by LC Morgans
“Well that’s over now and I’m dying. I might as well have my fun before I kick the bucket,” Kronus snapped in response and Rasmos held up his hands in defeat. The Prince took a steadying breath and forced himself to remain calm. He’d known for a long time that Rasmos was in the business of slavery, especially of the female variety. He’d allowed it to continue on Earth as a sweetener for their races more hardened warriors or greatest minds in return for their service, but Rasmos had been warned against continuing his business once they’d left the dying planet behind. All the humans taken were accounted for, whether inducted into the new human army or as servants continuing on in their relevant households, and Kronus was disgusted to even contemplate that Rasmos had decided to take on one last employee before discontinuing his immoral business.
Kronus knew he needed to tread carefully, so decided against asking him about Kyra directly. “I want someone who can take a beating, Rasmos,” he said, and knew right away he’d appealed to his Chief’s darker side when he grinned broadly. “I have a great deal of anger inside of me, but also a huge amount of pent up energy. I want to offload it on someone with no accountability. A slave girl capable of taking a good pounding.”
His guest smiled wider and tapped his chin as he mulled the Prince’s request over. Kronus was sure Rasmos knew how he and Kyra had been friends years before, but not how close they were, or of their history. He wanted to track her down the indirect way and hoped he had made it clear he was after something far more impressive than just another human slave, but knew he couldn’t ask for her by name otherwise Rasmos would be instantly suspicious.
“I have a few girls left, mostly delicate flowers looking for a quiet life, but I’m sure one could be taught how to accommodate your wishes,” Rasmos replied, but Kronus shook his head.
“You know what I want, Rasmos. Not a wilting flower or the shy and retiring type. I want someone strong in both will and body. Someone who pushes my buttons. Someone I can offload my guilt with,” he insisted.
“Someone like her, the mute?” The cards were on the table at last and Kronus leaned forward. He rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his chin with his fingertips. He nodded, but Rasmos sucked in his breath on a hiss and shook his head. “There was only ever one, and I’m afraid she’s taken. Her master paid a high price, and that included a sweetener for my silence.”
Kronus had to hide his anger again, but knew for sure now that it was Rasmos who had taken her from the ship after all. He had a reputation as a violent man when it came to breaking in his slaves, and Kronus couldn’t even begin to let himself imagine what he’d put Kyra through in order to make her comply. She was never one for being forced into anything and that drive along with her clever mind was just two of the things that drew men like Kronus and Thrayke to her. Even the thought that all of that could have been beaten out of her had his heart pounding hard in his chest and the once so powerful Prince felt weak again, but not because of his illness.
“Then tell me where I might find another the same?” Kronus asked coldly, and his uncaring attitude towards Kyra’s fate seemed to surprise the Thrak sitting opposite.
“Another like her? There’s no such thing, your highness. Don’t pretend you truly wanted her after all this time. We all know you sent her away. After that, she was fair game. She certainly was fun to break, though. That healing ability of hers made things interesting…” Kronus’s blood was boiling. He wanted to throttle Rasmos and pound his face to mush. Imaginary visions of him beating and torturing Kyra swamped his mind, but he remained forcibly calm. He’d given Rasmos the rope, and his once trusted adviser was so close to hanging himself Kronus knew he had to let him carry on. “There’s only one place on Thrakor you might find another female with the same durability as your discarded mute, but you’d have to convince Greegis to take one off ice for you first. He keeps each and every one of his test subjects close, however, so I doubt he’d release one—not even for you.”
Whether he knew it or not, Rasmos had just given away Kyra’s new owner to him. Each and every one. It made sense that Greegis was behind her disappearance. He certainly had reason to want her. That immoral scientist would’ve undoubtedly paid any price to have his first and only living, breathing patient back under his command. Kronus peered across the room into the shadows and grinned.
“Domo, we have a traitor in our midst,” he called to his Master Protector, who stepped out of the shadows and started towards them. “Take Rasmos into custody and call the Lawbringer. I have business to attend to with Paladin Greegis.”
“Your majesty, this is an outrage!” Rasmos demanded, fighting against Domo as he pulled him up from his chair and then pinned him to the ground. The experienced warrior readied himself for a fight, but instead, it was Kronus who lunged. He gripped Rasmos by his dark grey hair and pulled his face up to meet his.
“On my father’s orders I overlooked many of your indiscretions on Earth, Rasmos. But not this one. Not her.” He slammed his fist into his cheek, knocking him immediately unconscious. Kronus stood and his head spun. He knew exactly where he had to go, but weakness flooded his frail body and he fell back down onto his knees. “Take me to see that damn scientist, Domo. I need to talk to him about my treatment,” was all he managed before passing out.
***
Kyra groaned and forced her eyes to open. She felt terrible and ached from the inside out, but at least her headaches were gone at long last. After taking stock of her surroundings, she realized she was back in her room and now remembered each and every day she’d spent there, as well as all of her memories of the past from before. It was bittersweet being herself again, but she was glad to have her memories back, no matter how hard some of them were to handle.
“One powerful reminder. That was all it took for you to burst back through all the carefully woven walls my nano-bots had made inside your head. Quite marvelous when you think about it,” Greegis’s voice wafted over to her, and she looked down towards the end of her bed to find him standing there, watching over her. Kyra rubbed her cheek and brushed what felt like sand from the skin on her face and neck. She looked down at it in surprise and then realized they were black grains made out of some sort of shiny substance. The powder was all over her pillow and in her still blonde hair, and she quickly started brushing it off onto the floor in disgust. “They’re dead. Your body has rejected them all. I guess that brings an end to our trial regarding the use of nano-technology long term,” he added coldly, shrugging.
“Good riddance to them. I was like a zombie with those things inside my brain and you didn’t care one little bit,” she spat, not giving a damn whether he would punish her for her defiance or not.
“I did care that the real you was lost to them, but not how you’d think,” he replied, while slowly and casually wandering around the bed to stand beside her. Kyra sat taller, despite being much shorter than him, and she refused to back away. She knew he was toying with her, so didn’t answer him, and so Greegis carried on with his taunt regardless. “I cared because I was growing more and more bored of you, your blank stares, and your even blander conversation. I welcomed a change, or else I was beginning to think you might have ended up like one of your fellow original test subjects—dead and your organs preserved forever in glass jars. But now we can start over. You can be yourself again, but I want you to know I won’t take you lashing out or being rude. You’re still to learn your lessons, Kyra, and I know the perfect way,” he told her.
Before she could ask how, Greegis grabbed her by the arm and led her from the bedroom, dragging her down the hall and out into the bright sunshine she hadn’t seen in over a year. Kyra shielded her eyes from it, feeling disoriented, but was then slung into a small hovercraft and strapped in by his rough hands. She didn’t dare speak as they travelled a short way across the arid land to the south of the facility to another cluster of buildings, where Greegis slowed and docked the craft before he then yanked her free from it with as little care as he’d
thrown her in with.
“Master, to what do we owe the pleasure?” a woman came out and asked as she stepped out of a doorway and then kneeled before him submissively.
“I’ve brought you a potential new recruit, Mariss,” he answered, not bothering to introduce them. Greegis simply stormed inside with Kyra still firmly in his grasp and he stopped only when the room opened up to show her the full extent of the vast space inside.
There were drapes sectioning off certain areas of the room where elaborately decorated beds and couches were tucked to one side, only barely creating the illusion of privacy. It was clearly a brothel, and while some of the women seemed to be enjoying themselves with their burly clients, there were also many who weren’t. Huge Thrakorian men were having their way without a care and Kyra cowered as she took in the sordid scene. She was reminded of the rebel, Tuka, and his gang of prostitutes working for him back on Earth. At least those men and women had reportedly been willing, whereas many of the employees before her seemed to be otherwise and had clearly been forced into servitude by their alien overlord. Greegis was more than simply a scientist. He was evidently also a pimp, which would make sense of the vast wealth and splendor he’d always exuded.
“Please, not this,” she whispered, and turned to gaze up at her dispassionate owner pleadingly. “Not this!” she hissed, and could feel herself trembling.
“You’re no use to me if all you’re going to do is fight. I don’t want boring, mindless, Paynton any more, but I need something in between. Can you offer me that? Or will I have to recoup some of my investment by putting you to work here?” Greegis demanded, threatening her again. He turned her around so she had to watch the horrid public carnal displays again and Kyra felt herself crumble in defeat.
“I won’t fight you, I promise,” she whimpered, and then yelped when he wrapped his hand around her throat. Greegis leaned down and pressed his lips against her ear.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” he whispered, before he dragged her back through the same door they’d entered without a word of explanation to the woman who’d greeted them. Kyra knew she must be the madam and she hated her for allowing such harm to come to the women in her care. Yes, they were each doing what they had to in order to survive, but she wasn’t sure she could ever be the one who stood back and watched as such considerable harm came to the innocent humans entrusted to her.
Greegis saw her distaste and mercilessly taunted her. “You’ve watched me operate on hundreds of humans, Kyra. Even when you were nothing but an airhead, you appreciated being the one who didn’t have to go back and forth between my scalpel and the cryo-chambers. Don’t think you’re any better than Mariss.” It was as if he’d read her mind, and yet she couldn’t argue. What he’d said was entirely true. She was a traitor to her race’s survivors, regardless of having been under the influence of his nano-bots the entire time. Since being at the facility with him, Kyra had still only been thinking of herself, not the innocent humans in cryo-sleep down in the basement of the clinic and he was right—she was just as bad as Mariss.
Back at the facility, Greegis took Kyra inside without a word as to what he had planned for her and dragged her into one of the examination rooms and pointed to one of the gurneys. “You told me you wouldn’t fight, so prove it. Lie down on your front. I want to try something,” he ordered. She did as she’d been told. Everything inside of her wanted to question him or refuse, but after what he’d just threatened to do to her if she fought him again, Kyra knew she’d have to relinquish her once so fierce independence to him if she were to survive.
She watched in horror as Greegis took a scalpel, cut it straight through the back panel of her dress and let the remnants slide down at her sides. Fear struck her in an instant as Kyra then watched through wide eyes as he pressed the blade into her skin in the middle of her back without a care for his usual need to scrub in or apply any infection control.
“What are you doing?” she had to ask, gritting her teeth through the pain.
“Conducting an experiment,” Greegis answered, sliding the scalpel up and down through her flesh on her left side with precision and not an ounce of guilt over the agony he was causing her, simply because he’d decided to forgo giving her so much as a local anesthetic. “I want to see if you can regenerate and entire organ—like with your voice box. Just in case you can’t, I’ve decided to take something you can live without. I figured a kidney would suffice.”
“I think I’m gonna be sick,” she groaned, trying desperately to hold back her cries of pain as he cut deeper into her.
“Don’t move, Kyra. If you’re a good girl I might give you a sedative, but I’m almost there and I’d hate to have to stop for something as teensy as your discomfort. After all, you promised me…”
“I can choose to be a whore or a slave, either way I’d best get acquainted with being used, hey?” she murmured against the pillow.
“I’d prefer to call you my subordinate, but I’m glad to see you’re finally learning all by yourself,” he replied, humming to himself as he began the process of disconnecting the tissue and removing the kidney from its home inside of her.
Kyra passed out somewhere after the final snip of sinew, but still heard the sound of the small organ going into a jar filled with preserving liquid. When she was out cold, she dreamed of Kronus for the first time in what felt like forever and cried into his arms as he held her tight and soothed her with words of affection and warmth. Back when she’d dreamed of him before, her visions would taunt and teach her lessons her subconscious seemed to think she needed to learn. But this time, her inner psyche seemed content to let her be. It was oddly reassuring and when she woke up, she felt light and in a small way—happy.
Kyra was still lying face down on the bed and had been covered with a blanket apart from the small section on her side. She peered back over her shoulder to where she knew Greegis was still sat leaning over her, staring at the wound intently. He seemed pleased by something.
She tried to shift her weight so she could sit up, but he stopped her, and it was only then that Kyra realized there was hardly any pain. “It’s not finished healing, so you must remain still. But what a remarkable transformation you’ve made these past few years, Kyra. The original serum was designed solely for evolutionary research on a human chromosomal level. However, your body has transformed far beyond my estimations and has not only healed in record speed, but you’ve also grown a brand new kidney in place of this one.” He held up the clear jar with her original kidney inside for her to see. “Remarkable.”
“You don’t have a cure, do you?” she asked, and watched his features as a flicker of something she was sure looked like panic overshadowed his face. “They’re counting on you and this research to save them, Greegis. And yet you’re wasting time messing with nano-bot study and tormenting me. Are you any closer to having a proper serum?”
“No,” he answered with surprising honesty. Greegis sighed, as though relieved to have finally told someone the truth. “I cannot crack it. I know the cells are there and how to extract them. But when I try to culture or adapt them, they always die.”
“You don’t have to do this alone. You’ve got an amazing team of doctors and nurses at your disposal. Don’t be so proud,” she replied, and despite all of her hatred and fear of him, felt an ounce of pity for the usually so cold and collected scientist. He’d clearly been trying his hardest to make the cure and hadn’t been able to admit he’d failed. It appeared Greegis hadn’t known where to turn when things weren’t going to plan, so had evidently suffered in silence.
The shutters quickly came down again and he sneered, his face turning darker.
“As if I’d let a bunch of humans take credit for my work,” he hissed, and kicked back his chair. In anger, he then booted the metal seat across the room and began to pace. “Stop trying to get in my head. I won’t let you mess with me, Kyra. I suggest you play your games rather differently if you don’t want to get on my bad side.”<
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“I’m not playing any games. You won, fair and square. All I’m doing is offering my support. If you don’t want it, I’ll keep my trap shut,” she replied and Greegis immediately stopped his pacing. It looked like he wanted to say something, but then changed his mind. Their gazes were locked for a few seconds, and it was only the insistent knocking that sounded a few moments later that then broke their strange standoff.
“Master, I’m sorry for the intrusion,” one of the other slaves mumbled as she entered. She even bowed to him with scared submission when Greegis turned his harsh stare on her. “We have an emergency. Prince Kronus has taken ill and his Master Protector has brought him here. He wishes to speak with you.”
Kyra suddenly wasn’t in control of her body. Upon hearing that Kronus and Domo were within the facility’s walls, she could hardly contain her desperation to be discovered. She knew with every ounce of hope she had left that he wouldn’t leave her in Greegis’s enslavement if he found her here, no matter the consequences, and so had to make sure one of their guests found her amidst the other slaves. Completely forgetting her recent surgery, she clambered from the gurney and fell face first onto the cold floor beneath. The air left her lungs in such a rush she gasped hurriedly, her mouth opening and closing over the desperate breaths she needed to maintain if she were to succeed in getting away.
Greegis dismissed the other slave before humiliating Kyra with one of his rare belly laughs that echoed through the entire room. He then leaned down and pressed a needle straight into her neck. The huge Thrak then plucked the limp young woman from the floor as though she weighed nothing at all and dropped her back on the gurney. Kyra was barely awake, but watched in horror as Greegis handcuffed her to the bed rail and covered her with the blanket.
“Now, you just stay right where you are. We don’t want you to be discovered hiding away back here now, do we?” he taunted, and then left her alone with nothing but emptiness and in a sleepy haze that was getting harder and harder to fight.
