Instructing the Novice Read online

  “That’s right, take it,” Karx growled. “Take it all. And you’re going to fucking swallow when I come too—swallow every drop I pump down your throat!”

  Watching from the shadows, Lizabeth felt as though she was frozen in place. She couldn’t believe this was happening—couldn’t believe the cold, domineering Mistress Verlandah was being treated this way by her Novice. It must be some kind of a dream, right?

  This is no dream, Lizabeth, whispered a little voice in her head. This is happening—he’s doing this to her and he’s probably going to do worse unless you stop him!

  The little voice seemed to break her paralysis and propel her into motion.

  “Stop!” she shouted, stepping out from the shadows and running into the Communal bathing chamber. “Stop right now! How dare you treat her like that, you raping bastard!”

  For a moment, all the action stopped as both Karx and Mistress Verlandah looked at her in apparent astonishment. Then the Friezen’s choking hand dropped away from the slender column of the Mistress Superior’s throat and she pulled away from him abruptly. Then she got up and dusted herself off matter-of-factly.

  Lizabeth would have expected the other woman to look wild and upset but to her surprise what Mistress Verlandah mainly looked was annoyed.

  “See?” she said to Karx. “This is what comes of playing in a public area. Couldn’t you have waited until we got back to my rooms?”

  “Apologies, Mistress.” Karx sounded sulky. “But the way you were going at me really riled me up. I thought you wanted to play here.”

  “As usual, Karx, your timing is off,” the Mistress Superior sniffed.

  “Wait,” Lizabeth said, looking from one to the other of them. “So the two of you were just role-playing? He wasn’t really, uh—”

  “Raping my mouth?” Mistress Verlandah laughed harshly—a sound like the cawing of a crow, Lizabeth thought. “Certainly not! Sometimes Karx and I just like to…mix things up a bit.” She frowned. “Which is, of course, completely taboo here at the Tower—and on Yonnie Six.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say anything about it,” Lizabeth assured her hastily. “It’s not nearly as taboo on my home planet. I mean, it’s not…not surprising at all, really.”

  Which was kind of a lie. Though she knew there were people who were in the Lifestyle who liked to “play rough,” she hadn’t actually ever walked in on any of them playing out a scene before. And I never want to again, she thought, with a shiver.

  “No, of course you won’t say anything about it,” Mistress Verlandah snapped. “Because you won’t get a chance to say anything about it.” She looked at Karx, who stared sullenly back. “Karx, I think it’s time Mistress Paige here visited Mistress Goldahh in the Meditation Grotto.”

  “What?” Lizabeth started backing away but somehow Karx was suddenly behind her. He slapped a meaty palm over her mouth before she could even scream.

  “Sorry, my dear but you’ve seen too much,” the Mistress Superior said with a shrug. “I can’t have you telling everyone about the little ‘games’ Karx and I play.” She frowned. “Or about my little mining operation either.” Turning to Karx, she directed, “Take her away and when you get back be sure you clean up this mess.”

  “Yes, Mistress.” He nodded and started dragging the struggling Lizabeth away. “Come on—to the Meditation Grotto with you.”

  Lizabeth kicked and struggled and even tried to bite but the minute she sank her teeth into his palm, Karx simply grunted in pain and moved his hand higher, so that he was covering her nose as well as her mouth.

  “We’ll see how feisty you are when you can’t breathe, Mistress,” he growled in her ear.

  Lizabeth started to really panic. Can’t breathe, can’t breathe, can’t breathe! a little voice in her head was screaming as she tried to draw a breath and couldn’t. Oh my God, he’s going to kill me and no one will ever know what happened to me! They’ll probably just tell the Kindred High Council that I decided to stay here with Lone so we could—Lone!

  It occurred to her suddenly that maybe she could send a message to the big Kindred through the emotional link they now shared.

  “Lone!” she screamed mentally, trying to force her inner voice outward, trying desperately to reach him. “Lone, please help me! Please, I’m in trouble—in danger. Please, please come help me before it’s too late!”

  But whether Lone heard her or not, she couldn’t say. At that moment the lack of oxygen was too much and the whole world faded to gray and then black and Lizabeth knew no more.

  Eighteen

  Lone sat straight up on the bed when he felt Lizabeth’s worry and fear come through their new link. The emotions were so loud and clear he almost felt he would have “heard” them even without the new connection they shared. As it was, he felt as though someone had just touched his heart with an ungrounded wire—Lizabeth’s distress sent a jolt through his entire body.

  “Lizabeth!” he gasped hoarsely, running to the door. Gods, he’d known it was a bad idea to let her go out by herself in the Tower at night! Why had he let her go? And where was she?

  For a moment he was able to follow the emotions—they almost seemed to resonate and lead him to her, like she had a tracking device and he was following the signal it put out. But then, to his horror, the emotions abruptly cut off.

  He stopped in the middle of the broad stone hallway and turned in a circle, trying to pick up on Lizabeth again. It was like someone had turned off the signal he was following—turned it off so neatly and cleanly that he had no idea where to start looking for it again.

  Well, she said she was going to the communal bathing pools, Lone reminded himself. Maybe I should start there.

  He had a vague idea of where the baths were and he turned in that direction, sending a silent prayer to the Goddess that he would find the woman he loved before it was too late…

  When Lizabeth woke up. her head was pounding. With a groan, she tried to put a hand to her temples, only to find that her arms and legs were bound. Also, something smelled awful.

  Where am I? And what’s that terrible smell? she wondered hazily. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was wearing a thick, gray pelt that seemed to fit over and around her like a hairy poncho. A hairy, smelly poncho. Lizabeth wrinkled her nose when she realized the strange, ugly garment was where the horrible gamey stench was coming from.

  “It stinks, doesn’t it?” a masculine voice remarked.

  “Who…what…?” Lizabeth struggled to sit up—not easy when her hands were bound behind her back—and looked around.

  “I said it stinks—Garn-beast always stinks. Keeps you warm though—and that’s what you’ll need if you’re to make it to the ripening hut without dying of cold.”

  Lizabeth looked for the source of the voice and found it. It was Karx and he was standing at the control panel of the train that led up and down the Sacred Mountain and back to the Friezen territory.

  “Ripening hut?” she protested, looking around wildly. The train car was moving and from what she could see—not much since it was already mostly dark outside—they were descending.

  “Yes, Mistress.” Karx put a mocking accent on the title. “You didn’t think I’d waste you by killing you right away, did you? My people need a fitting sacrifice—a lovely, smooth-faced maiden in her second fertility to be the Snow Queen. You’re perfect for the part—you’ve even been in the Cleansing Pools which means you’re twice as fertile. You’re sure to conceive.”

  “You can’t do this!” Lizabeth struggled wildly but whatever he had bound her arms and legs with was strong—she couldn’t move so much as a millimeter.

  "I am doing it." His rough voice was implacable.

  “You don’t want to do this,” Lizabeth said, trying a different tactic. “You can make a lot more money if you just ransom me off to the Kindred High Council. They’re the ones who sent me and Lone here. If you just—”

  “Shut your fucking mouth. I have to listen to women talking