you want me next to you? Although I’m not seeing any of the other slaves doing that.
Walk just a little behind me and keep your head slightly lowered.
He took a couple of steps forward and glanced back at her.
Good. You look submissive. Just remember that
I won’t be able to see what’s going on behind me, so if anyone touches you, tell me telepathically. And for God’s sake, don’t address anyone directly. Let me do that. I’ll protect you tonight.
Got it.
“Oh, shit.”
“What?” She looked around.
“Engles is at the head of the stairs, waiting for us. It’s time.”
So that’s the monster? I remember him from the auction. His face had a ruddy color at the time. I guess he was pretty worked up.
And furious.
She let him get half a foot ahead before she fell into step at an angle behind him. He tugged on the leash and she tugged back.
With her head down, she continued to glance at what had to be a huge mansion tucked into some corner of the cavern system.
The area where they’d landed sported a waterfall, a small lake lit by torchlight, and dozens of potted trees and shrubs, creating a sort of outdoor garden. The trees twinkled with small blue and white lights.
All this led up, through a series of wide stone steps, to the house itself. The front facade appeared to be fifty yards across and at least four stories high. Mansion, indeed.
She was struck again by how beautifully gowned the women were. Most of them wore not just necklaces, but intricate chains.
A lot of chains around here.
Yes, some of them are blood-chains.
Okay, that’s new. What’s a blood-chain?
The single blood-chain creates a tight bond—the couple can’t be more than a few yards away at any given time. I’ve never done it myself, but if I was a controlling sadist as some of these men are, I’d chain you.
If we were chained, I wouldn’t be able to run away, would I?
Not even a little.
She noticed one woman who wore a gold double-chain, linked together with loops. A large diamond pendant pulled the chain toward her cleavage.
You said single-chain. Are there double-chains as well?
Yes. These are deep bonding chains, usually indicating a married status.
Ah, married slavers. How charming.
There are a lot of women equally into the lifestyle. You’d be surprised.
After that redheaded she-devil who hurt me, I guess I’m not.
He didn’t respond, but at the mention of the woman, she felt he’d tensed up again. Reyes’s owner had been a woman. The subject no doubt hit some buttons.
As she drew closer to the entrance, she saw that massive white marble pillars supported the front structure, leaving it completely open to the air. She began to understand something important: she hadn’t fallen just into a world of vampires and sex slavery, but into an entire civilization as well. A profoundly skilled architect, accompanied by master builders, had created this extraordinary house.
And this is Engles’s home?
Yes, it is.
I’m guessing Starlin earnings built this house.
You guessed right.
And he’s really not the one running things?
He’s a front man. Don’t ask me how I know, but I know. Call it an instinct. He’s smart enough and manages things quite well, but he’s not an empire builder. He’s too much of showman. Building and sustaining an empire requires finesse and, to a degree, secrecy.
Angelica thought it a great irony that so much beauty had been built on the deaths of tens of thousands of slaves.
He has excellent taste, I’ll give him that. But I wouldn’t mind seeing him tortured for a decade, then his head chopped off, for all that he’s done.
Have you been reading my mind?
She heard a faint whimpering sound and glanced to her right. She recognized one of the women from the auction, a tall blond Russian. She had bruises on her arms and legs. She’d been worked over but good, and her new owner had his fangs buried deep in her throat sucking hard—too hard by the looks of it. The slave stared up
Walk just a little behind me and keep your head slightly lowered.
He took a couple of steps forward and glanced back at her.
Good. You look submissive. Just remember that
I won’t be able to see what’s going on behind me, so if anyone touches you, tell me telepathically. And for God’s sake, don’t address anyone directly. Let me do that. I’ll protect you tonight.
Got it.
“Oh, shit.”
“What?” She looked around.
“Engles is at the head of the stairs, waiting for us. It’s time.”
So that’s the monster? I remember him from the auction. His face had a ruddy color at the time. I guess he was pretty worked up.
And furious.
She let him get half a foot ahead before she fell into step at an angle behind him. He tugged on the leash and she tugged back.
With her head down, she continued to glance at what had to be a huge mansion tucked into some corner of the cavern system.
The area where they’d landed sported a waterfall, a small lake lit by torchlight, and dozens of potted trees and shrubs, creating a sort of outdoor garden. The trees twinkled with small blue and white lights.
All this led up, through a series of wide stone steps, to the house itself. The front facade appeared to be fifty yards across and at least four stories high. Mansion, indeed.
She was struck again by how beautifully gowned the women were. Most of them wore not just necklaces, but intricate chains.
A lot of chains around here.
Yes, some of them are blood-chains.
Okay, that’s new. What’s a blood-chain?
The single blood-chain creates a tight bond—the couple can’t be more than a few yards away at any given time. I’ve never done it myself, but if I was a controlling sadist as some of these men are, I’d chain you.
If we were chained, I wouldn’t be able to run away, would I?
Not even a little.
She noticed one woman who wore a gold double-chain, linked together with loops. A large diamond pendant pulled the chain toward her cleavage.
You said single-chain. Are there double-chains as well?
Yes. These are deep bonding chains, usually indicating a married status.
Ah, married slavers. How charming.
There are a lot of women equally into the lifestyle. You’d be surprised.
After that redheaded she-devil who hurt me, I guess I’m not.
He didn’t respond, but at the mention of the woman, she felt he’d tensed up again. Reyes’s owner had been a woman. The subject no doubt hit some buttons.
As she drew closer to the entrance, she saw that massive white marble pillars supported the front structure, leaving it completely open to the air. She began to understand something important: she hadn’t fallen just into a world of vampires and sex slavery, but into an entire civilization as well. A profoundly skilled architect, accompanied by master builders, had created this extraordinary house.
And this is Engles’s home?
Yes, it is.
I’m guessing Starlin earnings built this house.
You guessed right.
And he’s really not the one running things?
He’s a front man. Don’t ask me how I know, but I know. Call it an instinct. He’s smart enough and manages things quite well, but he’s not an empire builder. He’s too much of showman. Building and sustaining an empire requires finesse and, to a degree, secrecy.
Angelica thought it a great irony that so much beauty had been built on the deaths of tens of thousands of slaves.
He has excellent taste, I’ll give him that. But I wouldn’t mind seeing him tortured for a decade, then his head chopped off, for all that he’s done.
Have you been reading my mind?
She heard a faint whimpering sound and glanced to her right. She recognized one of the women from the auction, a tall blond Russian. She had bruises on her arms and legs. She’d been worked over but good, and her new owner had his fangs buried deep in her throat sucking hard—too hard by the looks of it. The slave stared up
Similar Books
