Deceived Read online

  There was a rack of what appeared to be rare weapons too. Dark studied them with interest. There were antique blasters, a limited-edition plasma rifle and several others he couldn’t identify. There was one especially that caught his eye—a double-barreled, silver hand-held projectile weapon that had two triggers, one white and one black.

  “Got to be careful with that one,” Gorn grunted, noticing his interest. “That’s a rare Synthian aging pistol, that is. Either trigger can end you in a heartbeat, pretty boy. You’ll either be so young you can’t think or so old you can’t remember any damn thing. Either way, you’ll be pissing your pants!” He roared laughter as though it was hilarious.

  Dark nodded mechanically. “I see, Master.” But his attention had already turned away from the Synthian pistol because he had seen what he was here for.

  In the center of the huge room, on a small podium about waist-high, was the Shannom-rah. The milky white, hand-sized crystal was shot through with rainbow veins of every different color. It shimmered like a living pearl on the black velvetex cushion it was displayed on.

  Dark tried not to look at it but his eyes kept getting drawn back to it. So this was what the Knower was after—and what the Kindred of the Mother Ship were desperate to keep out of the evil AI’s hands. It had been owned by his old Mistress, Hellenix, but she had never let him see or handle it. He only knew she had paid an exorbitant sum for it, and that Gorn presumably had as well when her assets were seized and went to auction.

  Gorn’s ponderous tread caused some of the lighter and more delicate pieces to shift and clatter against their wooden shelves but they had been well placed and none toppled over.

  “This here is my trophy room,” the Trollox explained, throwing out a hand to encompass the objects in the room. “Some Trollox like to display the heads of their enemies in their trophy room—me, I saw that’s fuckin’ barbaric. I keep my heads in my fuck chamber, real quiet-like. These here is the real trophies—they proves I got the cash to do what I fuckin’ well wants and fuck everybody who says I can’t.”

  “Yes, Master,” Dark said mechanically, since some reply seemed to be required.

  “Glad you agree, pretty boy,” the left head said and guffawed again, as though it had made a joke.

  Dark kept his face blank. It was better to pretend emotionless incomprehension of his new master’s sense of humor like a true Replicant, he thought.

  They were just leaving the “trophy room” when he saw the strange face again and this time he saw the rest of her too.

  The pale face belonged to a girl—humanoid girl, not a Replicant, he was certain because of the fear in her eyes when she caught him watching her. She was wearing a long, flowing black robe that hid her entire body except her hands and face and she had a long waterfall of thick, auburn hair that fell to her lower back.

  But it was when she turned her face away from him and showed her profile that Dark finally recognized her.

  High on her right cheekbone was a dark, purplish bruise. It marred the pale loveliness of her skin like a dark spot on the sun and it made her instantly recognizable.

  The girl—that’s the girl I saw in my dream!

  The recognition hit him like a fist in the gut and the connection he felt to her was so immediate that Dark almost went to her at once. Only the sound of Gorn’s left head talking saved him from blowing his disguise as an emotionless Replicant.

  “Oh, there you are girlie,” the left head growled—plainly talking to the girl. She tried to duck out of the way but the Trollox’s huge hand reached out and grabbed her flowing robes, reeling her in before she could protest.

  “M-master? What can I do for you?” Her soft voice trembled as she looked up at the huge Trollox towering over her. She looked tiny next to him though Dark estimated her to be almost six standard feet tall—a decent size for a female. By her accent, he thought she might be an Earth female like the ones he had met on the Kindred Mother Ship.

  “Saw you lurkin’ in the shadows there, girlie,” Gorn told her, leering down at her in a way that made Dark’s hands knot into fists.

  “I was only curious. Please, Master—let me go. I won’t bother you while you’re busy with your guest,” she begged.

  “Guest? Can’t you tell a Replicant when you see one?” the left head demanded and the right one hissed, “Stupid girl!”

  “A…a Replicant?” the girl faltered. “Forgive me, Master. I have never seen a male Replicant before.”

  “And you ain’t seen one now either!” the left head exclaimed. “Go on, pretty boy—show this little breeder how you ain’t no true male.”

  He gestured at Dark’s trousers and, much to his disgust, Dark saw that his new master wanted him to open them and show the girl with the bruised face what he had shown Gorn at the auction.

  Of course, he had no choice but to comply. Doing his best to keep his face blank, he unfastened the black leather trousers and pulled them open, showing the prosthetic skin again which made his crotch look smooth and sexless.

  “See?” Gorn’s left head chortled. “He ain’t got nothin’ there, girlie! Nothin’ you need to be feared of, anyways.” Glancing at Dark, he said, “This little breeder’s afraid of cock—can you believe it? Maybe because she’s too small to take a decent sized one in her pussy.”

  “A serious failing in a breeder,” the right head remarked disapprovingly.

  “Ah, shut it,” the left head growled. “I told you, she’ll stretch.”

  “And if she doesn’t?” the right head demanded. “If we can’t plant our seed? How will we ever have a son and heir?”

  “Shut it,” the left growled again. “Not talking about this with you right now.”

  “Later then,” the right head hissed and slumped into sullen silence.

  “Put your pants back on,” the left head said, motioning to Dark, who was only too happy to comply.

  “Yes, Master.” He fastened the trousers, covering himself decently once more.

  Gorn looked down at the girl with the bruised face, who was still staring at Dark with confusion in her eyes.

  “See now? This here Replicant is pretty boy. He’s here to cook and guard the house while I’m out. So don’t get any funny ideas about runnin’ off when I’m gone next week.”

  “No, Master.” She shook her head quickly, her eyes wide with fright. “Can…can I leave now? Please?”

  “Suit yerself, girlie. But its time for a new stretcher soon,” the left head growled.

  Her face got even paler. “So soon? But you just—I mean, I’ve only had the last one for a few days.”

  Dark wondered what they were talking about. Whatever it was, it must be upsetting the girl greatly. Even from where he stood, he could feel the pain and fear radiating off her like heat from an oven.

  “Gotta get you ready,” Gorn replied implacably. “I can’t wait forever to plant my seed, see?”

  “Of…of course not, Master,” the girl faltered.

  “Go on—I’ll find you when it’s time.” Loosing his grip on her robe, Gorn let her go free.

  The girl fled at once. With on final look over her shoulder at Dark, she ran down the corridor, rounded a corner, and was gone.

  The left head muttered something that sounded like, “Fuckin’ breeders,” and then the huge Trollox turned to Dark once more.

  “Well—that’s it, the whole tour. You’re not likely to have trouble while I’m gone. Mostly nobody but delivery people shows up, but look sharp anyway. It’s known that I have the most valuable trophies in these parts—I wouldn’t want some bastard comin’ in here while I’m gone and tryin’ to lay hands on ‘em.”

  “No, Master—I will protect your house and valuables while you are gone. You can rely on me,” Dark said automatically. But inside he was thinking of the girl with the bruised face. Who was she and why did he feel such an instant connection to her? Would he see her again or was she going to hide for the rest of the time now that she thought he was a Replicant a