Leo was dead.
She’d lured yet another man to his death—not just any man, but one she’d met and interacted with on the dreamscape—and the weight of the knowledge made her want to curl into a ball and hide.While she didn’t do the actual killing, she was complicit in Leo’s death.It was she who trolled the marketplace and selected suitable specimens, she who enticed and offered the men great riches, she who acted the pimp.
Goddess, she didn’t want to do this again, loathed the idea of repeating the process.But she would because of her son.
She’d do anything to keep Ricci safe.
The light of her life, and her one sole reminder of the man she’d loved and lost during the Colossium wars.Already, her young son showed signs of his father—the beautiful clear-blue eyes that told of power, the knowledge of the generations in his young face and a strength of character most people garnered with age.He would lead once he was older, if she could keep him alive.
Shewouldkeep Ricci safe and somehow extricate them both from this mess.
At least Iseult would keep her word.She wouldn’t taste Ricci until he reached the legal age on Dalcon.She had a while to earn the currency to pay off her debt to the woman.A few cycles to recruit for Iseult—to bring her compatible males from which to feed.
The clank of a bell summoned her, and she jerked upright.She staggered, forced her will on her knees, and headed for the mating room.The deed was done, and now her task was cleanup and disposal…
She used the sleeve of her robe to wipe her face and sucked in fortifying drafts of air.Later she would mourn her dream lover, but now she had duties to perform.
Betrys hurried along the long passage.She came to a stunned halt in the doorway.
The minions were mounting someone, something.Lining up to mount her, and Iseult…
Betrys blinked and focused again.No, she wasn’t mistaken.That was Iseult and she’d shed her skin, transformed into a creature resembling her minions.Much larger, but her normal face remained, pale and seductive, while her torso and legs were all black, hairy spider with bands of bright colors to differentiate her from the males.
Swallowing her horror, Betrys hovered in the doorway, unsure of what to do.Leo lay on the mating bed, his form still and bloody.
Dead.
A pang of deep anguish swelled inside her, pressed against her chest and tightened her throat until she thought she might suffocate with the force of the weight.Leo had fought with his available tools—attitude and belligerence.Once he’d signed the contract, there was one way forward since Iseult loathed cheating or attempts to renege on contracts.The second man Betrys had signed up had attempted to leave Dalcon without fulfilling the contract, and Iseult had sent her three best men to track him.They’d caught him, Iseult had given him a chance to return, and on his refusal, her men had killed him without hesitation.
Iseult let out a screech, and the last of her soldiers went flying.He picked himself up and scuttled with a lopsided gait in Betrys’s direction.She stood aside and watched in bemusement as the rest of Iseult’s men exited the room with the same unsteady gait.
Iseult meandered over to Betrys, her beautiful face wreathed in a bright, happy smile.Such a contrast to her repulsive body.Eyes forward.Betrys forced her horror to the back of her mind and pasted on what she hoped was an impassive expression.
“I am pleased with the pretty boy.”She smiled at the still form on the bed, and not a shred of guilt or regret showed on her features, despite the cavalier way she’d tortured and killed an innocent man.“Never have I received enough man essence to go into frenzy.You have done well.Two thousand shillars bonus.We will celebrate tonight after I recover.Clean up this mess, and start looking for my next meal.If you find a similar male—one who pleases me as much, I will grant you a bonus.Ten thousand shillars.”
Betrys felt her mouth drop open, saw the trace of amusement on her boss’s face, and pressed her lips together.“It will be done.”
“Consult Amos about the celebration feast.He will know what to do.”
Betrys watched Iseult stumble away.The female Spiderus appeared drunk, and her smile… Betrys shivered.That contented smile shunted fear through her, but she attempted to keep her revulsion from leaking free since Iseult had peripheral vision.
A low series of squeaks came from the direction in which Iseult had disappeared.Was that singing?Creepy.
Betrys forced herself to edge farther into the web, one foot after the other.Iseult always referred to the web as the mating room, and she’d wondered why since death occurred in this chilling chamber of white.Now she understood.Iseult needed more…more man essence, then it became a mating room.
She stopped by a concealed cupboard and pushed a button.A door slid open to reveal a trolley, which she wheeled over to the bed.She scrubbed a hand over her face, steeling herself, pushing past her grief and regrets.Despite the crushing weight on her chest and her gut full of knots, she forced herself to touch Leo’s naked form.He lay facedown on the bed, his corpse still and bloody and warm, and she jerked her fingers away with a harsh sob.
Self-loathing swept her, gathering momentum like an unstoppable meteor storm, until she trembled from head to foot.Another death to add to her total.Another death to weigh on her conscience and disturb her nights.Another death.
This one—Leo—was a hundredfold worse than usual.
The futility of escape ate at her as she stared at the spot of blood on her hand.She wiped the smear on her robe, and straightened her shoulders, lifted her quaking chin, anger rushing into her in a torrent.This wasn’t right.She knew it, and Iseult must know it too.Goddess, how many years would she spend as the woman’s slave?What if she never got away?Ricci could die in the same manner as Leo, then the entrapment, the deaths and the sale of her soul would be for nothing.
Aware Iseult would call for her soon, she lined up the trolley with the bed and steeled herself as she grasped Leo’s shoulder to roll him.He was muscular and solid and she grunted with exertion.A shocked croak scratched up and out of her throat at her first real sight of his ravaged body.His injuries were worse than normal.His cock was red and bloody and still erect while his torso bore numerous bites.The worst wound was to his stomach, to the right of his bellybutton, where Iseult had left a gaping hole.Between the flesh and blood, she glimpsed a hint of white.Bone?Organs?Or something else?
Horror rolled back and forth from her mind to her stomach, gathering momentum until the soup she’d managed to eat earlier burst up her throat and onto the floor.Her chest rose and fell in rapid sobs before she struggled to regain control.She averted her gaze from the wound, hauling and shoving at his inert corpse until he lay on the trolley.Exhausted, she massaged the small of her back and flinched on seeing his face.Tears welled, hot and angry, and she brushed them away.Unable to look at him again without another bout of bawling, she hurried over to the storage cupboard to retrieve a sheet to shroud him from sight.
Her white robe bore a dozen splotches of blood, and the vivid scarlet of it, the coppery scent of Leo’s life force had her clapping her hand over her mouth.
