Chapter 19: Friendship and Fiends

He’s here,” Katze advised and watched Iason struggle to rise from the sofa to a more imposing height, before allowing their visitor inside.

“Iason!” Quick as lightening Raoul moved past Katze to throw his arms around his brother. “So, it is true. You are alive!”

Iason could feel his legs tremble with the effort to maintain his stance from the weight of another body pressed against him. While he was closer to Raoul than the other Blondies, he had not expected such an emotional greeting from one of his brothers. “Yes. I regret keeping the news from you, however there were complications and as you will see, I was right to wait.”

“It matters not.” Raoul hugged him once again, in a surprising move pressed cool lips to Iason’s cheek, then stepped back. “I am simply glad you...” He paused. “Something is wrong. What is it? Were you injured? You appear unwell.”

“I did not bring you here to fuss over me. I have a problem and I require your assistance.”

“Of course, you have it.” Raoul stepped back and settled in a chair, giving Iason the opportunity to sit back down as well, with some relief. “You must tell me everything. We were all so shocked at the news of your death, and I could find no cause or explanation for it. What happened to you, Iason? Was this all a ploy of some kind? If so, it was an ill advised one.”

“It was not a planned decision. I did die, Raoul, however Katze recovered my body with the help of Jupiter and managed to revive me.”

Raoul glanced at the red-head who stood quietly by the door. “How did he do that?”

Katze glanced to Iason for permission before answering. “. I was there when it happened, I saw the explosion. I couldn’t get through the fire and...”

Iason’s head tilted at the slight change in Katze’s voice. It was rare for him to show even a spark of emotion, besides sarcasm, but he detected something else in the tone and whatever it was made him sad. “Katze?”

Katze cleared his throat and blanked his expression again. “I’d intended to try and recover the bodies after, and I did, then Jupiter told me where to bring them.”

“Bodies? Plural?” Raoul’s expression darkened. “The mongrel also lives?” He looked at Iason. “Tell me that Jupiter did not resurrect that troublesome pet of yours?”

“It was Jupiter’s choice to do so, and I am grateful for it,” Iason replied. “I understand you have never approved of Riki, Raoul, but nor have I ever required your approval. In fact, it was Riki that inspired me to contact you.”

“I do not understand.”

“He has been taken by Orphe.”

Raoul blinked, startled. “What would Orphe want with your...” He paused as the answer became clear. “Surely he is not so much a fool?”

“It appears he is every bit of one, and as I am limited in power, at the moment. I require your assistance, Raoul.”

“To save the mongrel,” Raoul snapped, bitterly.

“To save Tanagura. This is not just about Riki, Raoul. Orphe obviously feels threatened by my rumoured return and is determined to make sure I remain dead.”

“He cannot harm you, Iason. No Blondie can physically harm another, it is forbidden.”

“He cannot be judged for killing one who is already dead, Raoul.”

The Blondie crossed one long leg over the other, slowly, as his lips tightened into a firm line. “He is a fool. I will not deny that he has always been ambitious and envious of your position, Iason, but to believe he is capable of such a thing...” He shook his head. “Still, there are few who have been satisfied with how he has run the syndicate since your disappearance. He is attempting to bring us back into the origin stages, requesting reinstatement of laws that were abolished a century ago.”

“He cannot return the old ways,” Iason began. “It is a Blondie’s nature to learn, improve and innovate; not to live in the past.”

“Agreed, however, his methods are cunning and calculating. He has developed new laws that are layered with the original ones, with only a few minor changes to make them seem modern. He is using your relationship with your pet as his platform, stating that you were seduced by a slum mongrel into giving up valuable, secured information about the Syndicate.”

“Such slander only proves that he is incapable of handling the position he covets.”

“I agree. A few of our Blondie brothers do share his opinions, to an extent. He has increased the insurance prices for the shop keepers in Midas, as well, he has decreed that pets and furniture can no longer be kept indefinitely. Pets must be reutilized or sold while furniture must be terminated at the age of sixteen.”

“That is ridiculous. Most do not even become furniture until they are pre-teens. What is his reasoning for only keeping them for three or four years?”

“He claims that upon adolescence they both become unruly and more difficult to manage.”

“And the others agreed to this?”

“Orphe used your old furniture, Daryl, as a frame of reference, a furniture that became reckless and insubordinate by allowing a pet to go free.” Raoul lifted his gaze to Katze. “And your name was mentioned as well, for the mischief you got into before Iason reassigned you.”

“Daryl broke an important rul. His punishment was decided by popular vote. There is no reason to terminate furniture merely for growing older.”

“Orphe claims that as humans, they cannot be truly trusted, and managing the household of an elite is a security risk. His recommendation is to limit their clearance access and terminate them to avoid a breach of secure information.”

“What of the furniture that are already older?”

“They have already been terminated.”

“He dared to put the law into effect without my consent? Jupiter approved this?”

“You were believed to be deceased, Iason, and Jupiter chose not to be involved.”

Iason’s gaze shifted to Katze, who continued to stare blankly ahead. Katze was no longer registered as furniture so there was no danger to him, but he knew several of older furniture that had worked in Eos. Were any of them friends of his? Before he could inquire, Katze’s eyes moved towards the doorway and his face turned a pale shade of grey.

Iason followed suit and found Cal had just appeared with their drinks. Despite his small stature and child like appearance, the boy had just turned seventeen. If this law was now in effect in Tanagura, he could not take the boy home with him. He glanced back at Katze, who was obviously afraid more for Cal than himself. It warmed him, the loyalty between them.

Iason watched Raoul accept a drink from Cal’s tray, then he took his own; proud that the boy’s hands remained steady. He had no doubt that Cal had heard Raoul’s statement of Orphe’s new rules; as proper furniture he was trained to listen to everything.

“I will deal with this new directive when I return.” While his reply was to Raoul, his eyes and his promise was on Cal. It surprised him how much he had come to care for the young man and how much he wanted to protect him. Perhaps it was from opening his heart to Riki that made him so sentimental, or the fact that Cal had given him solace when Riki refused to be with him. “He is a fool to raise the insurance on the business owners, that will make them resentful and they will start hiding money. The payment margin we currently have is more than adequate and is advanced every year, based on their profits. To harangue them into giving more will breed animosity and deceit. Orphe should know better.”

“In all honesty, Iason, if I did not know that Orphe was a Blondie I would begin to suspect he was suffering from some sort of mental degradation. I believe that he has become intoxicated by the power he inherited after your alleged death.”

“Many relish power, but few are capable of properly utilizing it. Maintaining a fair, but regimented collaboration is reasonable, but to abuse it beyond sensibility of what is good for the Syndicate is irrational.”

Raoul smirked. “Did you not do the same for your pet?”

“Those were personal choices and had nothing to do with the Syndicate or my position, Raoul. Everyone’s objections regarding my treatment of Riki, or even my having him, were based purely on emotional prejudice. My personal life is my own, and it will remain so. It has never interfered with my duties as a Blondie.”

“You don’t call being killed an interference?”

“An oversight at best.” Iason set his wine down. “Now, we have wasted enough time. May I count on your support to find and rescue Riki?”

“Of course, I will help you. We need you back where you belong, brother. Orphe must be made to realize that as well.”

Iason nodded. “I am relieved to hear you say that, for I am not up to my usual strength and will require your assistance with several things.”

“Do you know yet where they are holding him?”

“Yes, they did not make it difficult. I am sure that they realized with Katze’s underground connections finding them would be simple. As well, I know they are laying a trap for me.”

Iason felt a shiver run down his body and tried to ignore it. The circumstances were so like Dana Bahn that he could not help feel uneasy about what the outcome might be. He did not want to lose Riki a second time, and he could not depend on Jupiter’s interference again, should he deliberately put himself in danger a second time.

“I have people we can trust; they can be here within the hour.” Raoul sat back and stroked his chin. “As for Orphe, we will have to find a way to deal with him properly.”

“Yes, he will be a problem,” Iason concurred. “Katze has made a suggestion that may be to our benefit and not violate the rule of non-violence against another Blondie.”

Raoul’s eyes slid to the man who, for the most part, had remained silent during their conversation. He knew that Katze was unconditionally loyal to Iason, and secretly he had approved of Iason’s choice to promote the former furniture to a position better suited to his skills. Katze had the constitution of a Blondie, and it was rare to find an organic species with such an apathetic and tranquil quality. Yet he knew that Katze could be hard and brutal when needed, which also emulated a Blondie’s mentality. As an experiment, he occasionally attempted to test the human, tried to fluster or irritate Katze enough to break that stoic demeanor. Thus far, he had not been successful.

“You would trust such a delicate situation to furniture?”

“He is no longer furniture and his instincts have never given me any cause for doubt.

“A case could be made because he is former furniture, and could therefore be terminated the moment he leaves your quiet little sanctuary here and returns to our world.” Raoul tilted his head, looked up at Katze who remained with his arms folded, leaning against the wall. “A laser cannon to the stomach. A scalpel across the throat could easily decapitate him.”

Knowing the Blondie was itching for a response, Katze indulged Raoul, as he had learned to do over the last several years, with his unmatched wit. “I’ll have to make sure to stand behind you, Lord Am, so you can protect me.”

“What will you give me for my protection, Katze?”

“A box of fine chocolates.” Katze paused, then continued. “Wrapped in a pretty bow.”

Raoul blinked, slowly smiled and toasted him with his glass. “I do like chocolate.” He turned back to Iason. “Any plans to move against another Blondie would have to be approved by Jupiter.”

“It has been,” Katze advised.

Raoul’s eyes narrowed on him. “How would you know?”

“He speaks to Jupiter regularly to update on my progress,” Iason said.

“He speaks to Jupiter?” Raoul rose to his feet. “How is that possible? He is not a child of Jupiter, and only a Blondie can get into the viewing room!”

“He does not need to be in the viewing room, Jupiter speaks to him as She does, on occasion, with us, telepathically.”

Raoul shook his head. “But ... he is a human!”

Iason smiled. “He is a most exceptional human, Raoul, and I ask that you give him the respect he deserves from this point forward.”

Katze felt his body tremble in pleasure at such high praise from his master, though none of this was conveyed in his expression. As a mongrel in Ceres, he had learned how to hide his feelings so he could manipulate others. As furniture he received training to restrain all emotion.

Raoul moved closer to Katze, curious, and stared at him, hard. “How does it feel when a God speaks to you?”

“Hurts like a son of a bitch,” Katze admitted truthfully. “But I’ve gotten used to it.” He was startled when Raoul smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Invasive thing, isn’t She?” he smirked. “I hate it myself.” He turned back to Iason before Katze could manage a reply. “Well then, we have the who, how and why, now let’s discuss what is really wrong with you, Iason.”

“I have told you...”

“I am a scientist and a physician, do not try and play games with me. When I embraced you, your body trembled, and while it would be lovely to imagine it was from the joy of seeing me again, I know it was not.” He stood before Iason, crossed his arms over his chest. “The truth, or I will not help you.”

Iason swallowed a sigh and explained his dilemma.

Riki opened his eyes to darkness once again, shivered against the cold, dampness of the room but almost immediately realized that he was curled up on something soft. A bed? He tried not to think about how much pain he was in as slid across and set his feet on the floor, blindly searching with his hands to get an idea of his surroundings. He heard a clank and felt the pinch of a metal cuff around his ankle.

Where was Guy, he wondered? How long had he been here? Was Iason on his way?

A blinding light flickered on overhead and he blinked several times to adjust. As he did the vision of a well-dressed Blondie filled his view. Orphe sat in a plush chair just far enough away that Riki’s restraints prevented getting any closer. Orphe crossed one long leg over the other as he sipped wine. Several pets waited behind him, with two curled at his feet. A tall blue-haired Elite stood just to his right and three other guards, humans, waited behind them. Riki thought it amusing that the Blondie needed such protection from one little slum mongrel.

“Finally, you are awake.”

“And what an ugly sight to wake up to,” Riki snarled as he remained standing, despite the abuse his body had suffered; he’d had worse after all, he reminded himself, and pulled at the shackle on his ankle. “Are you ready to give up yet?”

Orphe laughed. “I can see why Iason likes you, you are very entertaining.” He waved his hand. “This is not about you; it is about Iason. I have no real desire to harm you, pet.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I speak the truth. In fact, if you so desire, once this ugly business is over, I will free you from your master’s grip.” He held up a data pad. “I have here your pet registration number. With one touch I can delete you permanently from the system and you are free to return to Ceres.”

Riki would not have been human if he didn’t at least consider the deal. Iason had set him free once before, but had not cancelled his registration, so his freedom had been a lie. However, it was the fact that he was a registered pet to Iason Mink that had probably saved his life when the Midas cops picked him up that time. When Iason offered him freedom a second time Riki had been unable to trust that promise; at least until last night. Was it only last night that he had admitted his confusion and fear to Iason. Only twenty-four hours since he’d asked to be held by the Blondie and driven to the heights of unthinkable ecstasy? Had it been longer? How many days had it been since he’d had that swim on the beach in the moonlight?

Still, this was a Blondie, and as he had told Guy, Blondies couldn’t be trusted. “Where is Guy?”

“Does it matter? He tried to kill you.”

“Where is he?”

“He is in another room, resting. I believe the sight of you alive was too much for him to take, so he has been given a sedative. No harm will come to him. As I explained, I want only your master.”

“If that is true, then how about taking off this chain?”

“Well now, I can’t have you running away before Iason gets here, that would ruin everything. I will give you my word that once this is over, you and your friend will be free.”

“What’s the catch?”

Orphe rose, slowly like a predator about to pounce on its prey. He walked over and caught Riki s chin. “What is the saying you mongrels have? Shall we make a deal?”

Riki didn’t bother to struggle, he knew his attempts would be useless against a Blondie, and chained to the wall, he wouldn’t get far anyway. “Be specific. I don’t make a deal unless I know the details.”

Orphe smiled and ran a gloved finger across Riki’s bare bicep. “I see, and is that what you did with Iason, negotiated who gets to be on top?”

“Jealous?” Riki watched the Blondie’s eye twitch, the gloved hand tightened painfully on his arm, and knew he had hit a nerve.

“I admit that I am curious as to what you have that has so enraptured the favored son of Jupiter.” He leaned in and inhaled Riki’s scent, which still held a mild scent from the sea where he had been swimming. “Is there some special technique, some biochemical that you excrete that enables you to seduce a Blondie so easily?”

Riki had never seduced Iason, even from that first time, Iason just took what he wanted. He didn’t understand what it was about him that made Iason want him so much either, but admitting that in front of Orphe would be a sign of weakness. “What can I say? I am all that.”

“Hmmmm.” Orphe’s hand slid down and gripped Riki’s flaccid penis, hidden only by the thin cloth of his swimming trunks. “Disappointing. There is nothing to that at all.”

Riki slapped his hands away. “Go fuck around with your own pets.”

The Blondie stepped closer, gripped him harder, impressed when Riki did not even flinch. “Do you like pain, pet?” he whispered in Riki’s ear. “Is that how Iason keeps you so submissive?”

“Is that how you like it?” Riki whispered and brushed his lips against Orphe’s, felt the Elite stiffen in surprise. “You develop a taste for slum mongrels too, Blondie?”

Orphe stepped back, staggered by the feel of the boy’s lips against his. The human’s soft kiss had frightened him, confused him. What was this feeling that grew inside of him? This almost overpowering need to push the boy down and do dirty things to him? He wanted more, more of that taste, that touch. Perhaps it was just a mere chance accident? Perhaps if the pet did it again, he would understand it better and this strange feeling would dissipate?

He stepped forward, gripped Riki’s hair and yanked him forward for another kiss, for one more taste to be sure, only to have Riki turn his head at the last second and hiss in his ear.

“Iason has made people disappear for so much as looking at me. I’m gonna enjoy watching him make you bleed, Tin Man.”

Orphe shoved him backwards, hard enough that Riki literally bounced off the wall, enraged not only at the pet’s insubordination, but the disrespectful name he used. Riki’s quiet chuckle further agitated him, but he refused to show it. With deliberate control he returned to his chair. “To prove my generosity, I will allow you to make the selection, so you may better enjoy today’s activities.”

“Selection?” Riki rose to his feet again and frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Orphe gestured to the pets that surrounded him. “Stand so he may see you properly,” he ordered and they all obeyed.

Riki counted six in all, three girls and three boys all of them beautiful in that artificial way all pets were.

“As you can see, I have collected both sexes, as I was not sure what your preference would be. Most mongrels seem to prefer the males, but would you not also like to try it with a female? There will be no punishment this time if you do, only pleasure.”

“What do you have planned for Iason?”

“That does not concern you. Now, if you will make your choice, we can begin...”

“If you think I’m gonna fuck some pet just so you can get your jollies? You’re sicker than I thought, Orphe.” Riki watched two of the guards step forward, but were stayed by the Blondie’s hand. “Isn’t it frustrating knowing you will never be on Iason’s level?”

Riki watched Orphe’s fingers tighten on his wineglass.

“Your mouth is as vicious as rumored, pet, but no matter. If you will not choose, then you will mate with all of them.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“No? I believe we can change your tune.” He waved to the Elite beside him. “Kanin, if you will.”

Riki stepped back when he saw the Sapphire elite move forward with a flask of liquid as the three other men followed. Riki didn’t have to taste it to know what was in that flask. He sucker-punched the first man that reached him, knocked him cold, then managed to flip the second, even with the chain on his leg, but when Kanin grabbed him, his struggles were useless. This man was an android, a son of Jupiter and every bit as strong as Iason.

He bit and scratched, tried to turn away, to keep his mouth shut, but this Kanin was quicker and stronger and forced the aphrodisiac down his throat. He tried to spit it back up, but most of it had already made it to his stomach and almost instantly he could feel the familiar affects.

“Fuck you,” he muttered as the Elite dropped him to the floor and stepped away, while the other two carted off the unconscious third.

He would not respond, he would not respond, he would ... shit! He could feel the fever taking over his body, causing his skin to become horrifically sensitive and all the boiling blood rushed down to settle in his groin. Rising slowly to his feet, he tried to ignore the need to touch himself as Orphe gestured and a young male pet stepped forward.

Riki bared his teeth, curled his hands into fists and the pet hesitated, glancing back at his master. He would not allow them to touch him, no matter how badly he wanted it. He would not!

“Come back,” Orphe ordered the boy, who curled back by his feet and accepted a soft caress. “Let’s allow him some time to enjoy the full effects, then he will be more than willing to mate with you.”

Riki’s breathing was growing erratic, this ... these drugs were different than the ones he’d had before, they were stronger, making his head swim, and sent a shattering pulse of need through him. He paced the few short paces his chain allowed, like a wild animal for almost ten minutes before the full effects took hold and he moaned.

No. He had to be strong, he would not do this, and yet, he found himself sliding down the wall and his hand dipping into his swim trunks. He yanked it back, pulled it behind him and bit his lip hard enough to taste blood. A familiar voice sounded in his head from so very long ago.