Training Day
Two days passed and the Mata had still not shown. It was a slow night at The Pearl, but it was still fairly early. Mongo sat on his stool against the wall. I sat at the bar enjoying one of Elsbeth’s miraculous concoctions while Nan sat next to me watching the salon with an expert eye. She seemed satisfied with what she saw. I had a lot of idle time, and I used it to consider my intentions for the Mata. I felt I knew her now.
Nan and I had talked at length about the Mata and the intelligence she had gathered from a source apparently embedded in the Mata’s home. The information revealed much regarding who she was and her interactions with others. From what I gathered, she seemed tired. Tired of having to demand, tired of constantly administering someone else’s responsibilities. I didn’t know if it was because those around her were truly incompetent or she just required that level of constant control.
It didn’t really matter for my part. She needed someone she could relax with, that she could trust would not disappoint her. She needed someone utterly competent, someone with whom she could let down her guard, just for a time, and not worry about all the things she had to maintain, guide, and manage. Most importantly, she needed someone who wouldn’t cower before her.
Control, I thought. That’s it.
I needed a way to allow her to relinquish control, if only for a time. That was what she desired above all.
I recalled a conversation from my early days at The Pearl and an idea bubbled up from the depths of my mind. As it came together, I realized that I couldn’t do what needed to be done. I simply didn’t have the skill. I did, however, know someone who did.
I turned to Nan and made a simple query.
“She’s about to leave,” Nan said. “Her last client left half an hour ago.” Nan’s eyes squinted in suspicion. “What are you up to, boy?”
“Trust me,” I said , rising and kissing her cheek. Nan eyed me warily as I took the grand staircase to the second floor. I knocked on the door and it opened to reveal a woman with an austere blonde braid that hung down her back. Across her torso she wore two belts—one across her chest, and a wider one low around her hips, both fastened with steel buckles that hid the most interesting parts. High-heeled leather boots laced up the front of her toned legs, and she seemed surprised to see me.
“Evan? Is everything all right?” She looked over my shoulder, concerned that there may have been trouble in the brothel she wasn’t aware of.
“No,” I said. “All is well. I wanted to talk to you for a moment is all.” She smiled and opened the door wider, inviting me inside.
“I was just packing up,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping you could help me with something,” I said, closing the door behind me.
The room was dim. Instead of wooden paneling and lanterns like the other girl’s chambers, this room was lined floor and ceiling with stone. Sconces held torches that cast shadows around the room. Against one wall was a hearth that held a rack of iron implements beside it. The tip of one wicked poker still glowed ominously. I didn’t know why, precisely, and I was reasonably certain I didn’t want to. Against another wall stood a wooden rack in the shape of an X with leather cuffs at its extremities. A padded bench sat in the middle of the room equipped with similar restraints. In fact, every piece of furniture in the room had some method of binding attached to it.
“What do you need?” she asked as she gathered various wicked looking implements and stuffed them into her bag.
“I lack knowledge and seek to remedy that.”
“What does that have to do with me?” she asked, baffled. I held up a bag of coin.
“I would like to hire you,” I said. “Will you teach me, Kaeda?”
She eyed me for a moment with a calculating expression, likely putting together things that she knew to gain a picture of what I was asking. She reached out, took the purse, and tossed it into her bag with the rest of her toys. She grinned wickedly.
“Let’s go to your room.”
I woke to the greatest pain I had ever felt in my life. I was staring at the ceiling. I was naked and strapped to a padded bench in the middle of my bedroom. A beautiful woman was draped across me, snoring lightly. We were both smeared liberally in tacky, half-dried blood…I was starving.
Kaeda was breathing, at least. That was good. I needed to get out of these restraints and see if she was injured. Considering how I felt, I wasn’t certain whether my Aspect had broken free of its bonds.
I called to my shadows and they came. They wrapped around Kaeda’s still, sleeping form and lifted her gently off me. Some of my pain lessened without her bodyweight adding to my own, but I was still far from comfortable.
I turned her over slowly and cradled her in shadow, while I fell into the shadows myself and slid through the bindings materialize, standing to hold Kaeda in my arms. I hurt—Hessa’s tits I hurt all over—but everything seemed to be in their proper place.
Every movement sent fresh spears of agony through my limbs and across my skin. Gritting my teeth, I carried her to my bed, and laid her gently atop the soft blankets. I looked her over carefully and could see no wounds, so I unbuckled the bloody spurs strapped to her bare feet.
The act of unfastening them caused Kaeda to stir. I had no sooner removed the second spur when her eyes flew wide and she backpedaled quickly with a gasp and nearly climbed the headboard in her bid to get away. I raised my hands in a placating gesture.
"Easy, Kaeda," I said, "you're safe. It's me, Evan.”
Her eyes were wild and it took a moment for her to focus on me. When she did, she sagged in relief, then her visage became, once again, alarmed. She lunged at me and grabbed me. She looked me up and down and poked with her fingers at the blood that covered my face, chest, arms, and legs.
“Whoa,” I said. “Are you hurt?”
“No, you are,” she said. “You’re a bloody mess.” I placed my hands on her shoulders and pushed her to arm’s length.
“So are you. But I looked you over and found nothing. Are you well?”
She settled and started to evaluate herself. “This isn’t mine,” she said. “It’s yours.”
She was right. I was covered in small lacerations, and I hurt all over.
“What happened?” I asked. “The last thing I remember is you tying me to the bench.”
“Everything after I put on my spurs is foggy,” Kaeda said. She took a moment to collect herself further then grabbed me suddenly and turned me around. She gasped.
“What is it?” I asked. She rose from the bed and took my hand and pulled.
“Come and see,” she said and gestured toward a full-length mirror.
I followed her at a slow limp and she stood me in front of the mirror and turned me around. I looked back over my shoulder and saw that my back was covered in bloody welts and the backs of my thighs were a ground-up mass of raw flesh. No wonder I hurt so badly.
“I vaguely remember grabbing my riding crop and telling you that I was going to ride you to death,” she said. “It seems like a dream, but apparently I meant it. I could have killed you. I am so sorry, Evan.” She began to cry. I pulled her into a hug and held her against me. After a moment she pulled away and the sound of the sticky blood smacked in my ears.
“That’s gross. We need a bath,” I said.
“You need a healer,” she said.
“No healers,” I said. “It’s not that bad anyway.”
“Not that bad?” Kaeda protested.
“Let’s get a bath. That will help.” I hobbled toward my bathing chambers. Kaeda appeared beside me and supported me. The private bath was the biggest benefit of the Royal Suite which I now occupied. There were only a few rooms that boasted such accommodations, and often the courtesans would have to schedule around one other when they had clients that desired such amenities.
I sat down on a bench to rest while Kaeda started the bath. The water steamed lightly as it began to fill the large marble tub from two
large pipes at the far corners. They sat in recessed holes and the water flowed with some force, creating an arc of warm water that splashed across the floor of the tub. There were two steps to get up to the edge, and the tub was deep enough that the water came to my chest when I sat on the ledge that ran around the inside. I got in with Kaeda’s help, and she directed me to sit in front of one of the streams of water to cleanse the blood so she could see how bad my wounds really were.
When the hot water hit the raw flesh, pain exploded across my body and I fell heavily to the bench. Water pounded the wounds, and my back arched in agony. I clenched my jaw to try to keep from crying out. Instinct had me drawing on my power, and I felt my skin begin to knit. Soon, the hyper-awareness of raw flesh faded to only an angry burn. My hips and shoulder pained me, but I was healed. It was then I noticed Kaeda.
She was standing over me with a pained look in her eyes, one hand extended with her fingers tightly entwined in my hair and the other sliding down her stomach and between her legs. I wrapped my Aspect tight, releasing my draw, and Kaeda staggered. I grasped her outstretched hand to steady her.
“Kaeda,” I asked cautiously, “are you well?”
She drew back suddenly and fell. She flailed in the water, which was by now, quite deep. I helped her up and she slid onto the ledge opposite me. I turned off the water.
“What was that?” Kaeda was near panic. “What happened?”
“What is wrong? What did you feel?” I asked. “Just now.”
“I had a biting urge to mount you just now—and your eyes were silver. Your back is healed too! What’s going on, Evan?” Kaeda had wrapped her arms around her body and she shook, despite the warmth of the bath.
I wasn’t sure, precisely, but I was starting to piece some things together. I didn’t want to reveal all of my secrets to Kaeda. It would be too dangerous for her and she didn’t need to know everything. I did feel that I owed her some sort of explanation, though.
“I think I know what happened,” I said. “Some of it at any rate, but I am still not sure what it all means.”
“Something must be wrong with me,” she said. “Somehow I lost control last night, and I must have again just now. I could have maimed or even killed you.” She shook her head slowly and furrowed her brow. “I am going to have to stop the specialty work. I can’t lose control like that again. What if I had killed you? I would never forgive myself.” I slid across the tub and took her by the shoulders, looking into her eyes. I willed her to see my sincerity.
“This wasn’t your fault, Kaeda. I believe the blame is mine.”
“I was the one with the whips and candles,” she hissed. “It is my responsibility to ensure you have a good time and don’t end up mutilated.”
“I don’t think you could help yourself,” I said as more events emerged from the fog of my addled mind.
“What do you mean?” She looked at me warily, and I couldn’t blame her.
“Do you know what a ‘Guardian’ is?” I used the Arulean word because while Bloodmages were common everywhere, Finders and Guardians rarely traveled outside the Empire. I was sure they had been to Trular at some point, but as a rule, their responsibilities within the Imperial borders were more than sufficient to keep them all busy for a lifetime. It was unlikely she had ever come in contact with one.
She shook her head in the negative, so I explained that they were protectors; they were spirit mages, and I was one.
“But I thought the Andvari were a myth,” she said.
“I don’t know that word, but Guardians are very real.”
“They are mages? You are a mage?”
“I am,” I said, “but not like what you may have heard about. My power helps me by increasing my strength, and I can heal my own wounds, like you just saw. It also can make me aggressive, but I can control myself if I don’t overuse it. The positions you had me in tired me over time.”
“That is what they are designed to do,” she said.
“Yes, well…I thought I could last longer without having to use the safe word. I was learning so much from you and I didn’t want to stop. I freely admit that I was having a great deal of fun too. I didn’t want to stop, so I drew on a trickle of my power to increase my endurance.”
“Well it damn sure increased your endurance,” Kaeda said with a grin. “Once word gets out that you can do…that, patrons will be fighting over you in the street instead of Shani.”
I balked. “Wait, you don’t mean…But I was talking about being able to stay in the ropes longer.”
“That was why got out my spurs.” Kaeda’s smile was broad. “I was frustrated I couldn’t break you, or finish you. I was determined to do both.”
“Well, you certainly did it,” I said. I hurt all over. I couldn’t say it was entirely unpleasant, either. “Kaeda,” I asked, “how do you know when someone has had enough, or when something is too much, other than the safe word, of course?”
“Part of it is experience,” she said. “But I can just feel when someone is nearing their limits. That is the point of it all: to take them to, and just beyond, their limits. It intensifies their experience. It is addictive. My regulars are insanely loyal, more loyal than the other girls repeat customers.” I thought back to my own time in her tender care and shivered.
“I can see why,” I said, “but what do you mean by ‘you can just feel it’?”
“I can feel it,” she said. “I watch their faces, their body language, sure, but I can just tell when I need to keep going or if something needs to change.”
A thought occurred to me then and the more I considered it, the more I was convinced I was right.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
“Of course I do, why?” Kaeda asked, eyes narrowed. “What are going to do?”
“I would like to try something if you are willing,” I said. “Tell me if you feel anything, and please don’t be alarmed. I won’t hurt you.”
She nodded, wary. “All right. Will I need a safe word?”
“It would be best if we established one, but I don’t intend anything untoward. I am just going to draw on my power, only a little, mind you,” I said. “I am curious about something and would like to test it, but I won’t do anything if you aren’t completely willing. I never want you to fear me.” Kaeda smiled gently and nodded. She told me her safe word.
“You can control it, right?” she asked. Her voice was hesitant, almost timid, and it was completely unlike the Kaeda I had come to know and admire over the last few months.
“Yes, I said,” trying to ease her fears. “I can. I swear you are safe.”
She nodded and I considered my Aspect. I thought about what it represented to me and wondered if it held more of me than just the beastly part that was restrained by my magic. Master Gwynn insisted that my Aspect was me. It seemed only logical that it held more than just the parts of my being that hungered for the hunt, the violence and killing. I knew it was hungry and aggressive, but it fed me other emotions as well. I considered these baser feelings and focused my will and magic on revealing only one: lust. I loosened the binds of my Aspect and drew. I allowed a small portion to leak through.
Kaeda’s face flushed, and she bit her lip. She then shook her head as though to clear head and her behavior returned to normal. I slowly released my draw.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I-I’m not sure. I felt…something. It was like suddenly I could tell that you wanted me. It was intense. It felt like we were lovers and every nerve ending was set aflame, but you didn’t touch me.” Kaeda shivered. “I need a drink.” She rose and came toward me, then climbed from the tub, using my shoulder for support. I turned and watched her, entranced by the water running from her body and soaking the soft carpets as she left footprints leading to the sidebar in my bedroom.
When she returned, she leaned down and set a glass of deep amber liquid beside me. Her hand was warm on my shoulder. She reentered the tub herself then and retook her seat on the
bench opposite me. She sipped from her own glass then set it on the edge of the marble tub.
“Can you do that again?” she asked.
I nodded as I drank. The dark liquor burned its course until it settled in my belly, warming me as it went. Kaeda’s features became determined.
“Then I want you to do it again,” she said. There was confident determination in her voice. “I want to see if I can resist it.”
“And if you can’t?” I asked.
She smiled her gentle smile again. “I trust you, Evan. I will use the safe word if I must, but I want you to really pour it on.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
“It is the only way to know. I need you to do this,” she pleaded. “You may have been using your witchcraft on me, but I was the one who lost control. I can’t ever lose control. No matter what.”
I nodded. I understood her point. “Alright. Are you ready?”
She visibly braced herself and nodded.
I untangled the bands of magic and focused once again on lust. I pressed the emotion forward and saw the effect as soon as it reached her. Her eyes lidded, and she licked her lips.
“More,” she said, and I allowed more of my Aspect to shine through. Her breathing increased and she hugged herself. I could see her struggling, though against me or herself, I couldn’t say.
“More,” she said, her voice a breathy rasp. I considered stopping, not wanting to cause her distress. She looked hungry, but not from lack of food—rather like she was going to make me her next meal. She leaned forward on the bench as though she were about to lunge and then, of a sudden, leaned back. She rested her arms wide to either side of her on the edge of the tub giving me a glorious view of her body and smiled triumphantly.
Oathbound: The Emperor's Conscience, Book 2 Page 7
