by Corin Cain
Hadrian’s comments also raise the issue of money. They stole me away from Spur’s joint in barely a bra and panties.
If I’m going to survive, I'm going to need to steal from these Aurelians.
"How are you going to live after your salary is cut off?” I ask, blocking the guilt of my scheming from my aura. “Once Law Enforcement learn what you’ve done, won’t they freeze your accounts?"
Kitos gets a shrewd look in his eyes. “Good question,” he nods. “We’ll liquidate our assets before they do. We’ve decided to pool almost all of our funds into purchasing two small Orbs."
Gods!
Orbs. The mysterious, otherworldly material that powers so much of the miraculous technology of the Aurelian Empire.
The three, small Orbs-Shards that power the Orb-Weapons of this triad are already worth far more than I could probably make from a lifetime stripping. The much larger one that powers this Reaver is probably worth as much as the entire hotel we'll be staying in.
…and the thing about Orbs is that they're small enough for me to steal.
It's suddenly so clear to me. The second I get one of these Aurelians alone with me, I have to make my move. I’ll stun whichever one of them it is with the electro-shock device in my arm. Then, I’ll slit his throat with...
…oh Gods!
I can't.
As cold and callous as I need myself to be, I can't do that!
I could probably be capable of murder if it was my life or theirs… Or if it was somebody who truly deserved it – like one of the men who kidnapped my sister.
But to kill somebody in cold blood? Especially one of the men sworn to protect me?
I could turn them into the Aurelian Law Enforcement – which almost certainly guarantees their execution – but I couldn't possibly be the one to actually wield the blade.
I look down. My guilt is pouring through the Bond.
Kitos gently strokes my cheek. "You aren't to blame. We're going to do everything in our power to find your sister – and, if it comes to it, to get revenge. Lilac will have justice, Allie. She won’t be just another statistic – another faceless name in a database of missing persons."
Gods. He thinks I'm guilty about what happened to my sister!
That suddenly makes me question everything I think I know about myself.
Am I doing this because I need to be a strong woman?
…or am I just evil?
I shake my head. I can't let myself be fazed. Kitos might be acting kindly – but kindness is only ever shared for its own selfish reasons.
Kitos needs to do everything in his power to keep me reliant on him. If he can't make me choose to remain with the three of them by choice, he and his battle-brothers will need to trick me – manipulate me into thinking that they’re the key to finding my sister.
The Bond is everything to these men. The future of their fucking species depends on me not leaving them...
…and that’s why I must.
Inwardly, I feel so ashamed that I've let myself and my emotions be manipulated this way.
But I will be free of these three men.
18
Kitos
The tools of our deception are laid out on the bed.
The concierge of the hotel brought them to us in exchange for a few measly credits. We can afford it. In addition to just how far Aurelian Credits stretch on this frontier world, the three of us have barely spent anything during our two hundred years as Aurelian Law Enforcement agents. While most of our peers worked their jobs, going home at night to lavish manors, and building harems of women – spending wildly – we cared for only one thing; becoming the best agents we possibly could.
As a result, we’d built up the equivalent of a small fortune – perhaps not a lot year-on-year, but now its accumulated, it adds up to quite a lot.
Enough to require us to slowly liquidate these accounts in creative ways that won’t draw too much attention. We need to bring the money into our control, so we can have it in hand when we make our escape with Allie.
I lick my lips at the items on the bed.
A leash.
A collar.
A tiny pleasure dress, designed specifically for slaves.
I’ve never wanted a slave. I view men who have to buy women – instead of earning their affection – to be pathetic scum. With every woman I’ve ever tasted, the pleasure has always been in knowing that they ached for me.
But with Allie…
…I’ll admit, a dark part of me enjoyed the fantasy of treating her like a slave.
Allie stands with us, examining our recent purchases.
“Well, you just had to go and get a pleasure dress, didn’t you?” She wrinkles her adorable nose.
“Would you prefer it my way?” I tease. “To be nude?”
Nude – with two deliciously painful clamps dangling from her nipples, and a plump, emerald-studded butt-plug firmly up her rear end.
Allie turns and gives me a playful shove, and I let myself stagger back, as if she could ever actually move my muscular bulk.
The attitude in this room is light and playful – but only on the surface.
Our auras tell a different story. Each one of us is highly stressed right now – all except Daccia, who remains characteristically emotionless.
We’re anxious about what dangers lie ahead. The Rhino might be some backwoods whorehouse on a rough, frontier planet – but in places like it, there's always the potential for violence.
Throw in another team of Aurelians on the way – who might end up becoming our mortal enemies – and we all need to keep on our toes.
The hotel room we’ve secured is decent, for a shithole planet like Salcus. We’ve got the windows uncovered. Most people use holo-screens instead of looking out at the world around them – what little you can see of it through the thick smoke and smog. They prefer to blind the view with beautiful images of blue waters and paradise island scenes. My triad has never been one to shy away from the ugliness of life – and we gaze out upon it now.
Ugliness. Like being Bonded to a mate none of us trust.
Like being mated to a woman who might disappear at any moment; abandoning us as if we meant nothing to her.
Right now, she’s flirty and playful – and part of our scheme to investigate The Rhino.
But does Allie really want us, as we need her?
Or is it all a façade?
One thing is sure. It’s a hellish world outside. Hadrian is the one standing closest to the window, staring outside, lost in contemplation. Daccia, meanwhile, strokes the hilt of his Orb-Blade. He’s deep in thought too – probably mentally preparing for the upcoming battle of wits with this other triad of Aurelian Law Enforcement agents… and the possibility that it might become a battle of might, instead.
I look out of the window, too. As far as the eye can see, there are nothing but factories and slum houses. The oxygen level of the planet is lower than Old-Earth, and people far below teem like ants through the streets. They wear filters over their faces, but can’t afford the pure oxygen that’s needed to thrive on this dirty, polluted planet.
I’ve read the data reports for this world. The average age of mortality here is just fifty-five for men and fifty-eight for women; and the cause of death is usually from lung disease caused by the harsh, contaminated air.
This is the kind of planet Allie once lived on. What woman would be forged in this cruel fire? Someone strong, someone dangerous, and – above all – someone determined to survive.
I can feel myself growing less trusting of Allie by the moment. Hadrian has the same doubts as I do. Only Daccia seems to have an unshakeable faith that Allie will choose to be with us, in the end.
As I stand there, Allie reaches down to the bed and runs her hand along the fabric of the pleasure dress. It was expensive, especially this far from Colossus, where many Aurelians outfit their entire harems in these teasing dresses. A smile comes to Allie’s face as she lets the fabric entice he
r fingers, caressing her skin.
“Have you ever seen a dress like this?” I ask.
“No. It’s much… softer than the prison clothes you had for me.”
“It’s more than just soft,” the corner of my mouth curls. “When you put in on, you’ll see what I mean.”
Hadrian snarls: “Keep your mind on the mission, Kitos.”
How ironic. It’s usually always me trying to keep my battle-brothers in a rational state of mind, instead of chasing the nearest woman.
Allie gives me a suspicious glance. She’s right to be suspicious. She must not have known about pleasure dresses – which doesn’t surprise me. They’re too expensive to be given to cash-in-hand strippers on rough frontier planets.
Pleasure dresses are deceptively high-tech. They’re made from a fabric designed to tease and tantalize the skin of the wearer. They’re used primarily in slave auctions, to force the women on the auction block into an artificial state of arousal – to make them appear more attractive to the male buyers. Allie will find she will have difficulty thinking when she slips this dress on. It will immediately put her in a state that will be very… intense for her.
“However it feels, it has to be better than these prison clothes,” Allie scoffs.
“So, try it on,” I challenge – and, with a pout, she takes the dress to the bathroom.
Daccia turns to me with a scowl. “You need to be planning, Kitos – not flirting. I thought you were better than this.”
I’d thought I was better than this, too. It was always usually Daccia and Hadrian who had the biggest appetites for women. Whenever we saved a mining crew from Scorp attacks, or freed a contingent of slaves from the Toads, it was always those two who’d indulge in the sweet ‘thank you’ offered by the grateful women among those we’d freed. I rarely indulged myself.
Now, I feel all the emotions, impulses and urges that I’d once looked down on my battle-brothers for indulging in. I’d once viewed them as apes – and now I am the gorilla.
“Oh… Fuck!”
It’s Allie’s voice, emerging from the bathroom. Her words are a moan. Her aura suddenly pulses with desire – and I know that means she’s pulling off the dress. A moment later she emerges from the bathroom again – still dressed in the rough prisoner’s garments.
“Didn’t like it?”
She winces. “It might be better if I go naked. Gods! The way that fabric touched my body…”
I breathe in. I can sense her arousal. It’s like a perfume – a sweet nectar on my tongue.
“Control yourself,” Daccia telepaths. “We have no time for distraction”
His unspoken words are stern inside my mind. He could have said them out loud and humiliated me in front of Allie. Instead, he sent them silently by thought.
Daccia turns to face us. He’s dressed in one of his sharp, fitted suits. We want to project the image of Rogue Aurelians with too much money and not enough women in our harems. Daccia presses his watch, and a holographic image of The Rhino appears.
It’s a ten-story building – a literal den of sin, with each subsequent level descending deeper into depravity.
“Not much is known about The Rhino,” Daccia warns. “That makes it sound like bad news, but it’s good news for us. Shady businesses want the least possible info about them out in the public eye.”
It means the likelihood of The Rhino having some connection to criminals like the space-pirates we seek has grown since we first stumbled across this lead.
“The Rhino has four entrances,” Daccia continues. “We’ll be travelling there by shuttle, and landing on the top of the building and going through the aerial entrance. The other entrances are as follows: One main entrance, one rear entrance, and a service entrance deep underground. The service entrance comes out here.” He points to the next street over on the holographic projection.
“Allie,” Daccia demands, “if anything happens, duck out of that entrance. The owners won’t expect you to know about it, since they don’t know we examined the schematics of the building. You can reach it through the stairs – here, and… here – or by the elevator. Bottom floor. Got it?”
Allie nods. “Got it – but you three had better be intending to get out with me.”
Daccia takes a sip of water while we all look at the holograph of the building, noting the other entrances and escape routes.
“Good. The plan is: We go in, and we establish ourselves as Rogue Aurelians – who broke off from the Empire because of our objections to the policies of Queen Jasmine.”
Hadrian snorts: “Finally! A plausible cover story!”
Out of the three of us, he’s the most opposed to the policies of Queen Jasmine. I’m generally supportive of the changes she’s made to help the relationships between Aurelians and humans. Daccia never voices an opinion either way. He’s always about duty – preferring to follow orders, rather than question them – and, as a result, I know it must be hurting him deeply to know that we’ll soon no longer be welcome in the Empire.
Yet, no man can shoulder a burden like our leader. He’ll find a future for us, one way or another.
Daccia ignores Hadrian’s comment. He continues: “We’ll go in. We’ll flash money – plenty of it. I’ve already exchanged Aurelan Credits for the local currency. As you can see – it’s primitive.”
Daccia motions to a hefty stack of short, thin plastic bills.
“We flash it around to give ourselves the impression of being high rollers. Then, we ask to see the girls… in private. It’s possible we might even find Lilac that way, if we’re extremely lucky.”
While I believe that to be an incredibly slim possibility – it is a possibility. Lilac was kidnapped by the space-pirates in this sector. If she’d been sold as a slave, she might well have ended up here.
“And, if not?” Daccia continues, “I’ll chose the play. We might purchase one or two women, just to gain trust – or I may try to get the owner into a private conversation, to ask him further questions about the outfit. If I can find out where they source their women from, maybe it’ll give us a lead to those space-pirates. If I can make us appear like potential investors, the owner might even lead us straight to them.”
Hadrian growls his approval. He’s shirtless now, and I have the feeling he’s going to get another scar on that huge, marble torso by the time we leave this planet.
“Aye,” he nods. “It’s a good plan. They’ll be blinded by greed.”
Allie wrinkles her nose. “But what if we don’t get any leads? What if the owner doesn’t tell us anything?”
Daccia’s eyes snap away from the hologram of the building. He turns his full attention to Allie. His aura was previously emotionless. Now, it chills to ice – and because she’s Bonded to us, I know Allie feels it too.
“If that’s the case,” Daccia purrs dryly, “then I’ll bring the owner back to this hotel room – and I’ll cut his fingers off one-by-one until he gives us every shred of information he might have about your little sister.”
We’re all silent when we hear this. For two-hundred years, Daccia has been an agent of Aurelian Law Enforcement – upholding the letter of Aurelian law without question or deviation.
Now, he’s become as cold as steel.
“We’re not Aurelian Law Enforcement anymore,” Daccia growls. “Now, nothing is stopping us from getting answers the old-fashioned way.”
A wave of satisfaction suddenly flows through the Bond from Allie. She went from hot to cold in the space of an instant, and I know she’s hiding things from us – but, at the same time, she’s warming up to us. I know it.
I’d already telepathed to Daccia about our little lie. I didn’t want Allie to think we were only on planet Salcus for a couple of days, or she’d be liable to try something crazy to escape from us. If she really knew what we were planning, she’s determined enough to try anything – and strong-willed enough to try to burn down The Rhino single-handedly just to get the answers that she needs about he
r sister.
Daccia was angry with us at first, but he soon understood. Now he’s in the zone - that place of pure mental focus he always enters before an important mission.
Finally, Daccia snaps up.
“We leave in thirty minutes.”
The tension is rising inside of me. I would love to let it all out right now – inside of Allie.
I’ve never felt like this before. Before, I was always the analytical one. I was the guy who’d run the numbers and do the research. Sure, I got my hands dirty – and killed more than my fair share of Scorp, Toads and even humans who foolishly raised their weapons to me…
…but violence was never in my blood before. Now, I feel like I’m boiling up inside.
I reach forward for Allie, but she takes a step back, shaking her head.
“Use that energy more productively, Kitos,” she warns. “Use it to get us what we need.”
With that, she leaves the room – pacing like a wildcat to the living room of this spacious hotel suite.
I nod. I’ll push back my need – for now.
Hadrian jumps to the floor and starts doing push-ups – one of his common methods to de-stress himself. Daccia takes Hadrian’s place by the window – gazing out across the smog-filled vista thoughtfully.
I just stand there and take a deep breath – calming myself as I prepare for the events that lie ahead of us.
I don’t know who owns this club, The Rhino – but, if it comes to it, I’ll drag him back to this hotel room and carve the answers out of him with my Orb-Blade.
I close my eyes for a moment – to retreat to that quiet place inside of myself where I prepare for war. As I settle, I reach out and sense the auras of the other three beings linked to me.
Daccia, Kitos… and now Allie.
I can’t imagine any of them winking out from my mind – the dire, horrible consequence of any of them dying. Yet, that is a possibility…