by Sharon Green
Tain didn't quite brood as the time passed, but her thoughts had turned more than a little dark by the time Killen began to stir. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing even while Killen moved around the room, and he didn't seem to know that she wasn't still asleep. He shaved in the basin at the foot of his bed before washing briefly, which led Tain to wish she could wash in a bath. It had been much too long since her last bath, but backward societies tended to get used to the smell rather than try to do something about it.
A knock at the door finally let Tain pretend to wake up, but all she did was sit and gaze at the floor while the slave female brought in their breakfast on a tray. The food smelled incredibly good, but the lure of real food had no chance of reaching Tain. Being on this planet seemed to have destroyed her appetite permanently, which was actually a blessing. If you don't want something, not having it doesn't cause you to suffer…
"You'd better come over and eat now," Killen said quietly once the slave was gone. "We'll be leaving the hostel when we finish the meal, and then we'll be going to the meeting we came to this town for. As soon as the meeting is over we'll be heading home, so it won't be much longer."
Much longer that you'll have to be a slave, Tain thought Killen meant as she silently got to her feet and walked to the table where he already sat. It might be true that she'd soon be free, but counting chickens just didn't pay. She could let relief flood all through her once she really was home and free.
Killen had already taken his breakfast dishes from the tray himself, so all Tain had to do was accept the bowl of cereal and its spoon and kneel to eat. Thinking about how most slaves were made to beg for a taste of real food turned her stomach so badly that the cereal was really the only thing she could hold down. She would have been happier not eating anything at all, but if they were heading home soon she would need all the strength she could muster.
Tain took the last swallow of the cereal before Killen finished his own meal, but not that much sooner. It looked like Killen was in a hurry to get going, and after he gave her a drink of water he didn't dawdle. In just a few minutes his possessions were all packed, and Tain had been given her "clothing" again. This time she put on the vest and so-called skirt without comment, ignoring the way Killen watched her closely. At no time had she made eye contact with him, and that practice would continue unless she was told to do otherwise.
When Killen was ready to go he led the way out of the bedroom into the common area of the suite. Tain was aware that Tandro and Ennie already stood in the area waiting for them, but the only one she glanced at was Ennie. The girl was dressed in the same outfit Tain wore, of course, but there was something … horribly distant about her. As if she wasn't really there at all, as if she were a cutout figure instead of a living being. For a brief moment Tain wished she could do something for Ennie, but this wasn't the place. Maybe once they got home the girl would come alive again…
By the time the men had all their gear and their horses the sun was well up, which meant that most of the mud created by the rain was not only almost dry but was on the way to being dry and cracked. But the last of the moisture made the mud cooler and easier to walk on, something Tain discovered once they'd left the hostel behind. She and Ennie had been told to walk behind the pack horses again, a position Tain found a lot more pleasant than riding with Killen. The farther away she was from that man, the better she liked it.
Their small procession moved through the town and its people for a short while, and then the number of people went down to just about zero. They'd reached an area that was mostly closed warehouses, but whether the places were closed temporarily or permanently was impossible for Tain to tell. A glance around the pack horse showed what looked like private houses beyond the last of the warehouses, and that was most likely where they were headed. A meeting, Killen had said, but not who the meeting was with.
And then all hell broke loose. Men came riding out from between two of the warehouses on horses of their own, four on each side of the men Tain and Ennie followed, and it was perfectly clear that the attackers had been waiting for Killen and Tandro. But not to kill the two men as those assassins had tried on the plains. These men carried heavy lengths of wood in their hands instead of knives, and as soon as they got close enough they began to swing at Killen and Tandro. Even as Tain watched, one of the lengths of wood struck against Killen's head, and that was all she had to see.
"Ennie, no noise and follow me fast," Tain ordered in a soft voice, then she ran toward the nearest space between two warehouses. None of the combatants were watching two unimportant slaves, which made this the best time possible for her and Ennie to disappear.
Tain didn't stop until she reached the shadow of the wall she'd aimed for, and a moment later Ennie slid into the shadow behind her. The results of the attack were what had let Tain do the necessary, since Killen's orders to her had been clear. She hadn't been allowed to take off on her own unless something happened to Killen, and now something had happened to him.
"What's going on?" Ennie asked softly as Tain saw Tandro hit just the way Killen had been. The attackers had kept Killen in his saddle even though the man was obviously unconscious, and they did the same with Tandro. "Why are those men using clubs instead of knives?"
"Probably because they want prisoners instead of dead bodies," Tain answered just as softly, watching as the attackers took the two unconscious men and their horses into the warehouse opposite the one she and Ennie hid beside. "I don't know why those people want prisoners instead, but they obviously do. And not one of them noticed we were around."
"Does that mean we're free to go where we please?" Ennie asked, her tone sounding faintly disturbed. "But even if we are, how do we get out of this city? The gate guards aren't likely to just let us walk out, not when it's clear we're slaves."
"There's a way to get through the gate," Tain murmured back, not lying or wishful thinking. All she and Ennie had to do was follow along behind the pack horses of any two men who were leaving. Chances were the men would not even notice them, and once they reached the forest she and Ennie could slip away into the trees.
Even if the men did notice them and tried to keep two free slaves, Killen had protected her well enough. She'd been commanded not to take orders from anyone but Killen, and once she rendered the men unconscious she could apologize and explain politely about not being allowed to take orders from them. After that she could have Ennie take off her red armbands and she would do the same for Ennie. Without the glaring red of the armbands it would be much easier to hide in the woods, and getting back to base would take a short while but would be far from impossible.
The only question, though, was whether she should leave at once or stay and try to free Killen. Without any weapons she wasn't likely to do Killen much good, and after the few words she'd exchanged with Ennie a glance showed that the girl had now retreated back to being barely alive. Ennie was her partner, and you owed something to your partner. Back at base Ennie would be able to get professional help, so it was Tain's responsibility to get Ennie back.
Tain touched Ennie's arm to get her to follow, and then led the way toward the back of the warehouse. As she moved, Tain couldn't help but wonder if the relief she felt was because she really was on the way back home, or because she was leaving Killen behind. Whichever, she knew she was making the right choice. There was certainly no confusion about that…
Chapter Nine
Jake Killen woke up to a throbbing head and an awareness that he lay on something lumpy and not very comfortable. It took some effort for him to turn to one side, and then he had to fight himself into a sitting position. Sitting up made his head spin even more, but once the dizziness eased up he could at least look around at where he was.
Light came into the room through a couple of small windows high up in one of the walls. The room itself was dirty and not very big, holding nothing but the pallet Jake sat on and a second pallet holding a still-unconscious Tandro. Why he and Tandro hadn't b
een killed was a question Jake wished he knew the answer to, but at the moment he wasn't able to worry about ulterior motives. As long as he was still alive it would be possible to escape at some point, hopefully a point that would be reached before they were given too much pain…
"Oh, my head," Tandro groaned, and then the native was also forcing himself to sit up with one hand to the head he'd mentioned. "What happened, and where are we?"
"This time we were attacked with clubs instead of knives, and I have no idea where we are," Jake answered, moving just a little to look directly at Tandro. "Since there was no one else on the street at the time of the attack, we're probably the only prisoners who were taken. You do remember that no one else was around, don't you?"
Tandro winced as he looked at Jake sharply, but happily the other man got the point Jake wanted him to. If Tain was as good as Jake thought she was, she'd gotten herself and Ennie out of harm's way before the attack was over. Their attackers might not know about the two slaves who'd been following the pack horses, and if they didn't know about the girls he didn't want Tandro telling them.
"Yes, I do remember that there was no one else on the street," Tandro finally said with a very faint smile. "That has to be why they jumped us at just that time. But I wonder if it's possible that someone saw what happened and is right now telling the guard about it. If so, we could be out of here in no time."
"That's possible, so let's hope it's true," Jake agreed, but only to reassure his friend and companion. Tain would probably decide against telling the guard anything, since she didn't know about the relationship he and Tandro had developed with Captain Sovri. Jake had been too busy messing around with Tain and then trying to apologize to keep the woman informed about what was going on, and now he was paying for that stupidity.
Tandro lapsed into silence, so Jake did the same. In a few minutes his head was feeling fractionally better, due entirely to the quiet, so he was hoping that the silence would go on for a while. It did continue for a short while, and then someone opened the door to the room and walked in. The man was fairly large and on the heavy side, but those weren't the most interesting things about him. His vest and knife belt and sheathe were covered in jewels, the most ostentatious display of wealth Jake had seen on this planet.
"How nice, you're both awake," the newcomer said as he swaggered a few more steps into the room. He also looked from Jake to Tandro with a very disturbing smile on his face, a smile that made Jake's insides tighten. "In case you were wondering, my name is Himlin."
"Why am I not surprised?" Jake said as he got slowly to his feet, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Tandro also stood. "What I don't understand, though, is why you changed tactics. The first two times you sent men with knives."
"But this time men with knives would have done me more harm than good," Himlin said, his smile changing to a very cold stare. "You two have lodged an official complaint against me, and you have to be still living to withdraw that complaint. Which you'll do either later today or tomorrow, depending on when I decide to send you out. I haven't made up my mind about that yet."
"And how do you expect to get us to withdraw that complaint?" Tandro asked in his calm and quiet way. "If we walk into guard headquarters either badly beaten or hurt in some other way, they'll know our decision was forced on us. As I understand it, forcing someone to withdraw a complaint is also against the law around here."
"You're right, it is," Himlin agreed, a flash of cruel anticipation appearing momentarily in the coldness of his gaze. "But I now have a way around that law, and you can thank your friend over there for supplying the way. I'll admit I probably wouldn't have thought of the idea on my own… Kneel to your master, slaves."
Jake had only just started to wonder why he wasn't making any attempt to jump Himlin when he found out the hard way. His body knelt without any direction from his mind, and Tandro did exactly the same. That told Jake he and Tandro had been given the slave drug, after which they'd been ordered not to make any trouble. Being unconscious hadn't kept them from hearing the order, and now that they were awake they were able to obey it.
"At first the idea of men being made into slaves outraged me, but that was only at first," Himlin said as he looked down at them with grim pleasure. "Once I thought about it for a little while I realized that some men deserve to be enslaved, if only to teach them a lesson about what not to do. If you then add in the opportunity their master would have to take out some of his anger on the ones who made him angry to begin with, you end up with a really good idea. Uncover your bodies completely."
Jake and Tandro had no choice but to obey, and in no time at all they were kneeling naked. Silently cursing himself out for having such a big mouth did Jake no good at all, especially when Himlin ordered them to stand up and follow him. The damage was already done, and now he and Tandro had to survive the results of Jake's bone-headed inspiration.
The next room wherever they were was at least three times larger than their original room, and some of the men who had captured Jake and Tandro were lounging around in chairs. In the middle of the other chairs was a larger one that was empty, which told Jake where Himlin would sit. There were also two things standing not far from the chairs that looked like wooden saw horses, and Himlin gestured to them.
"Each of you stand behind one of the forms facing one another," the slaver directed as he headed for his chair. "Since you're both so concerned with what's done to female slaves, it's only fair that you find out first hand what their lot in life is like."
Jake would have enjoyed at least hesitating before obeying Himlin, but even that wasn't allowed him - or Tandro. The other man walked to the second saw horse which stood about five feet away from Jake's, and when he put himself behind the thing they were facing one another.
"Good," Himlin said, and Jake was sure that the slaver had seated himself. "Now bend over the forms just a bit, but not so far that you can't still see each other."
It turned out to be necessary to hold to the top of what Himlin called a form in order to bend over and still be able to see Tandro, so that was the position Jake found himself in. The sight of Tandro in the same position looked disturbingly familiar to Jake, but before he was able to figure out why he felt disturbed he was distracted in a very unpleasant way.
"No, don't tense your muscles in an effort to resist," Himlin said, making Jake want to curse out loud. "You're slaves, and slaves aren't permitted to resist."
Which meant there was nothing to stop the person behind Jake from thrusting what had to be an insertion into Jake's backside. He could see the same thing being done to Tandro even as he felt it being done to him personally, and the grin on the face of the man behind Tandro filled Jake with the need to kill. But he couldn't kill, he wasn't being allowed to, and that made the situation ten times worse.
"Slaves are required to be obedient and pleasing at all times," Himlin said as Jake fought not to move around at the urging of the insertion. "My two newest slaves have been very disobedient and not at all pleasing, so now they're going to be punished. Slaves need to know what being bad slaves will bring them."
Jake's stomach had already clenched at the sight of what the man behind Tandro held because he knew there was another man behind him also holding a switch. If Himlin had decided to have them whipped, Tandro would probably be as happy as Jake; there are times when intense pain is much preferable to less pain and intense humiliation. But they weren't being given the choice, especially not when Himlin wanted to send them to withdraw their complaint -
A sound hissed out of Jake's throat at the feel of the first stroke across his backside, a painful stroke that made him move in a way he'd been trying to avoid. The movement combined with the sight and sound of Tandro being given a first stroke, and then Jake felt the second stroke land. He and Tandro weren't being switched at exactly the same time, an oddity Jake didn't understand.
It took half a dozen very painful strokes of the switch before Jake did understand what was bein
g done. He was being made to watch Tandro's switching just as Tandro was watching his own, and after half a dozen strokes Jake was flinching and moving even when only Tandro was being struck. It was like doubling the punishment, and that insertion made the time pure hell. Not moving had become impossible, and Jake was horribly aware of how aroused he had become.
It came to Jake that if he'd been asked before now just how bad he considered a switching to be, he would not have hesitated in saying that it couldn't be thought of as fun but certainly wasn't all that bad. That conclusion came, of course, before he was made to stand bent over and do nothing but writhe as the thin branch was brought down hard on his backside again and again. He could feel his flesh quivering even when the switch wasn't hitting him, and anticipating the next stroke made the stroke worse when it came.
After a very short while Jake wanted to howl every time another stroke landed, and it was all he could do not to let the howl become audible. Tandro had begun to grunt very low when he was struck, and then he began to grunt even when Jake was struck. Tandro was being made to watch - and share - Jake's punishment even as Jake was watching and sharing his, and the humiliation rose so high that Jake was amazed it was possible for him to breathe around it.
The time of the switching seemed absolutely endless, but it couldn't have gone on for more than fifteen or twenty minutes before Himlin unexpectedly called a halt.
"All right, that's enough for now," Himlin said, clearly speaking to the men with the switches. "If their behavior isn't absolutely perfect for the rest of the day we'll give them the same again later, and maybe I'll have them switched even if their behavior is perfect. Since I'm the one who owns these slaves, I can do anything I like with them. That should prove how much better it is to own a slave rather than be one."
