Chapter Eight
MANDY WAS LIVING her personal hell. No doubt.
A week after living in the Vyctore village amongcivilizedbarbarians, she sat with her Earther friends, Lisa and Skye, and did her best not to scowl at the gifts piling up in the small hut she’d been given use of during her stay. She had windows, a doorway with a veil of vines for privacy, a soft pallet of maffet leaves and animal hide, and a beautifully handcrafted dresser upon which she’d stacked all herstuff.
“Well, I think it’s sweet.” Lisa grinned. The short redhead kept a hand over her flat abdomen, which would grow round with her and Maht’s child in another few months. From resort employee to barbarian mate, Lisa had accepted her transition with little trouble.
Although her barbarian had taken her from the resort and gotten her with child within a week’s time, Lisa seemed to be flourishing. She looked radiant, had adapted to the barbarian way of life with ease, and looked like a tiny queen in the thin tank dress that clung to her like a second skin. The green dress had a floral pattern that blended seamlessly with the environment. It was sleeveless and reached her upper thighs, allowing for comfort in the hot climate. Discounting Lisa’s red hair and stature smaller than that of the female barbarians, she looked and acted like a native.
“Yeah, it’s actually kind of enterprising. You can turn around and sell all that stuff and make a profit if you want,” Skye teased, gesturing to the many gems, flowers, sweets, and animal hides close to toppling the dresser. Skye, like Lisa, came from the same sector on Earth, a different part of the Northeastern Territory than Mandy. She was tall, nearly six feet, and had blond hair that also proclaimed her an offworlder.
Whereas Lisa’s psychic talents lay in an ability to get along with just about anyone, Skye’s talents were more militant. She could feel the energy in another and adapt to his or her movements, making her an amazingly skilled fighter. Like Lisa, she wore the barbarian style of female dress, yet she also had a pair of short leggings Mandy had seen her wear when training with the men.
From what Mandy gathered, the village females didn’t engage in warrior pursuits. With the exception of Skye, most of the women did everything else but go to war.
Mandy ignored the gifts Zehn and Lore continued to give her each day. She could see her avoidance amusing her friends. “You know, when you first went missing, Lisa, I was worried for you. Then when Skye came to find you, I thought everything would be okay. When she decided to stay with not one, buttwobarbarians, I thought for sure the Vyctore had some kind of mind control.”
Skye flushed. “Well, they do get you hooked on the sex.”
Lisa laughed. “Told you so. Sucker.”
They both looked from Mandy’s presents to Mandy.
“Yeah, yeah. They’re sexy and they know what they’re doing in bed.”
“Or on a pallet of leaves, or against a tree, in a pool, over a rock…” Skye teased.
Mandy blushed. “Stop. What I was saying, before I was so rudely teased, is that the barbarians have a good thing going here. Just the term barbarian makes you think of primitive fighters. But they barter and farm. The village is amazing, comfortable, and the people are so nice.”
Skye frowned. “Not all nice. Some of the warriors can be real dickheads.”
Lisa sighed. “And not all the women are peaches and cream. A few don’t like us here. But most of them accept us.”
“Because if they don’t, Talzec and Xav will kill them.” Skye looked a little too happy about that fact. “Well, not really. I don’t think.” She frowned. “But the clan functions because we’re a unit. You don’t have to agree with everything, but you do have to put the needs of the clan ahead of petty problems.”
“Makes sense.” Mandy liked that about the village. There didn’t seem to be much subterfuge. Brawls happened in the commons, and once the fight was done the argument was considered over. Talzec and Xav, the clan’s alpha and beta, respectively, listened to everyone. They weren’t above anyone else or treated like kings. They trained with the men, were courteous to the women, and had earned the right to lead. In the barbarian culture, strength was a respected and prized commodity.
“So the women.” She had to know. “The men seem to treat the women with respect.”
Skye nodded. “Yes. It’s against their laws to harm a female, since there are so few of us around here. Talzec is pretty open about his men mating each other, with other clans, offworlders too.” She stared at Mandy.
“What?”
Another glance at the pile of gifts. “Come on, Mandy. It’s obvious the guys are gaga over you. Lore and Zehn are tight, and you seem to fit them.”
So why hadn’t the pair made any overtures to be with her again? Oh, they visited and eased her way into clan culture. When not with her, they made sure Skye or Lisa would help. But they hadn’t initiated sex with her again, and she missed it, darn it.
“I like them a lot,” she confessed. “But like I told you before, it’s only a matter of time before those Francisco idiots come for me.” She’d explained to her friends the danger of having her in the village. But like Zehn and Lore, they didn’t seem to care. Neither did their alpha and beta. “If the Franciscos get me off the planet and take me back to Earth, I’m done for. I’ll never escape again, and my contract is legal there.”
“Bullshit. You can’t own people.” Skye scowled. “I know, I know, you can, legally, in some places in the galaxies. But it still revolts me that our own people do it to ourselves. No way they’re getting to you here, though. Mandy, if you stay, you’ll always be protected.”
“You can’t guarantee that. You have no idea the pull those people have. They can get to anyone, because everyone has a price.” Mandy sighed. “I’m only really safe when no one knows who I am.”
“I still don’t understand.” Lisa frowned. “You have little power, right? I mean, you can start small fires. What’s the big deal with them wanting you?”
She shrugged, hating to lie but not wanting her friends scared of her, or worse, thinking to use her to further their own agendas. “I’m not that strong, no. But I think it’s more that Red Francisco got obsessed with me. I’m not super beautiful either.” Though her barbarian lovers acted like they’d never seen a prettier woman. The thought warmed her. “But no one says no to Red. I’m a challenge he can’t let go.”
“That makes sense,” Skye said. “But like I told you, you’re safe here.”
