tucked in nice and warm and your poor little feet were properly cared for. I notice you were a tad hungry, too.”
He sounded kind, but then, Keeria knew the tricks the Strong Men would play. She had been warned. Without warning, she blew the pipe, sticking four of the six quills straight into his gargantuan, fur-covered chest. Traisk looked down and, grimacing, yanked out the barbed quills from his skin. The only damage was some irritating red marks. Keeria stared, stunned. Why hadn’t the acid worked?
“Next time you want to use poison darts, make sure to keep the solution from drying out and neutralizing. It also dulled the barbs a bit, so you might want to keep acid off the sharp end. Good try though, I’m impressed. Very inventive. Now th at we’re done playing, l et’s get you back into the underground structure and make you comfortable.”
Keeria sliced at him with her sword, unable to balance herself on her feet. He laughed in her face and easily pulled the blade from her hand as she dove for his throat. “Let’s put this away before you hurt yourself. Put the claws away, kitty-cat, we don’t scratch our masters around here.”
“You are not my master!” Keeria sneered, snatching Churros up in her arms and holding it so that the sharp quills would stab Traisk. Why didn’t the wretched little creature rattle its quills at the horrid man?
Traisk leaned into her, resting his giant mitt gently over the top of the animal’s head. It made an odd grunting sound and held his hand with its paws, burying its head into his palm . Keeri a stared, mouth wide open.
“Maybe not now, but I will be. I am choosing you.” With that statement, he lifted her off the rock and slung her across his shoulders, ignoring her stabbing him repeatedly with the porcupine’s tail as she tried to shimmy out of his grasp. He laughed, ignoring the stinging barbs in his flesh. To him, they were nothing but a light massage. He carried back into the underground passages and down two levels, past the room where he harbored the other two women and into the secret chamber he had discovered, the one filled with both terrible and fascinating furniture and devices.
Keeria’s eyes enlarged as she observed the room. She was accustomed to different means of physic al abuse , but there was a difference in how Traisk handled her that sent a warning through her body. He h ad something more sinister in store for her that she had never been prepared for, and she knew th at it would start here.
Traisk carried her through the first chamber and into the adjoining one, placing her gently down on a soft lounge. He covered her with a blanket, set Churros neatly on her lap, and brought a tray of food and water to set beside her.
“Tell me about yourself,” he began, selecting an apple and chomping into it as he sat down to study her carefully. Keeria just glared at him. “Not much of a talker, huh? I heard that Trained Ones never shut up. Is this true? How old are you? 16? 17?”
“I am 18.”
“So, she does talk! Good, we’re getting somewhere. It’s Keeria, isn’t it? Now, my lovely, we need to have a little discussion. You are my captive and so are your friends. I have all of you in positions such that you must rely on me to take care of your needs and get you out of here. They are sort of, uh, tied up right now otherwise they would come in to say hello.”
“You think you’re funny, don’t you? I don’t care what happens to them, any more than they care about me. Why didn’t you just get one of them to unlock you if you’re so much in charge?”
“Maybe because I have some ideas that I’d like to pursue. The first being that you will be the one to unlock me.”
“Like fucking hell I will.”
“You will watch your language, miss. We are being televised and there are honored guests listening.”
“You can tell your honored guests to go fuck themselves with a big stick.”
“Oooh,
He sounded kind, but then, Keeria knew the tricks the Strong Men would play. She had been warned. Without warning, she blew the pipe, sticking four of the six quills straight into his gargantuan, fur-covered chest. Traisk looked down and, grimacing, yanked out the barbed quills from his skin. The only damage was some irritating red marks. Keeria stared, stunned. Why hadn’t the acid worked?
“Next time you want to use poison darts, make sure to keep the solution from drying out and neutralizing. It also dulled the barbs a bit, so you might want to keep acid off the sharp end. Good try though, I’m impressed. Very inventive. Now th at we’re done playing, l et’s get you back into the underground structure and make you comfortable.”
Keeria sliced at him with her sword, unable to balance herself on her feet. He laughed in her face and easily pulled the blade from her hand as she dove for his throat. “Let’s put this away before you hurt yourself. Put the claws away, kitty-cat, we don’t scratch our masters around here.”
“You are not my master!” Keeria sneered, snatching Churros up in her arms and holding it so that the sharp quills would stab Traisk. Why didn’t the wretched little creature rattle its quills at the horrid man?
Traisk leaned into her, resting his giant mitt gently over the top of the animal’s head. It made an odd grunting sound and held his hand with its paws, burying its head into his palm . Keeri a stared, mouth wide open.
“Maybe not now, but I will be. I am choosing you.” With that statement, he lifted her off the rock and slung her across his shoulders, ignoring her stabbing him repeatedly with the porcupine’s tail as she tried to shimmy out of his grasp. He laughed, ignoring the stinging barbs in his flesh. To him, they were nothing but a light massage. He carried back into the underground passages and down two levels, past the room where he harbored the other two women and into the secret chamber he had discovered, the one filled with both terrible and fascinating furniture and devices.
Keeria’s eyes enlarged as she observed the room. She was accustomed to different means of physic al abuse , but there was a difference in how Traisk handled her that sent a warning through her body. He h ad something more sinister in store for her that she had never been prepared for, and she knew th at it would start here.
Traisk carried her through the first chamber and into the adjoining one, placing her gently down on a soft lounge. He covered her with a blanket, set Churros neatly on her lap, and brought a tray of food and water to set beside her.
“Tell me about yourself,” he began, selecting an apple and chomping into it as he sat down to study her carefully. Keeria just glared at him. “Not much of a talker, huh? I heard that Trained Ones never shut up. Is this true? How old are you? 16? 17?”
“I am 18.”
“So, she does talk! Good, we’re getting somewhere. It’s Keeria, isn’t it? Now, my lovely, we need to have a little discussion. You are my captive and so are your friends. I have all of you in positions such that you must rely on me to take care of your needs and get you out of here. They are sort of, uh, tied up right now otherwise they would come in to say hello.”
“You think you’re funny, don’t you? I don’t care what happens to them, any more than they care about me. Why didn’t you just get one of them to unlock you if you’re so much in charge?”
“Maybe because I have some ideas that I’d like to pursue. The first being that you will be the one to unlock me.”
“Like fucking hell I will.”
“You will watch your language, miss. We are being televised and there are honored guests listening.”
“You can tell your honored guests to go fuck themselves with a big stick.”
“Oooh,
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