by Ann Raina
He shivered when he surfaced and his orientation was worse than while being blindfolded. Kianto lay panting and freezing and tried to remember how the day had passed without him noticing. Outside it was too dark to see the outlines of the village in the distance. Only a few torches burnt.
Won Ta Ki came to him, a tankard in her hand.
“I will take off the gag now and you will remain quiet. If not, there will be no drink and no food.”
Kianto wondered why she spoke so stern with him. He could not remember having done something wrong. He simply nodded and the gag vanished. Kianto drank and waited until Won Ta Ki’s girlfriend brought some bits of food for him. It was not enough to satisfy his hunger, but better than nothing.
When the plates were gone, two of Won Ta Ki’s girlfriends sat beside him and began nibbling his toes. He watched what they were doing with growing arousal and when Won Ta Ki joined and caressed his belly to hunt further down, he did not want to remember the day. In the maze of his few thoughts he hardly noted that after meeting with the murinjin all of his pubic hair was gone as well as the rest of his body hair. His chest was smooth and very sensitive when Won Ta Ki ran her small split tongue around his nipples. Kianto reached for her, but she stopped him with a fierce glare. He put down his hands immediately. He would not want to anger the ladies in their game. Smiling, he gave in.
* * * *
Deran hastened home. He checked across his shoulder whether guards followed him or if the big, ugly man named Donego made a sport of chasing him to force him to drink more of that strange liquid, but he was alone. It was getting dark and he was tired. The way was terribly long, much longer than it used to be. In his mind he saw Hanjek and the Furious Five bang against doors and digging tunnels to escape the evil Mawanies. He doubled his efforts to get home. His father would listen to him and then the elders in the morning.
He panted and struggled to run faster.
Deran had known all along that the Mawanies were bad, but he had not realized that there could be Rahenians just as bad. It was a shock, but it would stir unrest among the villagers. He knew there was still lust to fight in them. The story of Hanjek still alive would spread faster than arrows could fly and within half a season time every man would be armed and ready to go against the invaders once more.
When he reached his home it was dark. The route had blurred before his eyes and he had taken a strange detour. The hut looked different as well and the torchlight burned all too bright in his eyes.
He slipped under the drape to get out of the drizzle. His father looked up, more concerned than angry and his mother came to hug him.
“Where have you been, Deran? We were worried.”
“I…” He pulled up his nose and searched his mind. When he could not recollect, he shrugged. “I wandered about the village and through the wood.” He kissed her wrinkled cheek. “I’m sorry. I forgot about time.”
Chapter Six
Kianto learned that many ways of pain led to bliss.
Won Ta Ki taught him some facts about Mawany rituals, about the Creator and their way of life after his rules and why the Rahenians were a special people among the many living in the galaxy. Kianto looked forward to more lessons every day and even more to the tethers she brought with her. Just seeing ropes and chains and blindfolds aroused him so that Won Ta Ki already joked about his behavior.
“There will be a time when I just show you a rope and your semen will spill.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Won Ta Ki made him stand on tiptoes while his wrists were bound high above his head and still he smiled.
“Your learning skills are amazing. I already told the one who made me and he might be convinced to release you once more.”
“I doubt it.” Kianto sighed. She had told him that the one who made her would not want her human pet go astray again. She gave no explanation, but held him tethered in her chamber or close to her whereabouts. He was not allowed to stay alone. “Na Ris Nei is very severe.” He shuddered. The sight of the old Mawany gave him the creeps. There were memories assaulting him in his sleep and he understood some of them were reflections of reality and not nightmares. He did not tell Won Ta Ki that he remembered the day he found Hanjek and his men and how Na Ris Nei had reacted.
“He rules our home and more. We all follow his orders.” Won Ta Ki made him spread his legs before she unleashed a handful of grown muri on his legs to let them climb higher. Fascinated, she knelt and watched while Kianto put his head back.
“I don’t like them,” he pressed. “Why do you do it over again?”
“You have to like them, Kianto. They don’t harm you. Instead they bring you joy if you let go of your uneasiness.”
“I can’t!”
“The process is to enhance your loving abilities.”
“My abilities to love? Where does that come from?” He frowned and stared at her just to digress from the worms winding higher around his thighs. Now that he had no hair to hamper them, they obviously enjoyed his human skin. He dreaded them every inch. “Do you use them in your rituals?”
“For us, love-making is different.” She lowered her head and her fingers played nervously. “The Mawany do not have such beautiful rites as your race.”
“What do you do? I have not seen children of your race around. Is that true?”
“Yes.” It was just a whisper of sadness. “There are no small ones.”
Kianto exhaled and tried to force his mind away from the unwelcome sensation of the muri reaching for his balls.
“Why don’t you have children? Are there no places for them to grow here?”
“No.” Won Ta Ki looked at him, hesitating. Finally, after a complicated gesture with her hands, she went on. “We wanted to make little ones on Rahenia, but they did not live. It took us long to understand why. Now, all the Mawanies who live here are getting old and older.”
Kianto shuddered. The muri had reached his manhood and were willing to drag his thoughts away from children to getting aroused.
“Won Ta Ki, are you telling me that all of your race around here are…old?”
“Some more, some less.”
“And your children? Little ones? Where are they?”
“Not here.” She sounded so sad he pitied her. “They are with elders back home or on other planets where they can live.”
“But why are you here, then? Why are you not with your children?”
“I don’t have little ones. They were made on a ship and left to live.”
Kianto felt like fighting a strong opponent. The muri were very persistent to harden his cock and make him forget any coherent thought.
“And you? Don’t you want to be with them?”
“I have to be here.” Won Ta Ki stood to blindfold Kianto.
“Why do you do this?”
“I just have to. Enjoy the muri, don’t think of anything else but your satisfaction.”
“How old can you become?”
“I cannot tell in your way of seasons of harvests. We grow very old. Do not forget, we travel through space and no race with a short life span would be able to cross the distances we crossed to get here.”
“And still—” He broke off, shuddering violently as two muri worked hard and harder on his cock and glans. “No! I want to know—”
“Do not fight. Just let go and enjoy it.”
“Why?” He squirmed while the other muri enclosed his balls and some went even further to climb between his butt cheeks. “Why do you want to see our mating?”
Won Ta Ki sang to him and gently stroked his chest and belly. She did not answer any of his questions, but waited until he gave in to the muri and the soft massage of her hands. When it became time to spill his semen, Won Ta Ki’s melody changed to a livelier sound. He heard the soft answer of other Mawanies closing in, not knowing if he should be proud or ashamed of his ecstasy.
Spent and tired, Kianto hardly listened to the conversation around him, not until the aliens were gone
and warm hands freed him from the shackles. He lay down on the soft ground, expecting the red fibers to enclose and drag him under. This time he did not fight.
* * * *
Since Na Ris Nei would not allow Kianto to walk around alone, he ordered Donego to stay at Kianto’s side. The older man took a deep breath when they walked side by side through one of the corridors.
“Listen, you are only free as long as Na Ris Nei says so. I heard Won Ta Ki beg for your freedom in the palace. If you misbehave once again, he might—”
“Yes, I know, he’ll drag my cock to the floor and trample on it.” Kianto shot Donego an angry glare. “There are more secrets around, don’t you understand? I’m convinced we can still break the invasion and send them home. Get our lands back!”
Donego shook his head.
“You’re still a youngster, Kianto. They are strong and by far more intelligent than you and I can imagine.”
“I see that your imagination has run dry long ago.”
“They outwit us every time we think we have them. Hanjek and his men were just the most prominent ones that they captured. Don’t you think there were others thinking like them? There were enough, believe me. And they all were doomed.”
“And you saw them all fail, right? How proud you can be.”
Donego blocked his way to look him straight in the eye.
“We all made choices. You came here as a servant out of free will and now you accuse your employers. You even betrayed them. Still you want them to leave. Why? They live with us in peaceful harmony.”
“Peaceful in their opinion.”
“Peaceful means that they do not harm anyone.”
“As long as we play along the rules they created.”
“That is so, yes.”
Kianto punched Donego’s chin hard enough to make him stumble. Without a sound, he hit him again, forcing him down. When Donego still looked more surprised than hurt, Kianto placed the final hit against the other man’s temple, feeling great and righteous. He had wanted to do this for a long time. Donego went down, unconscious. Kianto panted and, glad to find the corridor still empty, dragged the older man through the curtain into a room. He could not tell for how long his action would go unnoticed, but a few minutes were all he needed.
He raced down toward the meager light of the floor below, climbed down and entered through the curtain. The strong smell of mixed spices assaulted his nostrils so much he almost stumbled backwards. All workers turned to him and stopped with their tankards or funnels in hand.
“Hey, you again,” Hanjek welcomed him. “Did the big one release you? I feared he might break your arms and legs just to vent his anger. Are you still whole?”
“We don’t have much time. I want you to come with me and leave the palace. Show yourself to your friends and wives. They long to see you. And don’t think about riots. There will be another way to get rid of the Mawanies.”
Hanjek turned to his men, smiling.
“He’s cute, isn’t he? Still convinced to do the right thing.”
“Whatever you do here, it’s not worth giving up your lives as Rahenians. Return with me!”
Hanjek sighed and the other ones pitied Kianto with their glances.
“Hey, don’t you understand? We want to be here. Look, even your village teacher finds it more interesting to be here than to stay at the village.” He pointed at the young man who smiled shyly.
Kianto was at a loss.
“What do you do here, anyway?”
“In a way, we help the Mawanies rule,” replied Loban.
“What?”
“We produce hinjenjo, a sweet drink that tastes different for whoever drinks it. A very fine product.” He got closer, shrugging. “A side effect is that the one drinking it forgets a little bit of his life. Some hours, half a day.”
“Why?” Kianto had thought there was nothing worse to learn than the Mawanies tormenting these poor men, but he was wrong. “Why do you help them? And why do the Mawanies need this stuff?”
“Oh, question one is easy,” Hanjek replied. “We agreed on the terms. Question two is more difficult to answer. Let’s say, it is sometimes necessary for Rahenians to forget something they heard and saw.”
“Like Deran.” Kianto felt his knees buckle. “He heard us talk about you and then Donego gave him a drink.”
“Donego always has a certain supply at hand. That’s his privilege as a senior servant.” He smiled. “And he uses it frequently, so I heard. So he walks around and pretends he still lives with his people though he left them long ago. He just makes them forget.” Hanjek shrugged again. “Everyone has his own way of dealing with the Mawanies, don’t you think?”
“I don’t…I don’t know what to think.” Kianto ran a hand through his thick hair. “This has to end. The Rahenians are no animals to be drugged and kept in the dark. They need to know that—”
“What do they need to know?” Hanjek interrupted. “That they can’t break the Mawany rule? That they are betrayed over and over and again? That the Rahenians are just one people out of many the Mawany want to rule? Do your job and be happy with it. Don’t break your head upon problems you can’t solve.”
“I cannot just accept this!”
“You came here to work,” Hanjek said, stepping forward. He was smaller than Kianto, but his stance made the younger man move back. “Work and take the coin they offered. You will be well rewarded for your service and your family will prosper. Do not make the mistake that we made when we attacked them. They are fierce enemies.”
Kianto shook his head and pointed at the full casks piled in the nearest corner.
“Stop producing hinjenjo then, at least. Don’t let them take memories away. You change lives out there, don’t you see?”
“Yes, for their betterment. What they don’t know cannot bother them. And your life won’t be altered, so why worry?”
“My life won’t? Why?”
“Because all of us who serve in the mating game–-and that includes you and me and some more–-cannot drink it. It’s just not good for us, so they said. Maybe you…”
He shrank visibly when three guards entered the room. Absorbed in their conversation, none of the men had heard them jump down. The Mawany guards were tall and broad with long limbs and small hips. Their hands had double the size of a medium sized tankard and stretched out for the young man.
“Kianto, you have to come with us,” the first guard said. Though his words were uttered in a manhandled version of the Rahenian language, his hard hands on Kianto’s upper arm spoke clearly. Kianto struggled to no avail. The second guard took his other arm.
“Stop the production!” he yelled as they dragged him out. “Try to get back to your homes! The Rahenians need you!”
The last he saw was Hanjek’s compassionate face and his hand waving him goodbye.
Chapter Seven
All of the way, Kianto expected to see Na Ris Nei and be the object of his fury once again. Instead, the guards dragged him at a marching pace through the corridor into an area of the palace he had not explored. The walls appeared thicker, the air smelled of old wood, sweet water and sweat, with an undercurrent of blood.
The guards pulled him roughly onto a large slab of wood that was smoothed by long seasons of use and fastened his arms and legs. Kianto swallowed nervously. If Na Ris Nei did not appear, he hoped for Won Ta Ki to claim him back.
“Where is Won Ta Ki?” he asked the guard, but the only answer was an unmelodic grunt and a thick wooden gag pressed between his teeth. The chastity device was taken away and from the ceiling, a machine was lowered to fit over his abdomen from hip to upper thigh. The machine made a low, humming sound and inside, Kianto felt his cock and balls surrounded by warm, soft objects which started to massage him. He raised his head to see the guards leave and Donego enter the room. The dark purple bruise was large enough to look like a second chin.
“You have a hard punch,” Donego said quietly and pressed down Kianto’s head t
o fasten a ring across his brow. “And as you see, it was a mistake to knock me out.” He remained behind Kianto’s head to caress his cheek and chin. “I had hoped that you would be my mate for some time to come, but your stubbornness ruined it all.” He sighed. “You are by far more useful than you think and your service will truly be cherished. Yet, you lost your right to wander free. And, I admit it with regret, you will not take part in the mating game any longer. They have hired another young man to play with Sariti and Dianiki. Oh, I see, you wondered if Sariti was still here. Yes, she is. I talked to her and she behaves perfectly now. No playing around with any male out of sight of the Mawanies.”
Kianto wanted to throttle him and it showed. Donego’s lips twitched to a pitiful smile.
“Do you want to know why the Mawanies are so interested in our mating rituals? It is the excitement that spreads.” He waited to go on until Kianto squirmed with impatience. “Only then did they find out that the bodily fluids produced during the mating were also stimulating for the Mawanies.” He weighed his hand. “Maybe not in the way they thought first, but they experimented.”
Down inside the machine, the parts stroked up and down on Kianto’s shaft to get it hard.
Donego drew breath and went on, massaging Kianto’s stiff shoulders.
“For some seasons, they were content to be simply stimulated. They felt better. Then Na Ris Nei tested another side effect.” He leered at the captive. “And, see, the elders regained their health. They were strong once again. They returned to the power they had had when they were young. So they lived on and ruled and traded.” He kissed Kianto on his nose. “And for the simple gift of human semen they allowed the Rahenians to almost go on like they had done for hundreds of seasons.”
