by Ravyn Wilde
Using mind-speak, Raj called to Mica as he shifted into his chambers at the Ruling Place holding his sleeping mate in his arms.
You’re later than you planned. Was there any trouble? Mica thought the words with concern.
No trouble, just… Raj could hear his brother’s chuckle in his mind.
No need to explain, I still have a hard time focusing on things other than my mate. I do not think I can keep Nyssa and Tala from storming into your chamber, however. The little patience those two have has worn thin, he warned.
We will come meet you in a minon. Mica, warn the others. Nika’s experience with Brac has left it difficult for her to be in an enclosed space with other people for any length of time. Her body has healed but her mind still needs time to deal with some things. She would want them to know she means no disrespect if we need to leave quickly.
Mica was silent for an extended time. I, too, am anxious to hear your mate’s story. You say her body is healed. Do you want me to examine her to make sure? he offered.
No. She is fine. Maybe in a few bi-nons, when she is comfortable with you, she would allow you to check her for any lingering effects.
When I see her this evening, I will scan her to make sure there isn’t anything to worry about. Is that okay with you?
Raj sighed. He knew his brother, it didn’t matter if it was all right with him or not, Mica would do it to make sure if anything were wrong, they would find it immediately.
Again Mica’s deep laughter rumbled in his mind. You are right. How silly of me to ask. We will be waiting for you in Tar’s chamber.
I get the message. We will be there soon.
Raj put Ahnika on the bed and said softly, “Nika, wake up, sweet love.”
She opened her eyes and smiled at her mate. “Sorry, Raj. I just needed a little catnap.”
“Ha. Ha. Don’t remind me, baby. The others are waiting for us and we are out of time. Let me brush your hair back and I will get us some clean clothes and we can go join them.”
“Yes, it is time. I feel guilty for leaving the other women at Brac’s mercy since I’ve been gone.”
“You have nothing to feel guilty about. All of the guilt should belong to Brac. We will just have to make sure he pays for it.”
He lovingly brushed her hair and they both freshened up. They walked solemnly to Tar and Nyssa’s chambers holding hands. Ahnika took a deep breath before they stepped inside.
The first and only thing she noticed as they stepped into the chamber were the two very large men standing across the room. Oh, Goddess help me, she thought. Both men were huge, yet one man towered over the other. The tallest, scariest-looking man had black hair with bright copper highlights. His hair looks very similar to Brac’s. Nika shuddered.
This man had muscles on his muscles and seemed to ooze psychic power. “I can’t do this,” she mumbled. And then he turned to look at her with Raj’s ice-blue eyes and a feeling of peace and comfort washed over her. With the calm, came the ability to look at him more carefully. In his hair, the copper highlights were vibrant and alive, not the dull sheen she’d noticed in Brac’s hair. This is Mica. Taking a deep breath she relaxed marginally and shifted her gaze to the other man.
This must be Tar. His muscles were a little subtler and he had curly dark blue-black hair and silver eyes. If he hadn’t been standing close to the giant next to him, he would have been intimidating. This was Zylar’s Ruler and for two life cycles, she had thought he’d been responsible for her nightmare. Once again she started to tense when Raj whispered softly in her ear.
“It’s okay, Nika,” he said soothingly.
She could feel him using the links as he tried to soothe her nerves. Turning to look at him, she knew her eyes must be a little wild so she worked hard to control her fear.
“Nika, this is VaNyssa, Tar’s mate. And, Tala, Mica’s tormentor,” he introduced her to the women, trying to take her attention away from the two imposing males.
“He only calls me that because it’s true,” Tala laughed. “Welcome, little sister. I am so happy to meet you.” Tala was thinking the same thing everyone in the room tried to process. Here was a beautiful woman that someone had hurt. And hurt badly. Raj’s new mate was all long, shimmering hair, glorious red skin and big, frightened eyes.
Nika frowned when she looked at the women. “I don’t understand, you are both mated but what are you wearing?” Her eyes got even bigger and she slapped her hand over her mouth. Quickly she apologized, “I am sorry, that was terribly rude.”
Nyssa giggled. “No, it wasn’t and call me Nyssa. I am very happy to meet you, Nika. Tala and I are wearing jeans and tee shirts—clothes from Earth. I refuse to wear the Zylan equivalent of a harem sex fantasy unless I absolutely have to. Tala has started doing the same. Once I figured out how to manufacture clothes from thin air and figured out hip-huggers didn’t irritate the mating links, it was goodbye to I Dream of Jeanie. The only time we dress in traditional-chain-sex-wear is if there is a formal state function and it won’t be long before I change that!”
“Nyssa,” Tar growled in warning.
Nika looked thoroughly confused and Tala took pity on her saying, “Don’t even try and figure out most of what she just said. I have been listening to her for setnons and she still makes my head hurt. You just have to concentrate on what you understand and let her babble about the rest.”
Tar snorted and Nyssa just smiled and stuck her tongue out at her mate. “Okay…now I am sorry to have confused you. You look very pretty, Nika.”
“I hate these clothes,” Nika snarled. She turned to Raj. “Please, make me some of those…whatever they are.”
“You hate your clothes? Nika, why—”
“I hate them!” she said vehemently. “They make me feel as if everyone is looking at me in a way I don’t want them to and they can see the scars on my back if my hair isn’t down and…” She stopped, horrified at what she’d just said.
Raj closed his eyes and groaned inwardly at his stupidity. Before he had a chance to comfort her, Nyssa and Tala pulled her away from him.
“We will be right back. I have the hang of this now and can get Nika dressed in something more comfortable in a flash. Tar, honey, please blink everybody up something to drink. Preferably something with alcohol…I think they’re all going to need it. Nika, would you like pants or would you prefer a simple dress that covers more than the handkerchief you’re wearing?” she asked as they left the room.
Tala murmured quietly, “If your back is still sore, the dress will be more comfortable. These jeans take a little getting used to. It’s the strangest thing, but the more you wear them the more you can’t do without…” As they moved further away, their voices trailed off.
Raj looked at Mica and Tar. “I am going to kill Brac,” he stated flatly.
“I have a feeling we are all going to feel the same way,” Tar said. Before he could question Raj, the women came back into the room.
Standing between Tala and Nyssa was a beaming Nika. Dressed simply in a loose aqua-colored gown shirred a little at her breast, the neckline was modest, only hinting at the full curves beneath. The skirt had no waistline, falling in tiny pleats from under her breast line to mid-calf. She’d taken her half boots off and gone barefoot like the other two women. She looked beautiful in the dress with her hair now arranged in a long braid slung over one shoulder. Raj realized she really had been using her hair as a sort of shield.
“Raj,” she said excitedly. “Isn’t it wonderful? I feel so much better dressed this way. Is it okay? You don’t really mind, do you?”
He smiled at her. How could he mind when it meant so much to her? He would do anything for his mate. “It looks gorgeous, Nika, and I definitely don’t mind. We will work with Nyssa to find the styles and types of clothing you like and I will learn how to fashion them for you.”
Tar moved carefully across the room to his mate. He and Mica had decided if they sat as couples, it might put Nika at ease. “Well,
let’s all take a seat. As ordered by my loving mate, I have provided refreshments. And, Nyssa, my little pregnant cat, here is some of Zylan’s best fruit juice,” he said as he sat. Everyone got a drink and sat either on the low couch or on the vibrant red and green cushions on the floor.
Except for Nika who waved her hand at Raj and shook her head. “I don’t think I can sit or drink anything. I want to just tell all of you what happened to me and get it over with. I would feel better standing here. Raj, you sit too.” She didn’t have long to wait before they were all settled with their eyes focused on her. Taking a deep breath she began her story.
“Two life cycles ago, I was kidnapped from my home planet of Zmar. I was with several other women and the men who took us were wearing tunics with the Zylan Royal Crest, Tar.”
“What!” Tar exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. When he saw the distress on Nika’s face, he quickly resumed his seat.
“It gets worse. Go on, baby, we will hold our questions until you get through it,” Raj said softly.
Nika closed her eyes for a minon before she could go on. “I woke up in a small underground cell where I was kept locked in and alone for almost one life cycle. I was allowed out only to bathe once every other bi-non or so. It was dark and quiet, except for during the nights. At night, I could hear other women crying. Sometimes there was screaming. Earlier this life cycle, my captors broke the routine and I was brought out of my room by a guard to meet another man. His hair was almost the same color as yours,” she said, pointing at Mica. “I learned after I escaped his name was Brac. The guard remained in the room along with a woman. He—Brac—told me the reason I had been kidnapped was to be sold to another man as a mate,” she paused and swallowed. If she could just get through this next part, Raj could take over.
Looking at all of them in turn, they seemed to be biting their tongues, impatient to ask questions with anger and shock evident on their faces.
“There is more. Brac made the woman disrobe and he showed me her mating links. These links weren’t real—he’d made them and they could be controlled with a small black box. The black box sent varying levels of pain through the links. He demonstrated by causing that poor woman pain and then he forced her to pleasure the guard.” Nika had to stop again and wait for the exclamations to die down. Unable to look them in the eye for this part, she concentrated on a spot over their heads and resolutely went on.
“I was to be trained in sexual submission like all the other women he kept locked in. Only I refused to cooperate. They tried to make me…do things to men they brought in and, when I refused, I was beaten or whipped. That is why my back is scarred,” her voice trembled.
“Oh, Nika,” Nyssa and Tala moved as one, wanting to comfort her.
“Don’t!” she cried and held out her hands. “I’ll never finish this if I don’t get it all out now and if you touch me, I’ll cry.”
They sat back down, this time holding tightly to their mates. Raj sat alone, jaw and hands clenched in anger. He kept his mind closed tight, not wanting to add his feelings to Nika’s already overwhelmed emotions.
“I escaped the night before they were to implant my links. They made me watch this process with others and it was a painful, bloody and horrific procedure. The healers Brac used didn’t just thread the metal through their bodies—there is some kind of psychic attachment created so the contraption can’t be removed. They were so sure once the links were in place I wouldn’t be able to resist their commands or training,” she spat out. “I knew I had to get away from there by either running or forcing them to kill me. I was lucky to escape and even luckier when Raj found me after the other Hunters grabbed me in Vidar’s marketplace. I think Raj can fill you in on some of the rest of it and if I can just have a few minons, I think I will be able to answer questions,” she said as she turned and ran for the bathing room in the inner chamber. She was going to be sick and she didn’t want to embarrass herself.
Raj moved to follow her. “Tala and I will go, Raj,” Nyssa said. “Let us give her a sister’s comfort. If we need you, we will call but you had better stay here and tell Mica and Tar how you think we can kill this son of a bitch!” Nyssa and Tala ran after Nika and he started to follow anyway.
“Nyssa is right, Raj. Let them hold her while she is sick. Women often will try to be strong with their mates, not wanting to worry us. Let her use their shoulders to cry on. If I know Nyssa and Tala, they will comfort her, get a little more of the details from her and then band together like the militant females they are—to storm Brac’s fortress,” Mica said quietly.
“Nika isn’t going anywhere near him,” Raj stated between clenched teeth.
Mica sighed. “Yeah, I can understand your feeling that way. And because you are newly mated, you actually believe you can keep her from being involved. Tar and I will try our best to keep all three of the women out of it, but I wouldn’t want to bet on the final outcome.”
Tar just grunted.
Raj shook his head. “Nika would never go against my wishes.”
This time both Tar and Mica laughed at him.
“Oh, brother…I hope I am around when you realize the ludicrousness of your statement. Now, first I want to tell you I scanned Nika and she seems to be in good health. I sense no infection or any injury so, Raj, you don’t need to worry about her physical condition. Will you fill us in on your meeting with Brac and what you have discovered about this mess?” Mica demanded.
Raj was pleased to know Nika carried no lasting injuries. Before he could answer Mica’s question, Tar started pacing the room like a caged animal.
Tar couldn’t sit still. “I can’t even get my mind around what questions to ask you, Raj. I am so…shocked and disgusted. Angry. I hurt for Nika and I don’t even want to contemplate how many other women are out there that he’s done this to.”
“There are a lot of them, Tar. She didn’t even get to the part about the auctions.”
“Auctions!” both Tar and Mica exclaimed.
“Auctions,” Raj said tonelessly. “I believe about every other setnon, Brac would auction off a few women to the highest bidder. He would strip the women and let the invited men fondle their bodies and torture them with pain from the little black boxes. Then these men would bid on the captive women. Brac made the others like Nika, watch so they would be ‘prepared’ for their time. We know he has been doing this for at least as long as the two life cycles Nika was held captive. But, Tar, I think it is worse. Nika said there had been rumors about the Zylan Ruler being involved in slaving raids for many additional life cycles before she was taken. If this is true, then we are looking at the possibility of more than fifty women who have been sold into sexual slavery over the last four or five life cycles.”
Tar couldn’t hold his anger in. He roared and bent to pick up the low table in front of him and threw it against the wall. Crazed at the thought these vile acts were not only being committed, but done in his name, he started for the door ready to tear Brac into small pieces with his own hands. Mica and Raj had to physically restrain him from leaving the room.
“I know, Tar. I have been battling the same urge since the minon Ahnika told me what happened,” Raj said quietly.
Mica laid a hand on each of their shoulders. “What we need to do is finish this, and I do not want to wait very long to do so. Tar, you and I need to sit and listen while Raj tells us everything he knows and then, when our mates come back in to the room, we will need to ask our questions and come up with a plan. Brac has been hiding this from us for a long time. He has to be smarter than he looks so we need to plan our strategy well.” With the calm voice of reason, Mica encouraged them to sit down and listen to Raj as he finished telling the story.
Chapter Ten
Ahnika groaned, embarrassed to have Nyssa holding her hair out of the way while she dry-heaved. Tala placed a cool wet cloth at the base of her neck and she’d flash-lit incense when she came in the room. It had helped. The light floral scent was calming and jus
t the presence of the two women seemed to be helping her relax and let her push her churning emotions away. Still feeling stretched to her limit, the memories were no longer making her physically ill.
“Why don’t we all jump in the small bathing pool? I had Tar make some adjustments to it so it will bubble around us and the warm water will be soothing. We can have a drink and just relax and take some time to get to know each other.” Nyssa said softly. At Nika’s blank look and Tala’s frown, she smiled. “It’s an Earth thing…trust me on this. We called it a Jacuzzi and it is very comforting. We don’t have to be naked…I’ll just—”
Nyssa waived her hand and all three women were clothed in bikinis with their hair piled loosely on top of their heads. “—provide the swimsuits and the wine for you two and—come on…trust me—just get in and unwind. I promise you we will all feel better after a quick soak.” She laughed at the women’s confusion with their attire as she guided Nika down the steps. Tala followed.
The women sat in comfortable silence for a minon, enjoying the swirling warm water. Nika felt her muscles relax and she was surprised to find she did feel better, felt more in control of her tumultuous emotions.
“I am going to ignore these very strange triangles of cloth and just assume you know what you are doing, Nyssa,” Tala mumbled. “So, Nika, you are from Zmar. Do you have family there?” she asked brightly.
Nika blinked. She guessed she would ignore Nyssa’s strange ways as well as it seemed the only way to deal with the eccentric woman. “I did when I left. My mother and father and two brothers live there. I haven’t wanted to think about what they have been going through,” she said miserably.
