Twisted: Brides of the Kindred 23 Read online

  “You won’t. And anyway, the other Mistresses won’t be as interested in your speech as in the demonstration you’ll be giving of one of the devices for sale tonight.”

  “Wait a minute—we talked about this before and I told you I don’t want to try out any kind of pain collar or cattle prod or anything that might hurt you!” Nikki protested.

  Malik sighed. “But you must, I’m afraid. If you don’t, the other Mistresses will know you are not the real Hellenix.” He reached over and placed a hand reassuringly on her thigh. “Look, Nicole, whatever you have to do to me, I promise it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before. I’ll be fine.”

  “But what, uh, device am I even going to be demonstrating?” she asked. “I’ve seen all the weird things in Mistress Hellenix’s BDSM bedroom and I wouldn’t know how to work half of them.”

  “We won’t know until the head vendor tells us,” Malik said, a touch grimly. “My Mistress never wanted to tell me ahead of time what she was going to use on me—she liked my reaction to be authentic and un-rehearsed.”

  “Well, I still don’t think—” Nikki began but just then the ship dipped below the level of the bubble and Malik piloted them into a large circular hole in the side of the building.

  “Landing now,” he said as the ship followed a lighted path through the parking garage and into a berth between two others that looked very like it, except that one was painted a shimmering gold.

  Or was it actually made of gold? Nikki couldn’t tell. It seemed like an impractical and incredibly expensive material to make a space ship out of, but who knew how much money these Yonnite Mistresses had to throw around? They might all be richer than God, if Mistress Hellenix was any indication.

  Malik got out and came around the ship to open her door and help her down.

  “Ah, I see that Mistress Tangle-Skank is here already,” he remarked, looking at the gold ship as Nikki descended. “You’ll want to be careful around her. She’s got a sharp eye and she’s one of my old Mistress’s main rivals.”

  “She is? Why?” Nikki asked curiously.

  “They have always run in the same social circles and been rivals in the elite society of Yonnie Six. But I think a large part of their rivalry is because of me,” Malik answered.

  “Because of you?” Nikki looked at him in surprise. “How so?”

  He looked thoughtful.

  “Well, I entered myself in the Blood Circuit and made a name for myself specifically to attract Mistress Hellenix’s attention because she was the only person I knew of who had dealings with the Knower—the only one with any hope of penetrating Uriel Two. So when the time came to auction me off, I told the auctioneer to be certain I went to her. Unfortunately, Mistress Tangle-Skank was bidding on me at the same time. When she lost the bid, she was extremely jealous of my old Mistress.”

  “I could see why,” Nikki murmured. She would have been upset to lose someone as valuable and unique as Malik too, she thought. “So now she has it out for me? Or rather, for Mistress Hellenix?”

  Malik nodded. “She’ll trip you up if she can. So just be careful.”

  “I will. What does she look like?” Nikki asked as they made their way towards a lighted pathway that led up to the bubble-covered roof.

  “Like that,” Malik murmured, nodding at the path ahead of them. A rail-thin Yonnite Mistress was making her way towards them, an inquiring look on her sharp features. She had a long nose and small, beady black eyes that reminded Nikki of a rat. Her dishwater blonde hair had been streaked with blue and turquoise and purple strands and braided into a wide fan almost the size of a peacock’s tail that rose a full three feet above her head.

  What in the world was keeping it in place? Nikki wondered—it looked like it ought to flop over at any minute but somehow it didn’t. She was relieved to see that the other Mistress was dressed in a similarly revealing fashion to her own outfit, though.

  Mistress Tangle-Skank had on a purple dress with a plunging neckline which clearly showed off her boney chest and artificially rounded breasts. The gown had a slit running up to her navel which showed purple, sparkly panties that looked like they had been bedazzled by about a million tiny diamonds.

  Well, if she’s looking for an attention grab, she’s got it there, Nikki thought to herself. Those sparkly Cartier-type panties are unforgettable. Looks like she’s wearing a jewelry display on her crotch!

  Walking respectfully behind Mistress Tangle-Skank was a bodyslave with dark hair and blue eyes. He was naked and had an exposed, erect shaft which bobbed and jingled in front of him with every step, due to the fact that it had been criss-crossed with a red ribbon which was hung with many tiny gold bells. There was a blank, impassive look on his face but Nikki thought she could see misery far back in his dull blue eyes—poor guy!

  “Oh, hello, Velka!” Mistress Tangle-Skank exclaimed, coming towards Nikki.

  “Velka?” Nikki was glad she’d asked Malik to keep the privacy bubble in place around the two of them. It was invisible but they would be able to talk without anyone hearing them, as long as they were in close enough proximity.

  “That is my old Mistress’ first name,” he explained, speaking from behind her, in her ear. “And Mistress Tangle-Skank’s first name is Tacky.”

  “Seriously? Her name is Tacky Tangle-Skank?” Nikki half turned her head to see if he was joking but Malik only frowned.

  “It is a family name, I believe. Why—does it surprise you?”

  “Tacky just means something else where I’m from. And so does Skank for that matter.” Nikki shook her head. “I’ll explain later.”

  “Hello, Tacky,” she said, speaking up as they reached the other Mistress and her slave. “How are you tonight?”

  “Perfectly well except for my Manfredo keeps being clumsy. He’s not the brightest flare in the bunch, unfortunately—I bought him for the size of his shaft, not the size of his brain.” She sighed and frowned at her slave peevishly. “But I swear if he doesn’t straighten up I’m going to give him the rod!”

  “Um, yes. You’d better do that. There’s no excuse for clumsy slaves,” Nikki said, nodding. “Are you looking forward to the banquet?” she asked.

  “Of course I am!” Mistress Tangle-Skank’s beady eyes gleamed. “I’m especially intrigued about what kind of device you’ll be demonstrating for us tonight. Word around the city has been that it will be some new kind of rod. Can you tell me?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Nikki said, trying to smile though inside her stomach was suddenly knotted into a fist of tension. A new kind of rod? She didn’t want to use anything like that on Malik—not after hearing what he had gone through with the real Mistress Hellenix! “You’ll just have to wait and find out,” she said.

  “Oh you—always so secretive, Velka!” Mistress Tangle-Skank gave her a sharp, shrewish smile that was more like a grimace. “I’m your oldest friend—you can tell me! Besides…” She leaned in closer and breathed, “I made a bet with Yasmy Redbottom that you’d tell me. So come on—I don’t want to lose the wager.”

  “I’m sorry but I really can’t tell you,” Nikki said firmly, hoping this was how the real Mistress Hellenix would have handled the situation. “There are still a few, er, kinks to be ironed out. I’m sure you understand.”

  Two white dents appeared on either side of Tacky Tangle-Skank’s long nose and her beady eyes narrowed.

  “What I understand is that our friendship apparently means nothing to you! Why, I wagered an entire floor of my best downtown building. If I lose, that awful Yasmy Redbottom will move her whole slave-milking operation in there and I’ll have to see them extracting male seed every day as I go up and down from the penthouse! How can you betray me like this?”

  Nikki didn’t know what to say but luckily, they had reached the top of the winding lighted pathway and were coming out onto the rooftop terrace enclosed by the vast bubble. She caught a whiff of air from the roof and thought it smelled strangely sweet—like some kind of exotic