His room was down the hall from the lounge. On the bed was a packet with large black letters across the front stating “WELCOME PACKET.” There were the state-issued clothes he was to wear next to them, along with a small basket containing personal hygiene items. He took the packet, tore it open, and extracted the items. A booklet detailing what was expected and his job assignment, which he already knew was tutoring some of the employee children living here, a list of rules, and a note from the security head of the sanctuary informing him that any type of abuse or neglect was to be reported directly to that man.
He changed from his traveling clothes and put on the loose-fitting pants and wraparound tunic, tying the sash at his waist. No shoes. The climate was warm, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Nick realized there were enough orphan slaves who tried taking off to warrant this measure of control over them. After wandering to the long, vertical window in the wall opposite the bed, Nick pulled back plain tan curtains and looked out.
The sanctuary itself looked like a park. It was all green grass, trees, a pond with ducks, flower and vegetable gardens. The only clue it was a slave compound was the high wire fencing, double gate, and moat around the property. There was a bridge near the gate leading to the employee compound Todd’s quarters were in. That land was higher, so there were stairs from the end of the bridge on the sanctuary side. The bridge opened to a gravel road leading to the main garden and circular drive around the security offices and employee quarters.
Off to the right, tucked discreetly into a corner of the compound, were four tall, narrow buildings that at first Nick thought were some kind of outhouse. Squinting closer, he realized they had padlocks on the outer doors and sliding, shuttered windows. Each structure was probably six by six feet square and seven or eight feet tall. A quick rifle through the rules brochure, and Nick knew those were punishment shacks for anyone repeatedly breaking the rules or was violent toward an Estate employee or another slave.
Nick turned away, sat on the bed, and looked through the rest of the packet. A map of the compound, ID badge, and a schedule of various estate events, each marked to indicate if he was permitted or not permitted to attend. A few indicated all slaves were required to attend. There was one such event the next evening, a cotillion welcoming the new employees. The slaves were expected to work as servers while meeting some of the employees. Nick remembered Clarke telling him and Todd about that. It would be the first time since coming here he’d be able to see Todd. After that, Todd would be permitted to take Nick from the dorms to his own quarters.
It seemed like a hundred years away.
He wandered back to the window and gazed out at the buildings on the other side of the bridge. His master was in there somewhere. Nick wished he could see Todd, even for a few seconds. It didn’t matter if Todd wouldn’t know he was looking and they couldn’t talk. Scratching absently at the brand hidden by his tunic, Nick turned away from the window and let the curtain drop back into place.
A bell sounded, announcing it was dinnertime, and Nick was hungry. Besides, he needed to walk the grounds, learn where things were and find hiding places, should he or Todd need one. He’d have free run of all the common areas of the sanctuary. Only the slaves’ individual rooms were non-common areas. The dining area and attached main kitchen were in a separate building.
There were large solar panels, and the slanted roof was lined with wide windows, no doubt giving it a bright, cheery glow when the sun was out. Now, however, there were dark purple clouds rolling in, and the air had the tang of an impending storm. Nick stood in line and was surprised by the choices of food offered. His stomach growled. He couldn’t get his plate filled fast enough.
Nick found an out-of-the-way corner mat, and settled cross-legged and listened in on the chatter around him while he ate. There was talk of impending war with West Caldera from one group. Another discussed the chancellor and how he would be visiting the slave sanctuary in the morning, something he’d only started doing a month or so ago. Nick stored that bit of information away. A few others were deep in a debate over the use of slaves in a war, particularly ones they referred to as being “special” or having exceptional aptitudes and talents.
People here were not purchased for some skill or aptitude, as they were from the villages. These slaves were encouraged to develop relationships with the employees and each other. Nick remembered the doctor who’d helped Todd treat his brands those first early days, Dr. Oberon. He owned two slaves, both from an orphan sanctuary. They’d come to him together, a mated pair. Slave couples here, he learned, were rarely split up when sold. Nick wondered if Oberon and others like him who bought slave couples got some sort of discount.
Some of the slaves had obviously been here a while, at least long enough to make friends, and sat in groups. There were those that hung back, kept to themselves, and the others seemed to respect that. At least Nick wouldn’t have to be fending off unwanted attention from the terminally cheerful among them. He made a mental note of the more outgoing, chatty people. Those would be the first ones he’d go to for information if he needed it.
Nick looked at the generous slices of blueberry pie sitting on a table with some coffee urns and wondered if the coffee was as good as what they often bought and if Todd would get blueberry pie, his favorite, with his dinner. It turned out the pie was wonderful, the coffee at least drinkable.
Distant rumbling and the clouds growing darker and darker made Nick decide it was time to head back to his room. A storm was coming, and he didn’t want to be caught outside. Hugging himself, he hurried across the yard, happy when he reached his room. A streak of lightning flashed, brightening his room for a few seconds. Nick closed the curtains, but it really didn’t do much good.
He put the few items on his bed away and hung up the two extra sets of clothes provided for him. Another flash erupted, and his room was dowsed in bright bluish light, fading almost as soon as it was there. Nick started when thunder rumbled through the air outside. Nick crawled under the sheets on the bed and clutched the pillow to his chest. He wormed two fingers of one hand under the leather bands around the wrist of his other arm and pressed them against the concealed brands there—Todd’s initials, his marks, Nick’s lifeline.
Nick squeezed his eyes shut and tried blocking the ever-loudening cracks of thunder, growing in intensity and number. The sound of rain pelting the window did nothing to calm him. He lay curled in the bed, light on, trembling with every streak of lightning that crossed the sky, every sharp pop of thunder. By the time the storm passed, Nick was exhausted, but he didn’t sleep very well. He tossed and turned, constantly reaching out for a man who was not there beside him.
There were no muscled arms around him, no gentle caresses of his hair or light rubbing of his back. Todd wasn’t dead—this wasn’t like when they’d been trapped in West Caldera—but the loneliness, the ache in Nick’s chest, was just as powerful. Nick felt guilty. For him this was temporary; for the others here, it was real and never-ending.
The following morning, after barely any sleep, Nick was happy to see the coffee urns again. It wasn’t the greatest coffee, but it gave him a healthy jolt of caffeine, so it had some value. The meeting with the chancellor was at ten. Then he’d be introduced to the children he’d care for and teach. Nick didn’t have a clue what he’d teach them. Mythology and weapons use? The social cotillion, and seeing Todd, wouldn’t happen until early evening. It was the only thing Nick was able to focus on.
The chancellor arrived shortly before ten, when all the slaves were gathered in the sanctuary dining hall. Nick took the same out-of-the-way corner he’d taken for dinner the previous night. It gave him a good view of the entire room and everyone present. He could easily watch the chancellor without drawing attention to himself. As soon as the crowd cleared and he got his first real look at Chancellor Shaffer, Nick was relieved he’d decided to hang back.
One look at Shaffer, and Nick was thrown back to the first few weeks he’d been with Todd and wha
t he’d learned was reality, not myth. He’d managed to push away thoughts of the first time Todd had taken him to the sentry saloon across New Colorado City from their apartment. The odd man Nick saw there that wasn’t a man, a human; he’d known that right away. He’d had no idea what it was, and Todd had never elaborated. The thing had injured Todd, sliced his side with a knife. Nick still shuddered when he remembered the blood, the horrible, angry gash, the fear of losing Todd after merely a few days together, and the confusion of not knowing exactly what it was Todd—and by extension, himself—did or why this thing in a man’s suit was different or even existed. Nick had seen enough since then to have a better grip on his ability, but this was the first time he’d seen anything so closely resembling that particular creature.
Nick’s reaction to Shaffer was immediate and surprising.
As Shaffer neared the part of the room in which Nick sat, Nick scooted back, hitting the wall. He felt a tingle run up and down his spine as it rubbed the smooth surface blocking his escape. Nick was trapped, and his gaze flitted up when he heard a voice right next to him. Todd claimed one of Nick’s most valuable gifts was his ability to make detailed observations and still remain in a formal slave position, eyes cast down, appearing as if the whole world was passing him by. That gift failed him this time.
There was what appeared to be a man standing a foot or so from him. Nick saw more, much more. The face wobbled in and out of focus, a few seconds as Rod Shaffer and another few as something distorted and grotesque. A huge mouth without lips formed an O and barely covered row after row of small, sharp, pointed teeth. Eyes with lids that blinked sideways were high up on a long, narrow face with prominent cheeks. Its hands had five digits, just like human hands had, but that was where the similarity ended. They were long, with four joints, and ended with sharp, pointed nails that looked more like talons.
Chancellor Shaffer cleared his throat and tapped one heel against the tile floor. The face morphed back to human and pulled into an oily, wide smile that Nick could only feel danger from, not warmth.
That was when he realized he was looking directly into Shaffer’s face, making eye contact. A shiver ran through Nick, and he dropped his gaze to the floor, cringing away and stammering out, “I’m sorry, sir.”
The woman who’d met the train the day before hurried forward and stepped between Nick and Shaffer. “Sir, he hasn’t been here twenty-four hours yet, just arrived yesterday evening.”
Shaffer leaned down, stroked two fingers over Nick’s hair, then along his cheek. Fear slammed through him, and something else coursed along his nerve endings, something unwanted from this creature. Heat slithered through his veins and pooled in his belly. This wasn’t the same as when Todd touched him, but it wasn’t completely different either, except that from this thing, Nick hated it and loathed himself for letting the heat build.
“What’s your name, boy?”
In a voice strangled and soft, Nick managed to whisper, “Nick, sir.”
As quickly as it had ignited, the heat was gone when Shaffer’s fingertips withdrew, leaving Nick cold and trembling.
“Well, Nick, have you read your welcome packet?” Somehow when Shaffer said his name, it sounded vile and filthy, something to be ashamed of. Shaffer flicked one finger at the leather bands around Nick’s wrists and asked, “You belonged to a shaman?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I understand life, rules, were different for you there. Things have changed, so I suggest you read and reread the rules printed out for you until you get them right, boy. If not…” Shaffer snickered. “Well, you had better work on it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chancellor Shaffer moved off, and Nick wilted in on himself. He pulled one knee up and let his forehead drop to it, barely breathing and trying to quiet his suddenly out-of-control body. The shaking hit him, and it took him a good ten minutes to get to his feet and retreat to his room. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice—or maybe it was that they didn’t care—how Nick was acting at that moment.
A few hours later, he was taken to meet the children he’d care for and teach. Happily, Nick discovered he was more of an assistant to people actually trained as teachers. The children were delightful and made him laugh. He was indeed to teach them mythology, history, some religion, things Nick had been well educated in himself and knew inside and out. He loved learning, the research he did for the jobs he and Todd were assigned, and discovering what the world had been like in centuries past.
Todd loved kids, and Nick always had the suspicion that, if one of them were female, they’d have children. Nick had never really seen the allure until now. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the classroom. The kids shoved the desks away and gathered in a circle around him, fascinated by what he told them—mere stories to them, but Nick knew different. Still, it made him feel good and almost forget for a bit how much he missed Todd, to see their faces light up and hear their excited questions.
His fear from the initial meeting with Shaffer shoved to the background, Nick spent the majority of the afternoon in the school. The time flew by, which also made him happy. It seemed no time at all before he would be seeing Todd at the cotillion. After the cotillion, any employee wishing to visit the slaves in the dorms was permitted to do so, as well as take them from the sanctuary to any other part of the Chancellor’s Estate.
Nick showered and shaved, deciding to wear the dark-green uniform. Todd particularly liked that color and often bought Nick clothes in dark greens and grays or browns. He had three uniforms, the other two being a lighter tan and olive khaki. He was glad the pants fit loosely, because just the thought that in a few hours he’d be wrapped around his master, in the man’s bed, tucked safely at Todd’s side made Nick’s cock moisten and swell.
* * * *
Todd felt like a teenager preparing for his first date, even though he never actually dated. He had been with others before Nick, and this was how that first time, knowing his father was taking him to a brothel, had felt. He was excited and nervous all at once. It felt like forever since last seeing Nick, and not only would Todd see Nick tonight, he’d be able to touch, caress, hold his mate close, and feel Nick snuggle into sleep in Todd’s arms.
The night before had been nothing short of torture for Todd, with his arms left empty and aching, the storm that had rolled through simply compounding how alone he’d felt in his bed. Todd had wanted nothing more than to go to the slave dorms and get to Nick, by force if necessary, soothe him and make sure he knew he was safe. Each thunderclap had squeezed Todd’s heart mercilessly tight.
If he didn’t stop imagining Nick and how he felt nestled to him, Todd was going to end up spending the evening in the bathroom tending to his own very pressing needs and wants.
As he shaved and dressed, excitement curled through him, making him smile at his reflection and hum. His dress uniform wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d imagined. In fact, he looked pretty darn good in it, even if he was saying so himself. Straightening and tying his tie, Todd wondered what Nick would think of the suit. Nick had never seen Todd dressed like this, and he hoped his young mate liked the dark-gray suit, crisp white shirt, and silky dark-emerald-green tie.
He’d spent a good part of the day filling out paperwork, getting a schedule, being shown around the estate, and being fitted for his daily and dress uniform clothes. Since his ability to move around the estate depended on him acting as an actual estate security officer, not completing those duties, at least on the surface, would bring unwanted attention.
He straightened the bed, sure Nick would rumple it in about thirty seconds anyway. The kid couldn’t seem to stand a made bed and bounced around on them like a dog trying to get comfortable in straw.
Satisfied the room was in order and he had everything stocked in it he wanted, that he and Nick would be comfortable for the night and not need to leave until morning, Todd locked the door securely behind him and headed across the estate to where the cotillion was held.
W
hen he arrived, he scanned the large room, searching out his mate. The slaves were working as servers, and Nick was among them. Moving toward the bar, Todd said hello to a few of the people he’d met earlier in the day. Biting back a smile, Todd sipped his beer, gaze slipping to Nick every few minutes. His heart fluttered along with his stomach.
The way Nick’s eyes raked over Todd, the shocked expression on his face, quickly covered, the way Nick’s breathing sped up for a few seconds, and the thick, slow swallow accompanied by the slight flush rising up Nick’s neck, Todd knew.
Nick liked the suit.
Gripping his glass, he walked casually about the room. Todd wasn’t supposed to really know Nick, so going right to him would have chanced blowing their cover. He did risk a smile and a wink, licking his lips. Everywhere he went, he felt Nick’s eyes on him.
It was exhilarating, exciting, and incredibly frustrating. Nick was his. Todd wanted Nick so badly he could barely hold himself together. A few of the women coaxed him onto the dance floor. Todd enjoyed dancing, but Nick didn’t know how, and until this moment Todd had never realized how much he’d enjoyed dancing when he was younger and how much he missed it now. Nick, Todd decided, was going to learn to dance when they were done with this job. With every move he made, he managed to get himself closer and closer to Nick. He saw jealousy spark in Nick’s eyes, which only served to fuel Todd’s lust.
The urge to take, to grab Nick and fulfill his want, expanded, filling his chest. He was about to excuse himself and quietly steer Nick out of the hall when Chancellor Shaffer, Clarke, and a few of the other higher members of government decided it was a good time to put in their appearance. Clarke did a fine job of not knowing either Todd or Nick. He did wander close to each in turn, offer a polite nod, and move on.
The chancellor, however, was another matter. He greeted the new employees, Todd included. When he shook Todd’s hand, a rush of cold slammed through Todd’s gut, and the hair along the back of his neck bristled for a few seconds. It was when he crossed the space and deliberately confronted Nick that Todd learned the meaning of self-control. Nick had been watching the chancellor, gaze riveted to the man as he moved about, but it was more than that. Todd watched as the chancellor leaned in, brushed his fingertips over Nick’s cheek, and said something to Nick. The color dropped from Nick’s face, and he visibly tried to not cringe away.
Together Bound Page 6
