Love Charms (125 page)

Athena pulled me off to the side, out of
the fray. With a wave of her arm she said, “This is my operations center.
Everyone,” she raised her voice and the people in the room paused for a
nanosecond. “This is Sofia. Our newest renegade asset. Sofia, this is where the
fate of the human race is determined.”

“What? I’m not a renegade.” I looked at
Athena in disbelief, absently noting that several people had responded to
Athena’s announcement with a “Welcome Sofia.” Pretty friendly for a known
criminal group.

She laughed. “Yes, you are. You just
haven’t accepted it yet.” She guided me to a small room in the far corner
filled with piles of scrap metal that smelled of damp rust. A small, wizened
man with a hook nose and silver hair sprouting everywhere except from his bald
head hunched over a desk, tinkering with a strip of aluminum.

“Fred,” Athena said softly, her voice
cajoling.

Fred jumped at the sound of her voice and
whipped around to look up at us through thick glasses in unflattering black
frames. “Miss Athena? Is that you?” Magnified eyes in a rheumatic blue blinked
at us.

“Yes, mage. It’s me and I’ve brought a
friend.” Athena pushed me forward. “This is Sofia. Our newest renegade.”

“You’ll be wanting a collar then.” Fred
turned his back on us and rummaged through the scraps of twisted metal on his
desk.

“You read my mind.”

Fred snickered, seeming pleased with
himself. “I always know what you want.”

“That you do.”

“Ah, here’s the one.” A gnarled hand
thrust a jumble of metal at us.

Athena took it and gave it a shake,
unraveling it into a long, wide linked chain with a purple stone set in the
center. It was pretty in a sort of techno-goth fashion. “Perfect.” She turned
to me and swept my hair to the side, moving to wrap the chain around my neck.
When I ducked, trying to avoid the inevitable, she didn’t hesitate to claw a
hand through my hair and hold me still by the scalp. Tears of pain gathered in
my eyes and, when she released me after latching the chain around my neck, she
had to shake several strands of my hair off her hand. At this rate, I would be
as bald as Fred soon.

I swallowed, my throat pushing against
the cold metal and rotated my head trying to accustom myself to the weight
constricting around my neck. The thing easily weighed more than a pound, its
mass triggering a choking sensation.

“It’s a perfect fit, “ Athena said. “Do
you mind activating it now, Fred?”

“Not at all.” He stood and scurried over,
hands reaching for me. Fred only came up to my waist and Athena pushed me down
so he could touch my neck. Heat surged from his hands to the metal until I felt
like I had stuck my head in a hot oven. Under his breath, Fred chanted a few
words I didn’t recognize. Once he finished his spell, he smiled with
satisfaction when sparks shot from my neck. A few of them landed on my skin
causing me to hiss in pain.

“There, you’ve gotten through the worst
of it,” Athena said, pulling a large flip knife from her pocket. A quick move
of her wrist and it clicked open, the steel blade gleaming in the light.

With Athena advancing on me, knife out, I
had difficulty believing her reassurance to be true. Nervous, I took a step
back. It was futile, she was between me and the door and there was nowhere to
run, but my fight-or-flight response demanded some kind of reaction

Athena frowned at me. “I was going to cut
your hands free. You don’t need to be restrained now that you’ve been collared,
but if you want to stay tied up, that’s fine by me.”

She moved to put the knife away, but
stopped when I said, “No, wait. Cut me free.”

“Say please.”

“Please,” I mumbled, looking at the floor
so she couldn’t see the bitterness in my eyes. I wanted to do anything but beg
this woman for help.

“Turn around.”

I turned, shoulders tense, hoping she
wasn’t planning on slipping the blade between my ribs. I also took the
opportunity to read her and wished I hadn’t. Sure, she didn’t plan on killing
me, but there was enough blood on her hands, I couldn’t count on her not to
change her mind. Her personality gave a strong psychic imprint, and pictures of
her victims flashed through my mind. She was wild and unpredictable and she
liked blood, both in business and pleasure. I shuddered and shut her out as she
sliced through the plastic handcuffs, yanking twice to get the knife through.
Suddenly my hands were free, hanging loose at my sides.

“Why did you let me go?” I asked
examining the red welts the handcuffs had left. Soul Patch had cranked them
pretty tight and I would most likely carry their mark for several days.

“I haven’t. I just switched the handcuffs
for a more secure form of bondage.” She hooked a finger underneath my collar.
“This is better than any rope or piece of plastic.”

“A collar?”

“It’s not just a collar. Fred here is a
mage and his enchantments ensure no one leaves before I’m ready to let them
go.” She put a hand on the nape of my neck. “Here, let me show you. This back
piece here, when pulled, effectively cuts off your air supply.” She pulled and
suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I gasped and tried to pull the collar loose with
my fingers with no success. Ignoring my distress, she continued, “But, that’s
more of a mechanical feature as opposed to magic.” She released me and I
hunched over, hands around my neck sucking in air through a bruised throat.
“The magic comes into play if you try to run away or disobey a direct order
from me. Disobedience is punished with a shock and running away is a sure way
to die, right, Fred?”

“Oh, yes, Miss Athena. My spell ensures
instant death once someone crosses your property line.” Fred nodded as he
spoke, his tone just a hair above a snivel. I noticed, as his head bobbed up
and down, that he wore a collar as well. The design was different, his was more
of a solid band where mine was similar to chain mail, but a collar nonetheless.

Athena followed my gaze and smiled. “Yes,
Fred wears a collar too. In fact, his was the first collar ever made. I managed
to put it on him before he realized what was happening and he’s been working
for the renegades ever since. How long has it been now, mage?”

Fred fingered his collar and I caught a
glimpse of deep scars underneath. How long before disobedience left permanent
marks? Two or three times? A dozen shocks? I hoped I didn’t have to find out.
“Fifteen years, Miss Athena.”

Fifteen years of forced slave labor for
an organization that wanted to put the control of magic, of your own people, in
human hands? Shocked like a dog with an electric collar any time you did
something your captors didn’t like? I shook my head at the horror of it. How
many people crossed the property line on purpose to avoid Fred’s fate?

“More than a decade of excellent service
to the cause. Of course, it helps that your collar is set to kill you the
second someone escapes.” Athena smiled, a benevolent dictator. If Fred had been
a dog, this would’ve been the moment she patted him on the head. “I believe in
failsafe quality control.”

I gulped, but stayed silent. That was one
way to avoid insubordination. Did they ever let the poor man out of the
basement? Or had he spent the last decade and a half in a dark corner, inhaling
rust?

“Well, now that we’ve got you collared,”
Athena clapped her hands together, a smirk of satisfaction on her face. “Let me
show you where you’ll be staying for the next few days.”

I followed Athena back up to the
black-and-white kitchen where she gave me a quick tour, showing me where the
dishes were kept and what food I could eat. “Help yourself, just don’t eat the
last of anything. If we’re low on something, make a note of it here." She
pointed to a list on the refrigerator. “We’ll pick it up on the next grocery
run.”

I nodded, unwilling to discuss grocery
shopping with my kidnaper. Too surreal for me.

“Back here,” she moved towards a hallway,
sharp heels clacking on the linoleum, "is your room.”

We walked through a hallway that led
behind the kitchen until we reached a large room filled with an assortment of
leather furniture; couches, ottomans, and wing backed chairs all in mud brown.
Green accent pillows interrupted the monotonous brown. Oriental rugs in a dark
burgundy color covered most of a hardwood floor. Sort of a cross between
traditional hotel lobby decor and shabby chic--not an antique in sight. A huge
flat screen television had been mounted over the fireplace at the far end with
a stereo console set up right beside it.

Athena waved to a set of doors running
along the back wall, “The bedrooms are back there, take your pick. You’re the
only new asset here at the moment.”

“Don’t you mean prisoner?”

“No. I said asset and I meant asset.” She
gave me a hard look, annoyed. “You’ll see what I mean soon.” She waved to a set
of French doors. “The bathrooms are over there. You’ll also find clothes in
your size, just look through the closet and take what you need.” She sniffed.
“You could use a shower.”

I considered telling Athena it was her
fault I smelled like ripe road kill, but decided against it. No need to
antagonize her, not when she could cut off my breath with a quick yank on the
chain around my neck. Not to forget the zapping either. No, I didn’t want to
piss Athena off, at least not now. I would save my smartass remarks for some
other time. The name of the game at the moment was survival. That and saving my
friends...at least the ones who were still alive.

“Basically, you have free rein of the
house and the grounds, just don’t try to cross the gates or...”

“I’ll die.” I finished for her.

She nodded. “And quickly. The last person
who wore your collar was dead in less than five seconds.”

Damn. That was faster than a sports car.

“And don’t think you can hide, we can
find you wherever you go. Don’t try to use the phones either. All calls on the
land lines are monitored. You’ll be disconnected before you can even ask for
help.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Enjoy your stay at Chez Renegade. This
is a great opportunity for you. Someone with your skills can go far in our
organization.” She gave me a one armed hug, the way a coach might show
affection for a teammate.

I stiffened at the contact, but she
didn’t notice. She gave me a final squeeze and released me. “Well, I have
business to attend to. Make yourself comfortable while you can. I hear Kristoff
employs some harsh training methods.”

“Kristoff?”

“You’ll meet him soon. He’s your new
owner,” Athena said over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

I watched her go, fingering my collar,
amazed at how fast I had become something to be owned.

The day passed quickly. I showered,
selected some clothes from the neat stacks arranged on shelves in a walk in
closet by the bathroom. The clothes were basic; jeans and T-shirts and
available in enough quantity, that I wondered just how many new renegade
‘assets’ they brought in. Judging from the volume of clothing, dozens at least.

I picked out a pair of black jeans and a
blue T-shirt with a V-neck. They had lavender, which would’ve matched the stone
in my collar perfectly, but something in me rebelled at color-coordinating my
outfit with the very thing that labeled me as a possession. It felt too much
like acceptance, so I went with blue. There were shoes too, and I picked out
two pairs. A leather slide for lounging in the house and a more practical pair
of black tennis shoes for hiking the grounds.

Dressed, I explored every inch of
Athena’s estate that afternoon and found…nothing. The rooms of the main house
were empty and decorated  in a strange Las Vegas meets old time brothel
mash-up. There was no hint of the darker purposes the house served. If I
dropped my shields and let the walls speak, I caught images of dozens of Sidhe
being brought in, questioned, and collared or killed. Athena was not gentle,
and from what little I saw before I broke the connection, I was surprised at
the lack of blood stains on the carpet. In fact, I was surprised
I
wasn’t
bleeding.

Wanting to clean the metaphysical blood
off my hands, I went outside and back to the building where I had been
imprisoned. It was empty, same as the house and led me to wonder why such large
facilities existed for prisoners. Maybe it had been a slow recruiting month.

With a shrug, I went to test the limits
of the collar by walking up to the gate, but backed off when the metal grew hot
as a sunburn against my neck. I didn’t think Athena had lied, but I had to see
for myself. Hands in my pockets and kicking stones as I walked, I made my way
through the gardens. While pretty, with fragrant lilacs and blushing roses,
they yielded no information or solutions I could use. I didn’t see any other
people either. So far, being a prisoner had been pretty boring. Lonely even.  

 It seemed the only place that was
occupied was the basement. Judging by the lack of any personal possessions in
any of the rooms I had visited, none of people in the basement appeared to live
on the estate. Yet I hadn’t seen any cars indicating that people commuted
either. Curious, I tried to explore the basement to see if there was some kind
of underground bunker, but, while I was greeted with a friendly smile, I was
also promptly escorted back up the stairs.