Chapter 20

Amanda was now convinced of what she had only suspected the day before: her bondage arrangement had been dictated by Mandas down to the last detail. The displeasure on Marris' face while he secured her was both confirmation and a small comfort as she swayed and strained at the ends of her chains.

Her wrists were shackled, and a chain ran from them to a large metal hook embedded in the ceiling, pulled taut until her heels left the floor. Her ankles were bound tight with another chain, forcing her to strain on tip-toes to steady her body.

She would let herself hang from the wrist shackles if not for the additional chain threaded between her legs and attached to the same hook. When she relaxed her feet, the chain pushed a silky cloth against her folds. Her pussy buzzed and strained with wet pleasure which never consummated in orgasm while it remained pressed to her.

She was left like this for some time, her feet growing tired and forcing her to rest against the cloth until she squirmed in dire need. She would gasp and writhe against the chain, desperate to coax her pussy into one final nudge over the edge. Yet relief would never come, leaving her panting and mad with arousal. Then it was up on her tip-toes again.

This had not been enough to satisfy Mandas. Two slim chains hung from tight clamps on her nipples, and lead weights dangled from the other ends. As she wriggled about trying to balance herself on her tip-toes, the weights swung and tugged, driving her pleasure to further maddening heights until her nipples throbbed with her heartbeat against the clamps.

Finally, the carriage door opened, and Mandas entered, thumping his cane once against the floor. His eyes slowly swept Amanda's body, and he smiled as if admiring "his" work. Amanda said nothing, though she could not hide the plea from her eyes.

He stepped towards her just as she was forced to ease the ache in her burdened feet. Mandas grinned and flicked the weights on her nipples with the head of his cane. Amanda moaned and shivered, her breath a gasping pant as her pussy strained harder at the edge.

"Sometimes I wish I had managed to outbid that oaf Norlan for you," said Mandas with a sly smile. "I have all sorts of interesting bondage positions I would love to try on you. You take to them so well."

Amanda barely managed to suppress a whimper as she squirmed and twisted.

"And as much as I would love to watch you in this state, I suspect your speech would be incoherent. Alas."

He turned towards a corner of the carriage and picked up a block of polished wood which Marris had left behind. He placed it at Amanda's feet and helped her step onto it. Amanda rested on her heels and let out a slow, quavering sigh as the pressure against her pussy eased. She stood still until the weights stopped swinging, and it retreated a bit more.

"Better?" Mandas asked with a smarmy grin.

"Yes, Master," Amanda said in a less strained but still breathy voice.

"Very good. Now, tell me what else you have learned about Gedric."

Amanda launched into the speech she had rehearsed with Gedric and Vortas before dawn. She told him of Gedric's Noble heritage and his mentor, the former Lord Tarras, who likely escaped the initial Inonni purge. She did not reveal her revelations about the Inonni Portal technology, nor did he ask.

When Amanda was done, Mandas slowly paced the length of the carriage once, appearing deep in thought. He finally lifted his eyes to her, and his face took on a grave look. "From what you have told me, Amanda, it is as I have feared: Gedric is in extreme danger."

Amanda did not react. She simply gave Mandas an expectant look.

"It is well and good I had conceived of a plan of escape for him, for I suspected from the start it might come to this."

Amanda tilted her head, both in curiosity and confusion.

"This is what I had implied when I first spoke to you. This task is the means for your escape with Gedric."

Amanda's eyes widened. Did he know already? Were the Urisi further along in understanding the Inonni threat than they let on?

"I believe the Oceanus delegation which will be upon us in less than a quarter moon intends to take Gedric into custody as a means of finding Lord Tarras."

Amanda's mouth dropped open.

Mandas nodded gravely. "Yes, you can see the implications yourself. Oceanus' new masters will do unspeakable things to him to get the information they want."

Amanda blinked and stared in surprise.

Mandas smirked. "Ah, so naive you are. You don't want to think just how bad they can be. But I know far more about them than you ever could. I know how vicious they are. How cruelly they can torture a man. How they think nothing of inflicting the most terrible pain to get what they want. That is what awaits Gedric if we do not help him escape before the Inonni arrive."

That Mandas could stoop to such outrageous lies did not surprise her. But to declare them so boldly, without flinching, without giving any clue as to the deception by either the inflection of his voice or the movements of his body chilled her far more than anything he could have done to her.

She had once lamented she could never be a complete slave. She could act the part but not be the part, as something would flicker in her eyes to destroy the illusion. Now she reveled in it, for if Mandas were an example of the accomplished liar, it was something she never wanted to be.

The thought that Mandas had expected her to fall for this pack of lies sparked blazing anger in her eyes for a moment.

Mandas nodded. "Yes, I can see you do not like the prospect, either. Then I would suggest it is in your best interest to assist in this escape. If we act fast enough, you and Gedric can be gone before the Oceanus delegates arrive."

Amanda's mind raced. What was Mandas really up to? If he could tell such large lies, then nothing suggested he was telling the truth now. But if there were even a chance to escape the Urisi slave system... !

She had no idea what to do or how to respond.

Mandas gave her an ingratiating smile. "I see you appear a bit conflicted. Perhaps the life of a slave was starting to grow on you? I suppose I'll give you some time to, ah..."

He suddenly kicked the block out from under Amanda's feet. She gasped when the chain slammed the cloth into her tortured pussy and the weights on her nipples swung wildly. She again thrashed and whimpered in unbearable need.

" ... think about it." Mandas smirked and left the carriage.

It was once said one could tell the size of a bureaucracy by counting how many clerks it employed. As such, the Urisi government had the greatest density of clerks to non-clerks of any nation in Narlass.

High Minister of State Erodon employed a virtual army of clerks who handled all the minutiae of paperwork which he had neither the desire nor the time to do himself. All documents underwent an initial editing by the clerks; all messages to foreign heads of state were spell-checked by the clerks; and all expense reports came first to the clerks for an initial accounting and tally.

Once such clerk, sitting at the single long desk alongside his peers, worked methodically through a pile of such reports, his quill pen quivering as it noted figures on a long scroll which pooled on the floor beside him. The other hand alternated between flipping a report from the "pending" to "done" pile and manipulating the beads of an abacus with nimble aplomb.

Finally a report sat before him which forced him to pause. He raised an imperious eyebrow and narrowed his eyes upon the figure. Seven thousand? For a single lump sum listed only as "miscellaneous Ambassadorial expenses?" Oh no, this would not do at all. He would expect a whole ream of parchments to accompany this one, a complete accounting of every coin, in order to allow him to validate such an expense.

He frowned as he saw the name attached to it: Lord Ambassador Norlan.

He sighed. The rank was high enough that he had to issue an initial approval. Yet anything over a thousand platinum gave him pause, especially without more detail. Ambassador or no, Lord Norlan had to account for his expenditures.

He inked the figure into the ledger with some reluctance, and drew a symbol near it indicating it was provisional only. He grumbled a curse, as now he had to maintain an additional column. He dearly hoped there would be no more like this.

He placed the report in a different pile, one that heretofore had been empty. The little sign next to it read "expedited review." When Erodon performed his own review two days hence, he would be sure to see this one first.

Amanda discovered to her dismay that a pussy straining almost painfully on the edge of orgasm was not conducive to logical thought. She spent much of her time trying to avoid thrashing, as any movement made it worse. She closed her eyes and blocked out all other thoughts as she tensed her arms and lifted herself on her toes.

Amanda had never been so torn since being parted from Sirinna. She was sure Mandas was setting up Gedric for something. Would he, as a Urisi Ambassador, actually abet an escape attempt for a man wanted by another government? And yet if there were even the smallest chance she could escape--!

Amanda sighed. In reality, only one choice existed, as Mandas would consider only one answer acceptable. What really mattered was what she was going to do afterward. Surely Gedric and Vortas would see the offer for the duplicity it was.

Amanda whimpered as her feet gave out. Her pussy pressed against the cloth, now soaked with both the enchantment imbued within and her own moisture. She shivered and moaned, unable to think clearly in the midst of the sensual assault.

The door opened, and Mandas stepped inside. Amanda tried to speak, but only a ragged moan emerged from her lips. She thrashed again, her nipple weights swinging, her breath heavy. Mandas watched her for a few moments before placing the block under her feet.

Mandas gave Amanda a sly smirk, and yanked the cloth out from between the chain and her pussy. He slipped a single gloved finger into her folds and rubbed her womanhood with quick, hard strokes.

Amanda gasped, her chains rattling as she trembled at the edge for another few excruciating moments, the effects of the orgasm suppressant slow to wear off. She cried out as her pussy exploded, throbbing hard against Mandas hand. The chain holding her wrists snapped taut as her legs gave out.

Mandas withdrew his hand. "Your answer?"

Amanda gasped out her answer as she struggled to catch her breath. "Yes ... Master ... I'll do it ... I'll help you."

Mandas grinned. "Very good. Now, listen carefully, as I do not care to repeat myself. The Oceanus fleet is granted one more night with the slaves. That will be your chance to inform Gedric of my plan. I am sure you can convince him, since he is so enamored of the oh-so-special Oceanus-bred slaves. Tell him the escape will be executed before the Oceanus delegates are within sight of the coast. He is to acknowledge his acceptance of the plan by requesting he be allowed to have you for another night, that he will reveal some important information to Norlan if he is granted his wish."

"Yes, Master, I understand."

"The night you are delivered to him, a courier will arrive with a parchment for the guards which will grant permission for Gedric to be allowed off the ship so he may have you in the carriage." He smirked. "It will claim Gedric has certain ... special bondage requests ... which he does not have the equipment to do. He will then join you in the carriage, and both of you will be taken to your passage to freedom."

Amanda's heart pounded. To her desperate ears, it sounded almost as if it could work. She wanted to hold out some hope he was sincere in wishing for their escape.

"I do hope you can remember all that." Mandas said in a dry voice.

"Yes, Master, I'll remember it."

"If you do not carry through, I vow I will find a way to acquire you, and then you'll really see what sort of interesting bondage games I'm capable of with my slaves."

Amanda shivered, rattling her chains once more. "Yes, Master," she said in a meek voice.

Marris hoped this would be the last time Lord Ambassador Mandas needed to meet with Amanda in this manner. He was sure "meet" was the operative word. Mandas' visits were far too short to be a simple sexual tryst.

He felt guilty when Amanda looked at him each time he chained and unchained her, despite the total lack of accusation in her eyes. He was sure he could not do this again without begging Amanda for forgiveness. This last time, Amanda had given him a concerned look just as he returned her to her normal carriage, as if she had noticed his distress and was sorry for it.

His heart had melted, and he had come close to shedding tears when he was alone in his compartment.

His mind raced with possibilities of what Mandas could be up to. His concern had little to do with loyalty to Norlan. He had finally accepted he had little if any loyalty. Norlan was just an employer, someone willing to let him work for the pittance he earned. It was hard to be loyal when so many employers had dismissed him after learning of his "proclivities."

He was more worried about Amanda being hurt. He was not interested in whatever machinations went on between rival Lord Ambassadors. They would continue with or without his assistance. But at least he had a choice, unlike Amanda.

Marris would quit his position in an instant if he thought he could somehow take Amanda with him. He had heard of slaves attempting escape, usually those who were left undraughted and thus still remembered the loves ones from whom they had been ripped. Those who attempted to assist them generally came to bad ends.

And even if he could help Amanda escape, where would she go? There were stories of slaves who had managed to escape but became no more than slave labor toiling away on some obscure farm or plantation. It traded one slavery for another.

Marris had his doubts about the latter claim, but he was sure Amanda would be just as miserable as a peasant girl as she would as a slave.

Marris peeked outside as dusk settled to twilight and sighed. Another sleepless night lay ahead.

Mandas wrinkled his nose as he once more found himself at the disagreeable strip of beach of the Ollo merchant clan. He hauled a large sack towards its equally odious clan leader and dropped it at the man's feet.

Riddon stared at the sack, it sides bulging with coins, then gave the Lord Ambassador a stunned look. Two of his compatriots, having heard the distinctive rattle of platinum, raced over from their camp and dropped to their knees, pawing open the sack like starving men finding a cache of food.

"Sweet goddess of the sea," one drawled. He plunged his hand inside and let the coins run through his fingers.

"Bloody hellfire if there ain't at least five thousand in here!" the other babbled.

"Seven thousand," Mandas announced, his voice tight. "As agreed."