“Retrieve the tray,” he says.
The woman turns and takes a few steps into the darkness. When she re-enters the light, she has a tray balanced on one hand, with a very full martini glass on top. I saw glasses like this the last time we were here and learned what they’re called.
“Serve our guests.” Lucian snaps his fingers. “Not one drop must spill.” He picks up a small object, the same red as the first phallus, and pushes a button. A faint buzzing drifts through the room and the woman’s pelvis contracts.
“What did you do to her?” Rosomon asks softly.
I squeeze her thigh, reminding her that she should remain quiet.
“Queen Rosomon, I’mveryglad that you asked.” Lucian smiles. “My pet’s training toys are calledvibrators. They have small motors inside them. Do you know what a motor is?”
Rosomon nods. I explained motors, what I know of them, when I told her about the horselessvéhiculesthat terrorize the streets of this city. Not to mention that machine she saw fucking a woman in Lucian’s club last night.
He picks up a black object with buttons, the same color as the phallus inside her ass. “When I push these buttons.” He makes a show of pushing one. “The toy vibrates inside her.” His grins spreads. “And these buttons here?” He holds out both controllers so Rosomon can see. “Every time I press those, it increases the intensity.” He pushes all the buttons at the same time.
The girl’s pelvis bucks sharply, and the martini glass tips over on her tray.
The buzzing stops. Shaking her head, the woman sets down the tray and quickly drapes herself over Lucian’s lap.
“That’s a good pet.” He smacks each of her ass cheeks several times and then plays with the vibrators inside her, tugging and pushing their ends. Her body stiffens as she struggles not to squirm.
“Up you get.” He smacks her hard. “My guests are thirsty, and you can’t learn if you don’t try again.”
She shifts off his lap and fetches a fresh martini for the tray. In the dim light at the side of the room, dozens of filled glasses sit at the ready.
“Shall we begin?” Lucian asks, as if he’s the one who’s been waiting for us.
“Where are Surath and Xendus,” Aryxia asks.
“They traveled back to the Light,” I tell them. “In our absence, they will free as many of my people as they can.”
“How will they do that?” Eleanor, the rootbound mage asks.
“My people must fly across the veil to take their true forms.” I close my eyes for a moment, fighting my thirst for revenge. I’m here to discover who deserves to bear the full force of that revenge.
“Because my people require the cooperation of humans to do this, it will take some time to free them all.”
Beatrix successfully sets a drink in front of Vespera. Grinning, she quickly returns to fetch another glass.
“Why can’t they shift in the Light?” Eleanor asks.
Turning toward her, I frown. As a basic mage,rootbound,as she now calls her kind, Eleanor has a much shorter life span than most of us seated around this table. As such, I could forgive her lack of knowledge, but the rootbound queens who came before her should have passed on their knowledge.
The vibrators buzz. Beatrix spills a martini glass, and then quickly drapes herself over Lucian’s lap for her punishment. I try hard to ignore both the intermittent buzzing and the cracking sounds of smacks.
Beside me, Rosomon shifts. Her attention is fully on Lucian and the human. I’d like to smack some sense of decorum into Lucian but suspect no beating would have the power to do that.
“The veil stifles magic,” I tell Eleanor things she should already know. “It’s difficult to access Darkness behind the veil. Especially without the cooperation of humans.”
“Then why did your people stay there so long?” she asks.
I suppress a growl. “A hex was cast upon my people,” I say as calmly as I’m able. “We were in dragon form when the veil was completed, and given the reduced access to Darkness, we could not shift back.”
“Who cast this hex?” Aryxia asks, their voice like silk, in contrast to their eagle shaped head with its sharp beak.
“That is what I must discover.” I scan the room, hoping to detect an indication that someone here knows more than they’re saying.
“Why not simply burn the veil to the ground?” Eleanor asks. “Isn’t that what dragon fire is designed for?”
