Try to get more information from her

Realizing his efforts to move are just tiring him out, Duncan decides to see if he can gain more information from Cassandra — information that will possibly help him escape.

“So is this what you do, then? You and your family just prey upon people until there are enough suspicions that you have to move somewhere else and start again?”

Cassandra rises from her task of brushing her hair. Despite knowing what kind of evil creature she is, Duncan cannot help but be aroused at the sight of her body, barely covered by her robe. If anything, she has become even more alluring to him in the past hour or so.

“Does that seem so horrible to you? Do you find it repugnant that we see you as little more than a source of food and income? Tell me, do you feel as badly for the cows and sheep you have eaten this week? Do you loathe yourself for selling the surplus livestock for a profit? You humans are awfully nearsighted when it comes to morality and judging others.”

“That’s entirely different,” says Duncan, defiantly. “Cows and sheep are animals — not thinking, rational beings.”

“Rational? Like yourself, for example?” Cassandra laughs. “So rational, in fact, that your first thought upon entering the home of an elderly couple who gave you their trust was to bed their only daughter? That doesn’t sound rational to me; it sounds like the instinctive rutting of an untamed beast. Besides, your lifespans are so laughingly short. It’s not as if the universe cares a whit if one of you is gone in 20 years, instead of 70 years. Do you fret about whether a mayfly thinks or feels before you step on it, or has it even occurred to you to wonder whether they can think, considering how brief their lives are?”

She steps forward and appraises Duncan solemnly. “Indeed, if it weren’t for the fact that you are so compatable with us physically,” she reaches down and strokes Duncan’s half-stiffened cock, “I suspect we wouldn’t even take the time to converse with you at all.”

Duncan fights to bring his hormones under control. “Try to justify yourself all you want, Creature. It will not change what you are.”

“Quite true,” she says, returning to her mirror. “Nor will it change your fate.”

“And what is my fate?”

“Oh, you will be sold, for certain. I’m just trying to decide where I can get the best price. You are young, healthy, and reasonably muscular, so I would ordinarily sell you to the Enlightenment, to either be used for manual labor or whatever else they may have need of. But Lady Ortician over in Blooming Garden pays a pretty fair price for breeding stock, and you appear to be most virile. I’m just trying to decide if it is worth it to transport you all the way to Blooming Garden.”

“And you expect me to live out my days as someone’s servant — or breeding tool? How long do you think you can truly keep me under your power?”

“I can keep you under my power as long as I need to in order to hand you off to your new owner. But if you would like some friendly advice, I’d urge you to begin being compliant right now. Everyone who buys from me has a very good reputation for keeping their pets under tight control. I wouldn’t sell to them if they didn’t, for the last thing we need is for someone to get free and go blabbing far and wide that there are Gratiri in their midst. It would make life most unbearable for us. So whether you stay with your new owners with cooperation or by ****, just be sure of this — the only way you will ever leave their service is when you leave this life!”

With these words, Cassandra’s eyes glowed red, and a forked serpentine tongue flicked from her lips. Whether it was from the shock or from some magical influence, that was the last thing Duncan was before darkness enveloped him and he fell into a nightmare-strewn sleep.

When he next opened his eyes, sun was pouring in the windows and he could smell food cooking. He heard Gladys’ voice. “Alex doesn’t taste quite as stringy this morning, does he? I think we just needed to marinade him longer.”

Duncan turned his head and saw his three captors sitting at the table, eating their breakfast. Cassandra notices Duncan and says, “Ah, you are awake. Are you hungry? We saved Alex’s scrotum for you.”

Duncan shudders, but says nothing.

“What happened to his penis, Mother?” asks Cassandra, poking around in a large bowl.

“Oh, I’m afraid I took it last night for a bit of a midnight snack. I was feeling a bit peckish.”

Cassandra smiles. “I’m glad you got some good use out of it. In truth, I found it less than satisfying, but when I had it in my mouth it was for other reasons.”

“He was such a nice young man,” said Gladys. “If I was a few hundred years younger I would have seduced him myself. I’ve always been partial to gingers.”

Duncan attempts to rise, and Cassandra says, “Oh, you might as well get up and get dressed. We will be leaving soon, and you can’t very well be seen like that, can you?” She waves her hand dismissively, and Duncan feels his invisible bonds disappear. With relief he sits up and rubs his sore muscles.

“Where are you taking him, Dear?” asks Carl.

“I’m still trying to decide,” she answers. “A lot depends upon his attitude this morning and how much training I think he will need by his new owners. Truthfully, I’m not feeling all that well this morning, for some reason. I hope I’m not coming down with something.”

“It’s probably a chill from hunting in the river yesterday,” says Gladys. “Just drink plenty of fluids — not just those that you drain from the balls of your prey, of course.”

“Oh, I always loved watching the new ones get broken in,” says Carl. “My father used to take me to the stockyards on market day. That’s back when there weren’t all these tedious laws against such things. The best times were when they had some strong-willed young pup, and they’d break out the whips to subdue him.”

“Yes,” says Cassandra, “But that takes a special type of owner; these days most want a pet that will require minimal training. It really makes a difference on the price.”

Duncan listens to all of this as he gets dressed. So it sounds as if he is going to be going on a journey with Cassandra. Surely that will provide an opportunity to overpower her or escape, if he times it right. But then again, it might be better to wait until he is out of her power and make a hasty escape from his new master.