Of Bonds Forged Ch. 05

"And, if Delvine can't be fixed, what then?" he asked as they began to walk again

"What value does she have to you?"

"I seek to expand my reach and I'd hoped she would help me with that."

"Whether she wants to or not."

"Basically that, he agreed, "but it was going to be profitable for her. I had hoped to convince her of the value of helping me. If she cannot be restored as she needs to be able to help me I am not whole."

"I disagree," Vale asserted firmly, "Delvine had agreed to nothing and did nothing to further your goals which leaves you exactly as you were before anything happened to upset your plans."

"A mage might be very useful in helping me with those plans."

"A mage or mages might, she agreed, "but assistance would be costly."

He patted his necklace again. "I guessed. Here we are." He took the doors on his left and opened them. "Don't give me a second thought girls," he said with a lecherous chuckle. "You just stay comfortable." Following behind him, Vale's senses were assailed at once. She almost immediately recognized the women from the image left in the mind of the man she first encountered, all piled together with others languidly caressing one another, limbs wrapped together in tangles that looked like they would never come unbound again. The nipples of every last one were hard and each touch of another brought sighs and moans of constant arousal.

The room was filled with the heady mix of sweat, dried and not, and sex that stung her nostrils. And the magic. She could see the haze of it and she could feel it on her skin. Vale could see it waft through the air as steam did from a hot meal and she could trace it to the minds of each where it would nestle in the center of their minds. Their minds had been so thoroughly subsumed for so long now that they were feeding on one another for reward as much as the talisman. Several tracked it with their gaze. They didn't care who controlled it, they only cared about being controlled and perpetuating the state they found themselves in.

Solos sat in the chair in front of her and it creaked slightly under the weight of him and he spread his arms to encompass the room. "Here they are. Here's every woman that the man that called himself Kel came in with and then some. As you can see, no one has harmed a matted hair on their sweaty, well-fucked heads."

"I need her what she knows to help me disrupt my competitors sufficiently to get my foot in the door, turn them against one another, then take over before so much damage is done their operations are worthless. So, what I hear you saying is that, if I give you this, and the women, you will help me do that"

"I dare say mages are good at disruption of all kinds. Assuming that Delvine cannot be helped, that is what I'm saying."

"Don't worry, she can't, and I don't need a mage to tell me that. Tell me, have you ever been hunting? I mean, one-on-one." His voice carried a quiver of excitement, as if part of him was there and was savoring that moment. "I mean, where you are in it's environment, the place where it lives, and breathes, and kills?"

Her green eyes gave up her amusement. "I'm afraid small game trapping is the limit of my skill without my other skills."

"Oh, young lady, you are missing a thrill, and, if things work out, perhaps I'll take you. There's nothing like that feeling. You both know it can kill you. It wants to. It has no fear because it knows every bit of ground. Every tree. Every ditch and how deep it goes. You have to keep sight of it because if you don't, the next time you know where it is, it's on top of you opening your guts. But if you're just close enough at just the right moment, you see it.

There' s a light in the eyes of animals that's not really the light of life. It's something much more complex. It's...cunning. They're planning their attack or their counter. That's not in her eyes anymore, so let's not pretend that it's something you can bring back. If you're capable of that you're really quite the mage. So, let's talk about what you can do for me."

His brows went up when he saw the guard that he dispatched return with a woman in front of him. She struggled somewhat in his grip until he spun her halfway around and gripped the back of her neck. Arm locked now, he led her three steps in before pushing her so that she stumbled in several more. Vale took note of her. Tall and reed thin, but, for this one, it looked more like her natural state. Her hair was a deep red and her eyes a light brown that made for just enough contrast to make one look twice.

She looked around and her eyes registered recognition and confusion before turning back to Solos after he asked her name. "What? What difference does it make?"

"None, aside from the fact that I asked you what it was. So what is it?"

Before she could answer, one of the women who was kissing down the belly of Rianna making her way to the pink feast between her legs. "Tria, Lord. She told us her name was Tria." The woman caught the musk of the feast she sought. She quivered. The hot breath it drove from her caused Rianna's eyelids to flutter as another soft moan escaped her. The woman groaned at the sound and dove in to dine.

Tria looked back and her eyes couldn't hide her anger at the betrayal. Then there was confusion that she turned on Solos. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing, really, Tria. I just made her a lot more agreeable. She seems to like doing what she's told now. Well", he conceded, "I didn't make her more agreeable so much as this did, but it's a useful tool. Look at her though. She's fine. She likes it now. Isn't this the better way, Tria?"

Vale knew what was coming next and with that knowledge came a choice. She didn't know enough about this magic to know if it could truly be undone. Delvine was a lost cause, of that she was sure, but that these others had awareness was a good sign. Even so, it was a risk that they would never be whole. Part of Vale screamed from within, demanding that she help; to not just stand there and watch another person get taken.

He would know. He would feel it if Vale tried to be a presence in Trina's mind to help her fight, and that would trigger a response that she might not anticipate. She knew of and had dealt with people like him enough to suspect why she was right here, right now. It was for the display of power and if she escalated the situation now it would spiral out of control and endanger others. He wanted to show her that he commanded the magic better than his predecessor and he was not to be underestimated. She had to keep it between them. And there was still a decent chance that he simply wanted a deal. If so, Vale could secure her freedom anyway.

She clenched her jaw tightly and began to build her defenses while, for the moment, surrendering to the inevitable that was unfolding before her.

"You're going to be a slave. You're going to get moved wherever I move you and sold wherever you get sold. And, wherever you end up, whatever will happen to you will happen. Won't it be better if you like it? It'll be better for you if you like it. Vale saw and felt the push that came with, "Don't be afraid, Tria."

"You've been afraid for a long time. (push) Since you got here. (push) Since before you got here. It takes so much energy. (push) It's so exhausting. It just makes you tired and it doesn't change anything that happens. (push) You don't want to be afraid anymore." (push)

Vale studied the magic with the intensity of an initiate. He drove the magic with some ability to modulate it. It drove into her, beating against the doors or her mind, slithering through the cracks of fatigue and fear as it melted through him as well.

As the magic slipped in, Tria's muscles relaxed, releasing the tension she felt. She took a deep, full breath and it made her feel safe, as though she were back in her old bed and her old life. Each of his thoughts pushed through those widening cracks.

"You aren't afraid, Tria. You aren't afraid because there's nothing to be afraid of anymore. There's no reason to be afraid of being a slave. It's going to happen. Nothing can stop it, so being afraid of it is such a waste of time. Of energy. Of life. You were prey and you were caught. I caught you. You are not afraid. You accept it."

She stood there now, her bare feet rooted to the floor, but the rest of her seemingly so loose that she swayed in an unseen breeze.

He pushed harder. "You accept it."

"I accept it."

"That's good. That's right, Tria."

"I accept it."

"Very good. You're a good little animal now, yes you are. You are calm. It's so much better to be calm. Think of it. No more worries or struggling. More than calm. Many animals are calm, but for them, calm is just a break between bursts of rage. Tame animals are calm so they can be taught. They are quiet so they can listen to what their master wants. So they can listen to what their master wants to teach them. You're very quiet now, Tria? All I hear is your breathing. All you hear is your breathing. You're breathing and not thinking about anything and waiting to be taught what you need to know. Are you calm, Tria? All I can hear from you is your breathing, so you must be in a calm place waiting to be taught."

Vale saw the power moving from him to her. This was easy for him, as he had a powerful will, and he was offering her mind the only escape that she would get. Each breath that she exhaled and each beat of her heart, her mind slipped into the haze and Vale imagined she was grateful to do it.

Tria grinned, her eyes staring into the talisman.

Tame animals that are taught how to behave, so that their calm is just the break between excitement at doing what they're taught are domesticated. You can be that. You can be excited to behave and making your masters happy. That sounds wonderful doesn't it? Happy and excited at making the people who own you happy. Calm. Docile. Tamed. Domesticated."

"Your nipples are so hard, Tria. Vale could see his excitement at what was happening, and it wasn't just the heady rush of the magic flowing through him. It was the thought of conquering her and seeing it happen before his eyes. His cock was rock hard, bulging from under the confines of cloth and snaking down his thigh. You want to be domesticated. Be happy and excited for what you want to be."

"You want to be a domesticated animal for your master. No fears. No fatigue. No worries of escape that can never be. "You're very pretty, Tria, tall and pale and pretty. Being tamed and domesticated is going to be wonderful for you and you're looking forward to it. No cleaning or cooking for a body like yours. You'll be fucking for your masters. You'll be fucking and pleasing all the time, when they say, and how they say. In all your holes. One at a time or all at once. If your masters are happy then you will be happy. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Her pupils were wide. Her jaw dropped but no sound came out.

"Speak." He commanded as he would an animal.

"I want it. I want to be good." She felt wild inside, but her master had bound her and not pressing against those bounds meant she was tamed. When her master would tell her how to be good and she did it, she would be domesticated.

"Then take off your rags and join the girls."

She pulled the cloth over her head and left it where it fell. They were all reaching out for the fresh meat now and Tria let herself be clawed downward by the two closest to her as they led her on her back. One grabbed her ankles and brought her knees to her chests while the other moaned, open-mouthed as she began lapping at her like the animal she too was. Tria's eyes rolled to the whites and then she was lost to the flowing haze that fed and took from them all now.

Vale watched Solos pull the power back, his breathing ragged and his face showing signs of strain that turned into determination and then satisfaction. From Vale's view she saw the intensity of color ebb, but not entirely fade. It was still within him as it was the talisman and that would only grow over time. "Feels so very much better when you use it, doesn't it?"

He gave her a sidelong glance as his breathing steadied, "You have no..." He stopped mid-thought to chuckle. "I suppose you do."

She approached him slowly. "You're strong, Lord. That much I can see, but, as I've told you, that's not enough. It may take weeks, or it may take months, depending on how often you...indulge, but you will become no different than the one before you. You think the whispers you'll hear are the magic, but they'll be your own desires as they mix with the power. You will confuse and seduce yourself as you struggle to control it until you finally give in and look for reasons to use it and see how far you can go so you can keep feeling this and feeling it more intensely."

"Look around you, Lord. In the end you'll be them. Does that appeal to you?"

"No. No it doesn't."

"Then simply let me have it. You will be made more than whole by my guild. We can discuss terms now if you wish."

"You don't exactly look like you're in charge of anything. No offense."

"None taken. But one of my jobs in my guild is to negotiate deals between us and our clients. If you and I come to terms I can assure you that the agreement will be honored."

"Perhaps we can come to an agreement, though maybe we help each other more indirectly."

Her brows tightened, "Indirectly?"

"You speak as though you can control the magic. So, it seems to me that, if I control you, you can keep the magic from controlling me."

Her mage's eye saw the magic build within him before it lashed outward striking the walls she had erected in defense. Guild Mistress Bryana taught those skills herself because they were among the most critical to know. They were not only needed to defend one's mind from another, but it was a key element in controlling the magic. She remembered the days when she could not master a base levitation spell because she could not separate a spell from her emotions, and that wasn't the first time since that her own uncertainties had gotten in the way of what she wanted to do.

Now, she was proficient enough in such skills to teach initiates. In spite of that, the impact was enough to stagger her back toward the guard who moved to hold her, latching on to her upper arms. Vale feared. He had driven the power towards her as hard as he could, assuming rightly that she had defenses he had to take before she could react.

"S-stop," she groaned, her eyes on the talisman and the writhing, mindless women surrounding her like some erotic horror nightmare.

"Give in," he demanded. She thought she detected lust in his voice.

Impossible. It wasn't just that her being under his control would make him that much more dangerous, it was the simple fact that she feared he would either not know when to stop or, in the thrill of using the power to take, he would forget to stop, or choose not to. If that happened, she would end up like Delvine.

She would not end up like Delvine.

Vale collected her fear and let it burst forth without finesse. The women closest to her shrieked as sudden terror overtook lust and they scampered away from her and toward Solos, their Lord and protector. The guard holding her screamed as though set ablaze and she saw Solos rise to his full height out of the corner of her eye in the surprise that came with feeling that fear himself before she made for the door.

He growled as he followed after her, yelling. Or maybe it just felt like that in her brain. She could feel the words reverberate over the walls in her mind and in her skull. "I like spark and all, but just let it happen. There could be a lot of fun and profit to be had if you give it up. You could join the girls when you're not helping me. You'd like that." When he looked for her she was already halfway down the stairs.

She could join the girls. She'd like that. She didn't need to look up to see where he was, she could feel the power battering the inside of her skull. Visions filled her mind. Visions of sweet, endless fucking until he beckoned her. They so filled her that the guards coming up the stairs after her escaped her notice until they were almost on her. Her hand stretched out, fingers clawed as she tried desperately to focus and project her will outward.

They inadvertently saved her when one got close enough to take her forearm and pulled her to him and close enough so she could touch the other. With that contact came a rush of fear and pain that made them squeal and others around them run from whatever was happening that they didn't fully understand. Clear for the moment, she thought to try to collect herself, but it was a mistake, just allowing the power to hammer her all the more and the hairline cracks to form between Solos's power and her mind. "I'd even give you a good, hard rutting, too. You'd like that."

Splayed for the beast. Him pumping away. Her pussy began to drip openly in want of it. "No!" she begged and demanded.

He heard that want and he casually walked to the stairs, his heavy boots making the floor creak. "You want to be tamed, don't you, little lady? Tamed. Domesticated. You know I can do that. You want me to do that."

His will was trickling into her now. She used the sound of his footsteps to spur her forward, though she had to actively force herself to move away instead of towards him, stumbling headlong into the courtyard. Eyes turned from their own concerns in their own lamp lit corners of the world to look at her fall to her knees and then force herself back to standing.

Vale watched him approach, her mage's eye seeing the talisman shine like the sun, almost obscuring his form entirely. The energy tightened around her. She could just let go now, she reasoned. It might be the only way to save herself. If she announced her surrender, he would probably lessen his attack so as to spare her from being melted away. "He'll take me to fuck the girls." That would feel so good right now.

"I will, honey," amused by the fact that she jumped, seemingly unaware that she'd said it out loud. "I'm not angry or anything. Animals struggle when they're trapped. By the Goddess, I have a lot more respect for you here and now than Tria and the ones I used this to tame before her. They didn't even try. They just gave up. They just blew over like dead branches in the wind. Come on, I'll take you to fuck the girls and you can fuck the girls all you want."

He stepped forward carefully, not wanting to spook the skittish prey. 'You're in such a heat right now, aren't you? Maybe I'll just fuck you right here and now; give the people here a little show. I bet they never saw a mage fuck before. I don't mind that either, to tell the truth. It's not that cold, and my cock will be nice and warm. And I know you'll be nice and tame after that. Then we can really help each other out. You want me to tame you now, don't you, girl?

Visions swirled, each one more tantalizing, hot, and submissive than the last. Not much longer and she would live for the feelings she felt as the two who held the necklace would live to use it. She could help him. She could temper him and it so that he could stay in control. Her mind was aiding in her seduction now, so wanting of the heat within, that it tried to tamp down her will on its own. You would save other women that way. Delvine wouldn't happen again. You'd be protecting others.

With her help, he could stay in proper control of them.

Of her.

In proper control of her and the rest of the herd he was building. "Fuck me."

"I will," he promised. "So good that you'd wanna stay with me even without the trinket. You'll love it like they do. Wet all the time. In heat all the time. In hot, wet heat all the time."

All she had to do is give in. Be like the rest of them, only slightly more than less. It wouldn't be bad at all. And she was sort of used to it. It would be kind of like her life before she found that she could learn magic. Go back to being nothing special. Go back to being what she was before Mistress Bryana knew her. Before she trusted her and nurtured her skills. She could go back to being the nondescript soul that no one at all looked twice at, much less looked to because of what she had to teach and who she was.