“This is insanity,” muttered Vrodas.
Hal shook his head, unsure of what to say in response.
“Hurry up, now,” said Lady Katara, speaking to the two of them in common tongue. “We’re heading straight back to my estate to get the two of you settled. I’m sure this all must be very overwhelming for you, given how… simple things are on the surface.”
Hal felt his eyes widen as they passed by a building with several naked women, each of different races. There were humans, elves, maug, of a variety of body types and breast sizes. He knew that they were also slaves, without needing to be told. He could see it in their eyes, and it forced him to look away as he felt a hot flush come across his face. He was no different from them, now.
The guard holding the chains to his manacles gave a harsh pull, and Hal realized that he’d come to a stop while he’d been staring. The group continued forward, through several more intersections, until they stopped in front of a large structure that looked like a carriage on rails.
“Come on, now,” said Lady Katara. “There’s nothing to fear from the crystal cart. It will bring us to my estate.”
The guards were much less gentle with Hal and Vrodas than Lady Katara was with her words. The two of them were pulled onto the crystal cart, which had several lines of seats running down each wall. They were brought to the back, where they stood with another group of human slaves, all of them silent. Hal considered attempting to speak with them, but abandoned the idea when he saw the way his guards were watching them.
The cart lurched into motion after a couple of minutes, and the crystals on the outside against where it attached to the central rail pulsed with yellow light. Hal had a small, circular window through which to peer out, and he watched as the crystal cart followed the track through the city, and then out into an idyllic countryside.
Hal had only gotten a short look at the Upper Realm the first time he’d seen it on Aangavar’s back, and it hadn’t been enough to give him a proper sense of scale of the floating region. There were cities, villages, forests, regions of farmland, and even a few small mountains. It didn’t seem as though the Upper Realm was an artificial construct, but rather, a large section of landmass that had somehow been raised into the sky.
The Upper Realm was circular, in the shape of a massive, floating plate, and the tram was bringing them toward the outer edge of it. They passed through a thin forest of curved trees before finally coming to a stop in front of their destination.
The estate reminded Hal a little of his family’s, at least in concept, if not execution. The main mansion was one of the hexagonal mounds that he’d seen over and over again back in the city. It had been built directly up against a looming wall of carved rock and studded crystal that ran around the circumference of the Upper Realm.
“Welcome to the Edge Hive,” said Lady Katara. “It will be your home for the extended future. I do hope that you come to enjoy it here.”
She spoke to them in common tongue, smiling and keeping her posture relaxed. She was much more beautiful than Hal had originally realized, but there was also something in her eyes that made her seem older and wiser than her youthful looks had led him to think. Hal wondered if she was waiting for them to say anything, or just giving her words the necessary time to sink in.
“This will go most easily if the two of you are open about accepting your new lives,” she said. “I saved you from a fate that, and this is no exaggeration, would have been worse than death. Lord Tenard would have had you both tortured indefinitely. Months, maybe years, depending on his attention span.”
She frowned. Hal glanced at Vrodas, who seemed to be in agreement that they should listen, rather than talk.
“I am kind to my slaves, but I would advise you both to put any fantasies you have of escaping out of your heads,” said Lady Katara. “It is not because I doubt that it’s possible. I’m sure it is, if you have enough intelligence and desire. But what you would face, as an escaped slave in the Upper Realm, would make you regret the decision many times over.”
She watched them for a couple of seconds and then nodded, exiting the crystal cart. The guards pushed and prodded Hal and Vrodas off the cart as though to emphasize that they were, in fact, slaves.
Lady Katara walked across the grass toward the entrance of her hive, the red dress she wore trailing behind her in the soft, afternoon breeze. There was a man waiting for her there who gave a deep bow as she approached. The two of them spoke for a moment, and then Katara turned her attention back to her new slaves as they followed up behind her.
“This is my Head Slave, Willum,” she said. “He will give you a tour of the estate and show you where you’ll live initially and what you’ll have access to. Serve me well, and do not forget what could have happened if not for my intervention.”
Hal was barely paying enough attention to manage a bow alongside Vrodas. Lady Katara smiled as they both rose, pleased that they were picking up on the details. She headed up the stairs into the hive, which left Hal a second or two to consider the Head Slave they’d been entrusted to, and the coincidence of his name.
Willum had dark blond hair cut in a style longer than what would have been fashionable back on the surface. He wore a tight long sleeve shirt that looked as though it had been patched several times, along with brown trousers. He was smiling, though the expression seemed set onto his face, rather than natural.
Hal found himself checking each detail against Laurel’s face in his head, unable to keep himself from wondering if he’d found her long lost brother. Willum noticed the attention and raised an eyebrow.
“What are your names?” he asked.
“Halrin,” said Hal.
“Vrodas.”
Willum nodded. “Follow me, Halrin and Vrodas. I’ll introduce you to your new home.”
He took them on a tour of the estate, talking the entire time and preventing Hal from getting a word in edgewise. It was alright by Hal, as he wanted to ask the question while they were alone, and preferably not out in the open.
The Edge Hive’s location against the Upper Realm’s side wall meant that the gardens needed to be far forward from the property, out of range of the annoying shadow that covered half of the estate for a portion of the day. A range of fruits and vegetables were being grown, and Hal was surprised by how large and healthy each plant and tree looked.
Willum took them around to the side of the estate, showing them what he called the “crystal grounds”. It was a section of the side wall itself where massive, white crystals jutted out from the rock. It didn’t appear as though the crystal was being collected or mined, but the location still seemed to have importance, though Hal couldn’t guess how.
He brought them through a small, outdoor sitting area with several garish statues, and then into the hive itself. It was aptly named, with confusing hallways lit by small, purple crystals set into either side of the walls at regular intervals. The hallways were hexagonal, as everything seemed to be in the Upper Realm, and branched off at odd, unexpected angles.
Willum lead them down a sloping hallway that curved back around, descending to a level below the main hive. It eventually ended in a locked door, which Willum opened with a crystal from his pocket. The room on the other side was spacious and nearly freezing cold, which made sense once Hal saw what the windows along the far wall looked out onto.
“This is the slave hall,” said Willum. “It’s carved into the base rock of the Upper Realm. When the clouds are at their thinnest, you can look out onto the surface. Lady Katara says it helps the slaves remember to be grateful for where they are.”
Hal approached the metal slatted windows that ran almost from floor to ceiling across the slave hall’s far wall. It was a cloudy day, which made it hard to see more than small patches of blue ocean on the surface far below. It still was enough to make him feel unnerved by how high up they were, and it emphasized Lady Katara’s earlier point about the difficulty of escaping.
“Are you gratef
ul, Willum?” he asked. “To be up here, as a slave in the Upper Realm?”
Willum’s jaw tightened at the question. Hal could tell that it had caught him off guard, and he’d intended it to.
“I am grateful for Lady Katara’s progressive attitude,” said Willum. “She’s much kinder than many of the other slaveholders, I can assure you of that.”
Hal licked his lips. He had to know for sure.
“I knew somebody with a brother named Willum,” he said. “A girl, back on the surface. Living on a small homestead, in a valley above the desert.”
Willum’s face paled. His arms tensed up, and he blinked several times in quick succession.
“She’s been looking for her brother for months,” said Hal. “She’s worried sick about him, and-”
Willum clamped a hand down over his mouth before he could say another word. Vrodas moved to separate them, but Hal held up a hand, not sensing danger from the other slave.
“Quiet,” said Willum. “Don’t say another word about her. Not here, and not now.”
Hal nodded, and Willum released his grip. He thought for a moment that Willum might give more of an explanation, but he seemed to fade back into his Head Slave persona instead.
“Right this way,” said Willum. “The two of you will have to share a room for the time being.”
CHAPTER 11
Willum brought them to a small, stone carved cell with two cots set up on either wall and a single chamber pot in the corner, next to another open-air window. He cleared his throat, still seeming unnerved from Hal’s earlier revelation, but committed to doing his job.
“It’s a modest room,” he said. “But if you serve Lady Katara well, the accommodations can be significantly upgraded.”
“And is that what you’ve done, Willum?” asked Hal. “Served Lady Katara well?”
Willum’s eyes flashed with something close to anger, and Hal had the sense to let the point drop.
“I understand that your capture and sale may have been traumatic, so take a couple of hours to rest,” said Willum. “You will each begin work later this afternoon, once appropriate roles can be found for you.”
He gave them both a nod and then shut the door. Hal heard the handle click and knew that they’d been locked in. He had trouble deciding whether that was something that concerned him or not.
What Lady Katara said earlier is true. We’re trapped in the Upper Realm, even if we do manage to escape her estate.
Hal scowled, feeling a dark mood coming over him as he sat down. Laurel would have noticed his absence by now. Would she head out and search for him? He desperately hoped that she’d have the sense to stay near the homestead, or if she could, head into town, where she could find safety in numbers.
“This is not a good situation,” said Vrodas.
“No,” agreed Hal. “It isn’t.”
There wasn’t much more for either of them to say about it. Hal ran his hands over the smooth stone of their cell. It wasn’t brick, but a space carved into rock, leaving no opportunity for a loose stone to be pushed or pulled out of place. He still checked every corner, more out of boredom than anything.
He and Vrodas both attempted to sleep in their beds. Their room was just as cold as the slave hall had been, and though each of their cots had a dirty, wool blanket across it, it only did so much to keep him warm.
A few hours went by before Willum finally returned. He opened the door and gestured for both of them to step out into the slave hall.
“We’ve found an initial assignment for each of you,” he said, with an odd smile. “Lady Katara, it appears, purchased you with keen foresight.”
“Alright…” said Hal. “Is now a good time for us to talk?”
Willum ignored the question. He led them out of the slave hall and back up into the hive. They walked down several hallways before coming to a door that had steam leaking out of it around the edges.
“I trust the two of you can get yourselves cleaned up?” asked Willum. “There are clothes set out in piles near the door for when you’re finished.”
“Thanks,” Hal and Vrodas both mumbled in unison.
The bathing chamber was large and mostly empty, with only two out of a dozen or so tubs currently filled. Hal and Vrodas each climbed into one and set about scrubbing themselves clean.
Hal’s puncture wounds from Gardius’s spear had closed up, but they were still painful to the touch. He forced himself to scrub them clean anyway, fearing what would happen if they soured and caused fever.
When he was finished, he pulled on the clothes Willum had mentioned. They were of the tight, Upper Realm fashion, a simple grey tunic with tight brown trousers. The cut made them feel too small for him, as though they’d been made for a large elf, rather than an average sized human.
Vrodas looked as annoyed as Hal felt, and far more ridiculous. His tunic had been made by a tailor with only a loose understanding of the maug physique, and it caused the garment to slope low on his chest. He scowled as he saw Hal smiling at him.
“It could be worse,” said Hal. “New clothes are new clothes.”
“But it could also be better,” said Vrodas.
Willum was waiting at the door, and he led him further into the hive, without a word. They stopped in front of a door at the end of a hallway, and Willum turned his attention to Hal.
“Your duty is on the other side of this door,” he said, with a wry smile. “Try not to enjoy yourself too much. Not every task you are given will be so… enjoyable.”
“Can you give me a little more information to go on than that?” asked Hal.
Willum grinned at him and set a hand on his shoulder.
“Lady Katara has put you on breeding duty,” said Willum. “It is… exactly what it sounds like.”
Hal gaped at him, but Willum was already opening the door and leading him through it.
“I’ll be back in an hour,” said Willum. “There is no need for you to feel strange about this, Halrin. This is just a normal part of your life, now.”
He gave Hal a small push forward into the room, and then hurriedly shut the door behind him. The chamber he found himself in was simple, though a vast improvement over the dank cell he and Vrodas had been assigned. It was much warmer, for starters, with a clean bed large enough for two and a carpet spread out across the floor.
A woman was sitting on the bed, and she smiled nervously as Hal met her gaze. She was attractive, with red hair, freckles, and hazel eyes. She wore a white robe, and had a slightly chubby build, though in a manner that was more voluptuous than unappealing.
“Hello,” she said.
“Uh, hi,” said Hal. “I’m… Halrin.”
“Taylor,” said the woman.
CHAPTER 12
She was a couple years older than him, probably close to twenty-five or thirty. Hal winced as he felt an awkward tension building in the space between him. He had no idea what to say, or how to begin. It reminded him of when he’d first lost his virginity back in the Collected Provinces, with the uncertainty of the situation almost paralyzing him into place.
“You don’t have to be nervous, Halrin,” said Taylor. “I’ve done this before. Never with a slave from the surface, though.”
Hal nodded slowly, though he wasn’t sure how to take her words.
“You’re not from the surface, then?” asked Hal.
“Of course not!” said Taylor. “Most slaves in Lady Katara’s hive were born in the realm. Surface slaves tend to be a little more… hostile. No offense, but I’m sure you know what I mean, having come from down there.”
“I’m not completely sure I do.” Hal crossed his arms, feeling offended, even though he knew it was ridiculous. Taylor frowned, fidgeting and looking uncomfortable as the silence lengthened.
“All I meant was that you must be glad to have been brought to the Upper Realm, right?” asked Taylor. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like living in the wild.”
“It was nice,” said Hal. “
And it wasn’t ‘living in the wild’, it was just living. There are cities and towns on the surface, Taylor. It’s not that much different.”
Taylor nodded slowly, but she wore her skepticism openly on her face.
This is ridiculous.
“Well,” said Taylor. “Shall we?”
She opened the front of her robe, revealing her breasts to him. They were large, but surprisingly buoyant, and Hal felt excitement flare in both his chest and his crotch as he stared at them and her. She had an inviting smile on her face, and leaned slightly further back onto the bed.
“Just like that?” asked Hal. “You don’t see anything weird about this? About being forced to have sex with someone you just met?”
Taylor shrugged, the movement making her jiggle in interesting ways.
“Lady Katara allows pregnant slaves and new mothers to take time off their regular duties,” said Taylor. “I wouldn’t mind that. She’s tried to breed me before, but nobody has been able to… finish the job.” A wicked smile spread across her lips. “Do you think you can finish the job, Halrin?”
“It’s not about whether I can, it’s about whether I want to,” said Hal. “Frankly, I don’t much appreciate being forced to do something, even if it’s pleasurable.”
“Is that so?” asked Taylor. She slipped further out of her robe, and revealed more of her nakedness underneath. “I’d heard that men from the surface are like beasts. Some of the other girls joked about how you’d take me like an animal, and have your way with me. Such a pity…”
She crossed her legs slowly, bringing her arms together on either side of her breasts and pushing them together. Hal felt annoyed by how enticing he found the sight of her.
“You think all men from the surface are like beasts?” asked Hal.
Dawning Ceremony (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 3) Page 6
