Fae
By Jennifer Bene
Text copyright © 2015 Jennifer Bene
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Eris Adderly.
http://erisadderly.com/ebook-cover-design-portfolio/
I have so many people to thank for their help in bringing the first book in my Daughters of Eltera series to life. Fae has been a work of many years as I worked to find myself as an author, never forgetting about this draft sitting on a shelf collecting dust.
So, first, thanks to my best friends Sarah and Blake for listening to me talk about Fae and Kiernan and the Faeoihn for hours, and never once complaining, but always being some of my biggest cheerleaders.
Second, major thanks to my editor (the Brit who shall not be named) and my author friend Myra Danvers for putting in hours and hours of work editing the drafts of this book, you guys are amazing.
Third, I have to thank all the men and women in The Erotic Collective for inspiring me to believe I could publish in the first place, specifically, Tara Crescent (my publishing guru).
And last, but most definitely not least, I have to thank you, the reader. Without your tweets, Facebook comments, emails, reviews, and general support for my other books I likely would have never gained the courage to publish something so close to my little author heart.
Now I’ll shut up and let you enjoy Fae’s story.
Prologue
Three Years Ago
Suyhay Market, Bangkok, Thailand
“Are we going to be okay?”
Again, with that damn question. The pixie with the wide violet eyes and iridescent wings just wouldn’t stop talking.
Fae was doing her best to stay detached from the people around her, but the insistent whispering of the frightened girl was difficult to ignore. Rolling her shoulders she tried to ease the pressure on her arms from being cuffed to the wall.
What do you even to say to a question like that?
Fae knew the girl wanted to be comforted, wanted to feel better, but how could she do that without lying? It just wasn’t possible. The girl repeated the question again, straining herself even more to get closer. With a little growl, Fae made herself answer.
“Stay quiet, obey them, and you’ll probably make it through alive.” Fae didn’t look over at the pixie, keeping her eyes trained on the bolted door on the opposite wall – she didn’t want to get dragged into a conversation. Couldn’t get dragged into one. She had to focus.
It had only taken twenty-two years to be back in this dump. The third Wednesday of every month was unique in the Suyhay Slave Market, because amidst their normal stock of women and men were those from their ‘special collection’. Supernatural creatures collected from a variety of places and planes of existence that were carted into their white tiled storage area in chains, and cages, and boxes, to be sold to anyone with the money to buy them.
It really, really sucked.
Muffled crying was echoing around the room and grating on Fae’s nerves. But there was nothing she could do about it, not while chained to a fucking wall in a room warded against magic. Not even Eltera’s healing gifts could get in here.
“What are they doing with us? Why are we all here? I want to go home.” The pixie had her arms fully extended, the chains taut from her to the wall, to get as close to her as possible. The girl shivered, pale blue skin damp with sweat and the chill in the air wasn’t exactly keeping her warm, but she was so intent on Fae she didn’t seem to notice. “I want to go home, please,” she whispered, her violet eyes slightly glassy and unfocused, “Can’t I just go home?”
Fae dropped her head back against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut as if that could block out the sound of the girl’s desperate pleas. “No. They aren’t going to let you go home.” She twisted her body again trying to relieve the strain on her shoulders. If they were going to leave her here for hours, the least they could have done was cuff her arms in front of her or give her enough chain to sit comfortably. With a sigh she continued, “Listen. You’re going to go home with whomever buys you today, and if you’re lucky they’ll want you just because you’re a pixie, and you’ll be some party trick.”
The girl shifted, a bundle of nervous energy. “And – and if I’m not lucky?”
No one here was lucky.
“You’ll be a house slave, or a bed slave.” Fae’s voice was flat and tired. It took a moment to realize it was so much quieter nearby. Looking around she could see wide eyes of various colors staring at her, too many future slaves listening to her. Listening to the knowledge she’d gained from too many years of being bought and sold. Part of her wanted to comfort them, but there was nothing more to say. The truth was the kindest thing to give them. The girl didn’t ask any more questions, there wasn’t a need to elaborate, and the pixie finally shrank away, curling her wings tight to her back.
The grating sound of metal on metal filled the room before the heavy door was thrown back. The thing that stood in the opening was tall, bald, broad-chested, and dumb. All Durgha were dumb, but this one looked like he might have traded some of his IQ points for a few more muscles at some point in his life. He scanned the room until his dull, black eyes lit on Fae and he started walking over.
Fae whispered her final comment to the pixie. “Also, if you want to survive? Don’t act like me.”
Leaning heavily against the wall to look weak and tired, Fae waited for the chains to be unlocked. It took a moment longer for the idiot to find the right key and remove the cuffs.
“Up,” he grunted. Monosyllabic and everything. He was a half-step above a caveman, which was perfect for her. When his hand landed on her shoulder Fae brought her elbow up into his face. The crunch of his nose and the sudden spray of blood took him by surprise and he roared in pain. Rolling to the side Fae popped up a few feet away from him, lunging forward to deliver a well-placed kick to his groin. The Durgha dropped to his knees, groaning but lucid enough to reach for her. Fae reared back and kicked him in the face, sending him bloody and moaning to the tiled floor. Various creatures in chains called out to her, called out for help, for rescue, for freedom – but she couldn’t help them. There wasn’t time.
Turning around she ran out the open door into the hallway with concrete covering the floor and walls. She’d only been in it once before, but she remembered the way out to the streets was to the right. Running full speed she skidded around a corner. Already, she could hear loud voices and heavy footfalls behind her. This was her only chance. No master meant no commands, no commands meant no curse to stop her from escaping. The slap of her bare feet across the floor increased as she pushed herself. Now that she was out of the warded room, she could feel Eltera’s power allowing her to keep going even when her lungs were on fire.
“Dammit, where is it?” Fae hissed out loud to herself as she turned the next corner and saw the large metal door with a window in it. There was light from the street pouring in.
Shouts echoed up the hall from behind her and she kept moving. Slamming into the door at full speed she grabbed the handle and yanked hard. The door didn’t budge.
“No!” she screamed and started yanking on the door harder. “No, no, no, no, no!” The low voices of several Durgha were getting closer. Time had run out. Taking a deep breath Fae slammed her fist into the glass of the
small window at the top of the door. It cracked, but didn’t break, though her wrist may have. Pounding footsteps were in the hallway now, and she struck again. More cracks, another wave of pain from her hand. Yelling again, she slammed her fist into the window and was rewarded with pieces of the small window slicing into her hand as she pulled it back.
Reaching an arm through the new opening she scrambled for the handle, grasping. Her fingertips couldn’t reach it.
The warm air from outside filtered in and she angled her head so she could see a small scrap of the sky beyond the roof. There was freedom. So close, but so impossibly far on the other side of the thick steel door. Large arms wrapped around her waist and yanked her back – away from the sky, away from freedom, away from hope. She screamed as the glass sliced her arm, and slammed her foot down onto the toes of the first Durgha that grabbed her. He howled in her ear and released his hold enough for her to drop out of his grasp. Landing on her side, she kicked both feet into the nearest leg she could see, a sickening pop and the accompanying yell from the behemoth signaling victory.
Won’t be chasing anyone now, will you?
Scrambling backwards, Fae pushed herself to standing and ducked a windmill swing by one of the Durgha. They always relied on their strength, no skill whatsoever. The punch she returned to his stomach didn’t do more than knock some air out of him, but she had to try. What she wouldn’t do for a weapon in this situation. The crushing grasp of one of the Durgha pinned her arms to her sides, but he lifted her up so she couldn’t kick him. She could kick the idiot standing in front of her though, and connecting her heel with his face was satisfying, even more so when he roared and spit out a tooth. He lunged forward at her, but stopped short when a voice echoed down the hallway filled with panic.
“Stop! Don’t hurt her dammit, we have to sell her today! You fools, do not hurt her!” The grating, high-pitched voice of Panupong seemed to cut through the rage in the Durghas’ faces as they turned towards him. He was the auctioneer, and some kind of middle-management at the Suyhay market. Cheeks red and eyes bulging as he approached, Panupong’s breaths rattled in his chest. His large belly heaved up and down as he tried to catch his breath. Fae wished he was close enough to kick.
Panupong had been there two days prior to greet and accept her from her former master who had sold her to cover his outrageous gambling debts. That master hadn’t been terrible, just foolish. Fae had hated Panupong from the first moment she’d laid eyes on him. He was only concerned with money and not the welfare of any of the beings he sold. Clucking his tongue, he looked her over, and groaned at the sight of her. “Look at this, she’s a mess!”
Fae hissed through clenched teeth, “You could always let me go.” Panupong stepped forward, ignoring her, and Fae kicked out again, narrowly missing him before he jumped back.
He scowled. “Put her on the ground. Hold her down. We’re going to have to sedate her or no one is going to spend anything on her.” Fae arched her back and kicked her legs, trying to twist away from the Durgha’s arms, but it just made him tighten his grasp further making it difficult to breathe. The one with the busted mouth grabbed her legs and pinned them to his side and they dropped her to the ground. Quickly adjusting the grip on her arms the Durgha pinned them to the floor at her sides. Fae strained against both of them, but there was no budging now. Panupong stepped forward, sweat dripping off his round face. His hands shook as he opened a small case and took out a syringe full of a liquid with a faint blue color.
Fuck. Dreamland.
Fae shook her head and started to plead. “Don’t. You don’t need to give me that.” She knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything, no chance for another escape attempt, if they injected her with it. It would make her so loopy she’d barely be able to stand, and eventually she’d just go to sleep as it took effect.
Panupong reached under the Durgha leaning over her and brushed her auburn hair out of her face, sweeping it away from the sweat on her forehead. “You made this choice when you tried to run. Now be a good girl and hold still.” He ran his thumb over the crook of her elbow looking for a good vein. It was pointless she still tensed up. He injected her quickly with a sharp stab, and the drug flooded her veins sending her head spinning seconds later. She tried to focus on what she wanted to do.
Escape.
She had no master, had no commands to follow.
This was her only chance to get away.
She felt their hands let go of her, and she tried to get up, to run, but rolling to her side was all she managed. Her mind was so fuzzy, so full of warmth, and she felt a sense of calm wash over her. She could hear them talking, but it was hard to focus on a single thought. Then one of the Durgha lifted her up and tossed her over his shoulder. A few minutes later a rough washcloth was scrubbing the blood off her arms and thin bandages were being wrapped over the cuts. A new tank top and cheap black cotton shorts replaced the bloody ones, but there was nothing they could do to make her look like an obedient little slave. Every inch of her screamed disobedient, and she didn’t bother stifling the giggle that bubbled out of her. Panupong glared and left the room in a huff, mumbling as he did. She didn’t care. It was hard to care about anything as the Dreamland stormed through her bloodstream. It was one of the few drugs on the planet that effected beings like her, which only made her hate it more.
When they were satisfied, Fae was shuffled into the hallway, a heavy hand placed on her shoulder by one of the Durgha. It was difficult to stay standing under the weight of the drug. Trying to think, or talk, or move took so much effort that she resembled a zombie as he moved her around. She knew on some deep level that she wouldn’t feel normal again until the morning, but that was little comfort in the moment.
The Durgha stopped her outside a pair of large swinging doors that were left over from the time when this place was a meat packing warehouse. The auction took place in what had been the central packing floor, a large space that now only witnessed these weekly auctions. Fae leaned against the wall, fighting to keep her eyes open, and the Durgha only used his hand to keep her somewhat upright. There was the murmuring of a lot of people talking inside the doors, but none of it was clear. She knew she should fight, that she should try to run, but her body wouldn’t respond. It took all of her effort to stay still against the wall as the room curved around her, making her feel off-balance and uneasy.
After a few moments the Durgha banged his fist against the swinging door. Above the din Panupong’s irritating voice rose up, “Many apologies for the delay, we are now moving back to lot twelve.” As he spoke the Durgha pushed Fae through the doors, she stumbled once as she stepped up onto the raised platform to face the thirty or so people sitting in metal folding chairs. Panupong’s smile was so wide his cheeks must have hurt, and even through the effects of the drug Fae really wanted to hit him and wipe that stupid grin away. The Durgha pressed down on her shoulder until Fae dropped into a kneel in the middle of the platform.
“Here we have a treat for you. A female from a race called the Fae-oh-een.” Panupong annunciated carefully and then cleared his throat to speak louder. “One of only a hundred or so god-touched beings originally part of a warrior cult worshipping the goddess Eltera.”
‘It’s not a cult’, Fae thought to herself. She wanted to scream at him, correct him, explain her purpose. Their real purpose.
But that was pointless.
Fae leaned forward and put her hands on her knees. Her stomach was starting to turn from the dose of Dreamland. Panupong looked her over and continued, “She looks quite young, but is actually immortal so she will look like this forever – her exact age is unknown. Other things to know, the Faeoihn can receive almost anything other than a fatal wound and at dawn every day will be healed and good as new. Think of it! Punish her however you like, enact any fantasy, and she will be fresh in the morning. Can you really put a price on something this magnificent?” Panupong was pointing at her, but Fae had slumped forward as the drug thumped through her vei
ns. Sure, she could heal, in another ten hours or so, but for now he’d drugged her into uselessness. He gestured at the Durgha to straighten her up with a nervous flick of his hand. The mammoth grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back into a sitting kneel. When her head was still hanging down the beast lifted it up by holding onto her hair. Once her face was visible again, Panupong smiled back at the crowd, “If that isn’t enough, the Faeoihn are required to obey! Once a master is identified, magic-formed control bands ensure an obedient creature by delivering pain when direct commands are not followed! Delightful, yes?” Panupong gave himself a little round of applause, but no one else joined him.
He laughed nervously, as he looked over at her again.
Fae was barely conscious and didn’t exactly look appealing in old clothes, half-covered in bandages, and almost unconscious from the drugs required to control her.
Yeah, she was a real prize.
“Time for the auction!” Panupong started the bidding with a desperate voice and a surprising number of hands went up. As the auction continued Fae drifted in and out of consciousness, the haze of the Dreamland had completely engulfed her. The speed of the auction began to slow until there were just two bidders left. Fae forced her eyes open when she heard him saying the same bid numbers over and over. She could see a green skinned woman with a cruel face, and a dark haired man wearing sunglasses – both raising their hands to bid.
They were both looking directly at her and not Panupong.
A few more bids were thrown out, and the higher pitch of Panupong’s voice hinted that it must be getting good, but she couldn’t focus enough on the numbers he said. There was muttering among the group and then the loud clap of Panupong’s hands echoed through the room like thunder. When Fae opened her eyes one last time a slow smile appeared on the dark haired man’s face, and the middle-management peon of the Suyhay Market spoke with clear delight.
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