To Battle The Gods

6 An awakening—and a fruitless search

I awoke with a heavy throbbing in my head. I lay still without thought and without an awareness of what was about me, seeking to retain my tenuous hold upon wakefulness, seeking to escape the throbbing. When at last the ache did indeed ease its grip I slept awhile, knowing I did so only when I awoke for the second time. Distant and receding had the throbbing grown, so much so that I was able to begin to move where I lay; only upon beginning the attempt did I discover I was unable to do so.

Confusion swirled me thickly about as I at last looked to where I lay. Belly down was I upon a thin, much used fur, my cheek to the thing, my wrists and ankles held tight by leather. From all about came the sound of creaking, and I raised my head with some effort to see the wood of the closed conveyance I lay in. The sway and creak spoke of the fact that the conveyance was in motion, and indeed was I then able to see the presence of leaves and branches as we passed them, through the gap in the cloth at the end of the conveyance. The rising and movement of my head showed another thing, that the war leather was gone from my hair, and this, too, I was unable to understand. Many things stood all about me, sacks and square constructions of wood, high piled sleeping furs and bulging drinking skins, mounds of cloth coverings and further sacks. The smell of provender and the heavier smell of salt came from many of these mounds, and in no manner was I able to envision how I had come to be among them. I attempted to part the leather which held my wrists behind me, struggled to loosen it even some small amount, admitting the uselessness of the efforts only after the passing reckid proved the thing beyond doubt. The manner in which I had gotten there was just then unimportant; that I was unable to free myself to depart again was considerably more to the point.

I had again been attempting to free myself, when the conveyance slowed and came unsteadily to a halt. The memory had come to me of the time I had been taken by Ceralt to his village in a conveyance such as that, yet had I then been wounded rather than bound. It seemed unlikely that Ceralt had again done the same, nor was I to be proven wrong; sounds came of one approaching from the front of the conveyance through its cargo, and then was a male crouching beside me who seemed somewhat familiar.

“Ah, you have returned to yourself, wench,” said he, a great deal of satisfaction upon him, his hand reaching out to stroke my hair. “I had hoped you would do so before we had reached our destination.”

“Release me at once!” I snapped, looking upon the darkhaired, dark-eyed, wide-shouldered form of him, attempting to recall why he seemed familiar. Clad in a dark red covering of city males was he, strapped leather coverings upon his feet, a swordbelt closed about his waist. It seemed the swordbelt had seen little use, a thing most fitting for one of a city.

“Release you?” echoed the male with clear amusement, his hand moving to stroke my bound right arm. “When I have waited so long for the Serene Oneness to grant you to me? You were told, were you not, that this fey or the next, this kalod or the next, you would at some time be mine? The time has now come, wench, and never again shall I release you. I will bring you such pleasure that you will not wish to be released, and gladly will you bear what sons and daughters I give you.”

“Relidose!” said I, abruptly recalling the male. He had it been who had first approached the palace of the High Seat after my Midanna had taken it, he who had offered to stand for me against the chosen champion of the High Seat, he who had afterward asked to follow me. Not long had the male followed, not long had he been able to efface himself sufficiently to please a war leader, and from that moment to this I had not again thought of him.

“Aye, Relidose,” said he, undisturbed that I had not at first known him. “Little reason was given you to recall me, wench, yet shall that omission now be repaired. You will not again be allowed forgetfulness, for you will know yourself mine alone.”

With soft laughter did the male then reach to his swordbelt, opening it so that he might put it aside. Again I angrily fought the leather which held me, yet no more did I accomplish than increasing the laughter of the male. I had rolled to my side when first he had crouched beside me, in order to more easily look upon him; this the male now undid by pushing me flat to my belly again, so that he might move from his crouch to kneel across me, one knee to either side of my body. Between his thighs I struggled to free myself, furious at his continuing laughter, attempting to keep my face from the aged sleeping fur beneath me, and then his hands came to my sides. Slowly were the ties of my breech opened and as slowly was it pulled away, and then was my hair parted and thrown to either side of me.

“How round and lovely a bottom you have, wench,” said Relidose with a chuckle, the insolent, intrusive touch of his hands coming with the words. “Sight of it inspires me to seek you elsewhere, an elsewhere equally as lovely and far more enticing. Your softness calls me, girl, and never shall I refuse to answer.”

The hands of the male then went to my thighs and raised them up, forcing my face to the fur as he did so. I turned my head to the side and fought to keep from being raised so, yet the leather would not allow me to struggle. One arm of the male went about me, holding me so that I might be touched in another manner, and nearly did a gasp escape from me.

“Ah, what lovely softness,” crooned the male, disallowing the twist of my hips as I sought to avoid so distressing a touch. “How long I have dreamt of possessing this softness, of caressing it and bringing it to heat. Do you desire me as yet, wench? Are you yet prepared to receive me? I shall not bring you pain, you know, no more than pleasure shall I give. Are you as quick to heat as those others of your wenches?”

My wrists pulled at the leather which held me, my fury growing beyond all bounds that I might not refuse what the male did, yet all effort continued to go for naught. Well stroked and caressed was I by the male who had taken me, and then was I held so that he might use me as well. Little difficulty did he find in entering me despite the leather on my ankles, yet was the time more discomfort than pleasure; the male, however, found pleasure aplenty, and once he had found release as well, he withdrew and allowed me to lie flat again.

“Fully as delightful as I had anticipated,” said he, a pat to my bottom added to the words as he reached for his sword. “Had I the time at present I would have you again, yet shall there be many later opportunities. I truly give the deepest thanks that the Serene Oneness put you in my path, knocked senseless from your kan by a tree branch. My prayers have now been answered in full, and never again shall I ask another thing.”

Chuckling, the male then left me, to return from whence he had come. A moment later was the conveyance again in motion, leaving me to move angrily upon the aged sleeping fur. To believe that my presence was a gift to him from his god! To claim to have found me lying senseless after having fallen from my kan! What Midanna warrior would fall from so trouble-free a mount as a kan? In what manner would I have allowed a tree branch to knock me from my—

The raging in my mind ceased as memory abruptly returned. Indeed had I been knocked from my kan, for I had not seen the branch which struck me; I had not seen the branch because of the presence of blurriness, caused by tears, which in turn had been caused by—

I could not complete the thought.

A shivering took me as my cheek returned to the fur, a shivering from the terrible chill I felt. Much did I wish I might sit and put my arms upon my head and wail out my soul hurt as I had once seen a village female do, rocking back and forth at the unbearable pain in an effort to ease it. In Mida’s name did I wish I might do so, and yet I had in no manner earned such easing. It had been I and I alone who had caused the agony, I and I alone who might be held culpable. Many times in the past had I seen the occurrences about me as due to the will of Mida, yet in no manner might this doing be lain at her feet. It was Jalav’s anger which had caused the challenge, Jalav’s hand which had held the sword hilt; had I not fallen to anger I would have seen Chaldrin drop his guard, welcoming the thrust which never should have been. An ache was in my chest and throat, one so great I was nearly unable to breathe, yet did I do no more than lie upon the sleeping fur, belly down, cheek to the fur, eyes closed, no longer struggling against the leather upon me. I no longer had the desire to struggle, no longer the will to do other than lie there; perhaps, were I to lie there long enough, my brother and I would soon again be one.

I know not the number of reckid which passed the while I lay unthinking, yet were there far too few before the conveyance again slowed and came to a halt. Without was I able to hear the murmur of many voices, and then one rose above the rest.

“Wagons!” exclaimed the voice of a male, surprise most evident in that voice. “How were you able to get wagons past those savages, Relidose?”

“The gates have been opened this fey to allow exit to one and all,” returned the voice of Relidose, followed by a sound which seemed to indicate his jumping to the ground. “The letter I dropped over the wall with your supplies two feyd agone told you of those who had appeared before our gates, did it not? Truly did many of us believe there would be battle between them and the wenches who held the city, yet did the light of the last new fey bring unexpected surprise: the black-haired leader of the wenches returned from whatever place she had journeyed to, and with her were equally as many wenches as already occupied our city, and a matching force of men. With so great a number behind them, those who led the men before our walls were able to enter the city in company with the wench and the men who rode with her, supposedly to speak of what might be done to avoid battle between them.”

“But they are warriors and men!” came the outraged voice of a female. “For what reason did they not merely engage and best those savage sluts? Were they, too, unable to see beyond their own filthy needs?”

“You forget the presence of the men who accompanied the wenches, sister mine,” said Relidose, a dryness to the words. “These men, it was said, are followers of the dark god Sigurr, warriors who sacrifice virgins to him to assure their prowess in battle. In some manner were they made to agree to a contest between certain of their warriors and a chosen number of those who are civilized, practice weapons to be used in place of true. Before the last darkness were the combatants chosen, the contests beginning not long after the arrival of the new light of this fey. As the contests were held beyond the walls of the city, the gates were thrown wide to allow those who wished it to attend the doing.”

“And those who would have supported the savages were defeated!” said the male who had spoken earlier, a great, grim delight taking him. “Our city is soon to be ours again, and you have brought the wagons to allow us to return there in comfort!”

“No, Kadimone,” said Relidose with a sigh, a sadness of sorts to be heard. “Right from the first the followers of the dark god stood victorious, and the doing took the heart from every good man who saw it. I knew at once that those who had come to free our city would soon depart in order to retain their lives, and that my sister, and you, her husband, and all these others who had been put so cruelly out of their own city would not be allowed to return to it. I had secured these wagons in anticipation of victory, to fetch you home as you suggested, and nearly wept when I saw the thing become impossible. It was then that your sole course of action came to me, therefore did I use the lack of vigilance brought about by the contests and take what you would require from the stores put aside for the palace, and quickly brought them here. You all must take these wagons and journey to the settlement.”

“The settlement!” came the shocked echo in many voices, upset and indignation and disgust to be heard. A muddle of words came from a muddle of voices, and then the voice of the one called Kadimone again rose above them.

“You would have us go to the settlement?” demanded the male, outraged. “Where they are far too primitive to appreciate the merits of a guild? Where they each make whatever they would have, without first seeking guild permission? Where they would demand that we do more than practice the art of our several crafts?”

“They dwell in crude, nearly empty cabins, Relidose!” said the female who had been called sister by the male, her indignation well mixed with disgust. “They would be no better than these caves we have been forced to take shelter in, with none to see to the cleaning and cooking save myself! And what of all the lovely possessions we were made to abandon? I have been sustained through this horrible ordeal only by thought of the fey when I might return and reclaim my possessions; you would now have me abandon them forever?”

“Orlinia, your possessions may not be returned for,” said Relidose, “not so long as those wenches hold the city. And none of us knows how long that will be. And you, Kadimone, may teach those of the settlement the benefits brought by a guild, just as you taught the members of your own guild. You may not remain here in these caves, for who knows when it will no longer be possible to supply you with food? My savings were modest to begin with; to spend my last copper on provisions for you would benefit neither of us, and you will not hear of my selling what was left behind.”

“Certainly not!” snapped the female Orlinia. “Were you to sell our lovely things, there would be naught to return to when we did return! Kadimone has assured you that your paltry coppers will be replaced immediately upon our return, has he not? Would you have him tell you where our silver is hidden, so that the unscrupulous might cozen its location. For what reason must you be so foolish, Relidose?”

“Who is that who drives the second wagon?” demanded the male Kadimone in abrupt interruption. “That cannot be a slave collar upon him.”

“Indeed is it a slave collar he wears,” said Relidose, his voice tight, restrained. “To drive two wagons alone would not have been possible, therefore did I cast about for one who would aid me. Would you have had me choose a free man, one who might well have had his lot improved through the meddling of those wenches? I would have learned of his true feelings only when they came with spears to take me up. Instead I looked upon those who had been set to the task of selecting what portion of the stores would need to be sent to the palace, and realized that those slaves struggling beneath the selected burdens would have no love for the wenches they served. Had their loyalty not been in question, they would have been given their freedom and made servants instead. I was able to approach this slave when those who directed him took themselves off to watch the contesting, offered him his freedom were he to assist me, and was accepted. We found a tunic too large for him which hid his collar, and were able to drive through the gates with none the wiser.”

“You need not apologize, Relidose,” said Kadimone, his tone now thoughtful. “There are many tasks here a slave may be set to, and should he see to them properly he will be allowed a regular portion of scraps from our provender. You, yourself, mean to return to the city, of course.”

“That was my original intention, yes,” replied Relidose, the vexation clear in his voice. “An unexpected occurrence during my journey here has caused me to rethink my position, however. Kadimone, the man was given my word that his freedom would be restored! You cannot . . . .”

“Not return to the city?” barked the female Orlinia, again with disapproval. “If you were to remain, who, then, would secure the supplies we require? Are our children to be abandoned to starve? The children of the blood of your own sister?”

“Orlinia, my silver is nearly gone!” replied Relidose in exasperation. “Had it been necessary to purchase what these wagons contain, I would not have been able to do so! All of you here must go on to the settlement, and I shall go with...”

“What occurrence during your journey?” demanded Kadimone, greatly annoyed. “I am unable to conceive of what might possibly have occurred to cause you to turn your back on the plight of your own.”

“I have been given the gift I have long prayed for!” said Relidose. “Am I to spit upon the blessing of the Serene Oneness, and return alone to a city where I might no longer do as I have done since your banishment? Rather than that I shall join you, and make a place for myself in the new settlement, where I may live in peace with my woman. After all I have done for you, would you deny me a place in your midst?”

“What you have done for us is abandon us!” shrilled the female Orlinia, nearly beside herself. “You selfishly think only of yourself, and then ask to be accepted among us?”

“To have been allowed to aid us is not to be one of us, Relidose,” said Kadimone with stern disapproval. “A wise man seeks not to overstep himself. What foolish little peasant wench have you found, that you are too greatly shamed to show to the city of your birth? And what leads you to believe that we would permit her presence among decent folk even should you be allowed to remain?”

“Adjust your tone or face my wrath, Kadimone,” said Relidose, drawing gasps with the coldness of his vow. “The girl is soon to be my wife, and I will permit none to speak ill of her. And as the matter disturbs you so, allow me to assure you that shame has naught to do with my inability to return to the city with her. If I were to do so, she would surely be taken from my side no matter her own wishes to the contrary, for those wenches are jealously possessive. They would not allow her to remain with the man of her choice, and I will not see her lost to me again.”

“What nonsense do you speak, Relidose?” asked Kadimone with more bluster than bravery. “What female might you have found, that you need fear her being taken from you?”

“Come and see for yourself,” said Relidose, and now did he seem pleased. I heard the sounds of many feet, as though all moved about to the back of the conveyance, and then was there further sound, as of the cloth there being opened and drawn away. All these things I was fully aware of, yet was none of it able to touch me; I cared naught for the doings of mortal nor god. I lay belly down and bound with leather, one cheek to the fur, my eyes continuing closed. No wish had I to attempt escape, for how might I escape from what I had done?

“Do you see her?” asked Relidose, triumphantly. “Do you understand now why I am unable to return to the city?”

“Why—that great mass of black hair!” exclaimed Kadimone, shocked. “See the size of her! She cannot be—the one who leads those savages?”

“Indeed is she Jalav, the one who once led them,” said Relidose with soft laughter. “Now is she Jalav who will soon be my wife. We will build a life together, and never will she leave me.”

“Relidose, are you mad?” demanded Kadimone in a voice so high it nearly squeaked. “Most certainly she will not leave you, for she is bound hand and foot! Do you believe an elder will wed you to a woman who is bound? And what if she should become unbound? She is a savage and will surely take all our lives!”

“When she is unbound she will do naught, for she will then be too deeply in love with me,” said Relidose with a chuckle, indulgent toward one who clearly feared naught save mist. “I have given her pleasure no more than once, therefore is it too soon to expect such a thing as yet, however the following hind and feyd will see that changed. I will give her such pleasure that she will ache to serve me, beg to do nothing but obey me completely. She will plead to be stroked, and I, of course, will . . . .”

“Relidose, you sicken me!” shrilled Orlinia, aghast at what she had heard. “What disgusting things you have done with that savage, we none of us wish to hear! I have no doubt that it pleased her; after all, what else is one to expect from a slut? You will not, however, perform any further perversions, for we will not allow such a thing in our presence! The very idea, a man with a sister of such high station, to do such . . . .”

“Indeed should she be stroked,” said Kadimore, suddenly venomous. “Is she not the one who led those savages to our city, those savages who dared to see us sent into exile? I would have her stroked with the heaviest whip I might, to repay her in some small measure for the injustice she caused to be perpetrated!”

“I asked that you not speak of her so,” said Relidose with anger, above the growl of agreement to be heard from the others he stood among. “She is the woman fated to be my wife, and I shall not allow . . . .”

“She is a savage fated only to pay for her crimes!” screamed Kadimone, truly enraged. “Stand back and do not attempt to halt us, else shall you share in her punishment!”

“No!” shouted Relidose with ragged desperation, the sounds of struggle accompanying his cry, yet did those sounds of struggle increase, with no further words to be heard. A number of moments passed so, with savage grunts and exclamations of fury, and then was silence returned, no more than harsh breathing to be heard. A scuff came, as of a single movement, and then a horrified female gasp.

“Do not distress yourself, Orlinia,” said Kadimone, his reassurance stiff and still filled with anger. “The man had ever been an embarrassment to you, and also to me as your husband. As madness took him there at the end, we are fortunate indeed not to have suffered even more. The Serene Oneness now shelters his soul, and we are no longer required to bear it.”

“Your patience with him was ever a comfort to me, Kadimone,” said Orlinia, sobbing. “Even as a child he would cause me embarrassment, and father refused to punish him properly. He was my brother, yet surely will this prove for the best.”

“And now for the wench,” said Kadimone with relish. “If not for her, he would have returned to the city, if not for her, we could remain here. Bring her out where we all may see her, and after having seen her, punish her.”

The conveyance moved then, as though there were those who boarded it, and then were there hands upon me, clearly the hands of males. Once the leather had been removed from my ankles the hands lifted me to my feet, thrusting me forward and pulling me along, both at one time. I had no true interest in opening my eyes, yet did they open of themselves to show me those who were about.

Three there were who had come into the conveyance, clad in the coverings of city males, yet were these coverings somewhat longer than those others I had seen. Taken with anger were the males, their hands upon my bound arms far from gentle, yet were their grips lacking in the strength I had come to expect from males. Less than a hand of the steps forced upon me brought me to the end of the conveyance, and then was I pulled quickly to the ground below—and those who waited.

The kand which pulled a second conveyance were perhaps two gandod-strides back from the conveyance I had been in, the space between filled with city folk. Mid-fey-light shone down upon more than two hands of males, a like number of females, a lesser number of those who were children to them, all of whom gasped or exclaimed in some manner when I was brought before them. Too well overfed did these city folk seem, no more than two or perhaps three of the males lacking the roundness of the others, their females the same beneath long, city slave-woman coverings. Even the young appeared less than they should be, without vitality and without true life. Never before had I seen such folk, their presence at the caves I once had known seeming very much out of place.

“Disgusting!” exclaimed a female to the fore, one who seemed older than she appeared. Dark of hair and eye was she, no prettiness to her round, puffy face, great disapproval thickening her gaze. The shrillness had apparently left the female Orlinia, as had her deep sobs of personal loss.

“Kadimone, her nakedness is an affront to those of us who are decent women!” snapped the female, her hands flat to the heavy, rose-colored cloth of her covering. “You must do something, and that at once!”

The male she addressed stood to her right, a male no longer in his prime, had such a one ever had a prime. Soft were the hands beneath delicate gold wristlets, the fleshy neck hung about with glittering stones, a blue covering worn rather long upon the flat chest and swollen belly of him. Not so dark of hair and eye as the female was he, yet was there more intensity in the gaze which moved all about me, a wetting of thick lips accompanying the inspection. I looked down upon the male and his slave-woman as I stood before them, then allowing my gaze to follow the others, finding that none there stood to a greater height than me, few so much as possessing a matching size. Small were these city folk, soft and unprepossessing and scarcely worth the notice of a warrior; had I had any true interest in what befell me, surely would I soon have been free of them.

“See the bruise upon her brow,” said the male Kadimone in a murmur, taking no immediate note of the protests voiced by his female. “Now do I believe I understand the manner in which your brother was able to take her. Surely was she senseless when he came upon her, else would she have taken him instead.”

“See how arrogantly she dares to look upon us, Kadimone!” shrilled the female, again taken with great indignation, her small, over-fleshed form fairly quivering with outrage. “I will not be looked upon in such a manner by a naked, savage slut! You must see to her at once!”

“And so I shall, my dear,” said the male who had not taken his eyes from me, a faint smile moving the fleshy creases of his face. “You, however, and our other ladies, shall not remain, for true men do not parade indecency about before their women. Take the children and return to the caves, and begin at once the gathering of those things to be taken with us to the settlement. We men will see to the punishment of this slut, and then shall we rejoin you and inspect your efforts.”

Feeble protestations came from the females at being commanded to depart; however, all the males stood firm by the portly Kadimone. When once they and their young began withdrawing toward the upward trending path which led to the caves they had taken shelter in, I was able to see the remains of he who had been Relidose. Battered and bloody was the body of the male, as though struck many times by each of those who had stood about him, as silent and unmoving as another had so recently become. So great a fool had the male Relidose been, to believe he might claim undisturbed one who had gained the enmity of his people. Far better that life was no longer left to him, that he be spared the pain when the same was done to she whose possession he had coveted.

“My dear wife would have me see to you, savage,” Kadimone murmured, drawing my gaze back to him. “Would it please you to have me do so?”

With the query came the puffed up fingers of the male to touch my breast, the moisture of his palm dampening my flesh. Low, coarse laughter came from the others of the males, laughter heavy with the sound of need, striving to bring anger to the one in their capture. Little of anger was left to their captive, however, therefore did she do no more than step back from the touch, immediately dismissing it and the male as well.

“The insolence of the slut!” gasped another of the males, taller and thinner than his brothers, with stooped, rounded shoulders and large, light eyes in a long face. “She dismisses you as though you were a slave, Kadimone! Has she no concept of how great an honor you do her?”

“Clearly not,” said Kadimone in a near growl bespeaking cold humiliation. “The low, savage look of her for the moment caused me forgetfulness as to what she was, yet shall I from now on keep it firmly in mind. It is more than time that her punishment began. Bring her.”

Two of those who had brought me from the conveyance again took my arms, forcing me to follow after the male Kadimone. To the side of the conveyance did the male go, seeking all about himself, and then did his gaze touch the large rear wheel, one of four the conveyance needed. At the male’s command those who held to my arms attempted to put me to my knees before the wheel, yet were they possessed of considerably less strength than was usual with males. It had ever been my desire to meet the final dark with head held high, proudly erect before that which none might defeat, therefore did I strive to keep myself from being put to my knees. Three other males were called forth by Kadimone, however, their annoyance as great as his, and quickly was I put to my knees, than thrown to my belly in the sparse grass which grew in that place so near the stone of the caves. I had not thought my wrists would be released, yet was the leather indeed taken from them briefly, so that my arms might be brought forward and above my head. The leather was then quickly replaced, my head kept low the while by my hair having been pulled forward and held to the ground before the wheel. When once my wrists were again held by the leather, they were tied to the wheel by the end of that very same leather, the mass of my hair beneath my upstretched arms having been released by those who had held it. Attempting to raise my head proved fruitless, however, for my arms rested upon the hair, and the mass of it allowed me sight of naught else.

“Have you found the strips of leather we will require in addition to the one already upon her?” asked Kadimone of those about him, a cheerful pleasantness to his voice. “Ah, excellent, excellent. You may now attach each to one of her ankles.”

Hands took my ankles and brought the feel of leather, yet were my ankles not tied one to the other. Upon each was knotted a length of leather, each length taut as though held by the hands which had tied it, keeping me truly flat to the hard, stony ground. I knew not what these males were about, yet was it clear that there was to be pain before my ending.

“And now for the punishment,” said the male who was Kadimone, eagerly panting anticipation upon him. “Soon will we hear the screams of her anguish, and know ourselves to be truly revenged.”

Amid many murmurs of equal eagerness was the sound of the whip nearly lost, the sound which presaged its approach to my flesh. The sound and feel of its striking, however, was another matter entirely; the flare of pain brought my head up and caused me to pull at the thong which held my wrists to the wheel, mindlessly seeking to twist from the searing touch which spread like flames in dry grass. Directly across my back had I been struck, and although it was not like the feel of the lash, the pain it brought would not be denied.

“There and there!” grunted the male Kadimone, gloating freely as the whip struck me two times more. “See what lovely stripes redden her flesh, my friends, see how she attempts to turn from the blows. Hold the leather tight now, men; we would not wish her to escape her just desserts. Soon she will be howling and begging an ending to it all.”

The onlookers laughed in agreement, and then fell silent, save for the grunting and panting of Kadimone and the striking of the whip to my flesh. The first stroke had truly been painful and the second nearly the same; although I could not keep from twisting about upon the sparse grass and hard stone-strewn ground, seeking to avoid the efforts of the male, no longer was the pain as great as it had been to begin with. I had no understanding of why this should be so, and then, after perhaps two hands of blows, the male abruptly ceased.

“She makes no sound, Kadimone,” came the voice of he who was tall and thin, and surely did the male sound reproving. “Strike her again, and with greater strength.”

“I have seen myself that she makes no sound,” grumbled Kadimone, gasping as though taken with exhaustion after great exertion. “I have already struck her with what strength I possess, and shall now give the pleasure to another. Take the whip and beat her.”

“I?” said the tall, thin male, with a squeak. “Never have I used a whip such as that even upon kand. I would not know how to wield it.”

“Surely there must be one among you eager to bring screams and pleadings to this savage,” said Kadimone, still panting. A number of voices spoke at once, all in demurral, and I raised my head as far as possible to ease the ache in my back. Truly difficult did I find it comprehending what sort of males these were, but I was glad my face was not visible to them. Had they seen the expression of disgust I wore, surely would a greater number of them have been willing to wield the whip.

After a number of reckid of heated discussion, one of those standing about was persuaded to take the whip. I had spent the intervening time seeking to understand how such as those had bested and slain a male such as Relidose, one who was scarcely a warrior yet far superior to the ones who had ended him. My thoughts were brought to a halt by the return of pain, yet this male, much like Kadimone, had not the vigor to long continue as he had begun. I pulled at the wrist leather which bound me to the wheel as the blows fell one after the other, then at longer and longer intervals, until, at last, they ceased.

“Still she fails to cry out,” observed the male who was tall and thin, now deeply disturbed. “What are we to do, Kadimone? Bind her and take her to the forests for the beasts to consume?”

“No,” came the voice of Kadimone, petulantly angered. “She is to cause us such travail, and then be allowed so easily to escape? I shall not permit such a thing, the Serene Oneness take me if I do! Bring closer that slave.”

The sound of footsteps came as I again raised my head and sought to free myself of the hair which blinded me, dismissing the pain of my back so it need not be considered. Surely had I expected an eventual ending from these males; how long was it to be before they roused themselves to so simple a doing?

“You may kneel before me, slave,” came the haughty voice of Kadimone. “I am the leader of these good people, and therefore your master.”

“I was promised my freedom,” said another, a male who somehow sounded familiar. “A free man has no need to kneel before another.”

“Your insolence is objectionable, slave!” snapped Kadimone with severity. “Should it be your wish that you now be granted freedom, it will certainly be yours! I will see you free of our company and our provender, our shelter and our weapons, that tunic which was given you by one of ours and also the wagons. The sole thing I will not see you free of is that collar, and also, perhaps, the fate which awaits you alone in the forests. Is this the freedom you demand so eagerly?”

A silence of hesitation ensued and then was there a sound of vexation.

“It was not my intention to exchange one slavery for another,” said the second male with frustrated anger. “Sooner would I find an ending in the forests, than continue forever in servitude.”

“No, no, fellow, your time of servitude will not be forever,” returned Kadimone, a great heartiness now his. “We soon depart for the settlement begun by our city a kalod ago, a journey of perhaps three feyd, and once we have arrived there safely, we will no longer have need of the services of a slave. We will remove your collar and give you what provisions you require, and also what weapons. Is three feyd too long a time to await freedom with pleasure?”

“Three reckid is too long a time, for one who has so long been enslaved,” growled the other, though a good deal of firmness had left his voice. “For what reason might I not be given my freedom now, and simply accompany you in such a way?”

“We are to believe that once having your freedom you will not desert us?” asked Kadimone with a sound of scorn. “Do we appear to be the innocent children? And for what reason should we not demand payment for the things we will give? Are they so valueless that they need not be paid for? Are they so valueless to you that you will refuse our offer?”

Again a silence came, one in which the male undoubtedly considered what he had been told, clearly having learned naught in his service to warriors. To pledge oneself as slave, even for a short time, is to pledge oneself to that slavery forever. Should one allow reasons to be found for the shorter servitude, surely might further reasons be found for extending it and then again and again, till one’s entire life is gone beneath chains, commands, and the lash. That lesson would not need to be told to a warrior; it had never been told the male.

“Very well,” said the male at last, little pleasure to the sound of him. “I will pay for what I will be given with three feyd of servitude. In what direction does this settlement of yours lie?”

“It lies to the west,” replied Kadimone, with mocking satisfaction the words nearly a chuckle. “Think you you might find reason to kneel to me now, slave? Your payment must be as full as that which you expect to receive for it.”

“And you may address each of us as master,” said the male who was tall and thin, his smirk clear enough to be heard above the sound of brief scuffing. “Also must you request permission before putting a question to your masters.”

“Yes, master,” responded the male who had again allowed the chains of slavery to bind him, an odd lack of emotion to the words. “May this one ask the reason for his having been summoned?”

“I was about to discuss that very point,” said Kadimone, his thick satisfaction undiminished. “You see, do you not, this savage slut we have captured?”

“Yes, master,” replied the male, briefly clearing his throat before speaking the words.

I, myself, knew not what Kadimone was about; surely the slave had been present when Relidose discovered me senseless in the forests. For what reason, then, would the male speak such lies?

“Her punishment and disposition will be a major part of the tasks assigned you,” continued Kadimone, his words so self-important that nearly were they a boast. “When you are given permission to rise, you will take up that whip and beat her. Also—you were not—altered in any manner during your service to those savages? You were not—made other than a man?”

“No, master, I was not—altered,” said the slave, and now indeed did he sound amused.

“Excellent,” said Kadimone with a sigh of relief. “One may never be sure what savages will do. As the wench has refused the favor of a free man, she will be made to regret the insult through being forced to the frequent use of a slave. You may take first use from her when you are done with her beating.”

“Yes, master,” said the slave in near to a whisper, his acknowledgment to being commanded suddenly heavy with great anticipation. I, myself, pulled at the leather which bound me, attempting to free myself—yet such a thing was not possible.

The command to rise was clearly given by gesture. First did I hear the sound of footsteps beside me, and then came the crack of the whip as its movement was tested. This one, I knew, would not strike as lightly as had the others, and quickly was I proven right. The next crack of the whip brought flashing pain, spreading pain, growing pain; I raised my head and attempted to roll from it, yet did my ankles continue held by leather. Again was I struck, and then again and again and again, a full hand of strokes before it ceased.

“Master, I had best not continue with this now,” said the slave the while I gasped and attempted to deny what he had given me. “That the wench refuses to cry out the terrible pain given her by you and that other master, is not to say that she fails to feel it. You wish her conscious during the humiliation of her use, do you not?”

“Most certainly, most certainly,” replied Kadimone at once, his great pleasure evident. “How clever of you, slave, to consider such a thing. Very well, put the whip aside now, and get on with the rest.”

Of a sudden was the leather upon my ankles reversed, twisting my legs about, forcing me to my back, my hair thrown even more fully upon my face. The short, stiff grass against the welts of the whip was like dagger points in my flesh, yet was I unable to pull up or aside from the feel of it. Again I struggled, silently cursing the male who had put those welts upon me, and then strange hands suddenly threw the mass of hair from my face.

“Do not struggle so, fool of a wench,” said the slave male very low, seemingly reaching to my hair to arrange it to suit himself. “Do you seek to open the welts and cause them to bleed? This time you may not deny me, therefore need you do no more than simply lie still. I will see to the rest.”

“You!” I breathed, recalling the male at once, now that I was able to look upon him. Though he now wore a covering of brown, long and loose and ill-fitting, clearly was he the slave who had first begged my use in my chamber, and then had attempted to take it. The male had found his way from the city as he had wished, however he had not yet found an escape from slavery.

“I am now prepared to take her, master,” said the slave, glancing over his shoulder at a smirking Kadimone. “Hopefully my performance will not be too brief by cause of the presence of all those who stand about and watch. Surely a lengthy use will bring her the greatest punishment.”

“To be used so by a slave will bring her all of the humiliation we wish,” said Kadimone with a chuckle and a heavy-fingered gesture of dismissal. “Short use or long, the use itself is the thing. You may now proceed, for we wish to see it done.”

“Yes, master,” acknowledged the slave with faint resignation, as though he had attempted a thing which he had not accomplished. I knew not what the thing might be, yet did I know well enough that I had no desire for his use.

“I believe she seeks to refuse you, slave,” Kadimone observed with further chuckling. “Lean back for a moment, and those with the leather will open her for you.”

“My thanks, master, however I have no need of such assistance,” returned the male in a murmur, looking down upon me from where he knelt across me. He stroked my sides, gently and softly, and then as gently came to my breasts. Again I attempted struggle despite the pain I had been given, yet was not able to deny his touch—nor the manner in which his knee parted my thighs. Quickly, then, were both knees between mine, and then his head lowered to put his lips to my middle.

“You will respond to me, wench,” said he in the whisper he had earlier used, his lips trailing up my body to the place his hands continued to hold. “Should you wish to retain your life, you must allow the humiliation; deny them that, and they will surely end you.”

I, too, believed the same, that to deny those males again would bring what I ached for, therefore had I determined that it was necessary to thwart the slave. To that end I renewed my struggles against the leather which held me, using the pain I felt to negate the doings of the male who now kissed all about what was held by his hands, and briefly, stingingly, victory was mine. My flesh failed to respond to his ministrations, and then, abruptly, he became aware of my intentions.

“I should have known,” said he, the anger in his eyes clear as he raised his head to look down upon me. “One such as you would surely prefer death to brief humiliation, yet I shall not allow it. For long has this body been in my thoughts; now shall I be long in this body.”

His hands left my breasts to go to my thighs, and then were they forced wide for the presentation of his manhood. Indeed was the male prepared for my use, a thing quickly made clear to me, and then he had thrust deeply within, to take what pleasure he willed. Again I attempted to deny him with the movement of pain, yet his hands came to my upstretched arms and grasped them tightly.

“No other movement than this shall you make,” he said, beginning the in and out thrust of his hips, bringing me feelings I could not refuse. “Ah, wench, how sweet is the taste of you, how succulent the feast which breaks my fast. You will respond, of this I have no doubt, for already the moisture begins to flow from you.”

I tossed my head in anger, determined to deny the male whatever response I might, yet was he far more male than those others who stood about, and I the possessor of warrior blood. Greatly did the male relish the use he took, striving steadfastly to give pleasure as well, and slowly, slowly, my determination was no more.

“Hah, see how her eyes have closed!” crowed the voice of the male Kadimone, nearer than it had been. “No longer is she cold and distant, for her femaleness will not allow it. The wench has been mastered by a slave!”

The lips of the slave came to mine as the laughter grew all about, silencing of whatever words I might have spoken. Truly would I have wished to rage at the ridicule, calling down all manner of curses upon the males, and yet was I unable to do so much as deny the slave the tasting of my tongue. His manhood took the strength from me as it fired my blood, the demand he put to me a command I must obey, and although I wept inwardly to be humiliated so, all save moaning was outwardly beyond me.

“Ah, yes, sweet wench, now do you truly welcome me,” murmured the slave, his thrusting so deep that nearly was I unable to meet it. “You squirm and sigh and beg to be filled, and I, of course, shall not deny you. The masters who stand here must see you thoroughly taken, else shall they not allow you to live. I, however, will not allow your death, therefore must you dance and well. Ah, yes, rise to meet me, wench, for there is much yet for you to try. For now you are mine, and I shall not release you before I must.”

Thus did the words of the male flow, now intelligible, now beyond understanding, and through it all was the laughter of those who watched beyond eluding. For quite some time did the slave continue on, far beyond the capacity one denied should have had, yet had his purpose been accomplished long before he was no longer able to keep from release. Well shamed was Jalav before those parodies of males, and no longer was the final dark to be inarguably hers.