Chained

  “Night, Maggie.” He dropped a soft kiss on the top of her head and stared up at the glass ceiling, wishing he never had to let her go.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Hargous, the asteroid where the implant house was located, was the largest one of the cluster that made up the Dragon’s Mouth. Consequently, the junket docked there first. Apparently implants were even more popular than body modifications, though Maggie was sure you couldn’t tell it from watching some of the slaves on the large asteroid. She saw plenty of female slaves with three, four, and even more breasts. One even had a double row of breasts, almost like the utters of a cow.

  But it wasn’t just breasts—some of the women had been modified to look almost like animals. Maggie saw one with pointed ears like a cat and a long swishing tail to match. Her eyes were huge too and she had a long set of whiskers that twitched as she sniffed the air. Honestly, Maggie wasn’t sure which kind of body modification was the worst—each slave she saw seemed more bizarrely modified than the next. And all of them shuffled along behind their masters, passing silently through the crowded streets.

  Of course, maybe the streets just looked crowded because they were all located underground. Maggie hadn’t wanted to go at first when they disembarked from the large junket. The covered, atmosphere-sealed walkway that extended from the big ship had led straight down into what looked like a black mining pit. Maggie—who had been claustrophobic since she was little and her big brother had locked her in a closet—hadn’t liked the look of it at all.

  Finally Kor had coaxed her down, promising to keep an arm around her the entire time, but she still had a horrible, tight feeling in the pit of her stomach as they walked through the dimly lit tunnels carved into the solid rock of the huge asteroid.

  Or maybe that tight feeling is unfinished business, whispered a little voice in her head. Maybe it’s because you’re starting to care for him and you can’t admit it.

  Maybe the voice was right, Maggie acknowledged miserably. She knew it was stupid to let herself fall for the big warrior, but she couldn’t seem to help it. She tried to keep Donald in mind and the promise she had made to him, but her fiancé just seemed so far away…so distant and unreal. And Kor was right here beside her—warm and caring, watching over her.

  Maggie loved the sensation of being so thoroughly guarded. The hard wall of muscle that was Kor’s chest was at her back, shielding her from harm. His hand was on her shoulder, guiding her through the maze of corridors and his intense eyes watched her every step lest she trip in her high black boots. He was there for her—present and protective in a way she could never remember Donald—who was constantly preoccupied with his work— ever being.

  Watch it, Maggie! You’re getting in pretty deep here. The little voice in her head was absolutely right but somehow Maggie just couldn’t help herself…her emotions were overcoming her good sense.

  It’s just the implant, she told herself desperately. Except, she wasn’t exactly sure of that anymore. It was true the implant made her crave Kor’s touch but could it really make her fall in love with him? Could it really—

  “Well, here we are. The House of Denethor.”

  Kor’s deep voice behind her snapped Maggie out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw a discretely lit sign that advertised “Implants for the Discriminating Gentlemale.”

  “Looks like a reputable place, at least,” Kor muttered, staring at the sign. “Better than those hack and slash implant places we passed on the way in.”

  “I suppose so.” Maggie nodded. Honestly, she’d been too busy looking at the bizarrely modified slaves and thinking about her increasingly complicated feelings to take notice of the different shops they’d passed.

  “Well, let’s go.” Kor held open the door for her and they stepped inside the small, dimly lit shop.

  “Yes?” A little, wrinkled gnome of a man who was probably shorter than Maggie was sitting on a high stool at a work station at the back of the shop. He had dark blue skin and a shock of bright pink hair like a swirl of cotton candy. Other than his skin and hair color, though, Maggie thought he looked remarkably human.

  The shop itself appeared to be completely bare except for a few glass or crystal cases set up around the perimeter which housed small, blinking jewels attached to long, thin, trailing feathers. “Can I help you?” the little man asked, frowning.

  “Yes.” Kor stepped forward, leading Maggie by the hand. “Are you Hobbs?”

  “I am.” The little man frowned. “State your business, please.”

  Kor gestured at Maggie. “I need an implant removed.”

  “From her?” The grizzled little man frowned down at Maggie from his perch behind the work station. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong—I want it removed and I believe it originated here.” Kor frowned impatiently. “Can you take it out?”

  “Let me have a look at it. Come closer, youngling.” The little old man beckoned to her and Maggie stepped forward. She was wearing her leather slave girl outfit again and she was even more aware than usual that her nipples and pussy were on display. The little old man didn’t seem to even notice her near nakedness, however—he focused solely on her naval where the ruby implant blinked slowly.

  “Well?” Kor asked after a long moment. “Is it one of yours?”

  “Yes indeed. The Denari Eroticus—our top of the line model,” the little man muttered. “In fact, this one looks a lot like a model I shipped off to the Yonnie system—Yonnie Six, I believe it was.”

  “That’s it, then,” Kor said, nodding. “That’s where she was implanted.”

  “And the implantation seems to have taken hold well,” the little man muttered, continuing to stare at Maggie’s belly button. “The host is healthy. Let me just…” He hopped down from his perch and came over to them, reaching out a hand to Maggie.

  Only his hand wasn’t just a hand, she saw with sudden horror. The fingers and thumb were hideously elongated and tapered to long, thin filaments at the end. They waved like incredibly thin needles as he moved his fingers and they were getting closer and closer to her unprotected midriff.

  “Ugh!” she exclaimed and took a step back before he could touch her.

  “Hold still, girl—hold still,” the little man said testily. “Haven’t you ever seen finger mods before?”

  “No.” Maggie shook her head. “And I don’t want to, either. Those look sharp.”

  The little man blew out a breath in frustration. “They are sharp, my girl. So sharp you won’t even feel them. I had them grown especially so that I could work at nano-level. Now hold still—this won’t hurt a bit.”

  Maggie bit her lip and forced herself to stand still as those long, thin needle fingers came at her again. As they got closer and closer, she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch.

  “I warn you,” Kor growled at the man. “If you hurt her—”

  “She won’t feel a thing. Now if I can just…there. There we are.”

  Maggie opened her eyes and saw to her surprise that the needle fingers were penetrating her skin, poking into the flesh of her abdomen all around the implant. Just as the man had said, it didn’t hurt a bit. But it was very disconcerting to watch. She closed her eyes again and reached for Kor’s hand.

  “It’s all right, blondie,” he murmured, squeezing her fingers reassuringly. “I’ve got you.”

  “Ah yes, here it is. Well everything appears to be in order,” Maggie heard the little man say. “I can find nothing wrong—the organism is well seated within its host and the biological and mechanical components are synchronized and working together seamlessly. So what seems to be the problem?”

  “The problem,” Kor said, sounding dangerously impatient and pissed off. “Is that we want the fucking thing out. Now can you do it or not?”

  “Do it?” The little man stepped away and Maggie opened her eyes in time to see his long, thin fingers sliding out of her. They didn’t leave so much as a pinprick or a single drop of blood.
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  “Yes,” Kor growled. “Can…you…take…it…out?”

  “Of course, I can’t do it,” the little man said indignantly. “Didn’t you hear me? The implant is locked within the host and it seems to be working beautifully. How could I possibly remove such perfection? It would be like spoiling a perfect work of art.”

  “Fuck art,” Kor stepped closer, glaring down at the little man. “Listen, you son of a bitch, this implant was put into my female without her knowledge or consent. Since then it has caused her unlimited problems and humiliation—it’s making her life fucking miserable. So I don’t care how ‘beautiful’ you think your damn implant is, I want it out of her now!”

  The last word was a full throated roar and Maggie saw his eyes begin to glow red in warning. Clearly he was just one step away from frying Hobbs the implant gnome where he stood.

  “Kor…” she said, putting a hand on his arm quickly. “Please don’t—please!”

  “Sorry.” He put a hand to his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. “It just makes me so fucking angry. After everything you’ve gone through…”

  “So she’s not your slave at all?” the little man interrupted.

  “No,” Kor said shortly. His eyes were still glowing but a little less brightly now. Maggie breathed a sigh of relief, glad disaster had been averted.

  “I was taken and implanted by a really terrible woman,” she told Hobbs helpfully. “I never wanted this and I’m not a slave, although she tried to sell me as one. I’m just a girl from Earth who wants to go home but I can’t. Not with this thing in me.” She gestured at the blinking ruby implant. “Please, can’t you help?”

  “Hmm, well…” The little gnome man nodded. “Yes, that does put a different spin on things. Forgive me.” He bowed stiffly to Kor. “I had no idea the female in question was your beloved.”

  “Well, she is,” Kor said, not bothering to correct him. “And I care for her happiness deeply. No matter how beautifully your implant has taken root, it is making her life miserable. It has to come out.”

  “I see. Well, there’s the problem.” The little man nodded thoughtfully.

  “What problem?” Kor asked flatly.

  “Well, as you say, the implant has ‘taken root’—literally, I’m afraid. Come here, let me show you.” He led them to one of the clear crystal cases that held a blinking jewel attached to many long thin feather-like filaments. “This is a model of the same kind that is living inside you,” he told Maggie. “The jewel is the mechanical part of the implant. But see these?” He pointed to the feather things. “They are the biological part—the creature’s tentacles.”

  “Really?” Maggie felt sick when she considered that those long, thin feathery things might be inside her. “Where…where are they?” she made herself ask.

  “Oh, why, everywhere.” The little man moved his hands expressively. “Wrapped around your heart, your lungs, your liver…all your internal organs basically. Oh, and they’ve completely infiltrated your spinal chord and nervous system with many special tendrils reaching into your genital area.”

  “Oh my God!” Maggie could scarcely believe it. Of course, Kor had told her something similar when he’d warned only the maker of the implant could take it out but to hear the “expert” tell her that she was completely infiltrated by another organism—an alien parasite—was horrifying. She felt her stomach flutter sickly and wondered if she was going to throw up. Feels like I swallowed a bunch of feathers, she thought. Oh wait, basically I did. A jagged little laugh that sounded more like a sob escaped her.

  “Maggie?” Kor had her by the shoulders and was looking at her anxiously. “Maggie, are you all right?”

  “No.” Maggie felt another sob trying to escape and swallowed it back down grimly. “No, apparently I’m not because I’m host to a freaking alien that’s been growing inside me for months. It’ll probably come bursting out of my sternum at any minute—”

  “Don’t be foolish,” the little man said sternly. “Nothing of the kind is going to happen. My implants are perfectly well suited for life inside their hosts. There’s no reason any of them would dislodge in that way.”

  His stern, no-nonsense tone made Maggie feel marginally better. She took a deep breath.

  “But…what you’re saying is that it’s all over me. That it’s in me for good and there’s no getting rid of it, right?”

  “I didn’t say that either. Such an annoying female—are you certain you want the implant removed?” The little man looked at Kor.

  “Very fucking certain,” Kor growled. “And I think she has a right to be upset—she’s been implanted with a biomechanical creature and it sounds like it can’t come out.”

  “Oh, but it can come out.” The little man nodded vigorously. “Indeed, it can.”

  “What? Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Kor demanded irritably. “Instead of scaring my female half to death with your damn demonstrations?”

  “I was coming to it,” the little man exploded. “If only you’ll let me talk. Gerran the Terrible’s cock, you people are impatient!”

  Maggie was tempted to ask who Gerran the Terrible was and what his cock had to do with anything but she was too eager to hear how the implant could be gotten out of her. Now that she knew what was really inside her body, she had a shivery, crawly sensation that wouldn’t go away.

  “Removing the implant is quite simple, really, as long as the girl’s master is available,” the little man said.

  “I told you,” Kor growled. “She’s not really a slave!”

  “Yes, I know that,” the little man snapped. “I’m talking about the male who has been acting as her master while the implant was active. Who has been satisfying the sexual urges caused by it?”

  “Oh.” Kor frowned. “Well, I have, actually.”

  “Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.” The little old man hobbled back to his work station and began working rapidly, his long, thin fingers moving so fast they seemed to be a blur. At last he pressed a final button and a panel in the wall behind him slid open. “Ah, there we are,” he muttered, hopping down from his perch again. He reached into the panel and extracted what looked like a test tube filled with some milky white liquid. It appeared to be steaming as the little man put some kind of a seal over it and handed the vial to Kor.

  Kor took it from him and frowned. “What’s this?”

  “Tentacle solvent. Tailored specially to your beloved’s implant.” The little man sighed. “If you truly feel you must remove it then you’ll need to drink all of that first.”

  “Uh, you mean I have to drink all of it, right?” Maggie had no idea what was in the test tube but if it would get rid of the awful blinking ruby in her belly button as well as its disgusting feathery filaments apparently fastened around every organ and system in her body, she would gladly swallow it. In fact, she was reaching to take the tube from Kor already when the little man spoke again.

  “It’s not for you, girl. In order to activate it, your master must drink the solvent. It will become active in his sperm and once it enters your body it will dissolve the Denari Eroticus’s tentacles, allowing the implant itself to fall out.”

  “So you mean when I swallow his, uh…” Maggie blushed. “His, you know…”

  The little gnome man frowned. “Who said anything about swallowing? The acid in your saliva would kill the delicate solvent agents.”

  “Well then what…?” Kor began.

  “Can you people really be so dense?” the man exclaimed. “The implant solvent must be delivered vaginally.”

  “You mean I have to—”

  “Fuck her, yes!” Hobbs sounded thoroughly exasperated now. “Or make love to her, or put your seed organ into her milking machine or play hide the malo-fruit in her yumyum-sack or however you want to say it.”

  “But…” Maggie felt like all the blood was rushing to her face. “But do we really have to…you know? Do it that way?”

  “We’ve been trying to avoi
d this kind of contact. Could I come in a cup and put it in her that way?” Kor asked bluntly. “Would that work?”

  “What? No!” the little man exploded. “What kind of a foolish question is that? Of course you can’t do that. Look—” He pointed a finger at Kor. “The sperm must be delivered straight from the source and deposited directly into the end—the very end, mind you—of your female’s channel. Furthermore, the sperm must not be subjected to air which will kill the delicate—”

  “Yes, we get it. The delicate solvent agents,” Kor growled. “Fine, so fucking is our only option.”

  “Try not to sound so thrilled about it,” the little man snapped. “I don’t understand your resistance to such an act in the first place—I thought she was your beloved.”

  Kor turned away. “She is. That’s why this is so damn hard,” Maggie heard him mutter. She wanted to ask him exactly what he meant but Hobbs the implant gnome was still standing there glowering at her.

  “Thank you,” she said to him. “But can I ask you, are there any side effects to this? I mean for Kor? Or me either for that matter.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest sullenly. “The only side effect for either of you is that he’ll suddenly have a female who will not longer desire him sexually or be compelled to beg for his touch. Other than that, everything should be fine—if you call such a state of affairs fine.”

  “We do,” Maggie said firmly. “Kor and I don’t believe in slavery or anyone being compelled to do anything.”

  “Hmph.” The little man looked at her skeptically. “Give him a few days of you without that implant to keep you in line, missy—a few days of ‘not tonight, dear, I’m tired’—then see how he feels about such issues.”

  Maggie was insulted but she had nothing more to say. Arguing women’s rights with such an obvious misogynist was like arguing the existence of God with a diehard atheist—nothing but irritation and frustration would come of it.

  “Fine,” she said nodding. “Thank you very much for your help. I just have one more question: how long after Kor takes the formula should he, um…”