Chapter Eighty Eight
*** Warning! Dark ***
Kilniara wandered back through the city, her happiness almost drug like as she enjoyed her afternoon. She stopped by several shops for some snacks but immediately sped towards the inner city square as she wanted to spend her time enjoying the Epics with whatever snacks were available. Joe had been quite kind, but found the Epics dull, which only made sense given his power, but she still found them fascinating and was always disappointed when they left after only a few great bells.
Her direct return to the square gave her another five or six great bells before the sun set and she would need to return to their villa in the clan city. Our villa! I am staying in a villa in the clan city! Kilniara kept her squeal internal, but she still found it mind boggling how quickly her life had changed in a matter of months. She never understood why he came to take care of them. He seemed to be a man who found justice and kindness a meaningful effort. This only made her more amazed by him, but greatly worried her, sometimes. Joe was… He’s so naïve… so naïve.
The next Epic began and her concerns and confusion about Joe slipped from her mind as she soon found herself engrossed by the Epics. She’d always had to watch the Epics in the outer city, and being able to see the much better exhibits from the inner city was fascinating, and she soon found herself lost in the tellings. Time slipped by and Kilniara suddenly became aware of just how dark it was. She looked around the square and found it teeming with people walking through the shadows of twilight, the sun shining its last light upon the city.
Kilniara started when she realized the time. Clan Epics! Can’t miss that! She turned away and began skipping happily towards the inner city gate. She stopped at the exit to the square to pick up one last snack before she began skipping back home. The sun’s light was still enough to see, and the streets soon emptied, the last of the people either hurrying home around her or hurrying past her back to the city square to enjoy the great Epics that would be given this evening. She hurried down the street. Happy. Content.
Darkness.
* * *
He struggled with the body, a young Acokzau that he’d been able to catch alone on the street. The blackjack to the back of her head had robbed her of consciousness easily, but moving her into the alley had almost proved his undoing as he barely got her in the shadows of the alley before the next group of revelers had come along. He’d had no intention of securing his next breeder this night, but her walking alone proved to be a target of opportunity that he took immediate advantage of.
He threw her insensate body over his shoulder and quickly slipped down the alleyway. His trip wasn’t as carefully done as he’d hoped, cursing silently under his breath as he struggled with her weight and the scrapes and noisy rustling. Despite that, he made it to the small back door of his farm and slipped inside easily enough. He breathed a sigh of relief when he made it inside and quickly laid her down on the table.
He prepared her quickly as he did not wish to miss the evening festival nor the Epics, pulling out a pair of scissors and slipping it down her blouse, pants, and undergarments, leaving her naked on the table. He slipped the clothing out from under her and bundled it all up, discarding it in a bag set aside for that purpose. He did take a moment to rustle through her clothing searching for anything of value and froze when he found three cores.
OOooh… that sucks! Fear spiked in him as he stared at the incredible wealth before him and struggled to keep his breathing under control. He glanced from girl to the clothing, then to the cores in his hand and held back a bout of panic. Not much I can do now! She’s … clothing’s gone. Can’t…
He attempted to search through the other discarded clothing but quickly gave up as he remembered that he’d done the same for all the other women he’d captured, the clothes cut and ruined. He grimaced. Right… next time… don’t cut the clothes… or… have a spare set? He thoughtfully looked to the side where a series of hooks lined the wall above the bags full of ruined cut clothing. That’s… easier… a spare set… maybe a couple of various sizes? Yeah… that would do it. Take the clothes off the next couple of them carefully then don’t need to worry about the rest… that could work.
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His planning had pushed back his panic and he stared down at the girl. Gorgeo… No! Bad idea… she’s got connections… just… have nothing to do with her. Crap! The…
His panic returned as he remembered the strike he’d used against her with his blackjack and quickly pulled it out. Gotta get rid of this… and the… He scowled and shuffled over to the desk at the side of the room before pulling out a key. Waste of money! This is… dumb!
He slipped out a one use ritual, then pulled out a potion as well, cursing himself even more as he thought on how much money he was wasting. It didn’t matter, though, if he wished to protect himself.
He shuffled back to the table and set his blackjack on the table next to where he’d struck the girl. He turned her head and made sure the blackjack and the knot on her head match up before drawing the ritual and placing the materials correctly. With the ritual readied, he pulled out the potion and very carefully added several drops to the blackjack and the knot on the girls head, rubbing it in carefully with a piece of cloth wrapped around a stick. Gotta burn this, too, then, can’t leave anything!
He massaged the potion carefully into the girl’s skull and his blackjack before dropping the stick on top of the blackjack, carefully to not disturb the ritual lines and materials. The stick rested perfectly on the blackjack and he turned away with a sigh, preparing for the ritual. Need the flame… incense, hmm… that should do it? His foot tapped the leg of the table as he turned and he cursed to look back. Nope… all good. Ritual’s good, lines still well defined… blackjack, stick… girl’s skull… heh… ok.
He made it to the desk and pulled out some generic incense and a small stick which he placed into a burning candle, lighting it. Turning back, he placed the incense cautiously outside the inner circle but inside the outer perimeter. He lit the incense, then carefully checked his preparations. Blackjack… touching the girl’s skull where I hit, potion, stick, ritual, lines even, materials placed. A double check done quickly had him feeling prepared enough to begin and he held the burning stick to the ritual lines. With the earth, delineate the essence. With the flame, ignite the ritual. With wind, maintain the line. With the water, flow.
The lit stick touched the powder used to draw the line and lit immediately, a flash of streaking flame ate all the powder in a great flash, leaving behind glowing lines of power which grew. He maintained his breath, his mind fading as he blanked the memory of the moment till all was gone. The lines of the ritual glowed and grew, but did not grow in size. Their presence in the world throbbed before suddenly shrinking in to coat the stick used to rub the potion on the knot, the knot, and the blackjack.
The man maintained his posture and focus until the ritual had faded completely, only the ash of the powder left behind. He sighed, grateful to have completed the ritual and glanced around the room, attempting to take in anything that might point to being found. He held his place for several moments, even his breath, before finally sighing. Right… get your ass in gear. Get this done!
He turned back to the girl and carefully pulled her up, her nudity proving a greater distraction than he thought. Maybe I can… He furiously squashed that thought. Idiot… just erased your mark, now you want to add more? Fool!
He draped her over his shoulder before turning to walk from the room, her arm slipping off the table to slap against his side. He grunted and continued to move, the hand brushing past the ritual, barely tapping the stick used to rub in the potion.
He carried her from the room, around two corners until he came to a room with a dozen strangely shaped boxes. They were approximately the height an average human waist and about the width of a narrow chair. Four of the sides were fully sealed. One narrow side had most of the box opened, only having bracing at half way up and three quarters of the way up. The top of that opening had a clamp that could be pressed down, narrowing the gap between the upper panel and the upper three quarters brace. The top panel had hinges that allowed the box to be opened up completely. The rear, directly opposite to the side that was mostly open but for two braces and a top clamp, a small hole at the bottom right on the floor. The hole was about a quarter the height of the box but only half the width. The back panel also had hinges that allowed the back panel to open.
He set the girl down on another table in the room before grabbing to one of the boxes. He opened the rear and top panel, both on the narrow sides of the box before he situated the box carefully. He glanced back and forth between the girl and the box before nodding.
“That should do it.”
He then lifted the girl and dropped her down in the box, her head coming out of the rear of the box. He snapped shut the rear panel, having to lift the box slightly so her head tipped backwards and allowed the panel to shut, locking it. Her head now hung outside the box, the panel and narrow hole keeping her trapped such that she could not crawl out through that hole. He situated her carefully before draping her legs over the top three quarter’s brace. The brace was placed such that it was at the height of just about her knees. She proved a bit taller than most other girls, so her legs draped over the brace comfortably. He looked inside and saw her narrowly placed within the box and hummed to himself.
“Nice. Just about perfect.”
He then swung down another inner brace that came down across her thighs just shy of her knees. Locking it in place, she would no longer be able to pull her legs back. He then shifted several other braces and locks to make sure she was securely situated in the box, laying on her back with her legs pressed up, over a brace, and out of the box. He then swung shut the top narrow panel, locking it in place. He stared at her carefully, inspecting the box and her position in it before he nodded.
“Looks about right.”