Chained Read online

  Maggie began to feel sick. “What? Explain.”

  “Back when they were first exploring Yonnie Five, one of the explorers made the mistake of trying to actually use the thing as a Pillow—it looked so comfy and apparently he was sleepy. Or just stupid.”

  “What happened?” Maggie asked.

  “The thing ate his head—or tried to. It secretes a strong acid that dissolves the flesh of its prey in no time. Lucky for him, he only got some bad burns on his face.”

  “So it’s like a venus fly trap?”

  “A what?”

  “A plant indigenous to Earth. It traps small insects and digests them over a period of time. I never heard of any of them big enough to digest a human head, though.” Maggie shivered.

  “Then you want to stay off Yonnie Five. The Pillow Plant isn’t the only thing that will eat your head—and all the rest of you.”

  “So how did people start eating the Pillow Plant?” Maggie wanted to know.

  “Apparently in the struggle to get free of it, the guy who decided to use it as a pillow broke through its outer skin and got some in his mouth.” Kor made a face. “He decided it was delicious and they’ve been harvesting them to eat ever since.”

  “It’s…skin? You mean the crust?” Maggie poked at the crispy, flaky shell that covered the custard and jelly insides.

  “No crust about it—that’s its skin,” Kor said. “And the pink jelly is the Pillow Plant’s congealed blood. Oh, and I’m pretty sure that yellowish cream is the exploded intestines. They harvest it and let it ripen for a while for maximum flavor—which means it’s already pretty decomposed by the time you eat it.”

  “What? Ugh!” Suddenly the half eaten slice of Pillow Plant on her plate didn’t look nearly as appetizing. In fact, looking down at the runny, oozing mass of bright pink and yellowish white made her feel vaguely nauseous. “But it’s a plant,” she protested weakly. “How can it have intestines and blood?”

  “It’s grown on a plant,” Kor corrected. “But the fruit itself is more of an animal. It’s actually a really interesting creature.”

  “Half plant, half animal?” Maggie’s mind began churning almost as much as her stomach. “That’s fascinating! The biological implications alone…If I could just study one in the wild…”

  “Good luck with that,” Kor growled. “They’ve been practically wiped out—harvested by rich mistresses looking for a decadent dessert that won’t make them gain weight.”

  “Oh,” Maggie said in a small voice. “And I’m just as bad as any of them. I was just saying about eating a fruit that tasted like Krispy Kreme…”

  Kor surprised her by laughing. “Don’t worry about it, blondie—I’m not judging you. Just thought you might want to avoid eating something that amounts to dead, decomposed carnivore guts.”

  “Well, you’re right about that.” No matter how good it tasted, Maggie wasn’t interested in slurping up any more congealed blood and exploded intestines. Sighing, she put the plate down on a nearby pedestal. “I guess I’ll just have to wait until I get back home and get some real Krispy Kreme. I just—”

  “Attention, ladies!” rang out the high, birdlike voice of the master of the spa. “Now that you have all indulged in our decadent little dessert, we would like to invite you to take a midnight swim in the Remembrance Pool.”

  “Oh, dear…” Maggie turned to Kor. “What are we going to do? Are the scratches on my back healed enough to go in, do you think?” She really didn’t want to get in the strange red water at all but now that she’d eaten the expensive Pillow Fruit, she didn’t know if she could refuse.

  “Let me see.” Kor turned her around gently and brushed her hair aside to examine her back. Maggie shivered when she felt his warm hands on her shoulders…and his even warmer breath against her bare back. God, why did she react this way every time he touched her? Why did her heart beat so hard just from having him close?

  “Well?” she asked anxiously.

  “I don’t think you should go all the way in,” he murmured. “You could dip your toes in the water but full submersion with these open cuts is a bad idea.”

  “Why?” Maggie asked. “Is the water contaminated in some way?” Looking at the blood red deep end, she could well imagine that it was.

  Kor frowned. “Not contaminated exactly. But the water in the Remembrance Pool isn’t really water at all. It’s a chemical agent that brings buried memories to the surface. At the shallow end, the memories are light—just pleasant moments or days that may have slipped your mind. As you get deeper into the pool, the more submerged memories begin to emerge.”

  “And let me guess,” Maggie said. “Having all those memories causes strong emotions…”

  “Which the Sensorians feed on.” Kor nodded.

  “All right,” Maggie decided. “I don’t think I can refuse completely but maybe I could go wading in the shallow end.”

  “That should be all right—just don’t get the waters of Remembrance in these cuts.” He traced gently around the long, shallow scratches again, making Maggie shiver. “Getting the chemicals of this pool into your bloodstream is a bad idea—you don’t want to get stuck in a memory you can’t find your way out of.”

  “I’ll be careful—but what about you? Some of the other mistresses seem to be having their slaves get in with them.” Maggie nodded at the shallow end of the large pool where several of the ladies in her rondula were splashing and playing in the pale pink water with their slaves. Mistress Gin'gin and her slave, in particular, seemed to be having a good time. “Should we, uh, go in together?” she asked Kor.

  “No,” he said shortly. “I’m not getting in.”

  “What?” Maggie frowned. “But I thought you said the shallow end just brought up happy memories. Why don’t you—”

  “I was raised a slave and trained to be a killer,” Kor said brusquely. “I don’t have a whole hell of a lot of happy memories, Maggie. Some things…” A shutter went through his big frame. “Some things are better left forgotten.”

  “Oh,” Maggie said softly. He looked so upset she wished she could comfort him in some way. “I’m sorry, Kor…” She turned to him and put a hand on his muscular bicep. “I didn’t think.”

  “It’s all right.” He covered her hand with his own, much larger one. “I’ll be fine. And as long as you stay out of the deep end, you should too.”

  “I wouldn’t go in even if I didn’t have the scratches,” Maggie said. “I’m not exactly the best swimmer—I’m not much good at anything athletic.”

  “Unless there was an athletic event for tripping in ridiculously high heels.” One corner of his mouth went up, taking the sting out of his teasing words.

  “Stop it.” Maggie slapped at his chest playfully, glad he seemed to be shaking off his gloomy mood. “You should try walking in these things and see how well you do.”

  “I’d rather watch you in them,” he murmured. “Why do you think I don’t mind walking behind you, pretending to be your slave? Those things might be a health hazard but the way they make your hips sway is damn sexy.”

  The sudden heat in his eyes made Maggie look hurriedly away, heart pounding.

  “Oh—I think the master of the spa is calling me,” she said, a bit breathlessly.

  The Sensorian was indeed, waving her over.

  “You go and have fun,” Kor said softly. “Just be careful, blondie.”

  “I will.” Maggie smiled at him. “And you stay dry.”

  He nodded gravely. “I sure as hell will. Don’t worry about that.”

  Maggie nodded and turned away.

  * * * * *

  “No, no, no!” Xandra hissed, glaring into the surface of her cauldron. “He must get in—must submerge himself for the seed to be planted!”

  “Problems?” A pair of glowing red eyes rose to the surface and stared at her.

  “It’s Therron—he refuses to get into the Remembrance Pool!” Xandra was thoroughly frustrated. “And after I took so muc