The bland-faced bodyslave took a step towards Lexi and opened his mouth. But no—that wasn’t quite right, she thought numbly. It wasn’t so much a mouth as a hole in his face—a round, black hole lined all the way around with sharp, triangular teeth like those of a deep sea predator.
The hole that was the bodyslave’s mouth grew bigger and bigger until it seemed to take up his entire face. It gaped horribly, pushing his nose and eyes up out of the way near his forehead and widened until it was big enough to…
To bite off my hand—or even my whole head! Lexi thought, feeling sick. Oh my Goddess—he’s going to kill me—eat me here and now if I can’t get away!
She took several steps back, wishing she had a weapon or a bodyslave of her own by her side. Why oh why had she told Gaze and Bound to wait on the other side of the dance floor? She should have at least brought them to the entrance of the Ladies Area and had them wait there! But no, she’d been too embarrassed—wanting to avoid talking about the things she’d said and done under the influence of the Love Gas.
That had been stupid of her—incredibly stupid. But now she was on her own and she had to stay calm. If she freaked out around this bodyslave/Vore creature, she might literally lose her head.
“I don’t know why you’re bothering to show me this—unless you just want to show off yet another way you abuse the helpless people who are put in your power,” she said coolly.
“I’m showing you your eventual fate if you don’t drop this ridiculous crusade you’ve got going against my Death Mines,” Mistress Crueltongue snapped. “It was amusing at first, but now you’re eating into my profit! You’d better stop while you still can—or would you like to open your closet some night and see my darling Karnivore standing in the darkness, waiting for you?”
“You…you wouldn’t dare,” Lexi said, her voice trembling despite her best effort to sound calm. “Everyone knows that the penalty for killing another Mistress on Yonnie Six is death!”
“Ah, but that’s only if they catch you, my dear.” Mistress Crueltongue gave her a smile as sharp and red as a butcher’s blade. “And I don’t intend to get caught. So this is your last warning—leave me and my mines alone. Better yet, leave Yonnie Six entirely and go back to that little backwater planet you came from. You’re not wanted here.” She tapped her bodyslave on the shoulder. “Enough, now—put it away.”
The bodyslave’s enormous gaping hole of a mouth slowly began to shrink in size, almost as though he was retracting it back into himself. His eyes and nose reappeared, sliding down from his forehead to form a rubbery, mask-like visage as the awful hole shrank and the sharp, white predator’s teeth that ringed it grew less and less visible. Finally, his lips closed and he stood there with that bland, blank face that gave no hint of the horrors beneath.
“Very good, Karnivore.” Mistress Crueltongue patted his arm. “Now let’s go home and get you some fresh meat—I know putting on a display always makes you hungry.”
She gave Lexi a final, nasty smirk and was heading for the door when it suddenly burst open to reveal Gaze and Bound standing there.
“Mistress? Are you well?” Gaze asked, frowning as he saw Mistress Crueltongue and her bodyslave.
“We felt like there was something wrong going on,” Bound added. “And then we saw this fuckin’ thing.” He pointed to the door where a handmade ‘out of order’ sign had been fixed.
Lexi lifted her chin.
“Thanks for your concern, boys, but I’m fine,” she said, in a voice that hardly trembled at all.
In fact, she was a mass of conflicting emotions. For a few moments there while the strange bodyslave was showing her his Vore half, she had been utterly terrified. But now that the shock and fear had worn off, she found herself more angry than anything.
How dare Mistress Crueltongue threaten her in that way? She might think she had scared Lexi off, but in reality, all she’d done was make her even more determined to shut down the other woman’s Death Mines.
Just wait, Lexi thought, as she watched Crueltongue leave the Ladies Area with her monstrous bodyslave in tow. Just wait and see what I’m going to do to you! You’re going to be sorry you threatened me—I’m going to close down every mine you have, you bitch!
“Come on,” she said to Gaze and Bound. “Let’s go home. We have some planning to do.”
TWENTY-SIX
Bound watched Alexa—no, Angel—she was always going to be Angel to him—with concern on the ride back home. Something had happened in that Ladies Area—he’d bet half a year’s wages on it. But apparently it was something she didn’t want to talk about, because she spent the whole trip staring silently out the window of the hovercoach.
Shoulda gone after her sooner, Bound thought, frowning as he tried to decipher the pensive expression on her lovely face. He had felt that something was wrong almost as soon as she had left them and disappeared into the crowd. He’d wanted to follow her at once but Gaze had disagreed, saying that they couldn’t exactly chase the curvy Elite into the Ladies Area.
But the feeling of wrongness just kept growing and eventually, Gaze had gotten it too. Bound thought he might have felt it first because Angel had given him her blood first, before she also gave some to his twin. But for whatever reason, when the two of them finally went across to the Ladies Area, the feeling that Angel was in danger was so strong it had nearly choked him.
When he’d seen that damn hand-written sign that said “out of order” and knew for certain something suspicious was going on, Bound had felt a terrible fear that they were going to be too late. A picture had flashed in his mind—a horrible image of Angel lying there in a pool of blood, her lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling…
He’d been massively relieved when the door had opened and Angel had been all right. But even now, Bound had the feeling that they had narrowly escaped something terrible.
Never shouda left her alone in the first place, he repeated to himself. It was a mistake he didn’t intend to make again.
When they finally got back to the penthouse apartment at the top of Trindall Tower, Angel seemed preoccupied. Bound wished he could know what she was thinking—he wished that he and Gaze had a bond with her. If they did, there would be a three-way mental connection between all three of them. Then he wouldn’t have to wonder what she was thinking—he would know.
“You okay, Angel?” he asked her as they climbed out of the hovercoach and walked into the opulent living area with its gold lamps and ornate furniture.
“You were awfully quiet on the way home,” Gaze added. “Did something happen with Mistress Crueltongue? Something we should know about?”
“Something you want us to do something about?” Bound asked in a growl. As a Kindred, he would never hurt a female, but if he found out the other Mistress had hurt his Angel in any way…
The little Elite seemed to consider confiding in them for a moment…but then she shook her head.
“No, no—nothing that needs to concern the two of you,” she told him and Gaze. “She’s just a lot of talk.” She lifted her chin. “But I don’t care what she says—I’m taking her down! Mistress Pricklethorn invited me to the next meeting of the Sacred Seven and I’m going to be there to present my case and get her damn mines closed down permanently!”