At His Throat, a Promise (47 page)

At the end of the almost interminably long hallway, Veerson opened a door and allowed the guards to enter first, slaves in tow.

Veerson followed and closed the door behind him.

They were in a rather large office. The wall behind the desk was lined with certificates and degrees, and Ellis wondered just what sort of education it took to become so impressive. Surely Veerson would have been a slave himself, as his job certainly counted as a professional one. The guards, on the other hand, as members of the working class, had certainly not been slaves.

Which explained their disdain for Ellis and the other slaves, not to mention the lewd way they were staring at all of them. Michaela"s guard was petting her strawberry blonde hair as she closed her eyes and held back a shudder. Maya was glaring at him with the scant power she held at her disposal, but the guard didn"t notice or didn"t care.

“You may kneel if it is more comfortable,” Veerson said as he took a seat behind his desk.

Only Ellis did. After a long moment, Caleb knelt as well, looking confused.

“As you know, you will now be processed. Girls, your parents are waiting, so you will go first.” Veerson sat back in his chair and sighed. “Ellis, Caleb… Mitchell opted not to provide for you.” Ellis"s heart froze over and Caleb whimpered.

“As you know, this means you are now wards of Spire until another master claims you. Caleb, I"m certain you will not have any difficulties. Ellis, this is the second master you"ve had who has passed away during your servitude, is it not?” 406

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Ellis nodded. He wondered if it looked like he was killing them. The thought almost made him break out into hysterical laughter, but he contained himself. He had to be strong or Caleb would suffer.

“Spirans may not be a superstitious lot, but you might be hard-pressed to find another master. In any event, the Facility will take care of you in the meantime.”

Someone snorted, and from the eyes on him, Ellis suspected it had been him. He stared at Veerson, waiting for instructions.

“Guards, leave the girls and take the boys to Holding One.” Ellis nodded at Maya and Michaela on his way out. They stared at him with wide eyes, their hands finding each other"s instinctively. Michaela shook her head at him, almost an apology.

Down the long hallway they went once more until they entered a small waiting room. There were shackles on about half of the chairs, but thankfully the guards seemed to feel they weren"t threats and the bonds on their wrists were sufficient.

It wasn"t very long before Caleb was called back. He followed his guard, looking back at Ellis with frantic eyes.

“He"ll be eaten alive,” Ellis"s guard said casually.

“Not with me there,” Ellis vowed, narrowing his eyes at the seat in front of him.

The guard laughed, not unkindly. “I think you"ll be in just as much trouble. You know, I work inside, too. Maybe we could work out an arrangement. I"ll keep the others off you and your friend, and all you need to do is make sure I"m satisfied.” Ellis glanced over at the guard. He wasn"t an unattractive man.

A gold wedding band glinted on his ring finger, and Ellis wondered what his wife would think. Or husband, since he was propositioning Ellis, clearly a male.

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Having used his body to bargain in the past, Ellis wasn"t entirely opposed to the idea. However, he suspected that this guard didn"t really work inside. He was just trying to get a free blow job while he waited and had no intention of helping Ellis.

“No, thanks,” Ellis said without inflection.

When Ellis was called into the room, the guard"s grip on his arm was especially punishing, and it wasn"t Ellis"s clumsiness that had him slamming into the wall three times on the way back to Veerson. Caleb was already gone by the time he got there, and Ellis"s guard was dismissed.

Being processed was exactly how Ellis remembered it.

Hundreds of questions, the answers to most of which Veerson surely already knew. Embarrassing questions about what he and Master had done together. Personal questions about his habits, his preferences, his dreams, even. It was gruelling, but by the time it was finally over, a sense of peace had settled over Ellis, making the last few questions seem very easy to answer.

He was on his own again. It was a little frightening, he could admit that. But without the overbearing pressure of Master and without the looming threat of punishment, the wool lifted a little from his eyes, and he could see that he had been in real danger of losing himself. Another two and half years would have been irreparably damaging.

Part of him still wished Master were there to take away his need to think for himself.

“You"ll be placed in general population right away, of course.

Also, be prepared to be brought in for questioning regarding Mitchell"s death. You were the only one with him last night, so the police might have questions for you. I wouldn"t worry about it too much, though. It appears to have been natural causes.” 408

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

He had to wonder what was natural about a perfectly healthy man in his thirties dying in his sleep, but as long as it meant they didn"t think he had done anything, he didn"t care.

Veerson himself walked Ellis back to another holding room, where Caleb was sitting stiffly between two guards, each at least twice his size. His face lit up when he saw Ellis, who knew that Caleb was counting on him for protection inside the Facility, but he, himself, wasn"t exactly in a physical condition to be anyone"s protector.

It wouldn"t stop him from trying.

This was the point where, the last time his master had died, he"d been sent into the world without a coin to his name and told that he had a week before he was detained. Now there would be no such leniency.

The walk from the smaller building to the prison-like one was long and nerve-wracking. His bare feet were swollen from the sharp gravel, and his entire body was stiff and aching from the beating he"d gotten the day before. He"d managed to put it out of his mind, but now, especially with new bruises from his overzealous guard added to the lot, he had no choice but to realise how very vulnerable he was.

Once inside the building, they were dropped unceremoniously in the common area. The guards paused only to cut their bonds, and the rush of blood to his fingertips made him bite his lip in pain.

The room was large and open with many steel benches and tables. Slaves were everywhere, all in different stages of dress, but nearly all wearing white—or what were once white—shifts. A few were wearing grey and red Facility garb in the shape of slave sheaths. Ellis wondered if those were the ones who were taken from their beds naked.

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Caleb stepped up to Ellis and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his head on his chest. He was shaking.

“Hey, it"s okay,” Ellis said, rubbing his hands up and down the slender, somewhat bony back. “Remember what Veerson said—

you"ll be with a new master in no time.”

“But I won"t be with you anymore.”

Considering that they had only known each other a few days, Ellis didn"t think that Caleb would be very affected by that fact, but it appeared he was. “Maybe not, but you"ll be with a new master and maybe some new slaves, too.”

Caleb didn"t let go of him the entire time they were in the common area. No one paid much attention to them, except to cast interested—or
very
interested—glances. When it came time for dinner, Ellis found he was unable to eat much. His stomach was twisted over, maybe even around his heart, for it ached so. He hoped that feeling would go away soon. He very much wanted to eat, especially the chocolate pudding the Facility offered for dessert. It had been a very long time since he"d had any sort of sweets.

After dinner were the showers. They were herded into a large space without stalls, the steam so thick Ellis could only see Caleb by the colour of his hair. They stayed close together, and Ellis only had to ward off one slave who tried to grab Caleb"s cock, offering to clean it for him. Luckily, the slave seemed more interested in making Caleb uncomfortable than actually starting something.

A guard ushered them into a small cell-like room with grey walls and bars on the window. There was a large hole in the door, probably for food to slide through, and two sets of bunk beds. Two hardened-looking slaves had claimed the bottom beds on both, so Ellis wearily climbed onto the top one and indicated for Caleb to 410

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

do the same.

Both the other slaves laughed because Ellis and Caleb"s privates were exposed by having to climb up the narrow ladder, but they didn"t say anything else.

Caleb watched Ellis with wide, uncertain eyes, and Ellis wished he could reassure the other boy somehow. It was easy to forget, knowing that Caleb was a slave already, just how young the boy was. To be not even fourteen and to already have had one master die? To have been in the Facility twice? Ellis thought Caleb was probably coping much better than he would have, if it had been him instead.

Ellis tried to smile reassuringly, but it felt false, even to him, and he could tell Caleb got no comfort from it. Finally he just closed his eyes, trying not to hear the residual sounds of laughter and shouting echoing off the walls. He wondered in passing just how damaged he"d be when—
if
—another master came to claim him.

* * *

Watching after Caleb was like a full-time job. The boy was a born flirt, which became dangerous when he turned on his charms to the older slaves.

There were a few female slaves at the Facility, but they kept to themselves and the male slaves didn"t bother them with a few 411

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

notable exceptions. There were obviously couples within the Facility, and most of these couples—the ones that appeared to be exclusive, anyway—were between the male and female slaves. The male slaves were, for the most part, fairly promiscuous. Ellis couldn"t even let Caleb go to the bathroom by himself without fear of the smaller boy getting attacked.

It was going to be an exhausting sentence. Half of Ellis hoped Caleb would be picked up right away so he wouldn"t have to look after him any longer, but the other half wanted Caleb to stay with him, no matter how selfish that was, because Ellis didn"t want to be alone.

They were in the middle of dinner when a guard came up and grabbed Caleb"s arm and then Ellis"s. They both went without protestation, all too aware of what would happen if they put up a fight.

Ellis was getting pretty sick of being dragged around all the time. This guard wasn"t even that much bigger than Ellis was. He just thought he was. They were pushed through a door that was closed behind them, locking Ellis and Caleb into a room not unlike their cell but with one large bed instead of two bunk beds.

“This is where they took me when Master came to use me for the first time,” Caleb said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“How long did you wait?” Ellis asked, kneeling by the foot of the bed. If a master was coming, he wanted to make a good impression. He almost told Caleb to join him, but the boy looked sweetly innocent perched on the bed; any master would appreciate it.

“Not long at all.”

Giving credence to his words, the door opened. Ellis tried to calm his raging heart, eyes on the floor.

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Polished boots. Straight, expensive trousers. Ellis"s blood pounded. Strong, thick thighs. A leather belt. Ellis let him hope for just a moment, just
one
.

“Ellis, you"re all kinds of fucked up!”

Ellis"s lower lids filled with tears. This was what came from hope. Only disappointment. He looked up.

“Fen,” he breathed. Of all the people it could have been, Fen was a surprise.

“Hey, kid. Looks like you got yourself into a spot of trouble.

And who"s your friend?” Fen gave an appreciative glance to Caleb, who smiled shakily and fell—only a little belatedly—to his knees.

“This is Caleb. He came right after you left. What… what are you doing here?”

Fen shifted his weight, one hip jutting forward. “Stand up, I haven"t been free
that
long.”

Ellis and Caleb got to their feet, Caleb reaching out for Ellis"s hand.

“Anyway, I"m here to get some slaves. I have written permission from a very prominent slave owner, who declared me capable of owning my own. The first thing I did was come here for you two.”

“And they"re just going to let you take us?” It seemed too good to be true, and Ellis had too much experience with things of that nature.

“They have to. I put in a claim as soon as I heard about Jude kicking it. It took a day to get the permission, but as soon as I sign on the dotted line, you"re mine.”

* * *

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

And sign he did. Ellis watched with detached gratitude as Fen became his new owner. Caleb was barely able to contain himself, he was so excited. He kept asking Ellis questions about Fen, and Ellis realised how little he really knew about the former slave. He was strangely beautiful—what was once feminine in a dress-like sheath was now brutally androgynous. Fen had a closely trimmed beard, dark blond like his hair, which was neatly trimmed and short. His clothing fit him well; freedom suited him.

Ellis suspected he wouldn"t look half as put-together when his own time came. He"d probably fall apart. He enjoyed servitude. He might not always enjoy his masters, but he liked to serve.

There was no time to think about that. Not when Veerson was giving Ellis a tiny half-smile and Fen was walking imperially from the room. Ellis and Caleb followed on his heels, making the last walk down the overlong hallway of the professional building.