I hesitated, not knowing what to say next. On the one hand, there was a chance that telling him about our coastal stash of weapons would sway him in our favour. On the other hand, unarmed as we had allowed ourselves to be, there was not much stopping him from making us lead him to the weapons before sending us on our merry way without them, or worse. He did not seem like the kind of man who would necessarily do that. But he also did not seem like the kind who absolutely would not.
Just as I decided to err on the side of caution and not betray our secret, Monika blurted out before I could stop her: “Ve have many bows, crossbows, and arrows at the coast. Very many. Ve share with you and Renata teaches you to use them. If you let us stay.”
I cursed her internally and Dave actually swore out loud, inadvertently damning us further by confirming her words with his reaction. Einar’s eyes gleamed as he scrutinised us, no doubt gauging the measure of truth in Monika’s words.
“Well, aren’t you just full of pleasant surprises?” he drawled slowly. “Alright ... if that’s true, I might be willing to let you all stay after all.” His expression was indecipherable, but I felt like I could almost see his mind still working furiously behind it, considering all options. “It’s really up toyou, sweetheart.”
I gaped at him, my mind momentarily blank.
“It’s not only that I want to fuck you,” he said plainly, leaving no room for doubt regarding his wishes. “A woman like you? I want to get to know you and I want you to get to know me.”
I noticed his companions exchange glances. Judging their reaction, they didn’t expect him to insist on this. But they made no protests either. Whatever he said went.
Blood flooded my face, and my heart thumped hard in my chest.
“You can’t be serious, pal,” Dave protested with a laborious exhale that was suffused with horror.
“Why not?” Einar enquired mildly enough, but his eyes narrowed with something that was akin to, but not quite, anger. “No, really, tell me. Given the circumstances, what is it you think should be stopping me from asking of her the most obvious thing she has that almost any man would want?”
“It’s not fair!” Stupid and brave at once, Monika kept arguing, trying no doubt to protect me, but only achieving the equivalent of cutting the supporting rope of a suspension bridge we were on. “Ve’re giving you veapons already!”
Einar laughed, but not cordially so.
“Princess, you should come to terms with the fact that from now on, society will look a lot different from what you’ve been used to. It could be worse, you know? Let me show you what I mean.” His expression was positively steely, and in a very rapid motion, he grabbed both my hands and twisted them behind my back.
I yelped more in surprise than with pain. He stood close behind me and held me in place firmly by my wrists but briefly stroked my hip in a manner that was soothing rather than lewd, similar to how one would pet a scared animal. Then came the cold, hard pressure of the steel blade pressed against my throat. I saw Dave’s eyes go wide with fear. But it was the dull side of the knife Einar had chosen to expose me to. For demonstration purposes only then. He wanted me to know that he didn’t want to hurt me.
I knew then that I was damaged beyond repair because excitement rather than fear rushed through my body like electricity.
“People choose vat is society.” To my surprise, Monika held her head unwaveringly high and spoke with even more conviction than before. “Now you are making a bad choice.”
“Am I? Well, the best society under the current circumstances is a live and uninfected one. And to achieve it, we must be prepared to sacrifice almost anything else, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Like my pants?” I asked from the corner of my mouth.
He shook briefly with laughter behind me.
“Well, I hope I can make it so that it doesn’t feel like such a sacrifice for you.”
His men snickered, and I blushed further despite trying not to.
“Look.” Dave’s hand trembled visibly as he raised them in a gesture of surrender. “Either the weapons are enough or we have no deal. We’re not in the Middle Ages. Renata’s body is not a bargaining chip here.”
“Ah, but we are in the Middle Ages. No, in fact, we’re not even there yet. We’re back in prehistoric times. Make no mistake, if those weapons truly exist, they ceased to be yours the minute they were first mentioned. You can refuse my offer and go yourown way, but not before I make you surrender them. And I will make you, let there be no confusion about that, either. They’remyweapons now.”
Einar spoke in a low, nasty tone that strongly discouraged further protests.
“Now, in the interest of ever getting to the end of this tedious discussion, I will only speak to Renata from here on until its conclusion. It’s her company I want, so it should be her decision whether she grants it or not. The rest of you lotwillshut up and staysilentfrom here on out.”
My friends tensed up, as if suddenly exposed to a gust of biting wind. I myself froze at Einar’s words, but it would have been hypocritical of me to fault him for them considering that not two hours before I myself contemplated an armed robbery.
“The weapons do exist,” I assured him, “and they will do you a lot more good if someone trains your people to use them.”
I felt him lessen the pressure on the knife the moment I tried to speak and was strangely touched by the way he took care not to cause me unnecessary discomfort. If he was a man capable of inflicting damage on others, and I had little cause to doubt that he was, he was also one abhorrent to doing so inadvertently.
“And they will doyoua lot more good if you have people to train in their use,” he pointed out tolerantly from somewhere high above my left ear. “So far we’re perfectly agreed.”
I turned my head to look up at him, the dull side of the blade sliding threateningly across my skin.
