by Owner
The big warlord was as fascinating a creature as she had ever encountered. Not that she met many, but she studied extensively. She had no idea anything like him existed in the real world outside the Facility. No picture or book could have done him justice. Even if she saw a history book on his kind, nothing could compare with seeing him in person and watching him move.
Yesterday he wore forearm bands with metal hooks on the outside. She spotted them lying on the floor with some other equipment.
Var turned his light blue gaze on her and caught her staring at him. Bess felt heat on her face. How embarrassing. Cold, she thought. He was cold inside.
He got up and moved toward her like a cat stalking prey and it was all she could do to remain silent when she scrambled to sit up straighter. He squatted beside her, one forearm on his knee. She read his detachment, perhaps the most frightening thing of all. All she received from him since last night was mild frustration.
The most she received was when he made sure she felt his domination. He bombarded her with it. It must have been important to him to impress upon her that he was stronger and she, completely in his control. His display of dominance left her shaken. Beautiful as he was, she feared him. She was at his mercy. Her biggest fear was that he had none.
When she leaned back against the rock, she tilted her face up to him, directing all of her defiance full force on his impassive face. She flinched when he put his large, warm hands on her, turning her and rubbing her shoulders. His hands felt warm and hard as iron. She gasped a few times at the strength of his fingers on her tender muscles, but she did feel better afterward.
When he finished, he set a bag and canteen in front of her. She fumbled to open the bag so he turned and opened it for her. He took out cheese and bread and dried fruit before moving back to his side of the cave.
Bess ate well. It had been a long time since she’d had enough to eat. She needed her strength for whatever came next.
When she finished, he approached again and examined her feet.
She did not fight him, but made a strangled sound when he touched her bare ankle. Bess hated showing him any weakness, but she felt something akin to an electrical charge when he touched her skin and she did not know what that meant.
He applied more salve to her wounded feet and put a new bandage on the one that still bled. Then he put salve on the back of her hand and the rope burns on her wrists. He examined her face and held out the salve. She applied a light layer to her lips.
He handed her a pair of moccasins. “These will keep dirt out of the wounds.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“Sanctuary. I take you to Claire and Anna and Destiny.”
“Just because you know some MX names, does not prove that you came to help me.”
“I would know who beat you.”
“The slavers.” Bess paused. He must have seen the bruises last night after she bathed. “That upsets you. Is it because they marked the merchandise?”
Var looked away.
“It cannot be because they hurt me.” She’d felt no sympathy from him either yesterday or today.
The big warlord spoke then, patiently, as if to a child. “I would do it again. The alternative — to watch you end your life — is something I will not allow.” He paused. “Obey me and there will be no need for discipline. I will deliver you safely.”
Bess could think of no reason why he would be concerned about her hands. His hands were calloused and warm.
“You may have suffered nerve damage from being tied too tightly. The rope can cut off circulation to your fingers and cause permanent damage.”
He must have noticed her confusion. “No, it’s… My hands and fingers are fine this morning,” Bess shivered.
She could not help it. This man felt so distant. She had a brief flash that he only did his job. Bess wondered what he had planned for her and why he would be concerned about her well-being. Perhaps he was there to get her to safety. Did she dare hope?
He said he would take her to Claire and Anna and Destiny. He held her hands in his much larger ones while he checked for nerve damage. He took good care of her and no one else did that. Not ever. She felt the first stirrings of guarded hope. For the first time in her memory, she allowed herself to look forward to a better future. To be with other empaths was the most exciting prospect of her life.
“I would know if you project,” he said.
Bess’s mouth opened involuntarily. He did know something about her kind, but anyone who had heard of the dying empaths in the arena knew that. She shook her head. No need to tell him she was not a strong empath.
“No.”
Var tilted his head. She had a vague sense that he did not believe her.
“A lie.” He paused again, his eyes bored into her. “I would know if you can travel today.”
Was that supposed to be a question? All of his questions came out sounding like orders.
Bess did not meet his eyes, but wondered how he could be so certain she lied.
“Answer, girl.”
Bess could not hide her anger. “I can travel. Is someone paying you to do this? I don’t understand why warlords would be hunting empaths. I am clearly outmatched if we should fight.”
Something sparked in his eyes.
She turned her gaze full on him then. “Why are you doing this?”
The blue of his eyes felt like laser beams on her skin. Her comments did not ruffle him. She had a fleeting thought that there weren’t many things that did ruffle him.
“I say again, we came here to rescue you and take you to sanctuary. Empaths are welcome in my society. We do not need danon from anyone. We are well funded.”
When he stood, she was again taken aback by the sheer size of him. Bess did not read his thoughts and emotions easily, but power and confidence flowed off of him. She felt that. The muscles in his legs were as impressive as the rest of him. He looked as good from this view as the other. Wide shoulders narrowed to his waist. Muscles rippled up and down his arms whenever he made the slightest movement. The huge warlord’s hands were calloused and well-formed and she could not stop looking at them. She longed to touch him. Just to run her hands over his arms would be wrong. She should not think such things.
“I would leave now if you are able,” he said.
She nodded and stood to test her injured foot.
He picked her up so fast it took her breath away. After he carried her outside and let her down, he tied a rope around her waist and did something with the horse.
“Where is your friend?” Bess asked.
“He scouts a path for us.”
“Do you worry the people you stole me from will catch up to us?”
When he frowned and shook his head, Bess had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her last abductors would not be coming after them. She felt some of their deaths after she ran from the field, but had he and Mack killed all of them? Ruthless.
She gasped when he pulled strips of leather out of his vest.
“No, please.” It came out before she realized she said it.
“Yesterday you meant to harm yourself. I will not allow that.”
When he stepped toward her, she tried to run. He grabbed and held her easily. “Please don’t tie me. Please.” The words were out before she could stop them. Pitiful. She sounded pitiful. Heat rushed over her face. To be begging this uncaring warlord for the slightest bit of dignity was too much.
He let her go and stepped back to look at her. “If you try to run or damage yourself, I will tie you.” He waited. “I would hear you say you understand.”
He stood waiting with the leather dangling from his huge hand.
Panic shot through her and she turned to get away from him.
Much faster, he caught her and pulled her against his hard body. How could she have thought to get away? “You run from me, little mouse.”
It was not a question. Maybe his kind never asked questions. Even when he touched her, she go
t almost no emotion from him.
His hands felt like steel bands on her arms. A sob escaped her, but she gained control of herself.
He tilted his head and she might have felt compassion. It didn’t last long, whatever it was. “Run again and I will tie you. Tell me you understand.”
She bit her lip harder and tasted her own blood. “I understand and I will not run.”
He nodded.
Obedience had never been Bess’s strong suit. She might have to rethink that, at least temporarily. At the Facility, she’d caused more than her share of trouble. Her handler, a disenchanted bastard son of a titled family, had done as little work as possible and left her mostly to her own devices. That left him more time to gamble.
The warlord went back into the cave, and gathered the rest of his equipment. He returned wearing the forearm guards, mounted, and pulled her up in front of him.
When he pulled her tight to his chest, his arm under her breasts she whimpered low in her throat.
“I would know what distresses you,” he said.
“You are hurting me.” She let him hear her desperation.
He loosened his grip. She was uncomfortable with his nearness, but at least she could breathe more easily now. They passed behind the waterfall and into the forest on the other side of the lake. They rode in silence for a while as her captor guided the horse through the woods.
“What will you do with me?”
When he finally spoke, his chest rumbled against her back. “I came here to rescue you and take you to safety. That is what I will do.”
“Why?” Immediately, she felt bad about asking him. No one had ever treated her with kindness and now that she was hunted, she needed to trust someone. She longed to trust someone, but she had trouble giving herself over to trust.
Just when she thought he would not answer, he said, “You will learn to obey me. Do not run from me and do not attempt to harm yourself. I will not have that. I will take you to safety.”
“Who are you to decide what you will and will not have from me?” She hoped he felt her anger.
“I am the one who has possession of you right now.” The warlord did not sound cocky or boastful. He merely stated a fact. In his world, that was the way of things.
The injustice of it rose up within her. “You have no right,” she hissed at him.
“I have assumed the right, little mouse, and my might means that I can claim it, claim you.”
Bess did not know how to take that so she said nothing.
“I would know why you wanted to end your life.”
Bess bit her lip. “You know I am an empath. I have read the men you fought. I know what they planned for me. I saw… I have no reason to believe that you are not delivering me to that same fate. Tell me truly, if that death awaited you, would you not take your own life?”
“I am a Warlord of Kryst, the Enforcer. I fight to the end.” Again, he did not boast, he made a statement of fact. She wondered if he had been faced with that situation already and had made his decision.
Bess felt heat rising to her face. He thought her a weak woman. “Better to take my own life than to allow others to take it from me for their perverse sport.” She flung the statement at him.
“It is my duty to get you safely to sanctuary. Other empaths are there. My society offers freedom for you, and safety. We have many people there who are different. Empaths are seen as people who can enrich our society. You will be accepted and welcomed by my people.”
She clamped her mouth shut. Bess hated herself for her cowardice. To die in the arena, like the thoughts she read from one of the slavers who witnessed it, was something she could not face. She tried to put thoughts of death behind her. If this man told the truth, she might have a reason to hope.
Bess had lived all her life without feeling safe. The MX trusted no one. It was a lesson learned the hard way. Even their handlers were suspect. They worked for the Facility, and the Facility was owned by the Conglomerate. If she could trust Var though...
What would that be like? A society that accepted, even welcomed people like her. That was the crux of it. Her kind were feared, despised and shunned because of their differences. In a society that lived in fear, whose citizens could disappear for holding an opinion that the Conglomerate did not sanction, people did not voice their true feelings. Empaths, who could know the heart of a person, had to be locked away.
Bess tried to imagine what it might feel like to be free. Var had not treated her badly. He gave her water and food. In truth, he had shown her more consideration than anyone else in her life. She wanted to believe in a safe place for her kind. The warlord did not talk much and she probably should not hang all her hopes on him, but she wanted to put her faith in him. Foolish it may be but, she needed to trust someone.
His manner was gruff. He was a warrior. Maybe they were all gruff and maybe he told the truth.
He treated her as if he wanted to keep her alive. The warlords had gone to a lot of trouble to find her and take her back to sanctuary and the first thing she did was run and then attempt to end her life. It came as no surprise that he thought her ungrateful. Perhaps she should have thanked them instead of trying to get away. She’d always been a hothead. Maybe she should try to be calm and agreeable and let him take her to safety.
Perhaps it was time to trust someone. The fact that Var was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, made it all the sweeter to her. A smile slowly spread on her face. She couldn’t stop it. The horse plodded along through green forest that provided shade. Bess felt his strong muscles at her back and in his arms that surrounded her. Was this what safety felt like? No, it was more than that. Hope. Hope blossomed within her with every step the horse took. Every breath of breeze brought a sense of excitement. Bess could no more stop smiling or quiet the hope that spread within her than she could stop the sun from shining.
Chapter 10
Sopholies shifted from foot to foot and contemplated the other men as he prepared to ring the buzzer.
They met on the first floor and Sopholies waited until they were all ready before he pressed the button that would bring the lift to them. When the door opened, they entered. The ride up took forever and the men avoided each other’s eyes. If they had been going to their execution, the tension would be about the same.
Stepping off the lift, Sopholies announced who they were and that Denties expected them. The receptionist buzzed the door open and they went down the hall to stand in front of the glass door that opened into Denties’ office. They waited to be invited in. Denties left them standing. Sopholies tried not to shuffle his feet or give away his nervousness. More than one adviser had been executed for a relatively minor infraction that displeased Denties. The Leader of the Conglomerate was fanatical about making sure everyone give him the respect he decided he deserved.
Denties knew they waited yet he kept them standing. Well, the upper echelon certainly knew how to make sure the lower ranking knew their place. Sopholies and his two companions were high up the totem pole in the Conglomerate and they all probably behaved just as Denties behaved now to those who reported to them.
Finally, Denties, looked up and nodded for them to come forward. The Leader of the Conglomeration sat behind his heavy wooden desk. That fact that the desk was real wood awed Sopholies, which was probably the reason Denties had it. Real wood befitted the powerful position of the Conglomerate leader who leaned back into his leather chair to peruse those he had summoned.
Sopholies drew no comfort from the smell of leather and furniture polish. As the leader of the Conglomerate, Denties had the best of everything from every society they ruled. Sopholies and the other advisers remained standing while he made a show of getting comfortable. He surveyed them.
He nodded toward the advisers in front of him. “Well?”
“Your Lordship, we have reports that one of the MX is being held in the slaver society,” the one in the middle said, his eyes darting around the room.
Denti
es arched a brow. “Why do I care?”
Sopholies cleared his throat. “The MX in question is reported to have witnessed the deaths of the slavers who killed her handlers.”
Denties paused a moment. “Why should that concern me?”
“Some at the Facility say she might be dangerous.”
“The Facility.” Disgust turned Denties’ mouth down. Sopholies thought it looked like a cartoon mouth. “They were unable to destroy the creatures. A simple task, yet they failed completely.” He sat back and took a deep breath. “And why have you failed to capture this one? To capture any of them?” Denties drummed his fingers on the desk.
Sopholies shuffled his feet. “Your Lordship, with the bounty on empaths, it is difficult to keep up with who has them. They are bought, and sold, and stolen constantly. By the time we get a report and members of the Special Thread Squad arrive, the girls have been sold or stolen again.”
“The MX are the property of the Conglomerate,” Denties said. His voice was soft. That did not bode well for Sopholies and his companions.
“Your Lordship, we are dealing with grippers and bounty hunters and barbarians. Their greed pushes them to take the risk of stealing an MX.” Sopholies looked at the floor.
“They are inferior to the citizens of the Conglomerate.” Denties raised his voice. “I want all the empaths captured and returned to the Facility. And I want those who dare to steal them from us publicly executed. How dare these commoners take what belongs to the Conglomerate. We cannot let this pass.”
Sopholies drew a breath to speak, but Denties interrupted. “Your excuse for not catching them is that so many others are catching them? Offer more reward money.”
Sopholies tried again. “Your Lordship, we cannot pay more money.”
Denties shook his head. “I did not say pay more reward, I said offer more.”
Sopholies shuffled his feet again. “Your Lordship, the Facility ended the program.”
“I don’t care that the Council ended the program, you moron. I want them all returned. Alive. I will be assured they are ended.”
