renewed sense of trepidation.
She was in a tunnel. The tunnel wound down into the earth, far below the house on the hill. She followed it, floating down, down, down, until she emerged into a cavern. She floated just below the roof of the cavern and surveyed the scene below her.
It was horrific.
She was looking at an underworld society, a realm similar in distressing ways to the pyramid scene. She saw immediately that there was a ruling class and an underclass. More slaves. They were treated horribly, worse by far than the slaves who’d toiled in the desert. Worst of all, she realized this awful place was a creation of King’s. These people were here because … he’d trapped them.
They were travelers, unfortunates who’d turned down the wrong road.
They were-
“Here are my subjects, Dream,” King’s voice revealed.
She noticed the hideous, lupine creatures poised around the tunnel exits.
Shane, she thought.
One of these things killed Shane.
The pitch of King’s voice never altered. “You can come back now, Dream, come back to me.”
That was fine with her.
She suddenly wanted nothing more than to be back in her own body. She didn’t want to see any more of this.
The cavern scene faded.
And she was falling again …
… falling …
Her eyes snapped open and she lurched in King’s arms.
He held her close. “Relax, Dream.” He traced one of her lips with a forefinger. “You’re safe with me.”
“But you’re a monster,” she breathed.
He laughed. “These things are subjective. Am I monster? Or am I a King? What the storybooks neglect to say is that the two concepts are often inextricably entwined. I am only a monster to those I exclude from my inner circle. I have servants. Apprentices. My chosen ones wield a degree of power they could never hope to achieve in the outside world. And there’s nothing as seductive as power, Dream. These people are grateful to me. They love and worship me.”
Dream trembled. “They fear you.”
King chuckled. “Of course.” His smile was disquieting. “As well they should. But they also love and worship me, exist to serve me.”
He kissed Dream on the mouth. “As they will exist to serve you.”
“Love you.”
“And worship you.”
King kissed her again, and Dream felt her body go slack. His mouth on hers still felt good. Bullshit. It felt wonderful. He was a monstrous, evil, inhuman creature. His very existence was an affront to everything she’d ever believed in.
And yet…
His hand traveled down her side, over her hip, along her leg, fingertips gliding over her raised kneecap, then sliding slowly, inexorably down her inner thigh.
It was too much.
Too exciting.
Too exquisite.
So she compartmentalized, stowing away the horror generated by his revelations, and she gave herself over to sensation.
“You are so beautiful, Dream. I’ve waited for you so long.” His deep voice, rich and resonant, soothed her, made her tremble. “My Queen.”
Queen.
What an incredible concept.
She shut her eyes.
Focused on the physical sensation of King’s tongue on her flesh.
And let go.
Surrendered to Eros again.
Lost herself again in sweet oblivion.
And there was nothing better than that.
Chad followed Cindy through a throng of madmen and madwomen. His head was in constant motion, his mouth open in a perpetual gape, as he took in the spectacle of what looked like a medieval marketplace. His mind numbly catalogued countless instances of casual brutality. An old man pitched over after a member of The Master’s police force cracked the butt of a shotgun against his head. Blood gushed from a gash above the man’s ear, and he screamed for help. A shadowy figure emerged from an alley, picked the old man up in its distended arms, licked its chops, and loped away toward one of the distant tunnel mouths.
Chad turned a wide-eyed expression toward Cindy. “What’s the shapeshifter doing with that old man?”
Her expression remained blank, stoic. “Having dinner.”
Chad groaned.
This place was a nightmare come to life. A vendor to their left was hawking canned goods. A woman was on her knees fellating him. The tone of his pitch never altered as the woman’s head moved. “Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, step right up!” He sounded like a carnival barker. “Oh, who am I kidding?” He cackled. “Gather round, you depraved sacks of shit, come check out the goodies I have for you today. I’ve got beans, I’ve got soup, I’ve got corn, I’ve got it all. I’m the only authorized seller of spinach in all of Below!”
“Bullshit!” bellowed another vendor nearby.
The canned-goods salesman wheeled in that direction, his wet member slipping free of the woman’s mouth. She scurried after him, drew the dripping cock back into her mouth, and moved her head desperately up and down.
Chad was disgusted. “Jesus Christ.”
The vendor waved an arm in the direction of his challenger. “Do not listen to this man!” His voice rose dramatically in pitch. “He is a liar, a cheat, and a scam. Go to him if you wish to spend your hard-earned currency on inferior product. But don’t blame me when you’re doubled over with food poisoning after ingesting his rancid wares. My goods are fresh. Everyone Below knows the name Elvis Kennedy means quality!”
Chad looked at Cindy. “Elvis Kennedy?”
“A lot of people Below use made-up names.”
“Oh.”
“Like Lazarus.”
The vendor continued, “Ask anyone, my prices are the lowest around! I will not be undersold! Everything’s negotiable. No money? We can work something out!” He grabbed a handful of the woman’s hair. “Hell, just ask my lady friend! She’s a repeat customer!”
Cindy approached the man’s booth. Chad stood back and watched. The vendor regarded her with a lascivious grin. “Hey, good-looking! What can I do for you today? I bet you could go for some baked beans, whaddya say?”
Cindy never hesitated. She strode purposefully toward the obnoxious vendor. Chad could see the coming violence in the set of her shoulders. She was like a snake poised to strike. Too bad for the vendor she didn’t have a warning rattle.
Chad felt a reflexive jolt of fear.
Cindy was too impulsive.
He couldn’t help believing she was endangering their already fragile position here by violently attacking the first person who pissed her off.
And this attack was certainly violent.
But it was also executed with lethal speed and efficiency.
