arms and legs wide apart, encircled with multiple metal bands from his wrists to his elbows and below from his ankles to his knees.
Even worse, he could see that Elaina was across the dungeon, strapped to a similar device. Her thin white bathing garment still clung to her full breasts and rode high on her bare thighs, showing a hint of her unprotected sex. There were tears standing in her eyes but her mouth was set in a grim line and he could see that despite her vulnerable position, she was determined not to give the Nixians the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
So brave, lavana, he thought, trying to let her know with his eyes that he was with her—that he wouldn’t let her be harmed. I’ll keep you safe—I don’t know how but somehow I will!
Terex strained against his bonds but the metal holding him in place was incredibly strong—he sensed he would sooner tear his arms from their sockets than tear the dull silver manacles that encircled his wrists and forearms free. Which he would gladly do, if he thought it would help Elaina in any way, but what good was a maimed warrior to her?
“Now then,” Krumf began again. “I asked if you were awake enough to proceed, Master Valdor?”
The emphasis he put on the title seemed suspicious but Terex didn’t have time to worry about it.
“Yes, I’m awake,” he growled. “Why in the Seven Hells did you chain us up like this? We’ve been cooperating from the start of this whole farce—there was no need to restrain us.”
“I’m afraid there was every need for restraint, especially in light of the verdict I’m about to render.” Krumf puffed up his barrel chest importantly…then shook his head impatiently. “No—I cannot render judgment yet. I am tired of this charade.”
“Charade?” Terex demanded. “What charade?”
“I’m tired of pretending you are who you say you are, my dear Commander Terex. That’s right—I know you for an imposter!” Krumf pointed at him triumphantly. “I wasn’t completely sure until just a little while ago when your slave called you by your true name in the Adjudication Chamber. Up until then, I thought the real Master Valdor might be the imposter.”
“The real Master Valdor?” Terex tried to keep his voice flat but inside his heart was sinking. They’d been found out. Somehow Krumf knew the truth and the Goddess alone knew how he would make them pay for fooling him.
“Yes, the real Master Valdor appeared much more quietly, about a solar week before you arrived,” Krumf replied. “He didn’t make such a spectacular entrance, of course—in fact he took great care to avoid detection. But my agents found him anyway. He’s been my guest here for some time, answering questions and proving he’s a true Nixian despite his Kindred blood. I was just about to reinstate him and announce his joyful homecoming when the two of you showed up.” He frowned distastefully at Terex and Elaina.
“You don’t understand,” Terex began.
“You’re right, Commander Terex, I don’t understand how you could have fooled both our retinal scans and our finger print analysis.” Krumf frowned. “You look almost exactly like him, too. It’s really quite amazing.” He
turned. “Attendant—bring in the real Master Valdor, will you?”
“Yes, your Supreme Excellency! At once!” The attendant scurried away and returned within moments leading a male who looked enough like Terex to be his twin.
“This is him—the real deal,” Krumf proclaimed, pointing at the other male who was eyeing Terex with a frown. “Master Valdor,” he continued. “I really must apologize, my old friend. This imposter had me nearly fooled. You are, of course, free to roam around the palace now.” He turned back to Terex. “If you’d simply admitted who you were, I would have helped you with whatever you wanted. But impersonating an important historical figure like Valdor, here, is a very serious offense.”
“I didn’t think…didn’t know…” Terex began.
“But before we can deal with that offense,” Krumf went on, “We have another one to punish.”
“And what is that?” Terex growled.
“Why, the offense your female committed against two innocent Nixians,” Krumf exclaimed. “It’s my judgment that as the altercation in the Baths occurred because Lords Maldred and Tunard were simply trying to try the sexual favors of an unattended slave—which was perfectly within their legal rights—that they should be able to continue and get the satisfaction which was so rudely and wrongfully denied them.” He nodded at the two plaintiffs who were standing off to one side, watching. “Maldred, Tunard—you may proceed.”
It took a moment for the horror of what the evil old dictator had said to sink in to Terex’s still slightly stunned brain. When it did, though, and he saw the frightened, horrified look on Elaina’s face, he felt the red Rage pouring over him, giving him strength he hadn’t had before.
He strained against his bonds, feeling the metal beginning to bend. At the same time, an inarticulate roar broke from his throat—the sound of an animal fighting for his mate, determined to kill whoever dared to threaten her or die trying.
Maldred, who had been about to step up to Elaina and thrust himself into her unprotected sex, took a step back and shot him a look filled with fear and uncertainty.
Terex returned it with a glare of unadulterated malice.
“If you touch her,” he growled, his voice dropping into an inhuman register. “If you even come near her, I’ll kill you. I won’t do it slowly, either. I’ll skin you using only my fangs.” He bared the fangs in question, letting Maldred see their length and sharpness. “Then I’ll rip your arms and legs off with my bare hands, cut off your shaft, and shove it down your throat. We’ll see how long you can last in that condition.”
“You…you wouldn’t…” But Maldred’s shaft, which had been hard a moment ago, had wilted in his hand.
“Try me.” Terex pulled at the bonds. Though they were still holding him in check, one of the metal rivets popped out and went skittering across the stone floor.
The Nixian’s eyes followed the rivet, then went back to Terex, wide with fright.
“Uh…your Majesty,” he muttered to Krumf. “With all due respect, I don’t…don’t wish to sample the favors of this female any more.”
“Nor I,” Tunard said quickly. “I, um, find myself unable to perform at this time. Probably because of the injuries the female gave me.”
“You cowards!” Krumf looked angry and disgusted. “All these years after I went to so much trouble to get rid of them and you’re still afraid of the Kindred! This is why I had to eradicate them in the first place—there weren’t enough Nixian males who would actually stand up to them!”
“But, your Supreme Excellency, he isn’t sane,” Maldred protested. “No rational male would care so much what happened to a lowly slave!”
“And no honorable male would speak so of a female—any female—or treat her in such a shameful fashion,” Terex snarled back. “You sicken me. Your entire culture is corrupt—diseased.”
“That will do, Kindred.” Krumf was looking more and more displeased. “If the plaintiffs are too cowardly to carry out my sentence, a new one must be imposed.” He frowned at Elaina, who was still staring silently at the proceedings with wet, frightened eyes. “As you have proven yourself to be a dangerously uncooperative female, you must be marked as such.” He turned to his guards. “Bring out the branding irons!”
“What? No!” Terex roared. He struggled wildly in his bonds but though another rivet popped free, they still held him in place. He couldn’t stop, though. The Rage rushing through him was so deep he could think of nothing but getting free and killing the males who threatened his female—his mate.
“Be still!” Krumf commanded him as one of the male attendants rolled in a portable braiser filled with red-hot coals. “Be still and listen to me—you have a choice to make, Commander Terex.”
“My only choice is how to kill you if you hurt my female,” Terex growled.
“Yes, yes—we all know how very attached you are to your slave,” Krumf remarked. “Which is why you’re going to have the opportunity to brand her yourself.”
“What?” Terex couldn’t believe what he as hearing. “What would make you think I would ever, ever hurt the female I love?”
He saw Elaina’s eyes widen as he spoke but he didn’t care—the words were true even if he hadn’t known them himself until just now.
“The fact that if you don’t consent to ‘hurt her’ I’ll have one of my guards do it,” Krumf snapped. “Guard!” He made a swift motion and the nearest guard pulled a branding iron from the nest of coals and lifted it towards Elaina. “Just look,” he continued, glancing back at Terex. “My guard will place the brand wherever I order. Such as her pretty face…”
The guard swung the red-hot brand towards Elaina’s cheek. She gave a muffled gasp and turned her head away from it, her eyes slitted in fear.
“Or,” Krumf continued. “Perhaps you’d like a more subtle warning—one a male won’t see until he’s about to take his pleasure with her.”
He made another motion and the branding iron was suddenly hovering over the sensitive, vulnerable lips of Elaina’s sex. She gasped again and tried to draw away but the silver cross behind her was unforgiving and she couldn’t move far at all.
“You son of a bitch,” Terex growled hoarsely. “You’re fucking evil. I swear to the Goddess, if you hurt her—”
“Yes, we know how you don’t want anyone else hurting her, Commander,” Krumf said dryly. “Which is why I’m offering you the chance to do it yourself. Think—if my guard does it, he’ll put it wherever I say. I might even have him put out one of those lovely gold-flecked eyes of hers.” He leered at Elaina who shifted and turned her head again as the guard lifted the brand to her eye. “But if you do it, you can choose where to put the brand. Someplace relatively painless.”
“You bastard—there’s no such thing as a ‘painless brand’ and you know it,” Terex snarled.
“Actually I wouldn’t know—I’ve never been branded myself.” Krumf shrugged. “But I’m getting tired of arguing with you, Kindred. Will you take my offer or not? Either way, your female is getting branded. Your only choice is who will do it.”
“Terex…” Elaina’s voice was soft and tentative and her eyes were filled with fear as she looked at him. “Terex please,” she whispered. “Please, it’s better if it’s you. Please.”
Inside, Terex felt something dying. I can’t, he thought. Please Goddess, I can’t! I swore to never lift my hand to another female—to never physically hurt a female again—even if she was begging me to do it! And now…please, no…no, I can’t…
But he could see the pleading in her eyes…those gold-flecked eyes that had drawn his attention the first time he met her on the Kindred Mother Ship…those eyes that Krumf had threatened to blind from sheer malice and caprice.
“Please,” Elaina whispered again, and he knew he had no choice.
“Very well,” he said roughly, feeling like the words were being choked out of him one by one. “I will…I will do it.”
“Good choice!” Krumf clapped his hands delightedly an
d nodded at his guards. “I want one of you standing with a blaster pressed against the slave’s temple just in case this Kindred gets any ideas. If he makes any sudden moves other than to brand her, blow her brains out.”
“Yes, your Supreme Excellency.” A guard moved to follow his orders. Another guard stood beside Terex and held a blaster on him as well, while a third unfastened the metal manacles that held him in place.
“Very well…” Krumf nodded his approval. “Now give him a brand.”
“Which one, your Supreme Excellency?” the guard asked. “We have one for disrespect… one for violence…one for speaking out…” He rattled the branding irons as he spoke. “Or various interlocking characters in the Old Kindred script, which we still use for legal matters.”
“Ah yes, the Kindred universal language. So very useful that it outlived the people who brought it to us.” Krumf smiled cruelly. “Tell me, Commander Terex, what is your first name?”
“Sariv,” Terex growled. “What is it to you?”
“It’s nothing to me, I assure you,” Krumf said. “But it’s shortly going to be something to your little female.” He looked at the guard. “Use S and the T characters locked together,” he commanded. “Let Commander Terex brand his female with his own name so that neither of them will ever forget the pain he caused her.”
Terex felt sick as he watched the brands Krumf had called for being locked together and heated in the coals.
I can’t do this, he thought again. Goddess help me, I can’t!
But he knew he had no choice. If he didn’t, Elaina could be blinded or worse. She might even be killed on a whim of the malicious dictator.
He couldn’t even look at Elaina as the guard handed him the brand. He made himself walk to where she was being held, though he knew he would rather die that do this.
“Please,” he said, turning his head to Krumf and the real Master Valdor, who had been watching the proceedings without comment. “Please, let me be branded instead. You can put it anywhere—hell, I’ll do it myself—as long as I don’t have to do it to Elaina.” He lifted the brand towards his own face, feeling the heat baking off the cherry-red metal but Krumf shook his head.
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