Page 30 of Anarchy
I filed that away in my spank bank for later.
“Can I pee now, Dorian?”
He was blocking the door to my cage. I could have easily blasted him out of the way. I wanted to. This fucker was going to give me a bladder infection if he made me hold it any longer.
“I just don’t trust you. You’re mouthy and not like the usual witches I work with. I’m going to need some assurances. Akul! I need assistance.”
A grumpy looking demon came stomping in with a female Hellhound who looked seriously beaten down. He was an older demon that appeared to be Talvath’s age. Akul was clearly wealthy. He was dressed to the nines. His makeup was expertly applied, though not as good as Balthazar’s. Akul was covered in jewels.
He didn’t give his Hellhound the same care. He dressed her in rags, and it looked like he provided her with the bare minimum to clean herself. I felt my rage growing. Akul was now on my list of people I wanted to kill. But, he was also one of Lilith’s creations, and I had a feeling he’d know if I used a little magic on him, so I kept it to myself.
“What is it, Dorian? I told you that you could keep your pet witch here, but I expect you to handle it.”
“I couldn’t get the bracelets to suppress her magic. Ripley is one of those modern witches who just can’t do what she’s told without having her own opinion about it. I don’t trust women like that, and neither should you. Can you get one of your Hellhounds to babysit her? You have plenty.”
“Seriously? Do you know how much Hellhounds cost and how long it takes to break them? They all have duties. I can’t spare one to babysit your witch.”
“I’ll pay you enough to buy two new Hellhounds if she kills one. The god has agreed to do what I ask as long as she remains unharmed. Do you want Talvath and your hit list taken care of or not? The only way that doesn’t blow back on you is if you do it my way. There’s no way for anyone to tie you to this.”
Akul just grunted.
“Fine. May, bring your mat in here and watch this witch. Try not to hurt her unless absolutely necessary. And get her something to eat. I don’t need her bitching to her boyfriend that we didn’t feed her.”
This demon wasstupid.Not just because he gave Dorian the means to destroy everyone in Hell just to kill a few people. He believed Dorian when he said no one could tie him to this. I had a face and a name, and I had big opinions about this whole thing. I’d fuck Akul over in a heartbeat because of how he treated his Hellhound.
“May, the witch has to use the facilities. Let her use them and get her back in her cage. Bring your mat in here. You have my permission to nap when she sleeps, but otherwise, I don’t want your eyes off her. Happy, Dorian?”
“Yes. I’d like to take a shower now.”
It wasn’t ball sweat causing those itchies. I waited until Dorian and Akul left and turned to the Hellhound. May was so different from Bram. That had everything to do with Talvath. Bram had this swagger about him. He smiled easily as if something was funny. May was just beaten down.
She shuffled towards my cage door to lead me to the bathroom, and that was when I realized she’d literally just been beaten. I could see the bruises and whip marks on her shoulders where her shirt didn’t cover. I felt my rage rising.
I did my business and went back to my cage. I didn’t want to give Akul any more reason to beat her now that he’d assigned her my babysitter.
“Do you have a preference for food, miss?”
“Ripley, please. Anything is fine, but do you think you could bring me some comfrey and aloe and something to grind them up with?”
“The master will be mad if you do magic, and I’m not supposed to hurt you.”
“Yes, but your master hurtyou.I was going to make a healing poultice for your back. It’s not right. You’re a living being. You shouldn’t be purchased as a pet, but even where I come from, if someone mistreats their pets, someone takes them away, and sometimes, it’s a felony.”
“It’s not like that here. It hasn’t been like that since I’ve been alive. If he finds out you tried to make my punishment less painful, he’ll beat the other twelve Hellhounds he owns and make me watch. He does that sometimes if beating us again will keep us from working.”
“Things are going to change, May. I don’t think I need to tell you that your master has started something he probably can’t finish.”
“Things won’t change, miss. We hear things in this house. There are a lot of demons who would see us free. Even the ones that don’t find the breeding farms inhumane. Many demons make a lot of money with those. Akul is one of them. He doesn’t just own stock in several of them. He owns six females and six males. We don’t just have duties around the house. He’s made himself richer, sending us there to make more Hellhounds for demons for the work they don’t want to do.
“A lot of demons are like that. They view the people who want to change things as a threat to their livelihood. We know what Akul has done, but he has allies. They don’t know this plot he’s hatched, but they’d keep his secret if he told them.”
“Can you keep a secret, May?”
“We keep a lot of secrets in this house, miss.”
“What if I told you Lilith is now involved, and it’s just a matter of time before my people figure out where I am? I know Akul expects all of you to shift and defend him, but all of you owe him nothing. Every single person coming for me wants things to change for the Hellhounds, and some of them have the power to do that. So all I’m asking is that when they come, you don’t fight.”
“I can’t promise that, and I don’t dare tell the others. Oscar is Akul’s favorite. He’s treated better than the rest of us. He reports everything back to Akul. Most of our beatings are because of Oscar. He would find out your friends are coming and warn Akul. Some of us may back down if Lilith is there, but Oscar won’t.”
