Dangerous

by Sharon Green

  Another lantern hung on the wall half way down the stairs, and a third lantern lit the dimness at the bottom. There was more than enough room to get around the handrail at the bottom, and a corridor led into a series of small, doorless … areas or alcoves that could be considered semi-private rooms. The corridor continued on into unrelieved darkness, but three of the rooms had candles in holders adding some much needed light.

  "There isn't that much more to bring down, but we ought to get the men settled first," Risdin said over her shoulder, leading the way to the farthest of the three lit rooms. "You and I can share that first area, we can put the cooking stuff and the rest in the middle, and the men can sleep in the third."

  There was no reason to argue the suggestion, so Tain simply nodded and joined Risdin in setting things up. While Risdin put two of the pallets in the third room and then took the others into the first room, Tain put the food she'd carried down into the middle area. She glanced into the men's alcove to see that both of them were lying down again with their cups of coffee, then she and Risdin went back upstairs for the rest of the things that could betray their presence.

  The metal container the cooking was done on went down first, with both Tain and Risdin holding the container's wooden handles. There were still live coals in it so they had to be careful, not to mention the fact that the thing was heavy. Once that was done, though, the rest went much more quickly. Tain had Risdin, who knew what was where, empty the wall space and the cabinets and bring the stuff to the top of the stairs while she herself carted things down.

  No more than ten minutes later Risdin was ready to help with taking things down, but first Tain had her make sure there was absolutely nothing left to show they'd been in the room. Risdin spent another couple of minutes brushing away charcoal dust and crumbs and closing all of the cabinets really tight, and then she took the candle and came onto the landing of the stairs. Another moment saw the hidden door closed and secured, and then she and Tain carried down what was left of the supplies.

  "Half of me wants to watch to see what happens across the street," Risdin said as she and Tain put down the last of their burdens in the cooking room. "The other half, though, doesn't want to know anything about it. That slaver will be furious when he finds out about the men being gone, and I hate to think what he'll do to his women. And by the way, I've decided to make you something to eat before we go to bed. It finally came to me that you haven't had a single bite all day."

  Tain's first urge was to tell Risdin not to bother with making her anything, but then she remembered that she did have to build up her strength after having so little real food for so long. She'd been able to do everything necessary tonight, but right now she felt empty and in need of recharging.

  "I appreciate the offer, Risdin, and I accept it gladly," Tain said after only the smallest hesitation as she sat down on the stone floor. "As far as watching what goes on across the street, though, I have a feeling I'm much better off not seeing it. I'd hate to ruin things by losing my temper and going after that slimy man, thereby letting everyone know the men had help in getting away. If the slaver thinks his prisoners got themselves free he'll be knocked off balance, and that's the way we want him. Off balance."

  "And frightened," Risdin said, giving all her attention to the fresh charcoal she'd put in the metal container. "He deserves to be frightened, to feel what he makes so many others feel, and I only wish I could be the one to make him feel like that."

  The woman's words were so fierce that Tain could almost feel the pain and hatred that lay behind them. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but it did give her an idea.

  "Maybe something can be arranged," Tain said, knowing she sounded thoughtful. "I'll keep the possibility in mind while we wait to see how things turn out. Personally I would have just killed the man, but that would let him off too easily, wouldn't it."

  Risdin flashed her such a delighted and grateful look that Tain filed the idea away for future use. Giving the slaver a taste of what he gave so easily to others would be the best poetic justice imaginable, but it might not prove to be possible. If circumstances forced his death he would die, but if not…

  The meal Risdin produced was quick and hot, and Tain actually bolted it down when she was handed the plate. The food not only warmed her insides but added a rush of the strength Tain needed, and afterward she sipped her rewarmed coffee feeling full and satisfied. Risdin kept her company while she ate, sipping from a cup of coffee of her own, and then the two cleaned up from the meal. The clean-up didn't take long, and then they went to their alcove and lay down on pallets. The lamps and candles were left lit, to keep the underground darkness from becoming overwhelming.

  Risdin fell asleep quickly, but Tain wasn't that lucky. She tossed around a short while, then decided to give up for the moment and got out from under her blanket. Her vest and "skirt" were folded neatly next to the pallet, but it only took a moment's worth of thought to leave the garments where they lay. Being completely naked was better than being "decorated," a position she hadn't changed her mind about.

  Stepping out into the corridor let her hear soft snoring coming from the alcove where the men had been left. Tain's first thought had been to make herself a bit more coffee, and although it was still a good idea she decided to take a look at the men first.

  Tain hadn't checked on the men before lying down because she'd felt they were badly in need of some privacy, but the disturbance she'd seen in Killen's eyes still bothered her. She needed the man to be at his best when they went after Gordi and a good night's sleep should bring him back closer to normal, but that wasn't Tain's only concern. What had happened to Killen certainly wasn't her fault, but for some reason she felt really bad about it…

  Stopping at the opening to the alcove showed Tain that it was Tandro who was doing the snoring. The native was so deeply asleep that Tain could see and feel it, obviously in a state that was closer to unconsciousness than sleep. It was a reaction to what he'd gone through, of course, a way the body sometimes used when even the mind needed time to heal.

  But Killen wasn't even close to being in the same condition. The man lay face down on his pallet, his eyes open and his gaze resting on her. His light hair looked tousled, matching the almost-wounded look in those gray eyes, and Tain couldn't keep herself from moving closer and crouching down.

  "Is something wrong?" she asked very softly, although she probably could have shouted without waking Tandro. "You really ought to be asleep."

  "I agree, but sleep seems to be avoiding me," Killen responded in a murmur. "What are you doing wandering around?"

  "I was about to make more coffee, which usually helps me sleep," Tain said, privately shocked that she had to close her hand into a fist to keep it from reaching out and stroking Killen's shoulder and arm. "It's cool enough down here that I seem to need something to warm me up."

  "Yes, I can tell that you're cold," Killen said in a very … neutral way, his glance having touched her hardened nipples. "Are you sure it's coffee you want and not an excuse to indulge in a little … exercise of ownership?"

  "What are you talking about?" Tain asked, honestly having no idea what he meant. "What can ownership have to do with anything?"

  "Don't worry, Tain, you don't have to lie to cover the fact that you're only human," Killen said in a weary voice, the look in his eyes sad now. "You're in control of me just the way I was in control of you, and that's a very … overwhelming thing when it really hits you. The sudden understanding makes you want to exercise that control in the most basic way possible, the most intimate way. The feeling is irresistible in the beginning and won't start to bother you until the novelty wears off, so there's no reason not to indulge yourself."

  Killen no longer looked directly at Tain, which might have been a very good thing. She had to fight really hard to keep her face from showing what she now felt, which was an incredible mixture of … she wasn't completely sure what it was a mixture of. What she did know for an iron-hard fact wa
s that Killen had misinterpreted her reactions.

  Tain stared down at the man who was now under her control, feeling nothing of a desire to make him serve her the way he'd forced her to serve him. Yes, her body had been reacting to his naked nearness, but not because of an urge to humiliate him even more. Tain had hated the idea of slavery even before she'd been forced to experience the state personally, and taking advantage of someone who couldn't refuse her was completely against her beliefs.

  And that thought made her admit to herself the real reason her body had tightened and hardened. It was a combination of concern and desire, concern over Killen's well-being and a desire to feel his hands on her again. If he made love to her the act would prove that he was all right, and she very much needed him to be all right. But not because of what she had planned for tomorrow, not for any reason she was willing to admit even in the privacy of her own mind.

  Happily, though, Killen had misinterpreted her reason for being there and for feeling the way she did. More than that he'd given her a way to get what she wanted more and more badly with each passing minute - without letting him know the truth…

  "You know, it's really helpful to deal with someone who doesn't have to have the facts of life explained to him," Tain drawled after what was really only a very brief hesitation. "Turn to your side so I can join you under that blanket."

  Killen stiffened, but he still did just as Tain had ordered. The pallet wasn't very wide, but there was enough room for her to slip under the blanket and press her body to his. His warmth flowed into her at the touch, showing that she really was cold, but something else became even more clear. Killen's mind might be reluctant, but his body certainly wasn't.

  "You are so nicely made," Tain murmured as she ran her hands slowly over Killen, feeling a faint trembling in his body. "Will you be able to lie on your back without much pain if you brace yourself with your feet?"

  "I think so," Killen answered, the words sounding as if they were being dragged out of him. The blankness of his expression said he didn't want her to know how he really felt, but it was a waste of effort. Tain knew Killen hated what was being done to him, and that fit in perfectly with her plans. With any luck the man would also hate her, and that would end any possibility of their ever getting together in a relationship. That end was something Tain knew she needed to survive, but a very small part of her hated the need more than she knew was possible…

  Once Killen had put himself to his back with his knees bent to let his feet brace him, Tain made sure he wasn't in pain before she began to kiss his body. In no time at all Killen was moaning, his arousal completely returned, and Tain found that she couldn't continue with the foreplay. Her own arousal was so high that under other circumstances she would have been whimpering, but with her in control there was no reason to whimper. She went to her knees and straddled Killen, then quickly took him inside her.

  Killen's hands came to her waist as her own hands rested on his shoulders, her up and down movement making them share the moaning. It felt so good to have Killen inside her again, even though it would have felt better if he'd been on top. But Tain couldn't allow that, so she'd have to make do with this as her final goodbye to him.

  As a final goodbye it could have been much worse, considering how long Killen let the time last. Tain came more than once while Killen matched her movements with his eyes closed, but finally he was no longer able to hold off his own release. He came while Tain shuddered from the latest of her orgasms, and all she wanted to do was collapse on top of him. But doing that wasn't part of her plan, so she patted his face instead, climbed off him, then left the alcove to return to her own bed.

  And once she lay under her blanket she had to fight really hard to keep her crying from getting loud enough to wake Risdin…

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jake woke up feeling so comfortable that for a moment he didn't remember where he was. He lay on his stomach, and even though his body ached here and there he was also aware of a sense of satisfaction. He hadn't felt this sated since the last time he'd -

  That was when he remembered the night before, and what had come of Tain's visit. All satisfaction and comfort disappeared as he sat up slowly, now aware of the disappointment he felt. It was stupid to have thought that Tain was a better person than he, someone who would never have taken advantage of a bad situation. But she had taken the same advantage he had, and even though his body had enjoyed the time his mind certainly hadn't.

  "Obviously you needed sleep even more than I did," Tandro's voice came from behind him, the words soft. "I've been awake for a while, long enough to hear one of the women moving around, but whichever one it is she didn't come in here."

  Jake turned to see that Tandro also sat on his pallet, which meant that things were looking up for them. Last night he would have been able to sit if he'd really had to, but this morning there was nothing but a shadow left of the punishment he'd been given.

  "If it isn't Tain who's awake, coming in here would be a waste of time," Jake said, speaking just as softly. "Have you forgotten that we aren't allowed to obey anyone but her? That means, of course, that we stay on these pallets until she says we can get up."

  Jake expected to see anger in Tandro over what he'd said, but the native suddenly looked drawn instead.

  "After yesterday I really didn't need any more lessons on the evils of slavery, but it looks like I'll be getting them whether I need them or not." The man's voice was low, as if he were controlling himself sternly, but it was pain rather than anger that he strove to hold off. "It isn't really possible to understand how bad it can get unless you go through it yourself, is it? Why is it that human beings can't seem to learn except the hard way? Why can't we know that something is wrong without having our faces rubbed in the wrongness?"

  "If you ever find out the answer to that question I'd appreciate it if you let me know," Jake responded, reflecting that he'd thought some human beings knew right from wrong the easy way. But that was before last night…

  "Good morning, men," Risdin said from the doorway before she walked in holding two filled plates. "I've made breakfast, which I'm sure you can use. You can get started on the food while I go back for the coffee."

  "Thank you," Jake said, taking the plate she handed him as he studied her face. "You're being extremely good to us, and I don't understand why. Unless I'm mistaken you were once a slave yourself, so why would you treat two men in any way but badly?"

  "Since I found myself the only one awake this morning, I did some thinking," Risdin answered, her smile wry. "I know how badly the slaver treated you two, and that didn't make any sense - until I realized that he must have done it because you're against slavery. There isn't really any other reason for making you slaves, and you were hurt and humiliated because you want to make it impossible for me to be hurt again. Was I wrong?"

  "No," Jake admitted with a shake of his head after exchanging a glance with Tandro. "But I'd like to know how you know that we were humiliated as well as hurt. Did Tain tell you what was done to us?"

  "Tain didn't say a word, but she didn't have to," Risdin answered, her expression now more angry than wry. "Being enslaved means you're going to be humiliated as well as hurt, since that's the fastest and easiest way to control a slave. There are people who are strong enough to ignore pain, but I don't think there's anyone strong enough to withstand humiliation."

  "Before yesterday I might have disagreed with you, but not now," Tandro said, his expression having fallen all the way to bleak. "What they did to Killen terrified me, thinking they might do the same to me. I don't know how he managed to stay sane after something that bad, but I wouldn't have been able to handle it like that. I was ready to do just about anything to keep from - "

  Tandro's words broke off before he went into details of what he meant, bringing Jake a good deal of relief. He'd been able to keep himself from remembering that he'd been forced to react like a frightened girl during that second switching, and even now he couldn't d
o more than touch on the subject from a distance. The time had been so devastating that it was a miracle he hadn't gone crazy…

  "Hey, it's all right," Risdin said, putting a hand to Tandro's shoulder in shared compassion. "That's actually the worst part of being a strong man or woman. If you're weak you just do as you're told even if you don't like it, thereby proving that you don't have to be humiliated all that badly in order to obey completely. But the strong ones hold back part of themselves in spite of the drug, and the slavers always know the difference. And always do something to make them want to stop holding back. Sometimes that kind breaks rather than bends, which doesn't make much sense to me. If you break and lose it completely, you can't comfort yourself with the dream of escaping some day and finding a way to get even."

  "I think you're possibly the bravest person I've ever met," Jake said to her with as good a smile as he could manage, speaking the truth. "Backing down seems to be against my nature, even when it happens to be the sensible course of action. If I'd at least pretended to back down yesterday, Himlin probably wouldn't have done what he did to me."

  "It might be a good idea to remember that for next time," Risdin said with a much better smile than his. "In the meantime your food is getting cold, so you two eat up while I fetch the coffee. We have important things to do today."

  That reminded Jake of Tain's "plan," but before he could ask any questions Risdin turned and left the alcove. He tackled the food while he waited for the woman to come back, but even when she did he found he couldn't question her. He didn't understand why until he was almost finished eating, and if he hadn't been so hollow he would have lost his appetite. Tain had told him that he didn't yet need to know the plan, and that was what had kept him from questioning Risdin.

  Heavier depression tried to crowd into Jake's mind, but he banished it by forcing himself to anger. Risdin's advice wasn't easy to take, but he needed to be in real control of himself; knowing that he would be free in just a little while should keep him going, and once he was free…