Impure

by Kenna Bardot

  "I think," he paused, that hand drifting from my bare cheeks to press between my thighs. I tightened them to keep him out, keep him from uncovering what I realized in horror was a wet thong clinging to my core. "That you enjoy having a monster take from you. Does that make you a monster too?" He shoved my legs apart, his fingers gliding along the fabric of my underwear as if he had every right.

  "Stop. Please, stop," I begged, hating myself as soon as the plea left my lips. Those treacherous fingers shoved the underwear to the side, sliding fingers through my bare skin and brushing up against my clit so suddenly that my hips jerked involuntarily.

  "So wet for me, pet."

  "It's a lie. You did this, manipulated my body with your-"

  "I've not used my power on you yet, you poor thing. This is all you," he stressed, inserting one thick finger into my entrance so slowly I whimpered. He withdrew it, having to work harder to hold me still as I struggled in his hold.

  The door opened, and I shrieked as I tried to escape his probing finger. I couldn't see the door, had no clue who'd intruded on the horrifying moment, but Hollis didn't seem to care as he gently pumped that one finger in and out of me.

  "This pale skin looks so pretty all red, doesn't it?" And I didn't think I'd ever wanted to kill someone as much as I wanted him dead. To suffer an eternity of pain.

  Ryle climbed onto the bed in front of me. My eyes darted to where Charolais took up residence at the head of the bed, leaning against the huge wooden headboard like a King on his throne. He was ready for the show, the cool interest in his eyes did nothing to disguise the fact that he had every intention of watching.

  Observing.

  But he wouldn't be an active participant, not that time. I could feel it in my bones.

  "Hold her down?" Hollis asked, and Ryle smiled down at me when I turned panicked eyes back to him. Hollis released my arms, and I immediately flung them forward to push up onto my arms and escape. Even with Hollis' finger still buried inside me, I resisted the urge to give in to the sensation.

  Ryle had other plans, grasping me around the throat with a single hand that stilled me immediately. There was only the slightest pressure, a warning, but I watched with wide eyes as he shoved me up to my knees and sat his body in the space my torso had previously occupied.

  Hollis pulled his finger free, stepping back to a space where I could see him from the corner of my eyes. When Ryle used his hand to drag me back down, he twisted me to my back and maneuvered my head in his lap, inches from the bulge in his pants that left zero doubt about the question of him enjoying the show.

  One huge hand wrapped around my wrists, oh-so-gently studying the marks on my wrist from my bracelet. He dragged them up over my head, securing me there with a glare that threatened me without words. I wouldn't be moving.

  I thought about it anyway, until Hollis stepped back to the foot of the bed, taking my legs and spreading them as he tore the underwear off my body. I whimpered, feeling five sets of eyes land on the bare skin of my pussy on display. This time, Hollis slid two fingers inside me, pumping them fast and hard and curling them inside me to stroke that sensitive place like a professional. Ryle grinned down at me, watching my eyes as my hips gyrated.

  I didn't know if it was my body trying to help Hollis or trying to get away. I was too lost in the sensation, in the overwhelming feeling of being held down by Ryle while Hollis violated me for his friends to watch.

  "Come," Ryle ordered in a deep command, and I shattered when Hollis brushed his thumb against my clit. Horror swept over me, absolute self-hatred.

  And then it was gone. Replaced with a moment of peace, content because I'd had the best orgasm of my life. Who cared who gave it to me? But the peace disappeared as quickly as it had come, to be replaced with a quick spell of nausea.

  "That is what it feels like when a Descendant focuses his power on you." He gestured to the silver-eyed Descendant who stood next to him. The Nastroj who controlled emotions. "You'll always know. Just like we'll always know that you came for us, with no Svadeni to seduce you, little monster."

  Wrists released, I sat up, curling my legs together to protect myself as if my virtue mattered. Knowing perfectly well it didn't. Hollis went to the drawers of his dresser, returning with a strip of red fabric. He tossed it to me, and I caught it while rubbing at my wrists delicately.

  "I expect you to wear that with your uniform from now on." I nodded, even as I knew it was another sign of ownership. Another declaration that I was a pet, something to be controlled. "Go clean yourself up. Get some sleep. I expect you here bright and early tomorrow morning."

  I nodded, ducking from the room quickly and trying not to feel their eyes on me.

  Chapter 7

  Mireyah

  I stumbled out of the room with the scrap of red clasped in my hand, feeling like the fabric would burn through me. I put my other hand against the wall in the hallway and bent over a little to catch my breath.

  "You okay, new girl?"

  I looked up at Annalee, hand on my stomach to keep myself from hurling right where I stood. "I've had better days."

  She chuckled. "Well, your pale skin is very green. I spent time getting myself to look like this, so if you will puke, tell me so I can move away, okay?"

  I nodded and immediately regretted the action as my world spun anew. I'd thought being exposed to a Descendant's power would be uncomfortable, but that first punch had been a doozy. I only had to hope I never had to experience a God's power so up close and personal. I couldn’t imagine what the full power would be like compared to a Descendant.

  Whoever survived that shit?

  "So. You think you’re up to walking?" Annalee's voice sounded closer than it had earlier, and I opened my eyes to see her peering at me worriedly.

  "I can try," I answered weakly even as I felt the disgusting need to fall to my knees. Only my pride kept me from falling.

  "Wow, Sir Svadeni must have hit you hard, Mireyah. Did you say something to annoy him?" She took my arm and hefted me to keep me from falling over.

  I chuckled, a dark sound, as I remembered what had happened. How they had made my body betray me. "I have a feeling simply breathing could be offensive to him."

  "He wouldn't have requested you to be his attendant if he was that offended by you. Come, this way." She urged me to walk, which I did carefully. The arm she slung around me was very helpful.

  We went down a staircase to the left of the hallway where I'd first met Annalee. "Down here. The steps are a little steep so be careful."

  "Where are we going, again? You won’t dispose of me, will you?" A part of me wished it would be so. Anything was better than the hellhole Godsvail was proving itself to be.

  I reminded myself over and over that I had to tough it out for my family as I thought of the small plastic toy I stashed in my bra. The black dress they had given me to wear had no pockets, and I'd not had a jacket I could wear.

  We eventually reached a light gray door after making our way there slowly. Annalee reached over to open the door with a key she pulled from her jacket pocket. "Here," she said as we walked inside, and she guided me towards the bed.

  I looked around, noting the nice curtains and the bigger bed with a slightly more comfortable mattress. The walls were a plain beige, no decorations adorning them. While the room felt blank and sparse, it was much nicer than the room I’d shared as a cleaner.

  "This'll be your room," she declared as she put the key on the dresser. "I'll leave the key here for you. It's the only copy. Now isn't this much better than your previous quarters?"

  "Am I alone in this?" I asked, noting that there was only one bigger bed instead of two.

  "That you are. We're all alone because our times change and adjust based on the whims of those we serve." She pointed towards a rotary type phone that was on the dresser. "Your personal phone line is only for use within the halls of Godsvail. I suggest you always keep it open lest your master call for you. We never keep them waitin
g. They understand that we're not always going to be in our room, but we live as close as possible to them so we can get to them in the quickest time possible."

  "Okay, great." I fell onto the bed, letting the queasiness roll off me.

  Annalee laughed. "I'll let you sleep but if you wake up and get sick, you have an attached small bathroom you don't have to share with anyone. The closet has several more of your uniforms plus some coats and jackets when the temperatures go down."

  "Mhm," I hummed, half asleep.

  "Okay, okay. I understand when I'm not wanted." I heard her walk over to the door, heard the snick of the lock as she swung it open. "Are you sure there's nothing else I can help you with?"

  I opened my eyes and met her dark chocolate brown ones. "Yeah, just one more thing. Is it possible to get out of this?"

  "The duty?" she asked.

  "Yeah."

  "Only if your master decides that he's bored with you." She shrugged. "It's been known to happen, but it's very rare. Usually, attendants just go on to the Challenge and then they can get a new one after that's done."

  I closed my eyes again on a sigh. "Okay."

  "I'll be back later. We can have dinner together. Sleep well, Mireyah."

  I didn't even hear the door close as my world faded to black.

  ✽✽✽

  The dreams bled into nightmares. My wrists shackled as five pairs of eyes watched, as five mouths crooked into cruel sneers in the wake of my forbidden pleasure. My eyes shot awake, blinking quickly in the dim light of the lamp on the nightstand.

  Had I turned that on?

  I propped myself up on the bed, finally taking stock of my new quarters. Annalee had been right - it was nicer than my first room. Bigger, brighter.

  But it felt heavier because it came with more strings. Came with pain as I remembered my nightmare - the one that had stolen me from my sleep.

  And, worse, the one I'd lived through in the Svadeni's quarters.

  I wiped a hand across my sweaty brow, taking a deep breath as I closed my eyes. I tried to think of something else, anything else to gain back my equilibrium.

  Swinging my legs off the bed, I walked on wobbly legs towards the tiny bathroom. I splashed some cold water on my face and stared at myself in the mirror above the sink.

  My gray eyes were wide and frightened. My skin was paler than normal. I rubbed a hand over my ass where it still stung. And my core? Still sore from their ministrations.

  A knock sounded on the door to my room followed by the muffled sound of Annalee's voice, "Mireyah! Are you awake in there?"

  "Yes," I said weakly, voice rough and gravelly from the sleep.

  The knock sounded again, louder this time and with more force. "Mireyah! You need to wake up. We're set to have dinner soon and as it's your first day, it's best not to miss it."

  I took the glass and filled it with water before walking towards the door. I sipped as I pulled it open. On the other side, Annalee had her fisted hand up, as though she'd been meaning to knock again.

  She shot me a cheerful grin. "Oh good. You're awake. I was getting close to breaking down the door."

  I chuckled. "I doubt you're strong as a Karfi to do that. But thanks. I was in the bathroom which is probably why you weren't able to hear me when I answered."

  "Oh." She looked momentarily crestfallen before shooting me a cheeky grin. "And here I thought I was being a superhero and all along you were already awake."

  I shook my head. "Well, I still appreciate it. Would you like to come in for a bit?" I gestured her in with a hand.

  She shrugged and stepped in, and I closed the door behind her.

  "Dinner, you said?" I asked as Annalee settled herself into the only chair in the room. I sat across from her on my bed.

  "Yep." She looked over at the wall clock that was hanging above the door. "In about thirty minutes?"

  "I'm really not in the mood," I admitted, thinking of how my stomach had felt earlier.

  She sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Can I give you some advice, Mireyah?" She laughed. "Oh, Gods, who am I kidding? No one wants unsolicited advice, but I will give you a bit of a warning. Before you fell asleep, you asked me if there was any way to get out of it. And I told you there wasn't."

  I nodded. "Yeah, I remember that much."

  "Well, the Descendants you and I serve, along with their friends, have reached the time when they could Ascend. When that happens, you go back to your previous duty. In fact, you'll have your pick of duties if being an attendant isn't what you want any longer. My advice? Keep a low profile, try not to insult anybody and you might just survive."

  "Heard what happened, did you?" I winced at the thought of what had happened in the library.

  "Mireyah?" she asked until I lifted my head to look straight at her. "Everyone. And I mean everyone has been talking about what happened. The humans are surprised that someone would be idiotic enough not to be honored at the opportunity to be an attendant. The Descendants don't take too kindly to a human who speaks out of place." I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up a hand to stop me. "Look, I don't doubt that you hate being here, you've said that already but reality check? You're already here. The best thing to do would be to make the most out of the situation and not do anything stupid. I trust you don't want those things to be punished or killed?" She cocked an eyebrow at me - a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

  "Of course not." I shook my head. "It's just so hard. It goes against the grain."

  She stood, slapping her thighs as she did so. "You've made that perfectly clear. Learn. Adjust. Adapt. Now, let's go to dinner." The eyebrow raised again in challenge.

  I stood with a sigh and walked over to the dresser where I took the length of red fabric Hollis had given me. I didn't know if it was a belt or a sash.

  "You can wear it however you want. I wear mine as you would a belt."

  I wrapped it once around my waist and tied it at the back, letting the additional fabric trail behind. I felt ridiculous but figured I could just fix it later.

  "Okay, let's go."

  ✽✽✽

  Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, I hated that I’d been thrown into Godsvail especially now that I had to spend most of my life kowtowing to several spoiled, cruel Descendants. That was true but as I took a deep breath of the crisp, fresh air I had to stand and appreciate for a moment. It was beautiful, and it was glorious. And as I stood facing away from Demiorgo and towards the world I missed more than I could express, I had to see the beauty for what it was.

  There was a nippy quality to the air that was warm for me, familiar as I was with the almost debilitating cold of Wintercairn. The climate was more like Srieburgh - that perfect balance. No wonder the people of the city thought themselves superior to us when they were situated similarly to the Gods.

  In my left hand, I held a small wicker basket filled with leaves, some roots and two twigs. At bottom of it were a few berries I'd foraged in the forests that surrounded the Academy. Damnably, I had a very basic knowledge of them. Hollis had given me one book to study about them, but he forbid me from going to the library.

  I wasn't surprised.

  I couldn't go far, although there'd been more that I wanted to pick farther out. The wire around my wrist stopped me - a tangible and painful reminder that I was stuck there in Godsvail until my death, essentially a prisoner.

  I let loose a sigh when I reached the side entrance to Godsvail. I'd taken as much time as I could, picking the ingredients I needed, but Hollis could only be so patient when he'd given me leave to do so. Upon learning that I'd apprenticed in making concoctions from foraged plants, he'd tasked me with helping him with his assignments for what he'd called one of his more useless classes.

  But still even if it was to his benefit, he was determined to make things harder for me to his own detriment. The prick.

  He'd described the class to me, and it sounded a lot like my apprenticeship at the shop but more fantastic. I would
not use the plants I gathered for washes or shampoos, but Hollis would use them for elixirs and potions that could help enhance; those that could have a multitude of effects on others.

  It wasn't something the Svadeni, a manipulator of desires, felt he had any need to learn. Thanks to that, I had time to myself. I passed by the wide stone arch that separated the public areas of Godsvail from the more private areas that housed the Descendants. I passed by a cleaning girl who was dressed in the same uniform I'd worn barely a week before. I smiled, feeling wistful. Those were simpler times.

  When the brown-clad girl turned, I saw Svane, and I strode over to her excitedly, waving a hand in greeting. "Svane! It's nice to see you." I shot her a wide, happy smile.

  Her eyes widened when they saw me, and I saw the joy before they dimmed, and she bowed down. "Mireyah. I shouldn't be talking to you."

  I shook my head. "Nonsense. We were roommates just a week ago. It's still me, still Mireyah. I promise."

  She peered at me, hesitating as she did so. "I know that. It's just…."

  "What?" I probed, sad and curious why getting transferred to the League of Attendants meant she couldn’t talk to me. She'd been plenty nice and friendly when we'd first met.

  "Those of us who aren't wired, we could never become attendants. Since we're born in Godsvail, in the shadow of Demiorgo, we are tied to this place. Because of this, we are less." She took a step back, avoiding meeting my eyes.

  "Oh, what garbage. I don't give a fuck about that."

  She looked towards me, meeting my eyes for the first time. "Really? You mean it?"

  "Yes, I do."

  "Thanks, Mireyah. What's it like? Being an attendant?" She stepped forward; with that same enthusiastic curiosity she'd had when asking me about my home.

  "Well-" but before I could go on further, Svane crashed to the floor. Standing over her, a tall girl with gleaming black hair and a black uniform much like mine stood. She was familiar - she'd been there when I'd hit Galina in the face.