Chained (Brides of the Kindred) (34 page)

Chapter Twenty-nine

Hargous, the asteroid where the implant
house was located, was the largest one of the cluster that made up the Dragon’s
Mouth. Consequently, the junket docked there first. Apparently implants were
even more popular than body modifications, though Maggie was sure you couldn’t
tell it from watching some of the slaves on the large asteroid. She saw plenty
of female slaves with three, four, and even more breasts. One even had a double
row of breasts, almost like the utters of a cow.

But it wasn’t just breasts—some of the
women had been modified to look almost like animals. Maggie saw one with
pointed ears like a cat and a long swishing tail to match. Her eyes were huge
too and she had a long set of whiskers that twitched as she sniffed the air.
Honestly, Maggie wasn’t sure which kind of body modification was the worst—each
slave she saw seemed more bizarrely modified than the next. And all of them
shuffled along behind their masters, passing silently through the crowded
streets.

Of course, maybe the streets just looked
crowded because they were all located underground. Maggie hadn’t wanted to go
at first when they disembarked from the large junket. The covered, atmosphere-sealed
walkway that extended from the big ship had led straight down into what looked
like a black mining pit. Maggie—who had been claustrophobic since she was
little and her big brother had locked her in a closet—hadn’t liked the look of
it at all.

Finally Kor had coaxed her down, promising
to keep an arm around her the entire time, but she still had a horrible, tight
feeling in the pit of her stomach as they walked through the dimly lit tunnels
carved into the solid rock of the huge asteroid.

Or maybe that tight
feeling is unfinished business,
whispered
a little voice in her head.
Maybe it’s because you’re starting to care for
him and you can’t admit it.

Maybe the voice was right, Maggie
acknowledged miserably. She knew it was stupid to let herself fall for the big warrior,
but she couldn’t seem to help it. She tried to keep Donald in mind and the
promise she had made to him, but her fiancé just seemed so far away…so distant
and unreal. And Kor was right here beside her—warm and caring, watching over
her.

Maggie loved the sensation of being so
thoroughly guarded. The hard wall of muscle that was Kor’s chest was at her back,
shielding her from harm. His hand was on her shoulder, guiding her through the
maze of corridors and his intense eyes watched her every step lest she trip in
her high black boots. He was there for her—present and protective in a way she
could never remember Donald—who was constantly preoccupied with his work— ever
being.

Watch it, Maggie!
You’re getting in pretty deep here.
The
little voice in her head was absolutely right but somehow Maggie just couldn’t
help herself…her emotions were overcoming her good sense.

It’s just the
implant,
she told herself desperately. Except, she
wasn’t exactly sure of that anymore. It was true the implant made her crave Kor’s
touch but could it really make her fall in love with him? Could it really—

“Well, here we are. The House of
Denethor.”

Kor’s deep voice behind her snapped Maggie
out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw a discretely lit sign that advertised
“Implants for the Discriminating Gentlemale.”

“Looks like a reputable place, at least,” Kor
muttered, staring at the sign. “Better than those hack and slash implant places
we passed on the way in.”

“I suppose so.” Maggie nodded. Honestly,
she’d been too busy looking at the bizarrely modified slaves and thinking about
her increasingly complicated feelings to take notice of the different shops
they’d passed.

“Well, let’s go.” Kor held open the door
for her and they stepped inside the small, dimly lit shop.

“Yes?” A little, wrinkled gnome of a man
who was probably shorter than Maggie was sitting on a high stool at a work station
at the back of the shop. He had dark blue skin and a shock of bright pink hair
like a swirl of cotton candy. Other than his skin and hair color, though,
Maggie thought he looked remarkably human.

The shop itself appeared to be completely
bare except for a few glass or crystal cases set up around the perimeter which
housed small, blinking jewels attached to long, thin, trailing feathers. “Can I
help you?” the little man asked, frowning.

“Yes.” Kor stepped forward, leading Maggie
by the hand. “Are you Hobbs?”

“I am.” The little man frowned. “State
your business, please.”

Kor gestured at Maggie. “I need an implant
removed.”

“From her?” The grizzled little man
frowned down at Maggie from his perch behind the work station. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is
wrong
—I want it removed
and I believe it originated here.” Kor frowned impatiently. “Can you take it
out?”

“Let me have a look at it. Come closer,
youngling.” The little old man beckoned to her and Maggie stepped forward. She
was wearing her leather slave girl outfit again and she was even more aware
than usual that her nipples and pussy were on display. The little old man
didn’t seem to even notice her near nakedness, however—he focused solely on her
naval where the ruby implant blinked slowly.

“Well?” Kor asked after a long moment. “Is
it one of yours?”

“Yes indeed. The Denari Eroticus—our top
of the line model,” the little man muttered. “In fact, this one looks a lot
like a model I shipped off to the Yonnie system—Yonnie Six, I believe it was.”

“That’s it, then,” Kor said, nodding.
“That’s where she was implanted.”

“And the implantation seems to have taken
hold well,” the little man muttered, continuing to stare at Maggie’s belly
button. “The host is healthy. Let me just…” He hopped down from his perch and came
over to them, reaching out a hand to Maggie.

Only his hand wasn’t just a hand, she saw
with sudden horror. The fingers and thumb were hideously elongated and tapered
to long, thin filaments at the end. They waved like incredibly thin needles as
he moved his fingers and they were getting closer and closer to her unprotected
midriff.

“Ugh!” she exclaimed and took a step back
before he could touch her.

“Hold still, girl—hold still,” the little
man said testily. “Haven’t you ever seen finger mods before?”

“No.” Maggie shook her head. “And I don’t
want to, either. Those look
sharp.”

The little man blew out a breath in
frustration. “They
are
sharp, my girl. So sharp you won’t even feel
them. I had them grown especially so that I could work at nano-level. Now hold
still—this won’t hurt a bit.”

Maggie bit her lip and forced herself to
stand still as those long, thin needle fingers came at her again. As they got
closer and closer, she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch.

“I warn you,” Kor growled at the man. “If
you hurt her—”

“She won’t feel a thing. Now if I can
just…there. There we are.”

Maggie opened her eyes and saw to her
surprise that the needle fingers were penetrating her skin, poking into the
flesh of her abdomen all around the implant. Just as the man had said, it
didn’t hurt a bit. But it was
very
disconcerting to watch. She closed
her eyes again and reached for Kor’s hand.

“It’s all right, blondie,” he murmured,
squeezing her fingers reassuringly. “I’ve got you.”

“Ah yes, here it is. Well everything appears
to be in order,” Maggie heard the little man say. “I can find nothing wrong—the
organism is well seated within its host and the biological and mechanical
components are synchronized and working together seamlessly. So what seems to
be the problem?”

“The problem,” Kor said, sounding
dangerously impatient and pissed off. “Is that we want the fucking thing
out.
Now can you do it or not?”

“Do it?” The little man stepped away and
Maggie opened her eyes in time to see his long, thin fingers sliding out of
her. They didn’t leave so much as a pinprick or a single drop of blood.

“Yes,” Kor growled. “Can…you…take…it…
out?”

“Of
course
, I can’t do it,” the
little man said indignantly. “Didn’t you hear me? The implant is locked within
the host and it seems to be working beautifully. How could I possibly remove
such perfection? It would be like spoiling a perfect work of art.”

“Fuck art,” Kor stepped closer, glaring
down at the little man. “Listen, you son of a bitch, this implant was put into
my female without her knowledge or consent. Since then it has caused her
unlimited problems and humiliation—it’s making her life fucking
miserable.
So
I don’t care how ‘beautiful’ you think your damn implant is, I want it out of
her
now!”

The last word was a full throated roar and
Maggie saw his eyes begin to glow red in warning. Clearly he was just one step
away from frying Hobbs the implant gnome where he stood.

“Kor…” she said, putting a hand on his arm
quickly. “Please don’t—please!”

“Sorry.” He put a hand to his eyes briefly
and took a deep breath. “It just makes me so fucking
angry.
After
everything you’ve gone through…”

“So she’s not your slave at all?” the
little man interrupted.

“No,” Kor said shortly. His eyes were
still glowing but a little less brightly now. Maggie breathed a sigh of relief,
glad disaster had been averted.

“I was taken and implanted by a really
terrible woman,” she told Hobbs helpfully. “I never wanted this and I’m not a
slave, although she tried to sell me as one. I’m just a girl from Earth who
wants to go home but I
can’t
. Not with this thing in me.” She gestured
at the blinking ruby implant. “Please, can’t you help?”

“Hmm, well…” The little gnome man nodded.
“Yes, that
does
put a different spin on things. Forgive me.” He bowed
stiffly to Kor. “I had no idea the female in question was your beloved.”

“Well, she is,” Kor said, not bothering to
correct him. “And I care for her happiness deeply. No matter how beautifully
your implant has taken root, it is making her life miserable. It
has
to
come out.”

“I see. Well, there’s the problem.” The
little man nodded thoughtfully.

“
What
problem?” Kor asked flatly.

“Well, as you say, the implant has ‘taken
root’—literally, I’m afraid. Come here, let me show you.” He led them to one of
the clear crystal cases that held a blinking jewel attached to many long thin
feather-like filaments. “This is a model of the same kind that is living inside
you,” he told Maggie. “The jewel is the mechanical part of the implant. But see
these?” He pointed to the feather things. “They are the biological part—the
creature’s tentacles.”

“Really?” Maggie felt sick when she
considered that those long, thin feathery things might be inside her.
“Where…where are they?” she made herself ask.

“Oh, why,
everywhere.”
The little
man moved his hands expressively. “Wrapped around your heart, your lungs, your
liver…all your internal organs basically. Oh, and they’ve completely
infiltrated your spinal chord and nervous system with many special tendrils
reaching into your genital area.”

“Oh my God!” Maggie could scarcely believe
it. Of course, Kor had told her something similar when he’d warned only the
maker of the implant could take it out but to hear the “expert” tell her that
she was completely infiltrated by another organism—an alien parasite—was horrifying.
She felt her stomach flutter sickly and wondered if she was going to throw up.
Feels
like I swallowed a bunch of feathers,
she thought.
Oh wait, basically I
did.
A jagged little laugh that sounded more like a sob escaped her.

“Maggie?” Kor had her by the shoulders and
was looking at her anxiously. “Maggie, are you all right?”

“No.” Maggie felt another sob trying to
escape and swallowed it back down grimly. “No, apparently I’m not because I’m
host to a freaking
alien
that’s been growing inside me for
months.
It’ll
probably come bursting out of my sternum at any minute—”

“Don’t be foolish,” the little man said
sternly. “Nothing of the kind is going to happen. My implants are perfectly
well suited for life inside their hosts. There’s no reason any of them would
dislodge in that way.”

His stern, no-nonsense tone made Maggie
feel marginally better. She took a deep breath.

“But…what you’re saying is that it’s all
over me. That it’s in me for good and there’s no getting rid of it, right?”

“I didn’t say that
either
. Such an
annoying female—are you certain you want the implant removed?” The little man
looked at Kor.

“Very
fucking certain,” Kor
growled. “And I think she has a right to be upset—she’s been implanted with a
biomechanical creature and it sounds like it can’t come out.”

“Oh, but it
can
come out.” The
little man nodded vigorously. “Indeed, it can.”