"Dark Stag" - Chapter 17
KIJUS:
Devari was fuming, unable to sit. He
paced around his office as I sat there. It was hard seeing him this way. After
he saw my deep cracks, I was finally seeing his.
“I
don’t have anyone who’s been working here as long as he has… Yet he’s
so...AGH!” Devari roared out, frustrated.
“I
don’t trust him. He’s a kiss-ass to anyone with power.” I said.
“I
want to fire him but no one knows his job.” Devari paced.
“Don’t.
I’ll tell my sources to put him under investigation and dig up as much dirt on
him as possible… I got a gut feeling he may be in debt as well. Check your
finances, be sure you’re not bleeding somewhere.” I advised.
“Most
definitely.” Devari said, rushing to the row of binders on the bookshelves
before pausing and turning to me, “You know what? You know how to keep me level
headed…”
There was no response I could
conjure up apart from a displeased stare. He continued forth, reaching into his
coat for the most adorable reading glasses. They added so much charm to him as
he flipped through the binder.
“Okay…
so I took out all my money from the banks due to the private turnover to Sir
Socoshian. My money is in a warehouse a few blocks from here! You’re the only
one who knows that. I paid the fees for turning over the brothel to myself and
I needed a cosigner due to my age and lack of experience and that was my
brother! They still made me pay the street value price for the brothel,
expecting me to take out a loan but I didn’t need to do it. I used the vast
majority of my savings! Right now we’re teetering upon the hole… In about a
week and a half, more high profile escorts will be coming back with hopefully a
lot of money. With my father gone, we can’t do auctions for the time being
which was another huge source of income… I can’t even afford to pay my
employees right now. When the money comes in, my brother and I will still be
broke because our money will be shelled out for utilities of the warehouse and
to pay off those who work here.” Devari sighed.
“If
you paid, then why did the debtor come?” I responded.
“Maybe
because we’re still scrambling to fix the drug debt. It has such a high
interest rate…” Devari shrugged, “I think we’re done paying it and it keeps
creeping back up… And with debt, there are deadlines!”
“Is High Pansum in debt as well?” I asked.
“Is High Pansum in debt as well?” I asked.
“High
Pansum and Felker Distribution haven’t had the best of relations in the past.
They are our biggest competitor.” Devari said, finally easing into his chair,
“But it’d be nice to see if you can get information on them.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” I smiled.
“I’ll see what I can do.” I smiled.
“It’s
hard. I’ve been trying to save this brothel for months but I think it’s going
to slip out of my hands.” Devari sighed, clenching his head.
“Don’t
say that.” I responded.
“And
my father probably abandoned us. After those sanctions earlier this year, he
just wasn’t the same. He started throwing more responsibility on me and when
more shit hit the fan, he just ditched…” Devari persisted.
“There’s
still a chance he may return.” I countered, trying to stay optimistic.
“He
won’t. He’s either dead or found somewhere else to start over. He took quite a
bit of shit before he left. That man abandoned us…” Devari sighed, shaking his
worried head.
“Can
you stop thinking like this?” I begged of him.
“I
can’t stop! It’s true! He left all his problems on his two sons and now we
might be without anything…” I shrugged.
“How
much are you… How much do you need?” I asked, feeling so bad for him. Devari
looked at me with those radiant eyes piercing straight through me.
“NO!”
He said plainly.
“I
can help…” I said to him.
“I
don’t want your stinkin’ prince money! If I can’t help myself, I don’t need
it.” He said firmly.
“How
much do you need, Devari?” I asked once again. He just stared at me, his temper
teetering over the edge, “You either can tell me or I’ll find out… Just like
you plundered through what was mine, I’ll do the same to you. And just like you
tried to help me… I’ll do the same for you…”
“There’s
only one way you can help me… And that’s for you to bend over when I ask you
to!” He said, staring at me menacingly.
His words hit me like a running
bull! They made me me hot for him, wanting to just let him take me at his will.
I leaned back in the chair, trying to hide these growing desires.
“Fair…”
I responded, Devari not knowing what his words were doing to me.
“Don’t
you dare try anything…” Devari hissed.
“If
you say you don’t want my help then I won’t give it to you.” I sighed, so many
thoughts running through my mind. If only he knew the things I’d do to help
him! I didn’t want his brothel to collapse. There was a new appreciation for
this industry, watching all what went into it.
“Why
are you so willing to help me? I fucking ruined your life? Why don’t you hate
me?” He asked.
“It’s
the way I was raised. I was never taught hate. I was taught to adopt, adapt and
to become adept.” I shrugged.
He stared at me for a long time with
that signature void look of expression. I didn’t know what to make of it, it
making me so uncomfortable. My eyes just slumped to the floor. His gaze
eventually diverted as he went back to the more prominent issues.
“What
am I gonna do about Mardee?” He asked.
“Act
normal… Don’t show him you’re disappointed or upset or anything! I’m going to
dig up all the dirt I can on him…” I responded.
“I
wish…” Devari said, his eyes glistening with longing as he stared at me,
“Nevermind, let’s just get this underway…”
I nodded, getting up. We headed to
my room to compose the lengthy letter. After sealing it, we made our way to the
rooftop. Bazahra came after the whistles, taking the letter on the wing. It was
a long, long wait but Gou returned with a response:
Kijus,
I must say
that your leads are quite spot on and we will happily investigate those of
interest to you. One thing I must say though is that this letter writing system
is cumbersome and I will be sending you a range talker soon. I do have
informants near your location who will get the information you need. That is
all for now.
Gou.
There were quite a few key code
words in here that Gou and I had been exchanging. He was well aware of my
current status, that Devari was present for this. Several letters back he
introduced me to a code system that allowed us to have secret communications
with strategically placed words every four words. He essentially told me he
understood and to carry on.
“What
the hell is a range talker?” Devari asked.
“It’s
a private communication device… Very secure. He would have gave me one sooner
if he would have known I was going into this place.” I laughed.
“Private
communication? It sounds like it’d massive! Where’d you keep it?” Devari
responded.
“It’s
small. It’s this tiny bud that wraps around your ear.” I explained.
“What’s
wrong with writing letters? It gets the job done…” Devari said, not seeing the
issue.
“It’s
not secure. Anyone ambitious enough can get those letters from Bazahra or
Silver… And since things are getting more serious, I’m tired of putting my
birds in harms way. We need a far more secure form of communication than just
pen and paper.” I responded.
“How
would it even work?” Devari asked.
“I’m
not sure. Those Free Agents have insanely advanced technology. I learned not to
ponder upon questioning it and just let it do its job.” I advised.
“I
see… Devari.” Said, tapping his chin. He seemed minutely suspicious but said
nothing.
“Will
there be any training today?” I asked.
“It’s
a new week so it’s time we move on to something new. I wanted to train you on
toys and more extreme conditions. I personally won’t be able to do it to you
since I’ve gotten so attached. Not to mention I have someone signed to the
payroll…” Devari sighed. I looked at him mistified, hearing clearly the words
he tried to dance around.
“Okay…” I responded, not willing to address it.
“Okay…” I responded, not willing to address it.
“It’s
generally known as hell week.” Devari said, seeming quite disappointed to have
to bestow it upon me.
“I’m
ready for it.” I shrugged.
“Just
don’t hurt anyone. The conditions will not be kind!” Devari said, showing his
concern.
“No
promises…” I smiled, heading towards my bed. He watched with such longing
before sighing and heading to the door.
“I’ll
send someone up here when it’s time to commence.” He said.
“Alright.”
I responded.
Devari was right. The next week was incredibly taxing,
draining even. Devari nor his brother were there, only Mardee who wasn’t too
thrilled to be supervising. What made this training worse was the fact that a
woman was doing. She was a fiery red head with an accent so far western, it was
almost comical. However, she was fierce and demanded respect.
The week was filled with being toyed with giant false
penises among other things,
shocked
with a strange device, pricked by needles, choked to the point of bruising,
whipped to the point of welts and binded to the point of deep marks on my hands
and feet. It was awful and painful, the hardest thing about it was being not
able to hit the woman. She knew she was a living demon in the flesh and
relished in that security!
The last day of the training week came, Devari and Mukir
coming to spectate. Hopefully I hid how awful this was during the duration of
the session. It came to an end, Devari clapping like it was a show.
“You
did well…” He smiled, “Considering it looked like you want to kill her.”
“You
have no idea…” I said, staring menacingly at the tall red headed woman.
“Hey,
I had a job to do and I did it so…” She responded, shrugging nonchalantly. I
rolled my eyes, standing there.
“You’re
good for the day, Elle.” Devari chuckled.
“Whatever…”
She said, heading out. She looked at me threateningly. I gave her the middle
finger on her way out. She laughed to my dismay.
“So,”
Devari began, looking happier than he had in awhile, “Recup for next week. It
won’t be too tough of a week…”
“Thank
you.” I smiled, “Also, I haven’t checked Bazahra all week so it’s that time.”
“Want
to go now?” He asked, springing to his feet.
“Yes.”
I said, leading the way to the roof.
I whistled upon arriving, the bird coming in for a swift
landing. She ran over to me, ready for a rub down. Her pouch was stuffed with
quite a few letters as well as a small box. The first letter I pulled out was
from Roi:
Kijus,
I don’t know
what my brother sent you to make you coin such a response but please bear with
him! He’s taking the losses the hardest of the three of us and he hasn’t
stopped crying. I’m not leaving his side because I don’t know what would happen
if I might. His letter might have been him lashing out at you because he’s been
through more than he’s ever faced before. In his defense, you kind of are the
easiest person to blame…
I also can
say this. Mercury is the one who got Richard to think like this! Richard cried
to me saying he felt betrayed by you for sleeping with Mercury and the only way
he’d ever know you slept with Mercury is if Mercury told him! And if Mercury
told him, I’m more than certain Mercury planted those seeds of doubt in his
mind! The reason I say this is because Mercury tried to do the same with Brija
and I.
The thing is
though, Brija and I aren’t as gullible as Richard. Richard, to put kindly, is a
dumbass! Don’t get me wrong, he’s incredibly smart when it comes to running a
nation and kingship. You wouldn’t believe some of the things he had done to
stave off Sir Socoshian. But he doesn’t have common sense and is too passionate
a thinker when situations are too close to his heart.
I don’t know
what was stated on his side of the letter, but just know this is my baby
brother’s darkest time and he’s never faced such hurt before. Give him some
time to heal. I’m still trying to talk sense into him but for now, he’s not
budging. He’s just like father, stubborn…
Brija and I
miss you dearly and wish to see you again. Just know that we still support you
and will update you as often as we can. What you’ve done for us can’t be
forgotten and we still owe you tenfold. Gou has been keeping us updated on your
progress and we are proud of your accomplishments! Keep winning the battle…
Roi
“So,
is all this about winning back the palace? I thought you said you left well
before this even happened.” Devari asked, confused.
“No,
it isn’t just about the palace… I left because I couldn’t take it anymore… My
leaving, in a way prompted all of the discoveries that unveiled what was really
going on.” I clarified.
“And
you still feel the need to help them? Forget these people! You don’t owe them
their nation back…” Devari said.
I sighed, not wanting to argue with
him. It seemed he was blind to the fact that if the Bourgion family was back in
power, the state of his business wouldn’t even be a question.
“I
got more letters to read….” I said, Devari seeing I decided to dodge his point.
The next two letters were from Gou:
Kijus,
From what I
found, High Pansum has been getting loitered by Sir Socoshian’s debtors and
scammers. They haven’t been game to any of his tactics and he’s prying for
control. There are very, very, very few businesses left in the wall of the city
that have no debt to Sir Socoshian at this point. High Pansum is one. However,
Sir Socoshian is trying everything in his power to monetize them.
With Felker
Distribution, he thinks he can solicit money from them, take the brothel over
all together and blacklist High Pansum into cooperation. I’m not certain if it
would work. Sir Socoshian is one resourceful man and his reach is proving to be
ever extending. I don’t know how much debt Felker Distribution is in, but they
better work fast or the sanctity of the mission is doomed and I’ll be forced to
get you out of there.
As for this
Mardee person, he does indeed have debt to Sir Socoshian! It stems not from
drugs but from predatory lending after his home mysteriously burned down a few
months ago. It feels as though Sir Socoshian may be behind that as well. From
what my sources have been telling me about this Mardee person, the sharks have
been hitting him up harder and harder for money that he just doesn’t have.
I’m afraid
he could possibly be a danger to Felker Distribution and could cause possibly
be more debt for the chain. With this being said, I think we’re running on
little time so it is time to get as much information as possible out so we can
piece everything together to take Sir Socoshian down.
Gou.
“So,
he’s a possible danger to us…” Devari thought, “And he never told us his house
burned down… I should kill him for this!”
“No,
you kill him and his debt still stands. Chances are they’d look to you for it
since Sir Socoshian wants this place damned to hell anyway.” I clarified.
Devari looked at me as though my tongue was a living revelation. He slowly
nodded, not having thought of it in that way.
“So
what shall we do?” Devari asked, wanting answers.
“You
confront him for his lack of honesty and instead of throwing him to the wolves,
you assure that he won’t do that to you. You put in his mind that you will find
a solution to his problems! Even if you don’t… you want him to hold off on
possibly backstabbing you as long as possible.” I advised.
“You
think he’d double cross us?”
“I
honestly don’t know. It’s a gamble. I think our safest bet is to keep him
alive. His debt could easily become ours…” I responded.
“Ours?”
Mukir asked. I rolled my eyes, hating the little slip of the tongue.
Golden skinned Devari blushed hard,
thinking about what I said. A smile spread across Mukir’s face, seeing the
energy between his brother and I. I could have slapped him for this.
“Anyways,”
I said with an eyeroll, “You don’t want the added debt.”
I took out the last letter as well
as the box. Devari and Mukir leaned into read it. It was some explicit
directions on the range talker and how to go about tuning it. I followed the
procedures, Devari and Mukir looking at me in confusion.
“It’s
so tiny.” Devari noted, picking it up delicately.
“I’m
confused… how does it… where does it go?” Mukir asked, cocking his head like a
confused hound.
“My
ear…” I said, taking the range talker from Devari. I put the base in my ear
piercing, it looking like a black shiny earring. I then wrapped the tiny wire
dangling from the bottom of base around me ear, tucking the inconspicuous
earpiece in one of my ear folds.
Mukir looked at it in amazement.
“It
literally looks like an earring.” He said.
“Testing
on channel,” I said holding up the letter, “Bravo, nine, nine, nine zero. I
have the oracle.”
“Roger…”
The earpiece buzzed, “Connected channel bravo, nine, nine, nine, zero to
channel six, six, one two… Asset, you are connected to arc-leader.”
“This
is Arc-Leader, Asset nice to hear you are online.” The voice said, clearly Gou.
“Sorry
it took so long. This week was not…” I sighed, shaking my head.
“It’s
fine, glad you’re connected. I wanted to talk about things here for a moment.
Richard is currently a mess and his brother has been taking care of him.
Mercury is proving to be quite a thorn to us all. I’m not certain about what we
should do with him…” Gou said.
“Kill
him…” I shrugged, Devari and Mukir looking at me intently.
“We
can’t exactly do that. The most I’ve thought of doing was removing him. I’ve
talked to my chain of command and they say I have full administrative power to
do what I need to do to him.” Gou said back.
“It
sounds to me as though he’d steadily be an issue regardless of what happened.
It can only get worse from here. Remove him as swiftly as possible.” I
suggested, “Including him in this was a mistake… He wasn’t beneficial to this
at all. I was fooled.”
“It’s
fine. He was the closest thing you had to home and you let yourself get close
to him. We all need to learn from mistakes.” Gou said, understanding, “But
that’s it for now. Stay safe…”
“Will
do.” I responded. The line went cold as the communication channel ended.
“Who
were you talking to and about?” Devari asked, concerned.
“I
was talking to Gou about the guy we saved from being tortured. He’s pretty much
causing a shit storm of problems.” I said shaking my head.
“And
you wanted to kill him?” Devari asked, shocked.
“I’m
too the point now that anything that causes an issue or interference with the
end goal must be eliminated.” I responded.
“I
still don’t get why you’re doing this.”
“Because one day, I’ll get to go home. I can’t make it on my own and the more people I help, the more help I can get in return. The Free Agents for sure can get me home.” I sighed.
“Because one day, I’ll get to go home. I can’t make it on my own and the more people I help, the more help I can get in return. The Free Agents for sure can get me home.” I sighed.
“So
you wanna leave me?” Devari said, a semi-serious grin. I looked at him for a
good length of time.
“Don
you want the honest truth?” I smiled back.
“No
don’t tell me. I don’t think I’d be ready.” Devari responded.
“You
wouldn’t…” I continued to smile, getting up and heading towards the stairs. His
eyes tracked me as he wondered what I meant. He wanted to pursue this further
but he didn’t bother.
The remainder of the day was relaxation and taking care of
myself. Not once did I leave my room. It was such a perfect day! The morning
rolled in and it was time for my work out. I hit everything hard, going to
shower then to breakfast. The awkward glances started to fade away as people
realized I was here to stay.
The Wolf and the Mammoth sat at a table, inviting me over. I
came, seeing there were quite a few people already there.
“Guys,
this is Summer…” They didn’t know my real name, “He’s a high profile trainee,
one making waves…”
“Nice
to meet you Summer…” A caucasian man with a darker complexion said, extending
out his hand for me to shake, “Call me, Gin.” I shook his hand, giving him a
nod.
“I’m
Roberto, Summer…” A Spaniard across from me said.
“And I’m Drinia.” A short but curvaceous Syu Semitic woman said.
“And I’m Drinia.” A short but curvaceous Syu Semitic woman said.
“Nice
to meet you all.” I smiled.
“How’s
your training going?” The Wolf asked.
“I’m
on week eight so next week is the last week.” I sighed.
“You
got through it, a bit longer than some, but you got through it nonetheless.
Quite a few people can’t make it.” Drinia said.
“Not
going to lie,” Roberto began, “I thought Devari was going to kill you. Everyone
could see you were his most difficult trainee ever! That day when you beat the
entire brothel guard… We thought you were done for!”
“What
was that about?” Gin asked.
“Um…
I’ve been writing my family. Mardee found out and stole my letter so I got
pissed off and wrecked him. I try to hide it, but there’s no getting around it.
I was an Illisian warrior-hunter before this and, need be, it will come out
again.” I said with a little smirk.
“It’s
so unassuming.” Gin smiled.
“I
was thinking the same shit!” The Wolf added.
“I
agree, he doesn’t look half as capable as he is when it comes to whooping some
ass!” The Mammoth teased, causing me to roll my eyes.
“Didn’t
you kill the Giant of Nok?” Roberto asked.
“I
didn’t really try to. He just was kind of scaring me…” I shrugged,
nonchalantly.
“How’d
you do it?” Gin persisted. I paused with a conspicuous sigh, these questions
getting old, fast. The Wolf and Mammoth could see I was getting quite annoyed.
“What
do you all do here?” I asked, changing the subject all together.
“I’m
a street performer.” Roberto sighed.
“I’m
just a midrange escort.” Drinia said, wishing she was upper echelon.
“I’m
also a street performer.” Gin said, his tone a bit dryer.
“That’s
cool. What’s it like being a street performer?” I asked.
“It’s long hot days, butt ass naked in the sun, standing on a pedistal just to advertise for the brothel. It’s pretty awful but the pay is amazing!” Roberto said.
“It’s long hot days, butt ass naked in the sun, standing on a pedistal just to advertise for the brothel. It’s pretty awful but the pay is amazing!” Roberto said.
“What
were you before you came here?” Gin asked, seeming to forget the question was
already addressed.
“I
was a hunter about ninety percent of the time but well trained to be a warrior.
I know the Illisian form of kickboxing as well as ring wrestling. Every now and
again, I’d compete with other families for title of tribe chief. My uncle
trained the living shit out of me! And when my father was around, he taught me
a style of fighting from the Tanzanian coast. My mother was also an elite
swordsman and she trained me as well. I mix the four to form a style of my
own.” I explained.
“What
did you hunt?” Gin persisted.
“Anything
to be honest. We were in one of our worst droughts so most big game headed
south through the Rift Lands and hadn’t returned.” I smiled.
“That
sounds tough.” Roberto nodded.
“It’s
tough, truly. But I wouldn’t trade it for the word.” I said, missing my home,
“Well, anyways it’s time to for me to go. Nice talking with you all!”
The Wolf seemed as though he wanted me to stay, as though my
departure was premature but I didn’t like the entire social interaction thing.
I spent most of my youth alone… Having friends now, despite it being beneficial
for my needs, was too taxing to pursuit. The only thing on my mind was sleep!
That was precisely what I did. I slept and slept on and off
all day. As the evening rolled in, Devari came to my room.
“Has
your sources contacted you again?” He asked, seeming to be quite concerned.
“No.”
I shrugged.
“I
kind of don’t know how to feel about that,” He said, his uncertainty showing
it’s head, “I don’t know what you all are saying when I’m not around. I don’t
know what your true motives are, still.”
“Do
you not trust me?” I asked.
“Well…”
He said, making it clear.
“Have
I not given you information you needed?” I continued, turning to face him.
“You
have…” He sighed. I just stared at him, not sure what more could he want.
Devari was rather controlling, loving things to be his way. It was kind of
annoying.
“I’m going back to bed.” I said, rolling my eyes.
“I’m going back to bed.” I said, rolling my eyes.
“I
didn’t mean to make you upset.” He said, edging over, “It’s just this is a
pretty tough time for me. I’m busting my ass every which way to keep my brothel
and you’ve helped for sure, but you’re not giving me a platform steady enough
to stand on. Everything with you is a gamble on trust and with all the tedious
things I have going on now, I don’t need the uncertainty of your promises…” I
continued to stare at him, the boy having to rethink his words.
“Fine,”
I shrugged, “I’ll help you no longer…”
“Wait,
that didn’t come out right! Shit!” He clenched his head, “Kijus… I want to
trust you! I do, I really do! I just don’t like uncertainty!”
“What
do you want me to do about it then?” I shrugged, realizing there was no middle
ground, “There’s nothing I can do to assure you that I’m not double-crossing
you…”
“I
should go…” He said, “I’m an idiot. This is not what I meant…” He sprung to his
feet, heading to the door, “Goodnight…”
“Goodnight.”
I smiled back, finding Devari to be extremely adorable when he was in a frantic
state. As time went on, he was the prevailing thought in my mind. It was
something about his walk, his mannerisms, the way he stared at people, the way
he could make something so objective feel subjective… The way he pulled his
hair from his face, the way he’d squint and tap his chin when he was thinking,
and those reading glasses of his! I loved those glasses.
Devari was just a charming man, one
I almost admired. The way he cared so deeply about everyone around him, had
such a passion for this brothel and fought so hard for it’s survival was
amazing. I wish I had his level compassion! He was nothing but a big heart,
seemingly tough but actually just raw and emotional.
These thoughts eventually put me to sleep, Sunday rolling
in, passing nearly identically to Saturday. I spent the whole day lounging away
in my bed until Devari came in to visit.
“Okay…”
He began, shocked to see me laying there, “You okay?”
“I’m
fine… Just taking in the weekend.” I said, sitting up to face him, “Yes?”
“Yeah, um, I won’t be here Monday. This will be the first day Mukir will be running the show so try to go easy on him. In other words, Mardee might be the one in charge considering Mukir really has little experience.” He explained.
“Yeah, um, I won’t be here Monday. This will be the first day Mukir will be running the show so try to go easy on him. In other words, Mardee might be the one in charge considering Mukir really has little experience.” He explained.
“As
for my training?”
“It’s
gonna be a surprise…” Devari smiled deviously. I rolled my eyes, not excited,
“How I knew you’d do that.”
“Am
I getting that predictable?” I laughed.
“Kind
of.” Devari noted, “But anyway… just be ready to take a lot of erection pills…”
“Why?”
I asked plainly.
“Fuck,
you forgot… This is gonna be good!” Devari laughed, almost evilly, “I’ll see
you Tuesday…” He got up and left.
It left me desperately trying to
remember what my training would be tomorrow! There was no use. I couldn’t
remember anymore. The only thing left to do was wait for the eminent day. It
rolled in too swiftly for my liking, Mardee summoning me from my room, as short
and ill-patient as ever.
I put on some shorts and a robe,
making my way down to the training studio. Sitting on the bed was a naked, dark
skinned woman, quite thin but curvy. Her eyes were grey, her thick curly hair
so black it looked blue. It was pinned up as she lay in the bed sizing me up.
This was the defining moment of turning into the Brothel! My heart began to
swelter and thump, tears welling up in my eyes.
“Is
he Illisian?” She asked.
“Samara?”
I said out. The woman leaned up, looking at me.
“Que
duci buteg que lorqat?” She demanded.
“Istoy
am Kijus Malik dionde ino Lacri suede Illisia. Istoy am taqui jonjo!” I said.
“Kijus?”
She said, getting to her feet. So much shock was on her face!
“Hey,”
A Gaurd said, “Speak in the native tongue?”
“Pior
Quedon taqo aqui?!” She asked, her shock turning into anger.
“Istoy,
Istoy… van capturio chan slavarisitos nan cuartros atet. Istoy taqo
performancio a la destri y tenoy esmoso taqo!” I responded.
Her eyes welled up, unable to make sense of this. Slowly she
shook her head.
“Nios
nada muchan hora… Nios is prioritidad que nios departante dionde aqui!” I told
her, “Nios in mortemde lecre fin nios ati! Per favore, compire! Nios nada
muchan, mui jonja!”
“I
said the Native tongue!” The guard said, rushing forward with his stun staff. I
was jabbed in the back with it, forced to my knees as jolts of electricity
filled me.
“Stop!
STOP!” Samara demanded, “That’s my brother!” She wrapped herself in a robe,
hesitant to rush over.
The guard persisted to shock me. This was the worst pain I
had ever felt! The searing, fiery muscle contracting pain, had me fighting for
control. The sheer amount of pain was unbearable but the guard was unrelenting!
Every muscle was tense! There was no escaping this! This could be my end doing.
“STOP!
YOU’RE GOING TO KILL HIM!” My sister screamed, rushing forth. The guard held up
the staff, jabbing her with it as she came forth. The bright pulse, repelled my
sister back. It made me so angry!
That guard had fucked up! It only
took a split second of relief for me to pick him up by his shins and fling him
backwards. He landed on his head, rolling on the ground in pain. More guards
rushed forward with their staves, jabbing me. These quick stabs were hard to
dodge, the electrodes making contact with me several times as jolts of
electricity filled my body.
I grew angrier and angrier, picking up the fallen guard’s
staff from the ground. Another guard jabbed at me once again. I narrowly side
stepped it, spinning towards him to build up centriptal force. The staff in my
hand extended out, battering him in the side of the skull. Another guard jabbed
at me from behind. I managed to block it with the staff, getting in close and
fast with the staff, and shocking his face. He fell; the only thing I wanted to
feel was his throat collapsing under the pressure of my feet.
However, the first man I took down was back on his feet. I
turned to him, huffing and puffing. His challenging stance became weary as he
could see his comrades all down on the ground. I wanted to kill him! Without hesitation,
I sped towards him, sweeping my leg under his. He fell to the floor with a hard
thud.
Just like he electrocuted me, I did the same to him, jabbing
the electrode in his face. Bright light and crackling filled the room. The man
screamed out, the smell of seared flesh beginning to stagnate the air. More
guards rushed in, one coming in to strike me with the staff. I side stepped the
over the head strike, sending the electrode of the staff in my hand into his
belly.
I rushed forth to the next guard, spinning with the staff
before striking him in the head. I wanted more and more of them dead but they
were hesitant to fight me, backing themselves into the rear of the room.
“COME
FORTH!” I demanded, “ALL OF YOU! NOW!”
“We
don’t want to fight you…” A guard said, pleading on behalf of everyone in the
studio.
These men straight up refused to continue. This bloodlust of
mine was starting to dissipate. The damage of what I had done set in. A man lay
dead on the floor, his face unrecognizable while a number of others were either
unconscious or incapacitated. There was no guilt, no shame. I just hadn’t
realized this many men had been taken down so swiftly.
Mukir rushed in after hearing the screaming and the loud
crackles of the electrode staves. He and his entourage rushed in, shocked by
the sight. Mukir clenched his head, not sure what to do. Mardee looked up at
me, beyond angered. He looked to the guards.
“Kill
him…” He demanded. I slowly turned to face them, wanting them to try their
best. The men were so apprehensive.
“No...just
restrain him.” Mukir said, Mardee looking at him in disapproval.
“That
monster needs to go!” Mardee said, pointing at me.
“We’ll
let Devari decide what to do with him.” Mukir countered.
“Don’t
you realize you’re in an administrative position? You have authority! You
should lead by example! A slave killed a guard and mained an number of others!
You should deal with him accordingly!” Mardee said, sounding like a snake in
Mukir’s ear. Mukir slowly looked up at me, my heart beginning to pound. He had
that same indiscernible expression I haved from Devari.
“Drop
the staff…” Mukuir said. I did so, holding up both hands in surrender,
“Restrain him…” The reluctant men, wearily did as was told, taking me to those
holding cells in the center of the warehouse.
They placed me in, locking the door, happy to get far away
from me. Mukir, paced back and forth outside the cell.
“Devari
is going to flip shit…” He said, nervous.
“I’m
so sorry…” I said, resenting every moment of putting the boy through this.
“WHAT
THE FUCK HAPPENED?” He asked.
“I…
I… Can I just wait for Devari?” I responded.
“NO,
you better tell me now so I can butter him up before he meets with you! You
don’t know the significance of what you’ve done and you haven’t seen Devari
angry!” Mukir responded.
“He’s
my brother…” A feminine voice said from an adjacent hall. It was Samara
appearing from the hall, looking quite concerned. Mukir, turned to look at her
then to me.
“You
two… are siblings?” Mukir asked, trying to make sense of this.
“I
joined this brothel because months ago, I saw her performing on a street venue.
She didn’t recognize me because last time she saw me, I was seven and she was
thirteen. I...I…”
“So you thought you could come in and save her?” Mukir asked, thinking the ideology wasn’t too bright.
“So you thought you could come in and save her?” Mukir asked, thinking the ideology wasn’t too bright.
“She
was the only piece of home I had left in this city. I was going to take her
from this place and head back home so we can be reunited with our family
again.” I said, unable to bare Mukir’s irate glare. Samara seemed to grow upset
but remained silent.
“So
this was your plan all along, to fucking join the brothel to steal your sister
back and get out?” Mukir asked.
“Essentially…
At first, I was going to kill everyone, burn everything down, leave my mark…
But I learned that there are greater evils and right now, the mission of
getting my sister out of here is of gravest importance.” I responded.
“Why?”
“My sister is a heiress and title holder just like I am. As a person with noble blood, she is a political player whether she knows it or not. Any person who’s a political player has to be accounted for by the Free Agents and taken out of harm’s way.” I explained.
“My sister is a heiress and title holder just like I am. As a person with noble blood, she is a political player whether she knows it or not. Any person who’s a political player has to be accounted for by the Free Agents and taken out of harm’s way.” I explained.
“So
you’re a prince?” Mukir asked, it all making sense to him now.
“I
am… view it more so as a tribal chief and the nephew of several War Kings… It’s
a lot more to it than that but that’s the important part.” I explained.
“Devari
warned me that this might happen, told me that you’re a bit of a misnomer. I
didn’t really believe him but he surely was right… He’ll be back early tomorrow
morning to address this. I wish you luck…” Mukir said, leaving.
Samara made her way over to me. She didn’t look pleased one
bit.
“You
were coming to save me?” She asked.
The question made me apprehensive to respond.
“You
don’t want to be saved?”
“Save
me from what? You don’t know anything! The life Illisians live is a lie! You
can’t save me from this brothel! That whole purity bullshit is all it is…
bullshit! There is no god! There is no, heaven! This brothel is the closest
we’ll ever get to heaven! That is all I know! I’ve been an escort here since I
was thirteen! This is the only world I know and ever care to know!” She said,
truly upset.
This was heartbreaking to hear. The only thing I could do
was cry.
“I
know,” I began, “I found this out the hard way… I would pray, and pray and
pray. But it seemed the gods would just make things worse to see me struggle,
as if they needed something entertaining to laugh at. After a while, I stopped
praying and just started doing my own will. Some ideals are hard to let go of
still but it’s whatever… I’ve learned a lot about brothels. This is a family,
not just a house for whores. But I’m not trying to save you from the brothel!
I’m trying to save you from war…”
“War?”
She asked.
“There’s
been a lot of political and economic issues arising… since I’ve arrived.” I
chuckled, “And a corrupt regime has surfaced and taken over… A battle for this
Ziggurat will be eminent.” I explained.
“Who…
what? Who took over from the Bourgions?” She asked, surprising me that she knew
who they were.
“Sir
Socoshian… You know him?” I said back. She rolled her eyes.
“We
know him… He used to bring King Bourgion here all the time. He was a creepy
little man. I’m not at all surprised someone that looks like him could take
over. That man had a lot of power! Not just in the Ziggurat…” She noted.
“Yeah,
we’re still finding out just how far his power reaches out. He needs to be
killed…” I sighed.
“Killing
him would be a mistake. This man’s hands are all over the Caucasus. If he’s
killed, his assets that support the bank might not remain. Knowing him, he’d
have a plan to get rid of all the money to cause economic collapse. Afterall,
he has wriggled his way into placing the entire city into debt. And if this
Ziggurat collapses, every other Ziggurat falls…” She explained.
“Damn…
you know more than I do!” I said, astounded.
“My
last client was a twelve Ziggurat councilman who knew of Sir Socoshian’s
endeavors. Chances are, Sir Socoshian is probably plotting a way to put these
men in his debt. I think he wants the Twelve Ziggurats!” She continued.
“But
why?” I asked.
“Do
you really want to get into that psycho’s mind?” She retorted.
“No,
not really. I just want to know his motives.” I shrugged.
“We’ll
see…” She slowly nodded, “We’ll all see.”
“You say that as if this place is doomed?” I noted.
“You say that as if this place is doomed?” I noted.
“It’s
doomed. Is it doomed today? No… Tomorrow… I don’t know. In the future…
certainly. Last night when I came in, Devari had a long talk with me, about you
in particular and his appreciation for the money me and my girls brought in.
He’s working hard now to save this brothel… With all things going on, I feel
like we’re holding off the inevitable for now.” She said with a smirk.
“That’s…
There’s a chance we can win this. The Free Agents are piecing together every
bit of information they can to combat this! All we have to do is get out of
here!” I responded.
“No…
I’m not leaving… This is my home… It might not be yours but it’s mine.” She
refused.
“This
is not our home!” I disputed.
“I
was thirteen when I was taken away… A child. You were, seven? I grew up here,
forgot the Illisian way of living and now, thirteen years later, I’m twenty
six! It’s too late for me to adopt that way of living again. I like this! I
like to be pampered, spoiled...exploited… I know it’s not the Illisian way but
fuck it! Fuck them… This is me now!” She made clear. I slowly nodded.
“I
understand.” I said back, smiling thinly.
She looked at me intently.
“My
god, you are my little brother.” She said, her eyes glistening with tears ready
to fall, “How’s gram, father, our little sister, uncle Sammi?”
“Father died trying to save you. He’s been dead for as long as you’ve been gone. Gram and our little sister are doing well. They had to move to the city where they are doing fine. I sent them a huge heap of money so they won’t ever have to worry about a thing. I have a question for you though… is mother…?”
“Father died trying to save you. He’s been dead for as long as you’ve been gone. Gram and our little sister are doing well. They had to move to the city where they are doing fine. I sent them a huge heap of money so they won’t ever have to worry about a thing. I have a question for you though… is mother…?”
“Mother?
Mother’s gone… She killed herself when we went through processing. She told me
she couldn’t take this life of exploitation and just… She killed herself.” My
sister shrugged, it seeming not to bother her.
It devastated me.
“Oh…
I...oh.” I said back.
“You
thought that since, you saw me there’d be a chance that mother was still
somewhere. She was too set in her ways to adapt… I was still a child,
malleable, breakable… I wasn’t always with Felker Distribution. These are not
our original captors. However, Felker Distribution is the fairest whorehouse to
all its slaves and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else…” Samara said, full of
this distinct pride.
It made me smile.
“How
long are you going to be here before you get shipped out again?” I asked.
“Since
I brought in a shit ton of cash, Devari gave me two months off… I won’t know
what to do with myself.” Samara chuckled.
“Damn,
that’s a long time. Just gym… I love it. It gives me peace.” I smiled.
“No,
see I have to maintain a certain body type for my occupation. I have to be
extremely slim.” Samara said, not sounding too proud.
“That
sounds miserable.” I said, shaking my head.
“It
used to be but you get used to it… ain’t that’s right Mr. Illisian?” She
teased.
“Hey,
I grew up miserable so I didn’t know what real misery was until I got here.” I
countered.
“Okay,
fair.” She smiled, “And I see you’re quite the warrior! You fight like a ring
wrestler!”
“Oh
my god… You have no idea how much training I’d do… Uncle Sammi was evil… But he
made sure I was a good swordsman and combatant.” I said, reminiscing.
“I
always wanted to learn. Right now I’m so dainty I can’t even lift an urn of
water.” Samara said, shaking her head.
“I
can teach you but we’ll have to both start eating meat…” I sighed.
“You
don’t eat meat? Such an Illisian…” My sister teased.
“No,
I eat meat… just not regularly.” I said, knowing I barely ate it.
“I’ll
try it… I just hope Devari goes easy on you. He’s intense…” Samara said,
nervous.
“I
hope so too. I might have fucked up too much, today… I’ve been a handful for
him and I could tell his patience is wearing thin with me… I just…” I sighed.
“Right
now would be the time to pray…” Samara continued to tease.
“No
fuck it.” I shrugged, chuckling a bit. She laughed as well.
Somehow, we ended up spending the
entire night talking with one another. Hours and hours just flew by. Suddenly
the sound of steel doors being flung open caught both our attentions. Coming
from down the hall was a very happy looking Mardee followed by a very upset
looking Devari. A number of other workers followed.
My heart sank to my stomach as
Devari closed in. Samara got to her feet, nervous to see Devari approaching. He
arrived at the cell standing there as expressionless as he always did.
“So
you entered my brothel to find your sister…” He said, Mukir having filled him
in, “Lied to me about it, spoke in another tongue in my brothel, killed one of
my guards and threatened to kill the rest of them…”
There was nothing I could say. The
only thing I could do was swallow this big lump in my throat.
“Yet…”
Devari started up again, “From the get go, you offered help and support for
this brothel to keep it afloat… why? Was it just until you found your sister so
you can take her and ditch?”
“No… I found out some information and told Gou. Gou told me to find out as much information as I could on it and I did. Then you found out because of your shitnosed friend, Mardee and a vast majority of my intentions were thrown on the table. Helping you… not to take away the specialness of it, but I help people. It’s what gets me fucked in the end. I help people, they turn their back and backstab me and just throw me to the side, while I steadily get dragged through the filth. If you want to kill me, don’t prolong it. I know I’m hassle to you…” I sighed, unable to bare his gaze.
“No… I found out some information and told Gou. Gou told me to find out as much information as I could on it and I did. Then you found out because of your shitnosed friend, Mardee and a vast majority of my intentions were thrown on the table. Helping you… not to take away the specialness of it, but I help people. It’s what gets me fucked in the end. I help people, they turn their back and backstab me and just throw me to the side, while I steadily get dragged through the filth. If you want to kill me, don’t prolong it. I know I’m hassle to you…” I sighed, unable to bare his gaze.
“I’m
not going to kill you… I’m impressed. Not many people could be able to go
through this much hell for someone else, even a relative! You didn’t have any
type of concrete evidence your sister was here, only an assumption… And it paid
off. You found her… This to me says a lot about the type of person you are. For
you to be so very gorgeous, sometimes superficial and sometimes shallow, you
are not afraid to go through hell for something you believe in. I don’t know
anyone else like that. Killing you would be putting this world to a
disadvantage… you were meant to do great things.” Devari said, coming forth to
unlock the cell.
The relief I felt was indescribable. I walked out, the boy
opening my robes, seeing I was covered in bruises and burns from my fight with
the guards. His indifferent face wadded up tightly as he looked to Mardee.
“I
don’t understand how you can FUCK UP so much! Do you not understand me when I
say don’t tarnish him?” He exploded.
“I’m
sorry. He was speaking a different tongue. The guards warned him to stop. They
were only following protocol...” Mardee said defensively.
“What
protocol is there to shock my brother to death! He was going to be killed!”
Samara said.
“Shut
up, whore!” Mardee said through the grit of his teeth.
Just as I was about grab Mardee, Devari wedged himself in
between Mardee and I.
“We
don’t want to do that…” Devari said, wrapping his dense arms around my waist.
Samara took note of this, “I will be asking around for accounts of what
happened… Then address it properly…”
“Boss,
why do you always let this low life scum slide under ever rule this place has!
Not once has he been treated judiciously…” Mardee said, obviously upset.
“We’ll,
when you let someone temporarily leave your establishment and they come back
with a bloodbath of a death toll in their wake, you kind of want to let them do
what they want… Especially when there
are so many inconsistencies about who the fuck they are and why they are
present in your establishment… And then when said person helps out in a way not
expected, it relieves some of the doubt in the mind about their motives. And
all said person does is prove time and time again that they are more of an asset
rather than a liability. There will be some sparking inclination towards said
person…” Devari explained, full of snide and sarcasm.
“Why
is my end doing so important to you?” I asked, Mardee.
“SHHHH.”
Devari said, placing a finger over my mouth before turning to face Mardee, “Get
back to work…”
Mardee gave me the most hatred blatant glare before
returning to his desk. Devari took my hand, leading me down the hall to his
office.
“Breeze,
you’re coming too.” He said. Samara rushed after us, following as we entered
the office. Devari locked the door, Mukir coming out of one of the rear rooms.
“So
you two are siblings foreal?” Devari asked.
“Brother,
the way Kijus fought… How upset he was, I believe him!” Mukir said.
“So,
my two most resourceful prospects are blood relatives… Wow.” Devari laughed,
finding this funny.
Samara and I looked at each other then back to him unsure
what should be said. The woman sighed, scratching her head before building up
nerve to speak.
“We’re
siblings…” Samara said.
“That
is a twist to this plot I wasn’t expecting.” Devari said, steadily laughing,
“Anyways… I paid off what I could of the debt to drug debtors without digging
myself more into a financial hole. I still had to have money for you guys to
get paid. The issue though is that the interest keeps compounding every day I
don’t have the cash for it. So every week when I have prospects returning with
cash, I’m only able to keep the debt down some. However with the large sum you
brought in,” He looked at Samara, “I’ve knocked down the amount I need to pay
to just a few hundred thousand rubles.”
“I’d
personally recommend you pay off the entire debt while you can. Compound
interest is no joke and it can catch up to you fast. In this business status,
money isn’t guaranteed to make it in time… Right now, I wouldn’t gamble…”
Samara advised.
“But
that’s the thing. I still have slaves and escorts to pay, I still have
employees to pay, and I still have utilities and notices to pay! Everything
that was in my savings, is gone! I have no access to my father’s account and
with the turnover in city power, that money is now Socoshian’s unless my father
makes a miraculous return. If I had access to his funds, I could pay this debt
off but since I don’t, we’re still fucked. The money you gave had to be split
between the debt, the bills and employees. There’s nothing for me! However, the
sharks said I don’t have anything to worry about since I’m in less than five
percent debt to what we were in initially. The next mass sum of money coming in
from escorts arriving in three weeks will pay off this debt finally… Then I can
start to rebuild.” Devari said, sounding relieved.
“Or
I can just spot you the rubles….” I shrugged.
“Like
I said before… I don’t want your prince money…” Devari refused.
“By
prince money, do you mean money from the royal court, or my actual money?” I
asked.
“Your
actual money… I assumed you were from wealth…” Devari said, uncertain.
“No,
I’m not from wealth… I mean… yeah, I’m not from wealth.” I chuckled, “The money
is the money I was rewarded from King Bourgion for my efforts when I worked for
him…”
“You
were working for the King and you gave that up for this rat hole?” Samara
asked, shocked.
“You
know this! We talked about it last night!” I said back.
“Hey!
It’s not that ratty...” Devari chuckled, slightly offended.
“Sorry,
not sorry…” Samara said with an eyeroll.
“Well,
still,” Devari sighed, “I don’t want that either…”
“I
have no need for the money and it would save this place… I can’t watch this
place struggle like this. It’s a ton of money, several million rubles! It’s
more than enough for debt and rainy days to come.” I responded.
“I’m
confused… I thought you were using me to get what you need? I’ve been fucking
doing the same of you…” Devari said, growing frustrated.
“No,
I haven’t. I’m actually a really emotional soulmate seeker who falls for any
and everything with a heartbeat… But if you want to use me for what you need,
instead of fucking me when you get frustrated, why not take damn money…” I
responded, full of snide. Devari closed his eyes, clenching his head.
“I
didn’t mean it that way. God… I’m sorry, Kijus. I didn’t… My tongue is not my
friend at the moment.” Devari responded, backtracking.
“I
think he meant, he doesn’t get why you’re so concerned for this places
wellbeing…” Mukir said, speaking on his brother’s behalf.
“I’ve
kinda grown attached, I guess… I don’t know.” I shrugged.
Devari looked at me for a long time, so much warmth in his
eyes. It was starting to really bother me but I tried my best to hide it.
“I
personally say it’s the best course of action…” Mukir said. Devari’s warm gaze
turned into fiery wrath as he slowly turned to his brother.
“NO!”
Devari said back.
“I
signed those papers that forked over the same rights to me as you! If you won’t
take the money, I will!” Mukir snarled.
Devari rolled his eyes, breathing slowly. He seemed deeply
upset.
“Okay…”
He said, giving in. I tapped the transmit button on my range talker.
“Gou…”
I said, hearing not even static. Something wasn’t right, “Gou!” I pulled off
the range talker, realizing the wire connecting the earpiece to the base had
been seared off. As my finger grazed the area, sharp pain shot through the area
behind my ear, “Fuck the, communicator is fried… and it burned me behind my
ear.”
“Shit,
let me see.” Devari said, getting to his feet to inspect the side of my head.
He seemed so concerned, “It’s… It’s kind of bad.”
“How
bad?” I asked.
“Like
third degree burn bad…” Devari sighed.
“You’re
fucking with me?” I asked, knowing he was a jokester.
“I
wish…” He said, “I’m so sorry they did this to you.”
“It
was all a big messy misunderstanding… No need to be sorry.” I said, knowing
that deep down this tarnish on my skin left me feeling permanently defaced.
“I’ll
be sure the doctor sees this later today.” Devari said, steadily looking at it.
“Is
it that bad?” I asked, growing more and more concerned. Samara got up, looking
at it.
“It’s
the whole back side of your ear and the area behind it.” She noted.
“Damn,
I don’t feel it.” I sighed, not even knowing, “And this means I’ll have to
write him to tell him to send the money…”
“That’s
fine…” Devari said, still looking at it.
“I’m
going to go and pen the letter. The listening on the range talker is always
active so I’m certain Gou already knows something happened…” I shrugged.
“Wait,
so what does this mean. You found what you’re looking for… are you leaving?”
Devari asked.
“Not
without her…” I responded, pointing to my sister.
“And
I’m not leaving…” Samara said, stubbornly with a shrug.
“So
we’re both just gonna sit here and look cute for you.” I teased.
“In
all honesty, I might make you leave. Time is whittling down. The brothel’s
position is safe for the time being, but that’s it… for the time being. You’ve
been living within these walls, Kijus. You don’t know how Sir Socoshian has
been implementing his rule… That man is tyrannical. For your safety, I might
just end up getting both you and your sister out of the city.” Devari sighed.
“What
about you?” I asked.
“What
about me?” Devari responded, “I’ll be fine. As long as you can fight another
day, that’s all that matters… You’re resourceful. I think that in some way, you
might be able to stop this… I’ll give you all the resources I can afford.”
It shocked me.
“Thank
you…” I said, getting up and heading to my room. I then began pinning the
letter:
Gou,
I have found
my sister. There are quite a few problems though. For one, my communicator is
broken so I can’t have instant communication with you. Secondly, my sister is
refusing to leave here, and I can’t leave without her. If you can send me
another communicator that would be nice. Sorry, but it happened when I found my
sister… I was shocked several times and the power broke the communicator. I’ll
be more careful in the future.
Secondly. I
need all my assets that I have earned from King Bourgion sent here. As long as
I’m here, this place needs to be debt free and fully functional. I will do my
damnest to keep this place afloat for the time being. Thanks in advance…
Kijus
I folded the letter, sealing it and heading out the room to
the roof. As I did, Devari, Mukir and Samara joined me.
“You
already wrote the letter?” Devari asked, shocked by me expediency.
“Yeah,
I want to get this done…” I sighed, rushing down the hall.
We made it to the rear of the
warehouse where the stairwell was. We walked up the winding stairs to the roof
where I began whistling. There was no response. Minutes later, I continued to
whistle.
“Is
any one of them coming?” Devari asked.
“We’ll
just wait and see.” I said, growing uncertain.
We waited for hours, the sun going
down before rising again. This was disheartening. As the morning hours added
up, I whistled once more. There was no return.
“She’s
not coming…” I sighed.
“That’s
unfortunate…” Devari noted.
“You have nooooooo idea!” I said, growing worried.
“You have nooooooo idea!” I said, growing worried.
“Rest
be assured. We’ll sort this out.” Devari sighed, getting to his feet. He,
Samara and Mukir left. For hours and hours, I continued to whistle out, trying
to locate Bazahra or Silver.
I ran from rooftop to rooftop, desperate to find the birds.
The midday sun arrived and so did fatigue. I had to go rest. Those two birds
were the only things on my mind. Without them, I was fighting blind, with no
way out of the city, no way to tell Gou about what was going on. The
uncertainty was now starting to get to me.
Days elapsed and there were still no signs of the birds. I
was extremely, extremely worried about them. Everything I did required tense
forehead and leg tapping. Every little thing felt tedious, even the most
mundane things such as eating and walking. Sitting with Devari in his
conference room waiting for a number of other higher ups from the brothel to
show up wasn’t easy.
“You
need to relax…” Devari suggested.
“I
wish.” I smiled, sitting on a table in the rear.
“Everything
will be fine…” Devari said, coming over to reassure me.
“I
just don’t know anymore. I feel like I overstayed my welcome… tried my luck too
much… I don’t want to test it any further.” I said.
“Look,”
Devari said, standing at the table, moving between my legs, “I won’t let shit
happen to you! You’re good!” He caressed my face, looking deep into my eyes, “I
promise…”
I needed this. I closed my eyes,
gently rubbing his hands as he caressed my face. Before I knew it, I pulled him
in for a tight hug. He wasn’t expecting this, his embrace coming in slowly
after mine. His grip grew tighter and tighter as this moment became more and
more intimate. I buried my face into his shoulder, not wanting him to let me
go.
“Ah’em…”
Someone said, “Boss…”
Devari and our embrace came to an
end. Mardee standing there looking disgusted.
“Yes?”
Devari asked.
“We
have all our upper echelon escorts ready for the meeting. They are standing
by.” Mardee said, leaving.
“Well
damn, won’t even give me a chance to respond.” Devari gasped, shocked.
“He’s
not happy… I don’t know what’s going on with him but yeah, he’s not happy.” I
sighed.
“I
can see that. I don’t know what to do…” Devari responded, pacing around the
room.
“I
guess, make him feel appreciated.” I shrugged.
“I
still haven’t talked to him about the information you dug up.” Devari said,
watching as some of his escorts started coming into the room, “Hi guys…”
“Hey
boss…” One said.
The conference room began to fill
up, my sister and her girls being the last ones to enter. Samara nodded at me
as she sat. I nodded back, still sitting on the rear of the table.
“So…”
Devari began, “Most of you have been gone for the past three months so you
don’t know what has been going on. Well this entire town, has went to utter
shit, I’m afraid… When you left, things in the brothel weren’t peachy and
kosher. Things haven’t improved, in fact they’ve gotten worse… Debtors have
been harassing us, the compounding interest is nearly impossible to make ends
meet and I’m currently having to distribute pay without pay for myself.
However, an asset of mine,” Devari pointed to me causing every head to turn,
“Has been the most resourceful, hard working person on my roster and with his
help, I have managed to turn some things around. I have managed to get the
compounding interest down to a manageable size. Since you are back in the walls
of the city, we’ll have to work hard to keep Felker Distribution afloat. I try
my best to treat you right, pamper you, make sure you come before my clients!
Have I not?”
“You
have!” Samara said in the back, agreeing with every word he said.
Mardee came into the room, leaning
on the wall. He stared at me menacingly before I took note, the man’s gaze
drifting to the floor.
“My
slaves have been working hard to do the city’s dirty work, sleeping with the
knights, the debtors, the Official Guard… They’ve been bringing in copious
amounts of money that’s been going out to utilities and bills, to make sure
there’s food, running water and electricity for you all. You, as my escorts, I
know I promised my recent returnees a break, but I can’t allot that for now…
What I can do is put everyone on a one day a week, four hour street vender
schedule to bring in revenue for the brothel. We need more advertisement, more
street performers… Anything to bring in cash. I can assure you, when we all pay
off this horrid debt, you all will be rewarded for your hard work… I’m so sorry
I’m having to do this to you, but I’m left with no choice. It’s a lot of you so
I can evenly distribute the workload across seven days where you all aren’t out
there for too long. That’s okay, right?” Devari continued.
“That’s
more than fine…” The fiery redhead who trained me last week said.
“I’m
down…” A giant had stated.
The meeting came to an end, everyone leaving.
“Mardee…
I need to talk to you.” Devari sighed. Mardee looked at his boss, unsure what
this was about.
“Okay
boss…” Mardee responded. Devar looked at the man with that infamous penetrating
glare.
“Is
there something you’ve been hiding from me?” Devari asked. Mardee’s eyes
widened with shock.
“What
do you mean?” Mardee responded, assessing how he should respond.
“I’ve
learned your house burned down…” Devari said.
“I...I…
it did… why is it important?” Mardee said back, getting defensive. His arms
folded across his chest.
“Because
you took a loan out from the bank to cover your damages… That’s why it’s
important!” Devari said, both giving intense glares.
“I
had no other choice! My house was burned down and my family displaced! I’m
having to make due with what I can considering how you pay me!” Mardee said,
obviously upset.
“I
understand the pay is tight right now and I’m not trying to make you angry. I
just thought we were on better terms than this! You could have told me!” Devari
said.
“I’m
not so sure any more…” Mardee said, looking over to me.
“It’s
been tough but, so many things have been happening and I’m having to play it
extremely carefully! I’m sorry!” Devari pleaded.
“How’d
you even find out? I did my best to hide this! You didn’t need to know, not
with all of this going on in the brothel. My problems shouldn’t be yours…”
Mardee asked.
“It
doesn’t matter how I found out. Just know that your problems are mine, your
debt is my debt!” Devari said.
“No
I can’t ask you for this, not...now.” Mardee sighed, shaking his head.
“It’s
not a question. It’s a matter of not having a choice. See, you don’t even know
how your house burned down… it just did. This happened at a similar time the
brothel was dodging debt! So, it sounds to me that it’s some twisted shit at
play to put all assets of this brothel in debt so control can be pried out of
our hands… If I pay off my debt, your debt will still stand and with things
being so twisted, I need you here! You’re important, and losing you would be a
great loss to this business. I can’t afford to train someone else, so let me
help you any way I can. I feel like you’re being targeted.” Devari clarified.
“How
can you help? We have no money between us!” Mardee asked.
“I’m
not sure. We just got to stay positive for now…” Devari shrugged.
“It’s
hard.” Mardee said, losing his composure.
“I know…” Devari hugged, him, “But I’m going to fight for you, for everyone here! This is our home. If you need a place to stay, this warehouse has plenty of room! My brother and I moved here weeks ago to cut costs! If you or any other employees need to do the same, we have all the space needed for it.”
“I know…” Devari hugged, him, “But I’m going to fight for you, for everyone here! This is our home. If you need a place to stay, this warehouse has plenty of room! My brother and I moved here weeks ago to cut costs! If you or any other employees need to do the same, we have all the space needed for it.”
“I’ll,
I’ll do so…” Mardee said, whipping his tears.
“Nice
talking with you… Let’s get back to saving the brothel…” Devari said, patting
him on the shoulder.
The two left, Devari waving me over to follow. I did, Devari
having the desk shift today.
“You
get to watch me do boring shit. This is the worst job here. You sit at a desk,
stare at the city and wait for clients to come in. You have to put this fake
smile on your face, and make sure they’re happy…” Devari chuckled.
“Doesn’t
sound too bad.” I responded.
“It
gets bad because half the people in this city can’t read… in fact, more than
half! So you have to read off the terms and agreements for clients so they know
what they can and can’t do… And if they can read, you know damn well they can’t
write so how are they going to sign a consent agreement?” Devari sighed.
“Okay,
I can see how this could be hassle now.” I smiled.
“My
brother is back, in the office reading the fiscal reports. He’s surprisingly
good with money, and right now, I don’t need to be looking at anything with
dollar signs… I might cry.” Devari joked, making me laugh.
“What’s
Mardee doing?” I asked.
“He’s
doing managerial inventory. Checking our products, our rooms, our slaves and
escorts…” Devari shrugged.
“Sounds
hard…”
“Not
hard… tedious. I’d prefer to do that than to do this…” Devari said, looking at
the appointment log. His face went from misery to concern when he saw an
appointment booked for the debtors today, “Man, what the fuck?”
“What?”
I asked.
“Debtors
are coming today for God knows why! The fuck man! This can’t be good! Who
booked this shit?” Devari asked, growing upset. He looked at the signature beside the booking,
“Fucking, Mardee…” He began scrambling through the other logs, to see if he
could find out why, “Shit man…”
Devari sprung up, rushing down the
hall. I followed as he found Mardee standing in the center of the warehouse
with his clipboard.
“Did
you book an appointment with the debtors?” Devari asked.
“No…”
Mardee began, confusing Devari, “That’s when they said they’d be back…”
“Why
didn’t you tell me?” Devari said, clenching his head.
“It
was logged!” Mardee said defensively.
“Fair….
Why are they coming back though? I was told I wouldn’t have to worry about any
more debt as long as the compounding interest stays low…” Devari said, truly
worried.
“I
don’t know.” Mardee shrugged, continuing to work.
Devari rolled his eyes, going to the office where his
brother was.
“Hey,
Mukir… Did you know that debtors are coming today?” Devari asked.
“WHAT?”
Mukir asked, springing to his feet.
“Yeah…
I don’t know what they’d want…” I responded.
“You
know when they’re coming?” Mukir asked.
“Nah.
I guess it’s a waiting game.” Devari sighed, heading back out the door.
We began the walk back down the hall
to the reception desk. Heavy knocking on the front door alarmed us both. We
made it back seeing a number of Official Guards as well as clerks and debtors
at the door. It was an intimidating sight. Devari and I looked back and forth
between each other as he unlocked the door. I stood in the doorway behind the
desk, watching the flood of men come in.
It caught me by surprise to see the
Official Guard wearing a strange seal, having sabers and light armor instead of
trench coats and brim hats covering them. It then hit me. This was the King’s
Guard. Why were they here? My heart began to pound as I realized what this
could possibly mean.
“Yes?”
Devari said to the debtor standing before him, the exact same debtor I tossed
out. The debtor simply placed an envelope on the desk, continuing onward
through brothel. Devari instantly recognized the envelope, despair spreading
across his face.
“What
is that?” I asked.
“A
court summons…” He said, without even having to open it, “We’re being sued…” He
slowly broke the seal of the envelope, reading the letter. He threw it on the
desk, “Yeah, we’re being sued for unlawful business practices for a sum of two
hundred million rubles. That’s half a quarter's earnings…”
“That…
fuck…” I said, watching as the onslaught of guards continued to pour in. A
familiar face was slipping through the entourage of men, “Socoshian…”
“What?”
Devari said, his eyes tuning in like a hawk.
Indeed, Sir Socoshian had come to the brothel. The New King
of the Southern Ziggurat had shown his face. This wasn’t good. He looked at
Devari then to me before taking a double take.
“You’ve
been having unlawful practices in my city walls…” Sir Socoshian said to him.
Never had I seen Devari this nervous. He slowly turned to me, gulping, knowing
what Sir Socoshian was capable of!
“Go
fetch my brother and Mardee for me.” He said. I nodded, doing so. Sir Socoshian
looked at me again, deep in thought. It seemed he didn’t recognize me but I was
vaguely familiar.
I was happy to leave the tense standoff. I rushed to
Devari’s office where Mukir was. He could see the worry on my face, already
getting to his feet.
“Devari
needs you.” I said. He nodded, rushing off to the front desk. It was now time
to find Mardee. He was in the upper levels of the warehouse, the catwalks
checking fluid pressure on the coolant tanks, “Hey! Devari needs you now!”
Mardee could hear the urgency in my tone, rushing down the
stairs without question. The next few minutes were some of the most stressed of
my life. I sat on a rear table in the lounge, it filled with dining escorts and
slaves. All things fell silent as Devari, Mukir, Mardee, Sir Socoshian and his
guard made their way through.
“We
run a good, fair, well paying, just business! We feed our people, cloth our
people, pay our people! We have the highest satisfaction rate of any slaves or
escorts working in this city and everyone is chomping at the bit to jump ships!
We’re the only brothel that puts our slaves and escorts first, clients second!
Not only that, but what we have is fair rule of competition! We don’t steal, we
don’t cheat, we don’t trespass into other’s stakes!” Devari said.
“It
still doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been giving us the run around and one
of my inspectors was physically assaulted.” Sir Socoshian said.
“With
all do respect, your grace, we’ve been doing everything within the proper legal
bindings! Everything we’ve done, we have proper documentation for!” Devari
countered, “We’ve taken every step and procedure to make sure this process
follows the law! I’m not at all sure how we’ve been giving you the run around.”
Sir Socoshian turned to his clerks and inspectors.
“Have
they been following legal procedures?” He asked.
The very same debtor that we threw out flipped through his
folder. He slowly looked up at Devari, a deadened stare making Devari’s golden
skin turn pale. The air seemed to turn still as the Debtor pulled out the
paperwork. Every heart in the lounge was tense, every breath bated as the power
to ruin Devari’s life lay in the debtors hand.
“He
has…” The debtor said. There was a collective sigh that filled the lounge.
Everyone inside was watching tediously, knowing precisely how delicate this situation
was.
“It’s
hard. We weren’t expecting this vast amount of debt, and the almost…
unreasonable compounding interest. Not only that but with our father abandoning
us, the transition of power to us was painstaking and expensive.” Devari said,
trying to get Sir Socoshian to sympathize with him.
“How
much debt is left?” Sir Socoshian asked.
“A
few hundred thousand rubles…” The debtor sighed.
“That’s
payable within a week. What still stands is the lawsuit pending against this
place…” Sir Socoshian responded. His gaze slowly drifted over to my direction.
Again he stared at me for a long time, before looking back
at Devari.
“Within
reason, if there something you love and had been fighting for, wouldn’t you
want to protect it? This is not just a business for me! This is my home!”
Devari pleaded.
“You
threatened to shoot me with a weapon and had one of your half naked escorts
assault me.” The debtor said, pointing to me, causing Sir Socoshian to once
again look my direction. Everytime his gaze fell upon me, this icy chill surged
through my body. The evil king slowly turned back to Devari.
“Can
we talk in private, please?” Sir Socoshian asked. Yet again, he looked back at
me.
I had to leave! I crept off to my room, my heart throbbing
from nervousness. Something was telling me he finally recognized me! I sat
down, beginning to pen a letter:
Gou,
Sir
Socoshian saw me in the brothel today! He just showed up unexpectedly! I can’t
stay here anymore… He didn’t recognize me but he’s a treacherous man so I can’t
quite be certain. I will literally drag my sister out of here kicking and
screaming if I have to! I don’t know…
Kijus.
I folded the letter and sealed it, my heart steadily
pounding. I felt doomed… There felt like no getting out of this. My head slowly
turned when I saw the door creaking open. It was Devari.
“Are
you okay?” He asked.
“Are
you?” I responded.
“Sir
Socoshian wanted to sleep with me to expunge my debt and the lawsuit.” Devari
said.
“Interesting…
You’re here so I’m guessing you didn’t do it?” I said back.
“I
couldn’t sleep with that evil ass man. Seriously how are you doing?” Devari
asked making his way over to me.
“I
can’t stay here anymore, Devari.” I said losing it all, “He saw me! He fucking
saw me!”
“I
know, I could tell! He just kept looking at you. I don’t know if he recognized
you considering you don’t look the same anymore, but I had to get you out of
there.” Devari noted.
“I
don’t know what to do…” I said, beginning to panic.
“Easy…”
Devari said, grabbing my shoulders, looking me square in the eye, “I told you I
won’t let shit happen to you! I will get you out of here in the morning…”
“What
about my sister?” I asked.
“She’s
one of my biggest earners but since she’s a political power player in this,
I’ll send her too! I’m fucked right now, regardless. I’m gonna lose this
place.” Devari said.
It was heartbreaking to hear him say this.
“I’m
sorry.”
“Don’t
be. It’s not your fault…” Devari sighed, “Just know this much… Whatever
happens, you’re my wild card and I’ll make my last play to get you out of this
alive…”
“What’s
next for you after this?” I asked.
“King’s
Guard… My brother and are enlisting…” Devari shrugged.
“What
about the other slaves?” I asked, worried for them.
“I
don’t know… I seriously don’t. I can give them to another brothel such as High
Pansum but they won’t be treated as well… Or, I can let Sir Socoshian get
them... Either way, they’re fucked.” Devari said, rubbing his nose, “Just,
whatever happens, remember me, okay?”
“I
will! I’ll stay fighting for you, okay?” I said to him, pulling him in for a
hug.
He squeezed me so tight, I couldn’t breathe.
“You’re
too perfect to let anything happen to you… You mean the world to me.” Devari
whispered to my ear.
“Thank
you… And you’ve been so kind to me! I can’t appreciate that enough.” I said,
our embrace coming to an end.
Devari looked at me intently, his eyes smoldering in the dim
candle light.
“Can
I kiss you?” He asked. I shook my head.
“You
don’t have to ask.” I said with a thin smile.
The boy wasted no time in caressing my face, bringing his
lips to mine. We kissed and kissed and kissed, his lips eventually going to my
neck, our hands undressing each other as we got our feet. He threw everything
off the desk, as he picked me up to lay me across it. He then climbed on top of
me, resuming those hot kisses!
There was no place I’d rather be, nothing in this world
mattering as much as what we were sharing. Devari’s kisses went from my lips
back to my neck as he sucked at nibbled on my skin. His tongue had grace as it
danced its way down to my throbbing cock. His lips, engulfed my manhood, the
boy putting in vigors he had never before done.
“God,
yes!” I said, rising and falling in ecstasy as the boy serviced me. His tongue
then snaked it’s way down my shaft, sending goosebumps and chills down my
spine. He caressed my balls with gentle kisses and agile tongue work. He was
tapping into some deep, dark stuff, a level of euphoria that was near tear
inducing.
I was just happy to share this
moment with him. Happy I could feel his electric touch, happy I could be his.
He then crawled on the desk, climbing over me. He placed my manhood at his back
door, sliding the tip in. There was an audible slush as it slid in further.
Devari wreathed in ecstasy as he began rolling and rolling his hips.
We went hard and full of raw
passion! The desk began to scoot across the floor with the amount of intensity
we were investing into one another. The climax was intense, a knee shaking, toe
curling, abdominal clenching orgasm of raw fire! We weren’t finished though!
This would have to be engraved into our memories forever!
I flipped him onto his back, pinning his knees to his chest.
It was like I never even orgasmed as I went right back to work. He was so tight
and I could feel every inch of my manhood snaking through his duct. I pounded
hard, causing him to moan out in belligerence. He dug his nails into my back,
biting on my ear and neck.
It made me want to go even harder! I plowed and plowed and
plowed, half an hour later my second orgams coming. It was even more intense,
almost debilitatingly so. I collapsed beside Devari, before the boy crawled
back back down to my balls. He began licking them, creeping his way down to my
hole. He pushed my leg forward as he dove in, sucking and teething on my ass, a
sensation that made my toes curl and back arch.
It wasn’t long before he had my right leg in hand, pushing
it all the way forward. His magical tongue had my ass wet! He plunged his
sizable manhood deep into my hole. He seized at first, having to let it settle
before continuing.
“You
have the tightest most cum-worthy hole ever… FUCK YES!!!” He said, getting to
work. He thrusted me for a few strokes before his body tightened up. He
orgamsed but kept going, going just as hard as I had went on him. It was fire,
intensity, all burning for him! He kissed me tenderly as he pounded away. He
jackhammered me so intensely, the desk was hopping. This would be our last time
together! He had to leave his mark and I had to leave mine.
He began to slow down, having climaxed for a second time. He
climbed off of me, helping me to my feet. I guided him to the shower, not done
with him yet! We ran the warm water, lathering up soaps to wash each other. We
gently washed the cum and sweat off each other, inhaling the clean, fragrant
scents.
Our lips came close once again, the two of us teasing each
other. Who would be the first one to kiss the other? Of course Devari was the
one with the lack of patience! It made me smile as we kissed passionately.
Slowly I went down on him, his cock still hard like a rock. I took his cock in
my mouth, twisting and slurping it. Devari’s knees buckled with the euphoric
sensation, his every twitch being caused by my control.
I licked the underside of his head, causing the boy to moan
out. He looked down at me, seeing I was looking him straight in the eye. A
wicked smile spread across his face before he clenched his core tightly as I
rammed his dick to the back of my throat. I wanted to see how much he could
take, how much pressure I could place upon him.
I began sucking with more and more pressure, the boy seeming
to become more and more
twitchy.
His eyes were clenched tightly, as he grinded with the motion of my head
bobbing. It wasn’t long before he ended up spewing his spray into my throat. He
seemed done at that point, having to rest his head on the shower wall.
“You’re
too amazing.” Devari said, panting.
“You
are too.” I smiled.
We turned off the water, getting out
of the shower. We dried each other off, lathering each other with oils and
fragrances. We both stared into the vanity.
“I’ve
never came close to loving someone before… But I don’t know why, I’d sacrifice
it all for you.” Devari said. I slowly looked at him.
“I’d
do the same for you. Your heart is so real. I admire that there’s no childish
naivety about you! You’ve lived, you’ve endured, you’ve suffered!” I responded.
“Where
would we be if things weren’t this way?” Devari asked, this being a question
I’ve long pondered.
“Chances
are we never would have met. The seasons brought us together… Now the seasons
are tearing us apart. Truth be told, I’m starting to learn what my elders meant
when they said seasons people are true soulmates and forever people are the
ones that have to tune the soul…” I sighed.
“What
does that mean?”
“It
means that the people who strike your soul the most, the one’s who mana tune
matches your tune never stay in your life long… It’s been an arduous journey
for me to learn this… I’m not kidding! Some of the greatest people I’ve ever
met have been the people that don’t stay in life long. And you by far are one
of, if not the greatest person I’ve met in my life…” I said.
“This
sucks… I want to be with you!” Devari said.
“I
do too! I want to be with you but… I don’t know what life has in store for me.
I don’t know what’s next!” I said, truly daunted.
“I
understand… Your journey is one I can see now, and it’s pretty damn crazy… Just
don’t ever forget me, okay?” Devari asked.
“I
won’t!” I nodded. He kissed me before leaving.
It was one of the hardest things to stand here and do, watch
him leave the room. They rest of the day passed with only thoughts of him. As
the evening rolled in, my sister burst into my room.
“Damn…”
She said, so much worry written across her face.
“You
know?”
“Yeah…
Where are we heading?” She asked.
“Northern
Iran. There’s a Free Agent outpost there in the canyons. Once there, we’re
good! We won’t have to worry about shit else!” I sighed.
“This…
Wow… Sir Socoshian is a monster. How can he damn this place to hell like this?”
Samara said, her eyes welling up with heartfelt tears, “This is our home! Our
way of living! What we do here supports this entire town and he just
cannibalized us like we were nothing…”
“It’s
awful… It truly is! If I could just save this place from collapse somehow…” I
said.
“What
am I going to do after this? I’m not wearing a hijab again…” Samara sighed.
“We’ll
think of something.” I said.
It was a long night. As the morning hours came, Samara and I
made our way down to the warehouse with all our things. Devari had readied a
carriage out of the bay doors. It would take Samara and I out of the city and
to Iran.
“I’m
gonna miss both of you so much.” He said. So much sadness was in his eyes. I
didn’t want to leave him but I had to.
“I
hate this…” I said.
“I
do to.” Devari said, leaning in to kiss me. It was our last moment of intimacy
together before the carriage was off.
“Devari…”
Mukir said, our kiss coming to an abrupt end.
King’s Guardsmen came through the bay doors, Sir Socoshian
standing behind the wall of men. This was the last thing I was expecting to
see, the last thing any of us standing here were expecting! Sir Socoshian
looked at me with a slight smirk before, walking straight up to Devari.
“I’m
going to give you one last chance to save your brothel… Here’s the proposition.
You can sign all your rights over to me, your profit having to go through me,
your slaves mine, everything you do having to go through me… You can pay me off
right now… or trade me something you value as much as this brothel….” He said.
Slowly Devari’s eyes drifted to me, so much worry in his
eyes. Sir Socoshian slowly turned to me as well.
“My
you are gorgeous… You were getting ready to ship these two escorts out? Which
one do you want me to have?” Sir Socoshian asked.
“NEITHER!”
Devari snapped. The Guardsmen grew tense with the boy’s explosion.
“You
have to pick…” Sir Socoshian persisted, a sick smile on his face.
“I
pick,” Devari said, pulling a revolver out of his trench coat, “Your DOOM!”
“Devari,
no!” I said, getting out of the carriage. I gently pushed the gun down,
“Killing him, will cause economic collapse of grand magnitude and you know
this!”
“I
have nothing left to LOSE!” Devari cried, shaking his head. The boy was
wrecked.
“Believe
it or not, you do… Do you trust me?” I asked. Devari already knew what I was
about to do.
“No…
no, you’re not about to…”
“Look, you have hundreds of lives to look out for here! Mine isn’t that important… I’ll survive, you can count on it…” I said, before turning to my sister, “Jon quantoy ir a suede a il canyons de Iran. Once quira, polara este tute semout in lou gulley. Atun, taqo sabrene istan basta fe agetes layudica! Comprende?”
“Look, you have hundreds of lives to look out for here! Mine isn’t that important… I’ll survive, you can count on it…” I said, before turning to my sister, “Jon quantoy ir a suede a il canyons de Iran. Once quira, polara este tute semout in lou gulley. Atun, taqo sabrene istan basta fe agetes layudica! Comprende?”
“Jes…
pero.” She nodded.
“Nadan
taqui sabe mi, atute? Istoyete in asin tutuen qan ashit!” I reassured before
turning to Sir Socoshian, “You promise the well being of this brothel if I come
with you, that this place will stand independent and free to it’s own economic
and governing will?”
“My
word’s golden…” Sir Socoshian smiled sheepishly.
“Then
I’ll go with you.” I said.
“You
don’t have to do this…” Devari pleaded, “Please, don’t do this!”
“We
don’t have too many poisons to pick from.” I sighed, the King’s Guard making a
detail of guards around me. I was escorted out of the brothel, to Sir Socoshian’s
carriage. The whole while, Sir Socoshian looked at me as though he had snagged
the biggest tigerfish in the greatest lake.
“You
were right under my nose and I couldn’t see you.” Sir Socoshian smiled, “Nice
to see you’re alive and well… Kijus…” A thin smile spread across my face.
“I
can’t say the same for you…” I responded.
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