‘Nyx, now, that is a better look for you. Look at your beautiful body. I did hate to see it covered up before in the throne room. Much better that you show it off, don’t you think?’
Nyx didn’t answer, she just watched the queen as she talked. She was clearly into some kind of domination thing.
‘Come here, girl, let me see you,’ she said and sat back on the edge of her bed. Nyx didn’t move and kept silent. She let her eyes flick up to the guards and then back to the queen. She wondered what would happen if she didn’t do as she had been ordered.
The queen cocked her head and then smiled. ‘Oh, I see. There’s some spirit in you, isn’t there? Of course, I see that now. You want to see what I’m willing to do. Okay, sure, I’ll play. Let’s try this again, shall we? Come here, please,’ she said.
‘Go, please,’ hissed a girl close to her in hushed tones.
Nyx let a flicker of a frown pass over her face at the urging from the harem girl, but stood her ground. The queen smiled and then pointed at a girl that was sitting on a chair with several others off to one side. There was a single suppressed gunshot from the balcony to Nyx’s right and the head of the girl the queen had pointed to whipped back as a bullet passed right through it. Brain, skull, and plenty of blood spilt out from the back of the girl's head as she dropped limply to the sofa she was sitting on.
One of the harem girls screamed and started to sob.
Nyx looked left at the dead girl, and then at the other who was crying.
‘Go,’ hissed the same girl sitting close by her. Nyx looked down at her, and then up at the queen, and started walking with a sigh.
As she walked, she looked left at the dead girl and the other three naked girls on that seat. She got a better look at them as she moved and noticed they were all tied up. They were probably friends or loved ones of members of the harem, she guessed, to use as leverage. Nyx felt like she was getting a clearer picture of who this queen really was now, and she didn’t like it at all.
Nyx finally reached the spot that the queen had pointed to and stopped. The queen was wearing an outfit not too different to the one they’d seen her in earlier, but this time, parts of it had been removed; mainly the part that covered her hips and thighs, revealing herself to everyone around her. Nyx got the feeling she didn’t care.
‘You stupid girl,’ the queen said. ‘Did you really think you could waltz in here and be free to leave, along with some supplies? Did you not think that I wouldn’t know who you are? My dear child, you really are a silly little thing.’
The queen leant back on her mattress and lifted one foot up onto the bed as she relaxed, spreading her legs wide giving Nyx an unobstructed view. She seemed to enjoy this moment and looked up at Nyx as she moved, watching her closely. She wanted a reaction, but Nyx just continued to stare into the middle distance, not wanting to give the queen what she wanted.
The queen then reeled in the chain lead, pulling the mousey haired girl on the other end of it towards her. She reached up as the girl got close and put her fingers into the girl's hair before pulling her in and pushing her down onto herself.
‘Down you go,’ the queen said, before rolling her head back and moaning in delight. She opened her eyes and looked back up at Nyx. ‘I love being me,’ she said with a smile that Nyx did not like at all. As the queen put on her show, Nyx mulled over her words. So, it seemed like they were at a disadvantage from the moment the queen had seen them. She apparently knew who she was. Did she know that it was Nero who’d saved her and killed Rex, too?
‘I can see it in your eyes,’ the queen said, looking up at her as she ran her fingers through the hair of the girl who was pleasuring her. ‘You’re wondering just how much I know about you and your boyfriend, aren’t you.’ The queen moaned for a moment, losing focus for a few seconds as she enjoyed her slave's work.
‘Yes, I knew you, Nyx. Knew you and desired you. Rex was nothing but a pain to deal with, but I did so enjoy the few visits I made to his pitiful little tower, if only because I got to see you. My only regret being that I didn’t get to have you. When I heard about poor Rex’s demise, I did start to hope that one day I might finally have you here with me. I never dreamed you’d just drive in here one day of your own volition, giving me the perfect opportunity to add you to my girls. And not only that, you bring me some leverage as well. I honestly couldn’t ask for more.’
She was talking about Nero, Nyx knew. By keeping him locked up with threats of harm to him if she didn’t do what was requested, the queen got another member of her harem who’d do whatever was asked of her.
Nyx hated this so-called queen and was more than a little annoyed at herself for walking into this trap. But, once again, she kept her expression as neutral as she could. She didn’t want to give this queen the pleasure of knowing how much this hurt her.
‘Go on, that’s it, stick it in there. Right in... that’s it... oh, yes... that’s it. Keep going, my sweet,’ she said to the girl between her legs before looking up at Nyx. ‘Are you taking notes?’ she asked. ‘Because it’s your turn next.’
Nyx felt sick to her stomach, but what could she do? If she tried to run or to fight, she’d be shot, and if she refused, others would die and Nero would be hurt. She decided to focus on him, on Nero, her love, her partner, and hoped he was okay.
Chapter 15
Nero
‘You’re Nero, the blonde girl is Nyx. We know who you are and what you did at the Watchtower. We know what you did to Rex,’ Kat said.
Nero walked over to her, moving away from the window. ‘How do you know that?’
‘Rex and the queen serve the same Night Lord, the Whisperer. Plus, the news soon spread to the city anyway. You’re not the only ones to travel the wastes, you know. There are others, and some of them are loyal to the queen and Rex, still. The queen was most interested to hear about Rex’s passing and how it had occurred.’
‘I bet,’ Nero said. ‘So, we walked straight into a trap, then,’ he said. ‘If the queen knew who we were, and was pissed at us for killing Rex…’
‘She wasn’t upset about that,’ Kat said.
‘About us killing Rex?’
‘No, she couldn’t care less about him. He was a pain in her ass. Nyx however… Now, Nyx was different. She was very interested in her.’
‘Aaaah, so she wanted Nyx. I get it. That’s why she tried to capture me rather than just kill me. I was going to be used as leverage, wasn’t I,’ Nero guessed, the pieces of the jigsaw falling into place. The queen wanted Nyx as a part of her harem of girls. She wanted to fuck her, plain a simple, and to keep her willing and in line. Nero would be held in a cell somewhere. Simple, but effective.
‘You’ve got it. I doubt she could believe it when you just drove in here. She’d been looking for Nyx for a while, only for her to appear right on her doorstep.’
‘But we’re not going to leave Nyx in there, are we?’ Nero asked.
‘No, we’re not. We’re going to free Nyx and Tan, my sister who’s in there with her,’ she said.
‘Tan? So, she was doing the same to you?’
‘Sort of, but the other way around. I used to be a part of the harem as well, but after a demonstration of my skill with a sword, she changed her mind, swapped me for Tan and used my sister as a way to get me to fight for her. I don’t even want to think what she’s done to my sister in there, but I know she’s alive, for the time being, that is. We need to move fast, get back in there, and get into that harem.’
‘Let’s not call it that, shall we? Let’s call it what it is. It’s a slave-ring as far as I’m concerned. Those girls are its victims and we’re currently their best hope of survival.’
Kat smiled. ‘Sure,’ she said.
‘So, do you have a plan?’
‘I have a way inside,’ she said.
‘Well, that’s a start, tell me more.’
‘It’s underground, through the old tunnels beneath the city. There’s a way up into the kennels that I k
now about. There might be others, but that’s the only one I’ve found so far.’
‘The kennels?’ Nero asked.
‘Where the guards keep the daemon dogs.’
‘Like the one we killed at Bridge Town,’ Nero said, making the link.
‘Exactly.’
‘What’s the deal with those? How come the queen has these things? They don’t usually play nice enough for people to tame like that.’
‘As far as I know, they’re gifts from the queen’s master, the Whisperer’ she said. ‘The guards can’t control them on their own; the queen has to be there when one’s taken out. Otherwise, it would just tear them to bits. They’re still pretty wild. Once the harness is on them, though, they calm right down.’
‘The Whisperer,’ Nero muttered. Kat nodded. A plan was starting to form in his mind as he thought it through. It was a long shot and risky, but it might be their only chance to free the girls. ‘So, where do we get into these tunnels?’
‘The closest place I know is a couple of blocks away, so we need to get out of here and head north. We’ve got to be careful, though. The mutants love hiding out in those tunnels,’ she said.
‘Naturally, of course they do. And here I was thinking it would be a nice leisurely walk,’ he said. ‘Damn apocalypse makes everything harder,’ he said.
‘So, you have a plan? A way we can get to the harem and free our loved ones?’
‘I have the beginnings of a plan, yes, but I think I need to get to these kennels first.’
‘That’s good enough for me,’ Kat answered with confidence. ‘Come on, let’s get going, I want to get out of this building,’ Kat said. ‘We’re too close to the compound for my liking.’
‘Sure, lead the way,’ Nero said and followed Kat as she moved through the ruined building until eventually, they found some stairs leading both up and down. As they walked down to the first floor, the sound of movement and the bangs of things being knocked over echoed up from the ground floor, making Kat and himself freeze and listen. They could hear voices and what sounded like someone issuing orders.
Kat turned back to him with a serious look on her face. ‘Guards,’ she whispered.
Nero nodded and got his shotgun ready. Kat continued on down the stairs, and with her sword up and ready, edged around the corner. They were in a large spacious landing area with doors leading off into the rest of the building and another flight of steps behind this one leading to the ground floor below. Much of the building was in a sad state of disrepair with holes in the walls, doors missing, partition windows smashed, and debris everywhere.
Looking around, Nero thought this would work well as a kill-box. They could take up stations here and wait for the guards to come upstairs where they could take them out.
Kat looked over at him and saw him looking around the space they were in. ‘What are you thinking?’
He looked up at her. ‘You know how to use a gun?’
‘Of course,’ she said.
Nero pulled his pistol and held it out to her, keeping the barrel pointed away from either of them. She reached for it. ‘Safety’s on; careful with that, okay?’
Kat nodded. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said.
‘Get behind there; I’ll be over here. We’ll wait for them to come up and catch them in the crossfire. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.’
‘Sounds good. I’ll wait for you to fire first,’ she said.
The movement and voices were getting closer, so Nero waved his hand at her, shooing her away to go and hide. ‘Go, go,’ he hissed.
Nero slipped through a broken door and moved to one of the holes in the wall with his shotgun at the ready just as he heard the first of the men on the stairs below. He aimed his gun and waited. As he watched, feeling quite sure he was hidden from view, the first man walked up the stairs, moving into view. Nero couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, because the queen's guards didn’t really have a set uniform, but there were enough similarities to the men he’d seen in the compound that he felt reasonably sure that these had been sent out specifically to find them. The first man moved slowly, taking a step at a time, his gun up as he scanned around, checking his corners, looking for a target.
Nero edged slightly out of view a touch more, keeping silent as the man's gun swept over where he was hidden without spotting him. He seemed to relax a bit and waved his hand down the stairs, urging the people down there to follow him up. Nero watched as first one, then two, three, and four more people reached the landing. As the fourth one appeared, Nero saw that the man waving them up, the first one up here, stopped and moved away from the stairs. Nero felt sure that was it. Five of them. They’d taken up stations around the landing, waiting for orders. The lead man, using hand signals only, started pointing at his men and then pointing off in various directions, telling them where he wanted them to go.
Nero didn’t want to wait any longer. The longer he waited, the more likely their hiding spots were going to be found.
Taking a deep and silent breath, Nero leaned out, his gun up, and fired off a shot at the nearest man.
Boom! The guy fell to the floor in a shower of blood as Nero racked the grip on his shotgun, adjusted his aim and fired again just as people started to react. Some were diving for cover, others twisted, trying to bring their own guns to bear on him as the second man fell.
Racking his gun again, Nero heard the first gunshot that wasn’t his own, but didn’t see any of the men in here firing. He guessed it was Kat, and as the second and third shot rang out in the time it took him to rack his shotgun, he saw another man off to his left, towards where Kat was, fall. Distracted for half a second, one of the men, who sported a rat tail of hair hanging from the base of his otherwise shaven head, disappear through a side door while the other remaining man ran screaming towards where Kat was. Nero turned and moved across the room he was in, away from the stairwell, towards where he thought the man would be. There were doorways and holes in the walls over that way, and he held his gun ready as he moved, hunting for any sign of movement.
Behind him, Nero heard the sound of metal hitting metal and Kat grunting with effort. He chanced a glance back to see her swinging her sword. Nero couldn’t help but grin at the fact that she had ditched his pistol in favour of her blade. He knew someone else like that.
Looking back in front of him, he spotted movement through some holes in the wall. Nero fired and dove sideways in case the guard shot back.
‘Arrrgh,’ yelled the man on the other side of the wall as Nero rolled and got back to his feet. He ran forward and jumped through an already ripped plasterboard partition wall, a cloud of white plaster bellowing after him as he landed in the room. Rat Tail swung his gun towards Nero. It was a shotgun like his, but Nero was already there and fired his own. Rat Tail fell backwards, his own weapon discharging as he fell. Nero held there for a moment, pointing his gun at the man, but he didn’t move. Feeling confident he was down, he ran back towards Kat, only to find her stabbing the guard through his belly, the blade emerging from his back, before she withdrew it in a sideways swipe, spilling pints of blood onto the dusty floor as the man fell.
She stood there for a moment, her feet wide apart to give her a solid base as she held her blade above the dying man. The katana gleamed red as it dripped with blood while the man convulsed a few more times before falling still.
She looked up at him. ‘Is that all of them?’ she asked.
‘I think so,’ Nero answered. ‘Hold on.’ He moved off towards the staircase, pointing his gun down it, he edged around the top and looked down. He held still for a half a minute, waiting, but he heard nothing.
‘Looks like we’re clear,’ he said as he moved to the bodies and started to loot them, looking for ammunition and other useful supplies. Kat returned his gun to him.
‘I prefer my sword,’ she said. ‘Thanks, though. I killed one of them with it.’
Nero nodded as he finished rifling through the pockets of the last guardsman and stood
up, pushing the useful items into his pockets. ‘So, where to now?’ he asked her.
She smiled. ‘Follow me,’ she said and led him down the stairs. Nero put his hand on her shoulder half way down, urging her to be careful as they stepped out onto the ground floor.
They moved slowly, looking for movement and danger, but saw nothing as they walked to the door. The darkened street outside was quiet and littered with the ruins of a destroyed civilisation. From rusted out cars, vans, and trucks to cracked concrete and bits of fallen buildings. Looking left, they could see the walls of the compound at the end of the street, but Kat moved right and set off that way, keeping to the side of the road, walking quickly and quietly.
The commotion of the fight and gunshots was likely to have attracted the attention of anyone or anything in earshot, and within moments they found their way blocked by a handful of zombies. Kat didn’t hesitate, though, and waded into them with her sword. Nero drew his knife and slammed it into the head of the nearest walking corpse, but felt inclined to let Kat take the lead on this one. Her weapon made short work of these undead and was silent as well, meaning she attracted less attention. Nero moved up, catching another zombie and driving the blade of his knife into its skull before dropping it to the floor. By the time he’d killed his third one, Kat had sliced up three times as many, leaping from car to van and back again, swinging her blade with a wild abandon.
Nero watched, thinking of Nyx and imagining it was her wiping the floor with these mindless undead. He missed her.
But now was not the time to get all sentimental, now was the time for action. The only way to free her, Kat’s sister, and the rest of the harem was to take the fight to the queen and bring justice to those she’d wronged.
Nyx called herself and Nero Road Knights, wandering the wastes, killing zombies, and bringing justice to those who had none. He kind of liked the idea of that, working like the legends of the knights of old but in the wastelands of the apocalypse with shotguns and V8 muscle cars.
Wasteland Road Knights Trilogy Page 27
