Slaves of Elysium (29 page)

There had been no time for explanations in the Adamasees' bedroom. He had grinned down at their astonished faces and said simply, ‘I thought I'd find you here.'

Then a call came through on his radio and he turned away, nodding to the two soldiers who had discovered them. Jeni and Rebecca's leash chains were cut, their wrists and ankles bound and their mouths taped. Then they were thrown over the men's shoulders and carried out of the house with the rest of the booty.

A couple of large flying disks were waiting outside, their landing pads gouging furrows in the Adamasees' carefully tended lawn. Jeni and Rebecca had been carried up a ramp and dumped with a couple of other slaves, similarly bound. In a few minutes the rest of the raiders returned, bringing more slaves with them. Ash was the last onboard, and as the hatch closed behind him he snapped out, ‘Lift off. Back to the ships!'

The disk rose smoothly, banked and headed west, skimming the treetops, and as Ash passed the cage of captive slaves he spared Jeni and Rebecca a quick glance. ‘Sorry, work to do, talk later,' he said, and then he was gone.

 

Jeni judged it was less than half an hour later that the disk set down again on some solid surface. The odd thing was that although she was sure its lift motors had stopped, she still had the sensation they were moving.

Ash disembarked while the crew remained to check over the craft and shut down the controls. An air of jubilation took over and jokes were cracked. The raid on Pelaria had apparently been a great success. Now there would be celebrations.

The pen was opened and the girls dragged out. Their feet were freed and a chain was run through the collar rings of the other slaves, while Jeni and Rebecca were chained separately. Then they were all led out of the hatchway and down the ramp.

Jeni looked about in wonder as a fresh, salty wind blew about her. There was a hard metal deck under her feet. They were not on solid ground, but on a ship.

Several flying disks like theirs rested within a long hanger-like structure, with one side open to the air. Through this they could see they were well out into a rolling blue ocean, the Atlantum, of course.

Another vessel was sailing a short way off on a parallel course, except that it was not cutting through the water but gliding just above it, throwing up a thin cloud of spray from the wave caps as it bored through the air almost as fast as the flying disks could travel. Jeni estimated it was about the size of a destroyer, with a streamlined boat-shaped hull, but with lower, more compact upper decks. A long open slot running halfway along the ship suggested the presence of a flying disk bay, like the one she stood in. Such manoeuvrable craft did not need open runways and could take off and land directly into their hangers, of course. In the Kladrian navy, if that was the right word for vessels that did not quite touch the water, such ships must serve similar functions to aircraft carriers, she supposed.

The other captured slave girls were taken off in another direction, but Jeni and Rebecca were led though a metal hatchway and along a series of utilitarian corridors, and then up some stairs. A second hatch opened onto a short corridor with carpet over the bare metal, lined with wooden doors of some quality. The soldier led them along to the last door on the left and opened it. Within was a compact but well furnished day cabin, with windows overlooking the stern of the ship. Through a second inner door Jeni could see the edge of a bed.

Kneeling in one corner of the cabin was a pretty slave girl with almond eyes and long dark hair, busily polishing a chair. She looked round hopefully as they entered, only to frown and bite her lip as she saw Jeni and Rebecca.

Their guard made them kneel and clipped their collar chain to a ringbolt set in the wall, then left.

The oriental slave girl looked Jeni and Rebecca over with angry eyes, and then resumed her polishing with increased vigour. Jeni and Rebecca had no choice but to watch her, still struggling to adjust their minds to this sudden startling turn of events.

It was another fifteen minutes before Ash entered the cabin. He had removed his body armour to reveal a light under-tunic, but his feet were still encased in heavy combat boots. He looked at the oriental girl, then at Jeni and Rebecca, and then sat down heavily in a deep armchair.

The slave girl sprang to her feet and ran to a cabinet in the wall that poured out chill vapour when she opened it. From within she drew out a ready mixed drink in a tall glass, which she carried over and set down beside the arm of Ash's chair. Then she scurried into the bedroom and returned with a pair of light sandals. Kneeling at Ash's feet she began dexterously unfastening his boots, straddling his leg to pull them off, he helping her by placing his other foot on her neat little bottom and pushing. When they were removed she laced on his sandals, then knelt once more at his feet, gazing up at him adoringly. With a smile Ash stroked her hair, then looked at Jeni and Rebecca thoughtfully. His mood seemed to have become more sober, as of a man realising the consequences of his actions.

Jeni experienced a fleeting moment of embarrassment as his eyes rested upon her bound and naked body, and sensed the same emotion in Rebecca. Ash was a link with the past and a world of very different morals. But apparently he had also adapted to Elysian life – and prospered.

The girl by his side spoke up hesitantly. ‘Are these the golden ones you wanted to find, master?'

‘Yes, Myuki, they are,' Ash said. ‘And you'd better take that tape off them. There's a cutter in the drawer.'

Myuki released Jeni and Rebecca from their binding tape, and the first thing Jeni said when she had peeled the tape from her mouth was, ‘I'm so glad you're alive!'

Ash smiled. ‘Thanks. It was a close call.'

‘Is Mr Devereaux here as well?'

He shook his head. ‘Last time I saw him he was in the raft. If he made landfall in Elysium it wasn't on Kladrian territory.'

‘But how did you get to be one of their soldiers?' Rebecca asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Ash looked at her coldly. ‘I got there because these people respect anybody who can fight well, no matter what colour their skin.'

‘After I was washed away I saw you were still onboard,' Jeni said quickly. ‘I thought you were unconscious... or worse.'

‘That last wave had knocked the wind out of me,' Ash said. ‘But I recovered just in time to get clear before the
Galatea
went down. Pity. She was a fine boat.'

‘Then what happened?'

‘I felt pretty bad. I couldn't see Mark or you. For all I knew I was the only one left. Anyway, after being in the water for almost a day I saw land and started swimming. I came ashore near a small coastal town. I didn't know it then but I'd been carried further north than you were, into Kladria. I could see it was like no place back home, so I was cautious. Unfortunately, while I was scouting round I was spotted and somebody called in an air patrol. But they made a mess of catching me and it turned into a free for all. It turned out I'd been better trained at that style of fighting than they had, so after I laid out a few of them the officer in charge called the rest off and tried talking to me instead. I didn't know what he was saying, of course, but then he offered me his dagger, hilt first, which I guessed was a gesture of trust or respect. I took a chance that it was smarter to go with them than try living wild when they knew I was around, and it worked out.

‘As soon as I learned enough of their language and culture I realised I could fit in here. For all their smart technology they're weak in some fields of tactics. They've spent too long fighting each other, I guess. I made some suggestions that went down well and got offered a commission. I've been a soldier before and reckoned this wouldn't be so different, so I accepted.'

‘But this isn't your land, or your fight,' Jeni said.

‘No, but as an outsider it was either prove I was as good or better than they were, or be made a slave, and that wasn't going to happen to me. They're pretty honourable and they've got a code of warfare. They don't fight innocent people, only other warriors, no indiscriminate damage, not mass destruction weapons. It's bloody, but not many people actually die. They've got some incredible medical techniques here, so nobody ends up maimed for life. You're killed outright or you get fit again. It's better that way. I did well and got promoted fast. If you're ready to lead your men from the front they respect you. And there are bonuses you don't get back home...' He stroked Myuki's hair again.

‘Anyway, they'd got into a fix planning the reprisal to the last Pelarian raid. I made some suggestions on tactics, such as heading well out to sea before swinging back for home, which should confuse any pursuit. That gave me a chance to get in on the raid. You see, I was looking for you.'

‘So it wasn't chance you found us in the Adamasees' house?' Jeni said.

‘No. Kladrian intelligence has sources in Pelaria, and a pair like you two gets noticed. I knew who you'd been sold to, and as the estate was inside our strike range I thought I'd give it a shot. People in a panic usually leave their slaves behind. And I was right.'

‘So, now we belong to you,' Jeni said slowly.

‘That's the way it works here. There'll be negotiations for anybody we took that the Pelarians want back badly enough. Your owners might pay a ransom for you.'

‘Oh...' Jeni said, and Rebecca looked thoughtful.

‘Of course, it's also my right to set it as high as I like,' Ash added, and Jeni brightened. ‘And if I keep you as my prize, I have the right to set you free,' he added.

Jeni's heart skipped a beat. Freedom! Then she shook her head. ‘Thank you, but there's no need now,' she said. ‘In a way I'm already free. I've found what I wanted to be here. If we'd had more time back on the
Galatea
I would have told you. Maybe you already guessed a little bit of it.'

‘I wondered.' He looked at her intently. ‘Are you sure you want it this way?'

‘Yes. You must do what you want with me, like any other slave.' She hesitated, then added, ‘But if you want to keep me, I'd be honoured to serve you... master.' And she bowed her head to him.

Ash smiled. ‘I think I'd like that.'

Jeni felt a thrill of delight course through her.

‘Well I'm not serving you,' Rebecca sneered. ‘I'm sure Lorthon and Vandra will buy me back. If not, then you can free me.'

Why was Rebecca, Jeni wondered, so continually blind to reality?

Ash turned angry eyes on the haughty female. ‘Be quiet, girl!' he thundered. ‘I wasn't offering anything to you!'

Rebecca flinched back against the wall, hastily pinched her lips and looked down at the carpet.

Jeni looked at Myuki's face and a shadow of doubt crossed her mind. ‘But I think you already have a devoted slave, master. I wouldn't want to cause any hurt...'

Ash shook his head in wonder. ‘You haven't changed, have you? Still more worried about other people than yourself. But it's not your concern any more.' He took hold of a fistful of Myuki's hair with gentle force. ‘Myuki, this is Jeni. She will serve with you, not take your place. She's a very good and kind person and I know you'll be friends, do you understand?'

‘As you wish, master,' Myuki said humbly. She caught Jeni's eye and smiled uncertainly. Then she looked at Rebecca. ‘But what about the other one, master?'

‘Don't bother with her. She's a selfish, thoughtless, spoilt brat who I once said should have had a few more spankings when she was young.' Rebecca looked up in alarm. ‘It'll be a day or two until we reach port,' Ash continued thoughtfully. ‘I think I'll enjoy my new prizes... each as they deserve to be.'

Rebecca's eyes widened. ‘No, please no.'

 

Jeni lay spread-eagled on her back, her wrists and ankles securely chained to the corners of her new master's bed. Ash was mounting her, the shaft of his manhood sheathing tightly in her welcoming passage. She relished his weight and power as he pressed her harder into the bed, and she lifted her hips to him and tried to rub her swollen nipples against his chest. How proper that this should be her first service to her new master, so he could assert his rights over her in the most natural way possible.

He took his time enjoying her, allowing her own pleasure to mount. Jeni felt a wet tickling about her plugged pubic lips and gave a fresh shiver of delight. Myuki's tongue was busy adding to her master's pleasure. She knelt between their splayed legs sucking and licking his balls, and sneaking quick kisses as his shaft pumped into the depths of his new slave.

Rebecca was a helpless and frustrated witness to this love play. Control cuffs kept her stretched between floor and ceiling at the foot of the bed. She could only watch and wonder what Ash planned for her.

Jeni felt her insides dissolving into a starburst of pleasure and she bucked and moaned in orgasmic released under her master. He rammed into her with a few final thrusts of almost brutal force and added his essence to her outpourings. Myuki lapped hungrily about the junction of their bodies.