Chapter 10

“From the start. Again,” the trainer’s voice sounded even and voided of any emotion.

Cory kept his calm façade and began again to retell the story. How he had come back to the apartment, it had been dark, he had been hit and then tied up. No, he had no idea what happened. The slave? He had left him at home to go shopping, as he had to ready the dinner for that night. No, he had not heard anything. Yes, his master had had to be home around that time.

They kept on asking him the same questions, to tire him. He was not stupid. He knew they only hoped for him to make a mistake, to forget a detail, or misplace something. It was like the Trainers had forgotten he had been trained at the Institution. Molded by it. There, no one could have any secrets. Those who had... , well, he could say fate was not kind to them.

So he continued to retell the story, careful not to miss anything. He knew that they wanted him to say something wrong, to find him guilty. Then, it would have been nothing but a formality to lock him down or worse, start to run an investigation to find Xavier, and close the case. At least as far as Cory was concerned. The guilty one being found, everyone could go back home. After that, there was no way of telling what could happen. Ayn and Xavier had to be very, very far away by now.

His legs were starting to ache, but he continued to keep his cool. He had lost count of how many times he had told the story. Words were starting to lose their meaning, and he had to focus hard on each one.

At some point, one of the trainers got up from the chair and went to the back. There was a short break, during which the remaining two whispered something to one another. Minutes passed until eventually, the First Trainer came back with someone.

Cory’s face fell for a split second. Green eyes were measuring him up and down, as Lucas took a seat.

“Lord Lucas, should we listen again so we can reach a verdict?” the trainer asked, turning towards Cory’s lover. “You know the servant better than anyone else. And you are Chief Psychologist.”

Was he going to stand there and retell the same story, with Lucas’s inquisitive eyes searching for any sign of lying?

“No, I’ve heard enough,” Lucas answered, but he did not look at the Trainer, but continued to keep his eyes glued to Cory. “He’s telling the truth. I am afraid this is a dead end. We need to seek for additional information. I’ve seen the recording from the gate cameras. It appears Lord Xavier left Drena yesterday at 17 hundred hours, accompanied by his slave.”

“We need to see the tape, too,” the Trainer said, looking a bit offended that he had not been informed.

“We need to analyze the new data,” Lucas said, seemingly not impressed with the Trainer’s displeasure. “Since there is nothing to gain from this,” he gestured towards Cory, “I highly recommend the investigation committee to move forward.”

“So, the final verdict?” the Trainer turned to his papers to make an annotation.

“Servant Cory tells the truth. He is not involved in Lord Xavier’s kidnapping.”

“Kidnapping?” the Trainer stopped for a second, his pen in the air as if he had been struck by a sudden, intriguing revelation.

“Yes, I believe this is the right term. Dismiss the servant,” Lucas said.

“He will be released into your service, will he not, Lord Lucas?” another trainer spoke, and Lucas turned towards him, vaguely annoyed.

“Yes, Xavier entitled me to take care of his belongings, servants and slaves included, in the case of an unfortunate event. Let’s hope,” Lucas paused for dramatic effect, “that this is only temporary, and the event in itself is nothing but a big misunderstanding. We all hope to bring Lord Xavier back home.”

The Trainers rose to leave. They looked like dark gray shadows, moving without a sound, as they left the room. Lucas rose and looked at Cory with something unreadable in his beautiful eyes.

“Am I free to go?” Cory eventually dared to ask.

He had been calm and steady all throughout the interrogation. Now, under Lucas’s intense gaze, he felt sweat oozing through all his pores. Lucas didn’t answer; he just moved slowly, stopping for a brief moment by Cory’s side.

“You’re lying,” Lucas said curtly, in a cold whisper, and Cory froze.

One full minute passed after Lucas left and until he could move again. He had fooled the Trainers, but he could not fool Lucas.

~A Good Servant~

Xavier was driving for hours now. Vast nothingness was in front of his eyes, no clue, no landmark to cling his eyes on as they rode through the desert.

“Do you at least have an idea where we are going?” he asked haughtily, although he was hoping for an answer this time around.

No matter how much he had tried to speak to Ayn since they had left Drena, the only replies he had gotten were short grunts and indications to continue to drive.

“Of course I do. I’m not the stupid monkey you thought I was,” Ayn commented.

It was not the best answer to hope for, but at least it was something.

“I’ve never thought you to be a stupid monkey. Merely ... uneducated.”

Ayn snorted.

“The road seems long. At least you could do is to offer some conversation,” Xavier commented.

“Conversation?” Ayn snickered, obviously amused. “Yeah, no one could say we had that much of that. You were too busy fucking my ass.”

“I thought you could not understand anything I was saying,” Xavier felt the need to explain. Although, he was ready to admit Ayn was right, in that particular regard.

“What difference would that have made?” Ayn shrugged.

“None, of course,” Xavier shrugged, pursing his lips.

“Good. At least, you’re honest.”

“Don’t mind me asking, but where are you taking me? And do you really think I will disappear into thin air, without armies,” Xavier paused to make the not so well veiled threat understood, “being sent to find me, and of course, exact the punishment in your case.”

Ayn just smiled, and looked ahead, as if the road was his friend, and Xavier was a fool to even speak of them being found, let alone think it to be true.

The young man looked even more beautiful, with the rays of the fading sun playing on his face through the car window. He also looked a bit different. There was an energy radiating from him. Suddenly, Xavier realized. It was something he had never witnessed in his slave. It was happiness. Ayn was happy to be free.

“Technically, you are the one driving, so your question? It’s a bit off, don’t you think?” Ayn turned a little to stare at him.

For a couple of seconds, they looked at one another. Ayn frowned.

“Keep your fucking eyes on the road.”

There was more silence. Xavier continued. Going forward, as Ayn had indicated.

“Are you wondering if I am going to sell you back to your friends in Drena?” Ayn was the first to speak.

“That’s one thought. It would be wise of you. Although ... more than a bit risky for you,” Xavier admitted.

“It could be done. I suppose you would fetch a nice price. Much higher than what you paid for me.”

“If you want to know, I paid quite a lot for you,” Xavier commented.

Ayn huffed.

“That’s not something I want to know.”

“All right. So, are you going to negotiate my release then?”

“I said that’s one thought. I didn’t say I would do it.”

“What are the other options, then?” Xavier straightened one of his gloves quickly, a bit annoyed at the patch of skin showing just above the sleeve.

“Worried about your safety, Master?” Ayn mocked. “Are you afraid I would kill you and bury you here, in the desert, without all the bells and whistles of a Drena funeral?”

“There are no funerals in Drena,” Xavier said curtly.

“You’re shitting me, right?” Ayn stretched his legs, placing them on the headboard. “You’re like immortal and shit?”

“Of course not.”

“Anyways, what do you think of this little option?” Ayn spoke. “How would you like feeling powerless for a change?”

“I hope you don’t expect me to say I would like that. Like any human being, I am very much fond of my life. And I would prefer it not to end anytime soon. Plus, that would put you an even more dangerous position than you are now. At least, while I’m alive, ... let’s say you have some sort of ... reprieve.”

“Fair enough,” Ayn nodded. “But you are a pretty mean bastard. Which means you should suffer a bit.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Xavier asked with a bit of trepidation starting to pool in his upper belly while showing none of it.

“It means that I am taking you home. My home. What will happen next, I’ll have to think about it. If I haven’t thought already,” Ayn added enigmatically.

Xavier looked at the other briefly. Ayn looked content, in control. Something Xavier used to be, just several hours prior. Or so he thought.

~A Good Servant~

Dion knocked hesitantly on the door. Hearing no sound of acknowledgment from the other room, he insisted. Still nothing. Eventually, he turned the knob and entered the room. John was watching TV, a sour expression on his face.

“I knocked,” Dion said matter-of-factly.

“I know, I am not deaf,” John said, a bit exasperated.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Maybe because I didn’t want you to come here. What? Are you displeased with the accommodations? Tough luck, this isn’t Drena,” John continued without even looking at Dion.

“All right. Who took a piss in your food?” Dion asked, a bit annoyed. He was usually tame, but this John guy was hitting a nerve with his attitude.

“Wow, I didn’t know your type knows words like that,” John mocked. “Look, princess...”

“My name is not ‘princess’. My name is Dion.”

“No shit. My house, my rules.”

“Like hell,” Dion retorted.

It was not like him to talk back. After the beatings he had gotten from Antoine, one would have thought he had learned his lesson well.

But he was not afraid of John. It was strange to think such a thing, but since they had gotten inside John’s home and sat together at a table, he had not felt threatened, not even for a second. John looked upset, but not angered. He looked strong, but not violent. Dion could not pinpoint the feeling he got inside when looking at the man.

“All right, enough talking,” John rose and grabbed Dion by the arm.

He was not forceful and he was not keeping Dion too tightly. But he was determined as he pushed the redhead through the door and closed it behind him, almost slapping Dion’s ass in the progress.

Dion felt the sudden need just to turn and tell the guy a thing or two. But he resigned for the moment and went to the bedroom to sleep. Then it hit him, what he had wanted to tell John; that the bed in the bedroom was too large for him, and the couch in the living room could have been better for Dion’s smaller frame.

Ah, well, the annoying jerk had just earned himself a bad night’s sleep.

~A Good Servant~

Dread was too little a word to describe what Cory felt as he set foot in Lucas’s house, this time not as a guest, or a lover, but as property. He had a distinct knowledge that Lucas was going to run his own interrogation and it was not going to go down too well.

He went directly to the kitchen to prepare food. He needed something to do with his hands to calm the turmoil in his head. Could he tell Lucas the truth? What was going to happen to him after that? Was Lucas going to give up on him? Just like that? Apparently, there was not much between them anyway. Except for sex. Great sex. The type that felt as if it meant more. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

He was about to dress the table when he heard the front door. He stopped dead in his tracks. Lucas appeared in the door frame and stared at him.

He could not make what Lucas meant with that look. It was not inquisitive, not that much, at least, it was not hurt, although he could feel the air strung as a thread between them.

“You belong to me now,” Lucas eventually spoke, as he moved towards the servant.

Cory nodded. He cast his eyes down. Strong, firm hands, hands he knew well now, cupped his cheeks and made him look up. His lips were captured in a fierce kiss, and Cory felt lost. Could it be that Lucas was not mad with his ruse?

A hot tongue was in his mouth, making him dizzy, as large hands cupped his ass and lifted him from the kitchen floor. He could feel Lucas’s strong erection through his thin pants and his own rising to meet the challenge.

Suddenly, he was turned, made to bend over the table, while his pants were forced down, over his bubbly butt. He felt the air hitting his ass, and his breath hitched in his chest. Lucas was not usually so assertive in his desire. He always cared about apologizing if he got carried away. It almost made Cory, each and every time, beg for Lucas to lose control a little.

What happened took him by surprise. The slap was short, well placed and it stung like hell. It made Cory yelp in distress.

“So, my little Cory,” Lucas spoke, and his voice was now low and dangerous. “How do you dare to lie like that?”

“I didn’t ... Ouch!” he yelled again, as his other buttock received the same treatment. “Lucas, please...”

“No,” came the short reply. “What happened actually with Xavier and Ayn?”

“I don’t know...”

Another slap made him lose his breath. Behind him, Lucas’s breath was becoming a bit labored, too. At least, he had to put some work into spanking the servant.

“The truth, Cory, or you won’t be able to sit down for a while,” Lucas warned.

Cory tried to move, but a hand on his back was keeping him in place. “Please, Master,” he begged.

“Don’t play that card with me,” Lucas spat, and this time, the slap felt more vicious.

Cory was on the point of breaking. It was not because it hurt, although it did; it was because it was Lucas punishing him, and it was because he knew Lucas was right. He was lying.

“If you think this is bad, let me give you the heads up on the plans the Trainers had for you, in case I would have told them the truth,” Lucas spoke. “They would have cut off your tongue, and then sew your lips so you would choke on your own blood.”

Cory felt his knees buckling under him, but again, the firm hand on his ass kept him in place.

“Should I continue or will you start talking?” Lucas cooed this time.

He hesitated. He had no idea why he was hesitating. Another slap came, and this time Cory just let the tears flow.

“You do realize what I am risking with this. Not a slap on the wrist. Not my career. But my life. I believe you’re smart enough to understand what accessory to a crime means,” Lucas continued, as his slaps fell on Cory’s ass, making the loving mounts redder and redder.

“Stop, please, I’ll talk,” Cory breathed out.

He had not thought about it. He was putting Lucas in danger. How could he have been so stupid? Suddenly, it looked as if it had been better if he could convince Ayn to stay and adjust to being Xavier’s toy. It would not have been such a bad life after all. What was he thinking now? Ayn was a free man. He had to be free!

Lucas caressed the red butt cheeks lovingly. “Speak now, Cory,” he cooed.

There was a torrent of words as Cory began to speak. He was going to get executed, but at least he was not taking Lucas with him. At least that he could do. The hand caressing his abused ass didn’t stop and didn’t waver as he talked.

“Good,” Lucas commended him when he finished talking.

Cory felt the man move and walking away. He just stood there, emotionally wasted, his backside hurting like hell. He could not move if he wanted to. But he didn’t.

Lucas came back, and he felt something cold and pleasant being slowly applied on his ass.

“Are ... are you going to turn me in?” Cory spoke.

“No, what kind of monster do you think I am?” Lucas asked, as he carefully applied the salve on Cory’s butt.

“Are you going to tell them? Are they going to go after them? Are they going to kill Ayn?” Cory grew more and more agitated.

“No, I am not going to tell them,” Lucas said in the same even tone.

He even sounded affectionate. Cory could not understand.

“But ... why? Xavier is your friend...”

“I believe Xavier is okay where he is. And, if he isn’t, it is entirely his choice,” Lucas answered.

His ass was feeling much, much better. Cory exhaled, as he felt the hand creeping between his ass cheeks and fingers slowly teasing his hole. He bucked his ass up, wanting more, the safety of the act, the safety of being embraced by Lucas again. The hand descended, touching his balls and cock, stirring the organ back to life.

“What do you think of this, Cory?” Lucas teased. “Was your punishment uncalled for? Was it too much? I must warn you that it feels better now, but tomorrow it will still hurt. Quite badly. And the day after tomorrow. Then a bit less.”

“No, I guess ... I guess I should not have lied to you,” Cory said in all honesty while wiggling his ass to get more of Lucas’s hand.

“Good answer, my Cory,” Lucas pressed against his back and turned his head to the side to kiss him. “Now, would you be terribly upset with me if I fucked you?”

“Don’t ask. Just take me,” Cory whispered, and he was penetrated swiftly, with no other preparation but the little salve that had been pushed inside by Lucas’s fingers as he had been teasing him.

Whatever anger Lucas still had inside, it was going away fast. Their coupling was wild, no imposed rhythm, nothing but thrust after thrust, until Cory came all over the kitchen floor, despite feeling his lover stretching him like never before. In turn, Lucas filled him to the brim with his own seed, with a low grunt.

They stood there, both still dressed up, panting.

“Why ... why do you believe Xavier is fine?” Cory eventually spoke, his voice a bit hoarse from all the crying followed by moans of ecstasy as Lucas had fucked him.

“Because he didn’t activate the alarm.”

“What alarm?” Cory asked.

“See this?” Lucas’s arm moved in front of him, and the sleeve was lifted a bit, for the servant to see the small silver band. “It has a small sensor. Easy to activate through a very simple move, which only Masters know. Anyone else could not. From what you’re telling me, Xavier could have done it anytime. I am not going to impose on his choice.”

“The bracelet ... can he activate it from anywhere he is? Even if he is very, very far?”

“It has quite a large range. Unless they left the continent ... I suppose he can still activate it.”

Lucas rose and dragged Cory up. “I am so sorry for this. But I could not allow you to lie to me. Do you understand?”

Cory rested his head against Lucas’s large chest. “I do.”

He hesitated for a second, then he asked. “Did you ... enjoy it more than usual?”

“Of course, you showed how much you trust me,” Lucas said quickly.

Cory knew there was something else, but didn’t press the matter. There was something new about his lover he was learning every day.

~A Good Servant~

They reached the gates of the settlement when it was breaking dawn. As they rode for the entire night, Xavier felt tired, worn to the bone.

“Home, sweet home,” Ayn spoke, and Xavier looked ahead.

It appeared as everything was made of scraped metal. The walls looked tall and grim, nothing like the beautiful design carved in wood gates guarding his city.

The gates moved with a loud screech, as Ayn got out of the car and hurried to meet someone coming out.

“Don’t you dare running away,” he spat, as he walked away.

Xavier thought for a brief second. He could just turn and leave. Drive away. But there was the small beeping alarm telling him the tank was almost empty, and the sensation in his chest he could not quench that was encouraging him to move forward, to follow Ayn and see what was going to happen next.