Branded Possession (The Machinery of Desire Book 3)

by Cari Silverwood

  It had only been a few weeks since he’d claimed her with the brand and already she found herself happier than she’d been for a very long time. He was right; she loved being owned by him. No one else.

  Rarely is it wise to fall for your torturer. He’d said something like that once.

  She had been angry with him at first.

  The brand had been far more invasive than any person could expect.

  The moment it rendered itself upon her skin had been a time she would not repeat. Like an orchestra of dire consequences playing on her skin.

  Each branch of crystal sang a unique and epic note.

  Each filament went deeper than skin and some had reached her heart.

  This brand was no simple process. Ryke had claimed her and so had Aerthe.

  She could no longer create portals.

  Ryke had known of this side-effect to branding her. It made her feel terribly wanted and possessed, which she adored, but also betrayed.

  The betrayal was because of his obsession with her.

  Obsession. She’d wondered about that before – the change in him after he’d gone to the Underdeck. He’d become the man he’d been when younger, Badh had told her. Sheared away from the diabolical necessities of being the King’s Own Lawgiver, he’d shed what evilness he’d done. Well, most of it. Still not a perfect and innocent man. She smiled lopsidedly.

  Not that she minded his kinky inclinations. Not at all.

  What he didn’t know, what she would never tell him, was that she had fathomed the reason for his obsession.

  The branding had made her a part of the Aerthe system. A cog in the clockwork, and this cog was good at deciphering info.

  His obsession tied into her visions.

  The coincidences of the Text of Symaia. The portals. The bringing of humans to this world of Aerthe. All those were connected.

  Ryke had said Aerthe was a jealous world. What he didn’t understand was the depths to which it would descend to keep itself pure and true. Everything that had happened since the first portal, all the weirdnesses, the magic, was from the interference of the Aerthe.

  Portals gave this world humans. Humans brought new factors. Above all humans were the link to Aerthe making the Mekkers become a part of the Aerthe ecosystem.

  It had tossed in a few variables and the result was still uncertain but Aerthe had dealt itself a pretty good hand of cards.

  It wasn’t Ryke’s fault that she was here.

  “Fuck you,” she whispered, kicking her heels and figuring that was the last bit of revenge she’d get on this diabolical world. “Fuck you to Hell.”

  Not that they had a mythical Hell here.

  Aerthe was nasty enough without one.

  The only thing still teasing her was: Who would be the next person to make a portal?

  Obviously this world only allowed one such person to exist at any point in time.

  So who was it going to be?

  Glossary and Characters

  CHARACTERS FROM THE SERIES.

  Ryke – Mekker. The antihero of Branded Possession.

  Gio (Giovanna) – Human. She helped Drette to perfect his portals.

  JI – originally JI-mech 34. He appears in all the books and is the main hero in the final novel, Book 4, Exquisite Possession. In Book 2, Claimed Possession, he took over the brain and body of Osta, a Scav leader.

  Mako – Mekker. a king-in-waiting. From Book 1, Acquired Possession.

  Emery – Human. Mako’s blood slave. Features in Acquired Possession

  Sawyer – Human. Ari’s master. Ex-SAS soldier and Fern’s brother. His story and hers are in Book 2, Claimed Possession.

  Aribelle (Ari) – Grounder. She is Sawyer’s slave and lover. Her and his stories are in Book 2, Claimed Possession.

  Fern – Human. Sister to Sawyer. She stabbed Judge Ormrad and was punished, stabbed by him, and thrown down the chute to die on the surface of Aerthe. Her story continues in Book 4.

  Drette – Mekker. He accidentally discovered portals and so brought humans to Aerthe. Killed in Book 2, by Gio.

  Badh – Mekker. Ryke’s brother. The Overmekker of the Underdeck.

  Judge Ormrad – Mekker. A cruel, scheming man who appears throughout the series. A king-in-waiting.

  The King – Mekker. He rules over all the swathes, though such rule is largely imaginary due to the lack of communication between swathes. Only at the Gatherings, when the swathes meet, is his rule truly celebrated.

  Gyle – Mekker. The king’s advisor.

  Aunt Mary (Diccano) – A mech or mechling found in the King’s Residence in the Underdeck.

  Osta – Scav. A character from Claimed Possession. A man who kept secrets, though a good leader.

  GLOSSARY

  A

  Above – a slang term used by deckers (inhabitants of the Underdeck) to describe Mekkers who live in the upper decks of the landships.

  Aerthe – a world recovering from a great war. All the cities were destroyed, the countries were obliterated, and many of the advances of civilization were lost when the Mekkers landed and invaded. The world is alive with a magic rooted in the world itself. Though Mekkers have tapped into this to power their swathes, the mechlings, and some later military tech, the world is forever striving to eliminate them – much as a body would destroy a viral invader.

  C

  Core flyer – a hang glider used by deckers to fly over the Engine Sea to do maintenance or other work. Sometimes core flying is a recreational activity.

  D

  Doctor program – a computer program that can be installed in mechlings and mechs. It enables advanced surgery with the correct tools are attached as well as medical skills. The medical skills are designed for Mekkers, rather than Aerthe people or humans, and do not tap into the Aerthe ‘magic’.

  DRAC missile – a missile developed by the people of Aerthe to kill off Mekker swathes. The exact way they function has been lost. Mekkers believe them to have great explosive power. This is only partly true.

  E

  Engine cores or waik cores – huge balls comprised of waik crystals that power the landships. The engine cores are recharged by mechlings bathing in Aerthe energy on the surface of the landships.

  Engine Sea – the sea of radiation the waik cores reside in at the bottom of the landships.

  F

  Factor H

  A substance said to be needed by only Mekkers that is depleted from their bodies merely by them living on Aerthe. It can be extracted from humans in quantities far greater than can be found in grounders or Scavs. Theories as to why it isn’t depleted in other people are many and as yet unverified. The Mekkers have not, yet, divulged such information.

  Followers – a religion based around the sayings of Ryke’s mother, Symaia, after she was lost on the surface of Aerthe.

  Fryger – a type of rifle.

  G

  Gaps – the holes in the deck that overlook the Engine Sea. These can be used to access the sea.

  Gorr religion – they worship the stars and a star is their symbol.

  Grounder – one of the two major classes of people native to Aerthe. Grounder is a descriptive term for those living a static existence rather than a term for a specific race. A Scav could also be called a grounder if they chose to live in a town. Grounders mine, manufacture, trade and farm, and prefer to live in one place. There are more grounders than Scavs but they are less warlike. Most live in towns, some run trading caravans. They trade with Mekkers and Scavs.

  H

  Hopper – an automated, rickshaw-like vehicle used to traverse the hallways inside swathe landships.

  J

  Jagg – eight-legged beasts that go through several phases before becoming adults. Scavs use the adults as riding animals. When in the younger, carnivorous phase, they are also used as guard animals. Blood-bonding is a feature of their relationship with people.

  JI-mech 34 – a highly advanced military mech produced by Mekkers. None have been mad
e since the Last Days of the War.

  Jungle Swathe – a swathe lost over a hundred years ago in a jungle area – rumored to have been destroyed by a plague.

  K

  Kings-in-Waiting – Mekkers chosen to be, as it were, the princes waiting to be voted king. All must be related by blood to the king.

  King’s Own Lawgiver – a secret post given to one man only. The KOL must not let others know of what he does, though there are rumors of his existence. He has permission to act outside the law to protect the interests of the king, the swathe, and all Mekkers.

  L

  Landship – an enormous vehicle, often as large as a ship or larger. A swathe is comprised of many landships travelling together.

  Long gun

  Preferred weapon of the Scavs – powered by waik crystals, with projectiles powered by shoom. The metal used in their manufacture is mined by grounders and responds to thought and meditation. Decorations on the surface of such weapons emerge over time as the weapon gets to know its owner. Power, accuracy, and general specifications, improve with use.

  Lilo

  The sound of a word meaning ‘a large snake’ in Mekkian.

  M

  Mechling – a small Mekker robot powered by power cells that are a refined version of waik crystals. Though not manufactured to be sentient, some eventually go ‘sun-mad’ and become self-aware.

  On the world of Aerthe, humans can ‘hear’ the thoughts of mechlings and mechs such as JI.

  Mekker – a space-faring race that invaded Aerthe, taking down all the major civilizations, destroying all cities. Neither side won the war – in reality all lost. Mekkers are seen as an invading foreign organism by the world of Aerthe. They travel and live in the swathes and must keep moving or the natural defenses of the planet gather and kill them.

  Moons – the world of Aerthe has two moons.

  P

  Physician – a doctor who can use the magic of Aerthe to heal. They also use some of what would be called normal doctoring techniques.

  Power Cell – manufactured from waik crystals by Mekkers; these power the swathes, as well as mechling and mechs.

  R

  Ramm – a flying Mekker war vessel that is launched from a swathe. Larger than a Sniker, able to travel great distances, and more powerful than a Sniker.

  Royal Swathe – the swathe in which the king lives in.

  S

  Scav – a nomadic, warlike race that lives from hunting, scavenges from the remains of the old civilizations, trades with grounders, and still hopes to defeat the Mekkers.

  Shoom – a material that provides explosive energy to projectiles.

  Sniker – a small, hovering, warcraft of the Mekkers.

  Swathe – there are four living swathes – Royal Swathe, Lesser Swathe, Greater Swathe, and the Lost Swathe (which is no longer lost). These are comparable to a nomadic tribe, such as that of Attila the Hun on Earth. These moving cities are composed of several enormous wheeled and tracked landships, each containing thousands of people. Each holds what a city needs – parks, theaters, homes, prisons, markets, courts, as well as engine rooms, command centers, and armed forces. They mine the surface as they travel and never halt unless compelled to do so.

  U

  Undercity – a term used by Scavs to describe the space they inhabit when they travel beneath a destroyed city. This is always a dangerous journey, though explorers have been mapping out paths beneath these cities for decades.

  Underdeck – the bottom decks of the landships, crewed by deckers (slang) who are a lesser caste of Mekkers. The radiation damage they suffer from working on the waik engine cores marks their skin with blue cracks and tendrils. They have a shorter lifespan than those who remain above.

  V

  Vican – a purple, crow-like bird. Scavs use them to carry messages.

  W

  Waik cores – see Engine cores.

  Waik crystal – a crystal mined from Aerthe and used to power vehicles, weapons, lights. Recharged by meditation, though the energy is sourced from Aerthe herself.

  Warband – a tribe of Scavs.

  Y

  Yeger – a spiritual sage attuned to waik crystals. Among other abilities, he can sense waik crystals and can repower them by meditation.

  Landship Illustration

  About Cari Silverwood

  I love to hear from my readers.

  If you enjoyed Branded Possession, please consider leaving a review on your favorite retailer or website.

  Cari Silverwood is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling writer of kinky darkness or sometimes of dark kinkiness, depending on her moods and the amount of time she’s spent staring into the night. When others are writing bad men doing bad things, you may find her writing good men who accidentally on purpose fall into the abyss and come out with their morals twisted in knots.

  If you’d like to learn more go to

  My mailing list

  Connect with Cari Silverwood on Facebook

  On Goodreads

  You’re welcome to join this group on facebook to discuss Cari Silverwood’s books:

  Pierced Hearts Discussion Group

  Follow on Bookbub

  Also by Cari Silverwood

  The Machinery of Desire – post-apocalyptic star wars-esque series with kink, and dubcon/ noncon

  Acquired Possession

  Claimed possession

  Fated Possession – a novella first published in the Alien Alphas boxset

  Branded Possession

  Preyfinders Series

  Precious Sacrifice (Originally published in the anthology, Kept)

  Intimidator

  Defiler

  Preyfinders – The Trilogy

  Preyfinders Universe

  Cyberella

  The Steamwork Chronicles Series – similar to The Machinery of Desire series

  Iron Dominance

  Lust Plague

  Steel Dominance

  Squirm Files Series – spoofs of erotic romance and monster stories

  Squirm – virgin captive of the billionaire biker tentacle monster

  Strum – virgin captive of the billionaire demon rock star monster

  The Well-hung Gun – virgin captive of the billionaire were-squid gunslinger monster

  Dark Hearts Trilogy – contemporary BDSM and dubcon/ noncon series

  (Dark kinky fiction)

  Wicked Ways

  Wicked Weapon

  Wicked Hunt

  Wolfe – a spin-off novel from the Dark Hearts trilogy

  Dark Hearts trilogy collection – contains Wicked Ways, Wicked Weapon, Wicked Hunt

  Pierced Hearts Series – contemporary BDSM and dubcon/ noncon series

  (Dark kinky fiction)

  Take me, Break me

  Klaus – a novella

  Bind and Keep me

  Make me Yours Evermore

  Seize me From Darkness

  Yield

  Pierced Hearts Volume 1 – contains books #1, #2 and #3

  Pierced Hearts Volume 2 – contains books #2 and #3

  Pierced Hearts Volume 3 – contains books #4 and #5

  The Badass Brats Series – contemporary BDSM romances with Mff

  The Dom with a Safeword

  The Dom on the Naughty List

  The Dom with the Perfect Brats

  The Dom with the Clever Tongue

  Cataclysm Blues Series

  Cataclysm Blues

  (A free kinky scifi novella)

  Others

  31 Flavors of Kink

  Three Days of Dominance

  Rough Surrender

  (Released by Momentum, an eBook branch of Pan Macmillan)

  Blood Glyphs

  My Romance Curse (romcom)

  Magience series

  (epic fantasy)

  Magience

  Needle Rain

  Acknowledgements & Copyright

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright © 2018 Cari Silverwood

&n
bsp; www.carisilverwood.net

  Editor: Nerine Dorman

  Cover art: Cari Silverwood

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book only. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials.

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Acknowledgements

  My thanks go out to my stalwart readers-as-I-write Emma Rose and Janine Peta. As I say to them often, without cheerleading these darker stories get under my fingernails and creep around in my head and I lose my way. (Pssst, stalwart is good!)