Of Bonds Forged Ch. 03

He watched her come closer until she seemed to fill his vision. Her fingers dug into the fabric of his pants as if she were climbing them and he watched that, too. He watched Rianna's fingers curl between fingers and flesh and pull them down in one hard yank. She saw what she wanted, and it wanted her. It was hard and proud and she could tell from the sight and the lingering scent that someone else had used it since they'd had it last. That was right, of course. He had every right to place that cock anywhere he pleased. But now it was hers again and was happy not to have to share it. And to be sure that she didn't have to just then, she slid his cock past her lips and tasted the one who had come before her. She began the joyous task of cleaning and reclaiming it.

Kel's fingers ran through her silken hair while quivering as her mouth worshipped him. He still knew he had to leave. He still knew that it was important that he go. The sight he beheld actually reminded him of why. But she felt so good, and he would never have her again once he left.

And he felt warm and safe with the feel of the power within and around him again. He could handle it if they came. In spite of that, he'd leave because it was for the best because who knew what kind of people Solos could set upon him?

But, he decided, as his hips began to thrust into her, he had some time before then.

* * *

Solos looked every bit like a man shaped by his environment, his trade, and his life. This part of the world was far enough from major cities of Erette, and most of the minor ones that the people who lived here often considered this place a world unto itself. In this bit of the world so far removed from the rest, one made their own way by their own rules or this land and its people consumed them.

Solos came of age in a place even more remote than this one, and he came of age learning quickly that the strong survived. He fought for his life, his power, and his every possession, and he had the scars to prove it. His flaming red hair flowed past his shoulders and his beard was as wild as the hair on his head.

With eyes so brown they could appear black in just the right light, he looked as wild as any other creature of the land. And with limbs like tree trunks to move a barrel chest he knew how imposing he was simply by being. There were many times he used that to his advantage. With the power he'd built behind him, coupled with his appearance, he could avoid most fights, and finish them quickly if they couldn't be avoided.

He wasn't some royal though, content to sit on his throne and let the likes of Adger handle everything while he counted his gold and fucked his slaves. Adger and the others had their place, but he allowed them that place because it freed him to do as he wished and roam as he pleased. He understood the need to have a base, but he had no interest in being anchored to it.

He had just returned as the black of night settled in after several weeks of hunting and scouting. He liked the hunt. The skins fetched a good price usually, and that didn't hurt either, but he liked proving himself superior to the beasts. He liked to prove himself the apex predator. Indeed, being the predator was probably what led him to sell live bodies as well. He could hunt, lure, trap, and take as he pleased.

Adger looked at the haul of pelts as he walked with his employer through the courtyard and towards the main gates. "It seems you did quite well this time around, Lord."

Pride crept into his voice as he remembered stalking the particularly large Bresh he took down after having lost it for almost two days. For creatures so large they could disappear into the woods with such ease. A moment's distraction and it could be gone, to flee or to pick a place to attack. Solos found it exhilarating either way. "I did. How have things gone here in my absence?"

"Mostly as expected. We had someone arrive with property they were looking to sell and perhaps open a channel for future business who is waiting to meet you at your convenience." Following that line, he asked, "And your other hunt?"

"Probably as profitable, but nowhere near as exciting. I think I established a firm contact or two at the new trade post. They know my face, my name, and that I pay well. I leave it to you to soften and mold them so that they extend our reach. Speaking of my reach, how is my guest?"

"Treated as you've ordered, Lord. Not quite enough food, an occasional...lesson in physicality, but otherwise left to contemplate her discomfort and her future."

They entered the building and Adger let himself fall behind Solos a bit. Knowing he was headed to her, and how the passages narrowed on this route, it felt claustrophobic to walk two abreast.

"Has she decided to cooperate?"

"Still quite defiant, I must say, Lord."

"So I might have to start looking for a mage, you think?"

"I'm not sure, Lord." They started down the path into the bowels of the building.

"She's defiant, and loyal to her employers, but she's also quite practical. If she believes they aren't coming or will fail to retrieve her, she might decide to change her own fortunes."

Solos liked that train of thought. It felt sort of like the hunt: move and countermove. He followed that line, contemplating a bold counter. The more cooperative she would be in the long run the better, as she was surprisingly learned in their operations and connections for someone only in the middle of things.

"Put scouts on the paths ahead of their likely approach. If her people are spotted? Kill them and leave them where they lay...along with a bauble or two of hers. Make sure it looks like she was a part of the ambush, then spread that word." He grinned, liking that idea more and more. "Willing to bet that she'll be more helpful if she finds her roads home already blocked off."

"Very good, Lord."

The guards turned at the sound of voices and one hurriedly groped for keys, not seeing the cross look the other gave as he fumbled for them. Finally unlocking the door, the other guard pulled it open quickly so that it was open just before Solos reached the door, relieved that they didn't put themselves in a position of being responsible for making the man wait.

Solos ignored them. He ignored most of them. If they came to his attention for doing their jobs exceptionally well, poorly, or he needed something from them, he took note in the moment. Otherwise, they were just there to make things work as parts of his machine.

Solos made his way to the cages, looking ahead to nothing but the reason he made this his first stop since returning. He didn't look at the other girls. He didn't need to. They were all the same. They came. They went. They were broken before they left him or they weren't. Some decided to make the best of it rather than risk losing themselves. And they all hated him for being where they were and whatever befell them. No prey wanted to be that, though that was just the nature of things, so, even if what they felt or thought mattered to him, he wouldn't have taken it personally.

He was pleasantly surprised to see a contented grin on her face at the sight of him and found himself returning it for what that greeting might mean for his future. "Well, Delvine, this is a happy surprise. Done spitting, hissing and hoping that wishing me dead works?"

She giggled in response.

Taking that as a good sign, he pressed on, his smile broadening as he contemplated his future. "Don't worry, dear. I'm not one to take the fight personally. I would have been disappointed if there wasn't any. Help me, and, as my power grows, so will yours. Wealth. Your own power. Your own place. Your own voice. Prove yourself and your loyalty as all those around me have and your future is a bright one."

Delvine just let the words wash over her without understanding. He seemed happy with things so that was more than enough. It did occur to her though that she could make him much happier. She practically lunged through the bars to grab at his pants and the prize beneath.

Solos stepped back quickly, his instincts and memory of his recent history with her, told him he was under attack. She continued to reach for a moment, then pulled back before looking up at him with bewilderment in those dark and gold eyes. He could read in her expression that she'd wondered what she'd done wrong.

It was then that it truly struck him that she was different.

He reached a thick hand between the bars and lifted her chin in a sharp movement. She was surprised for a moment, but with just being held there, she quickly settled back to meeting his gaze and waiting. Not only was there no fight in those eyes anymore, there was no fire. He had seen similar looks in what he hunted when he had to track what he'd wounded for a final strike. It was almost resignation. Apathy. "What's wrong with you?"

His cheeks flamed as he turned and bore an angry gaze down upon Adger,

"What's happened to her?"

Adger had seen that look directed at others before, but never him. It was a look that demanded the truth, whatever it was, or you would die. But, if he didn't like that truth, you were likely dead anyway, so the question was if you preferred your punishment to be fast or slow. He found he didn't like it at all when that gaze was aimed at him and, as red as his master's cheeks had become, he knew his were a bloodless white. "Nothing, Lord."

"Look at her." he said slowly. "Look in her eyes, Adger. She wasn't a fucking idiot when I left. Did you bring a mage or an alchemist down here when I told you clearly how I wanted her handled?"

"No, Lord." He did steal a glance down at her happy, curiously empty expression. "I followed your orders. I-I would not dream of being so forward. Honestly, Lord. When have I ever been so proactive about seeing to your needs that I would so endanger something so important to you? I did nothing beyond what was asked of me and I didn't ask anyone else to do so. I would never..."

"Clearly, Adger, someone did and, unless I know who that someone was, and exactly what fucking happened, since I left her in your care, I will give you as many guesses as you need before you figure out who I will hold responsible for whatever this is."

"I know what happened."

Both looked to the direction of the words as she continued speaking, Adger realizing he'd started to breathe again. "Well, I don't know exactly what happened, but I know more than you."

Solos eyed her. Average height. Lean. Stringy brown hair. Nice eyes a bit lighter than that. She wasn't his catch specifically, but she was a good one. Silence stretched until Adger snapped at her, wanting her to say her piece. Or, really, anything that would keep his master's ire from being directed at him. "Get on with it then. What do you know?"

She was as scared as the rest of them. She knew what her future was set to be. The bravado that came forth from within her to even speak now was simply the fact that she knew that this was probably her only chance to escape, so she embraced that false bravado for all that she was worth. "What's it worth to you?"

Before anyone could answer her, one of the women next to her began to speak. Being one of those already broken, she saw a chance to ingratiate herself to her master, "He was..."

That was as far as she'd gotten before she felt the fist of the other smash her in the face, pushing her back so far so quickly that her head snapped against the wall with a thunk. Holding her nose and mouth as she tried to work through the pain, she looked up, seeing in the other's eyes a willingness to hit her again if she spoke that she had seen in many an owner and user and, almost by reflex, she shied away. The woman who struck her scanned the other women with her, looking for someone else that might dare to speak. There was no one.

The scene made Solos snort in amusement. This one still had some fight. "If you tell me what I want to know, I won't kill you. Isn't that enough, girl?"

"Not when killing me would be a favor compared to this. What's it worth it to you to

know?"

"I'm not letting you go."

"How about calling it 'giving me a head start?' Think you could give me a head start?"

"What are you on about?" Adger would have continued, but a raised hand from Solos ended that.

The girl used that to press forward. "You like to hunt and trap. Even down here we know that much about you. So, I tell you what I know and you give me a head start?"

He was becoming more intrigued by the prospect. "How much of one?"

"Sunrise. Or sunset, depending on whatever damn time it is."

He laughed heartily, momentarily forgetting his rage. There would be time for it soon enough, "You want to wander in the cold and the dark? I'll find you dead not more than two miles from here. What fun will that be for me?"

Her bravery went up a notch, seeing that he might actually be interested. "Then give me a coat." She added quickly in the sane breath, "And shoes."

Adger was incredulous, "How dare you..."

Solos spoke over him. "You know it won't go well for you when I find you."

"As if it's going so well now."

His eyes narrowed. If he were on that side of the cage he wouldn't disagree, but a slave bitch wasn't going to dictate terms. "No coat, no shoes, and a head start until dawn. Take it or stay in your cell before I beat what you know out of you. If there's nothing else, talk."

She talked.

* * *

It was good to be Kel. Lately it always seemed to be good to be him. He had infinite possibilities before him. A small corner of his mind remembered that he had to move on, but he wasn't going to do that just yet, especially not in the moment where he was dripping sweat onto Alix's back while she squealed in mindless ecstasy with his cock plowing relentlessly and the feel of his hands firmly holding her hips. Feeling his power and all the rewards of that power subsumed him as much as it did them in those times.

So subsumed was he that he didn't notice the door fly open and hit the wall as it happened. It had to take a moment to register to him and he turned his head to it slowly, but his view was obscured by the two massive examples of masculinity pulling him free of Alix by the shoulders and start to drag him from the room as the women each reacted by either giggling at the absurdity or whining that their everything was being taken away from them.

It took longer still for Kel to begin to come back to himself, taken away from the scent and the heat and the hazy rush of power. The pain of being dragged across the floor helped. He squirmed slightly and they stopped moving, with one of the guards barking, "Pull your fucking pants up or let the floor take them off. Pick one now."

Latching on to the simple choice, he reached down and pulled them up, the belt being just too physically complicated to manage, not that they were in any mood to allow him time to make himself presentable as they resumed half dragging him down the stairs.

He managed to ask what was going on as he edged toward greater coherence, but the guards were not forthcoming. Kel began to manage his own steps before the men took him off balance again by pushing him through the main gate and into the courtyard. He tried to right himself but could not manage to regain his balance. His strides grew longer, building momentum until the third step finally tilted his center of gravity, sending him forward, face first into the snow and mud beneath.

The cold and snow and mud did nothing to dull the pain of his face and bare chest scraping across the ground, but it did fully bring him back to himself before two hard slaps to his back lifted him by his shirt and into the air before planting his bare feet firmly before a hulking form who already looked none too pleased, though Kel got the impression that such was his default expression.

There were mere inches between them and, in the torchlight, he could see the clouds of breath come from him while he began to feel the effects of the cold, the remnants of sweat feeling as though they were forming a sheet of ice on the exposed skin. Or perhaps a bit of the cold came from the look in the behemoth's eyes, "You wanted to meet me, Kel? Kel, is it?" He punctuated the question with a push that set Kel back a couple of steps. "Speak."

"Y-yes. Yes I did." The recent past was now fully back within memory, so he didn't have to wonder why he might be out here half naked and in the cold, but he would be a fool to volunteer information, so he just alternated between meeting that glare, looking around at the onlookers and guards around him and above him standing watch on the walls. Whether bewildered, amused, or excited, they all seemed transfixed by the unfolding scene. Directly behind him were Adger and guards blocking the way he came.

"Hey, little man." Solos snapped. When he had Kel's attention he stretched his arms as though trying to encompass the entire courtyard. "Here I am. Tell me, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Finally called upon to speak, Kel stammered as he attempted to put words together, "I wanted to talk about... I have some girls to sell. Fine girls. Beautiful, I was hoping we could come to an arrangement."

"Really now. Beautiful, you say." He looked over the smaller man's shoulders, "So, Adger, is he right? Are they beautiful?"

"Most of them are average for these parts. All of them have value, and there are indeed several exceptional beauties, Lord."

He seemed thoughtful for a moment, then remained silent for a few more, just to let the prey shiver from fear or cold, seeing him react. "Well, Kel, good. That's good. Perhaps we can make an arrangement after all."

"First things first though. Old business before new business, right? I have a problem and perhaps you could help. You see, I have a guest in the cells below us. She's a very important guest of mine. She had information that was important to me, critical even. Are you following me so far?"

Kel remained still, save the shivering and avoided the towering man's gaze.

"But, you see, now she appears to be broken. It seems that someone decided to have a little fun with her and they broke her. More than broke, actually. She's gone from someone I need to someone who just wants to suck cock. I doubt she remembers her own name, but she sure wants to suck cock. As fun as that is, in case you hadn't noticed looking down there, or all around here, I have no shortage of ways to get that done whenever the fuck I want."

He took Kel's jaw in his hand and raised Kel's eyes to meet his own, "You fucking mages. You think you have some power and that lets you make the rules. You think you can just do whatever you want because, really, who can stand against you with all your tricks? Well, use your tricks. Use your tricks and undo the spell, and if she's as she was before, no harm done. You can have whatever it was you came for, less some additional compensation for all this trouble. Fix her."

Kel said nothing because the only thing to say was the one thing no one wanted to hear. He thought that, since there was no way to talk his way out of it on his own, that he would just make Solos not care. He closed his eyes for a longer than usual blink to begin to marshal the power of the talisman. That warmth began to roil within, to the point where he actually felt the chill less. Kel contemplated how he might use his words to shape that power. He didn't get very far before what felt like a wall hitting him in the face sent him spinning into the ground, his face bouncing off of it almost like a second hit.

His world righted slightly and he saw Solos bent at the waist, looking him over. "No fixing me, you little shit. See? That's what I mean. You people think magic just fucking fixes everything and people are so stupid that they don't know what hit them. Well, I've dealt with your kind often enough to see it coming. So no fixing me, little mage."