Bargain With the Beast (5 page)

“
But…” Tobias shook his
head. “How can the ground above be stable if this is all down
here?”

“
It’s stable. This is the
largest of all the caverns. Most are smaller and snake their way
around. Look there.” He pointed to the body of water that rushed
through the cavern on the far side of the bazaar. Tobias noticed a
number of children were on the water’s edge with what looked like
water guns. A group of women stood off to the side with guns of
their own. A water fight in the making? Tobias gaped at the
normalcy of it all. “That is a spring,” the Beast said. “It feeds
straight into the sea.”

“
But…we’re below sea
level.”

“
No,” the Beast said.
“Think about it. These tunnel systems run from the cliffs and all
the way around. We’re slightly above sea level. That’s our main
water source. It comes from high in the hills and is the cleanest
drinking water you’ll ever have.”

“
Drinking water?” Tobias
asked, and then he realized exactly what was looking him smack,
bang in the face, and the enormity of it made him gape. He turned
and locked eyes with the Beast. “You all
live
down here?”

The Beast nodded, a slight smile
playing around his lips.

“
But why?” Tobias asked.
“Why would you do that?”

“
We have always done
so.”

“
Always? I don’t
understand.”

The Beast waved a hand to the right.
“Come.”

He set off and Tobias followed behind
him, eyes darting everywhere, but mostly, if he was honest with
himself, down below. All those people…hundreds of them…hidden away
in the space around the township proper.

It made no sense!

It was like something out of a
book.

Like something out of a
fairy tale.

He stumbled a little at that thought,
because finally he understood what he was feeling. This whole
episode had an air of complete unreality to it. The abduction, the
Beast, this hidden town… If Tobias didn’t know better, he’d swear
that he was in the grips of a fevered dream.

“
Careful,” the Beast said,
and he reached out to steady Tobias.

Tobias felt a shiver snake down his
side as the Beast touched him. His long fingers wrapped all the way
around Tobias’ upper-arm, which was no mean feat, as Tobias’
muscles were substantial.

A moment later the Beast
released him, but the shivery feeling remained. Tobias was not so
inexperienced that he didn’t know what it meant, and he cursed
himself inwardly.
Stockholm
syndrome
, his mind screamed again. Only,
Tobias feared it was actually something else entirely.

The walkway went on for what seemed
like a very long time, but they didn’t follow it. After just a few
more steps the Beast turned into one of the tunnels that branched
off from it. It was maybe a few meters wide, and at least as high.
More lights decorated the walls, and when he looked closely, Tobias
could see electrical wires feeding them.

“
You really live down
here,” he whispered.

The Beast nodded and continued on. “We
always have,” he said. “Our community keeps itself separate from
those above. It has been this way for many hundreds of years. We
live together, share resources, take mates from within our own
circle.”

“
Mates?”

“
Partners,” the Beast
said, and then he halted, fixing his yellow eyes on Tobias. The
next words he spoke came out slowly, almost as if he wanted to test
Tobias’ reaction. “Those whom we wish to either fuck or breed
with.”

Tobias gulped. There was
absolutely no doubt in his mind that the Beast wanted to
fuck
him
. He
could practically feel the interest rolling off his big frame…and
it made Tobias feel shivery all over again. In an effort to block
those feelings out he spoke quickly, “Is that why you all have
yellow eyes? Is it some sort of genetic defect caused by
interbreeding?”

The Beast smiled. “We do not
interbreed.”

“
But you said…”

“
I said we pick our
partners from our own circle. This here,” he waved a hand around,
“the place you see before you, is only a very small part of the
circle.”

Understanding dawned on
Tobias then and his mouth fell open. “There are
more
?”

“
Several hundred in this
country alone.”

“
You’re like…a cult or
something?”

The Beast shook his head,
as if amused by Tobias’ question. He started walking, leaving
Tobias no choice but to follow alongside. “Religion plays no part
here,” he said. “At least not
your
religions. We are a family for want of a better
description. Different, separate, and secret from the
humans.”

Like a fairy
tale.

That idea prodded Tobias again and he
clenched his fists in an effort to ignore it. The more and more the
Beast spoke the more Tobias felt like he was missing something
specific, something that would explain everything that was
happening down here.

A group of people that lived separate
to everyone else.

A group of people living in a cave
system…one of many across the country.

And then…their appearance, their odd
yellow eyes…

It all added up to something only
Tobias had no idea what, more than that, he had no idea how he fit
into it.

“
If you keep yourself
hidden, if you’re so secretive,” he asked slowly, “then why am I
here?”

“
As I said, Tobias, you
are a complication.” The Beast paused, because they were at the end
of the tunnel now, and it opened into another cavern. “Ah,” he
breathed. “So it begins.”

“
What—”

“
Look.”

Tobias shifted to the left and did
just that. A moment later and he saw what had made the Beast pause.
It was another male, and he was walking towards them. He was tall,
broad shouldered, tawny haired…and yellow eyed.

He smiled as he approached, but it was
a smile that made Tobias nervous.

“
Introduce me to the
outsider?” he said.

The Beast crossed his arms and flashed
the other male a grin. “Careful, Petrov.”

The man named Petrov laughed. “You
know I am teasing.”

“
Tease
carefully.”

“
I’ve never been very good
at careful teasing,” he said. “Perhaps you can let me take him to
my room and give him a proper welcome from our people. Look at
those eyes…” He shook his head and stepped towards Tobias. Tobias
had no idea what to do so simply held his ground. “I would like to
see those eyes looking up at me as he takes my cock into the back
of his throat.”

Tobias let out something that may have
been a shocked squeak. He looked from the Beast to Petrov,
wondering if he had misheard. But the Beast was still grinning,
shaking his head as he did so, meaning Tobias had not heard
wrong…this man wanted to fuck him!

“
He is not for
you.”

“
Who is he
for?”

The Beast said something in a language
that Tobias did not recognize. Whatever it was it made the male
sigh.

“
Ah. I see,” he said
before stepping aside and waving them past. “Enjoy, outsider,” he
added. “I can guarantee you will.”

The Beast said something else in that
strange language before carrying on. This time Tobias followed
immediately. Petrov watched him with those odd yellow eyes as he
passed, Tobias could actually feel them.

“
That man…” Tobias said
the moment they were out of earshot. “He wanted…”

“
He wanted you in his
bed,” the Beast said. “
Many
are going to want you in their bed. You are
exquisite, Tobias. More than that, you are different. Difference is
something we rarely see here. We embrace it.”

“
You’re not going
to—”

The Beast flashed him a look. “Let
him? Let them? Of course not. You’re safe. No one will take
anything from you. Unless, of course, you are willing.” He pointed
in the direction they had come. “Then by all means.”

Tobias shivered. The other male was
attractive, there was no denying that, but he had absolutely no
wish for a quick tumble with him. Tobias simply wasn’t built that
way. At least that was what he had always assumed… “No.”

“
That’s what I thought,”
the Beast said. “Your desire is not for him.”

“
My desire is to go
home.”

The Beast laughed. “That is not the
only thing you desire, Tobias.”

The way he said the words…the
inflection…Tobias knew then that the Beast was as aware as he. Each
knew that the other was attracted to him, and both were dancing
around the subject.

And dance we will, Tobias
thought, because he could see nothing else being possible, if
anything the whole thing was completely
impossible
. Curiosity aside, he
wanted to go home. He wanted to forget about being abducted, forget
about the odd yellow-eyed people that lived around the valley,
forget about the whole fucking experience. He did
not
want to have to
consider or deal with the weird feelings the Beast seemed to spark
in him, or find out what was going to happen next.

He looked around the cavern, suddenly
wondering why he was faithfully trotting beside the Beast. Surely
he should be trying to make an escape? Surely he should be looking
for a way out?

The Beast came to a halt. “Are you
okay, Tobias?”

“
I’m…” Tobias paused,
unsure what to say. “I’m a little weirded out.”

The Beast sighed. “That makes sense.
From your perspective I can appreciate how odd this must be for
you.”

“
Odd?” Tobias wanted to
laugh. “What is this place really?” he asked. “Why is it here? Who
are you people?”

The Beast tilted his head,
considering. “It’s my world,” he finally said. “It always has been.
And as to
who
we
are?” He shook his head. “I don’t think you’re quite ready for that
yet.”

Never had Tobias so longed
for his apartment on the cliff. Never had he so wanted to turn his
key in the door and step into the place he had lovingly crafted
into his home. But…he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat…they
were below
him
.
Even if he was tucked up in his building, he would be able to look
down and know they were there. How was he supposed to deal with
that knowledge? What was he supposed to do with it?

“
I’ve lived here my whole
life,” he said after a moment. “I’ve never known about you. No one
does, do they? How can that be? How can no one know you’re hidden
away? That you surround us?”

“
So we’re here already,”
the Beast said, and then to Tobias’ surprise he reached out and
placed a hand on each of Tobias’s shoulders. The pressure was both
worrying and comforting. Tobias was torn between trying to shrug
him off and letting him be. Once again he could smell that oddly
appealing scent. Worse, he could feel the heat coming off the
Beast’s big body.

He shifted and frowned, trying to work
out what to do. In the end, it didn’t matter, because the next
words the Beast spoke made Tobias’ freeze with a combination of
puzzlement and worry.

“
Once a person comes
here,” he said softly, “they do not leave until full turning. Only
then can we be assured they will remain silent, and that they will
return.”

“
Turning
?” Tobias asked. “What are
you talking about?”

“
You will see.” The Beast
frowned and squeezed his shoulders. “There is no choice about that
anymore. It was decided the moment Karl brought you
here.”

Tobias’ stomach clenched again. His
heart started to pound. Suddenly it all began to make sense. The
fact that the Beast had allowed him to see everything? The fact
that he was telling him things that were surely meant to be
secret?

Turning…

They were going to do something to
him. That much was obvious now, and Tobias was sure it wasn’t
anything that he wanted to happen.

“
I want out,” he said,
stepping back. “And I want out now.”

“
Tobias,” the Beast
dropped his hands before letting out a small sigh of
disappointment. “You are clearly not understanding me. You have
seen it all. You have had nearly all your questions answered. And
that means only one thing.”

“
I…”

“
You will not be leaving,”
he said. “Not for quite some time.”

Chapter Six

With those words ringing in his ears,
Tobias reacted in the exact way he had wanted to the moment he’d
woken up manacled to the bed. It was a reaction based on
part-horror, part-fear, and part-pure instinct.

Regardless, he responded to
it.