Abroad

Cesar entered the front door of the temple. To Anne's surprise the boys took the end of her noose and led her toward it as well. A second surprise: Cesar emerged a minute later dressed in the robes of an Aztec priest.

He said she would be examined tomorrow and he would decide whether to accept her. His manner was grave and Anne became frightened. Did he mean accept her as a servant?

Or something else; plantation owners told rumors of women sacrificed on pyres of wood and some reported finding huge ash piles in clearings. She had discounted those stories as legends of the past, but she was no longer so confident.

He led her to the center of the plaza and tied the noose to the stake. She knelt in patient acceptance.

A few minutes later a young girl appeared from the building with a tray. Anne touched her forehead to the ground. Cesar set out bowls of water and kibble and stood over her. She glanced up in the hope of seeing a sign of interest rise beneath his robe, but there was none.

She began to take her dinner. A moment later someone (the girl?) slipped a hand between her legs. A small hand, probably the girl's, yes. It stroked the inside of her thighs, distracting her. If this was some kind of test she did not know how to respond; besides she was very hungry. She continued to eat.

The hand moved slowly up; she tried to ignore it but her breath became labored, she could not help herself. Just as she finished the last morsel of solid food and lapped up water to rinse her mouth, it reached the tender lips and entered her.

She gave up all efforts to preserve her dignity and surrendered to the sweet probing. Soon she was weeping and moaning, unable to control herself, coming in time to the thrusts within her.

The hand withdrew and she writhed like a worm on the ground for a few moments. At last she grew still, at peace, satisfied at both ends. She lay down to sleep. The ground was hard but dry; she was grateful for that. They could do whatever they liked with her now, she was theirs.

Some time later, when all the fires in the huts were out and the yard was lit by starlight, she woke to the sound of steps approaching.

Three boys stood beside her. One - taller than the others and rather fat, he must be the ringleader - probed a breast with his toes. She rolled on her back to expose them both. Pointing to her belly, he said in a language Anne could understand that she was hairier than his sister. The smallest boy made a joke about his sister and the fat one hit him.

Worried that the argument might lead to blows, Anne opened her legs in silent invitation; but that made them nervous and they walked away.

The sky was beginning to lighten the next morning when she was awakened by someone who placed his foot on her head. The elders of the village watched as Cesar sprinkled her with fragrant powder and told her to stand. She followed him to a massive log and lay across it.

The girl applied some kind of ointment; the little fingers fairly danced inside Anne as she ran them up and down within her. Anne even moaned once or twice, as quietly as she could.

The ointment stung a little but in a good way that stimulated her.

Word of her examination had spread among the villages, and men arrived to try her out while the girl held the end of her noose.

All morning they mounted and took her without letup. She had not known so many lived in the area, it seemed like fifty or more. She wondered if some used her more than once.

One of them was the fat boy. He penetrated her and stopped, uncertain what to do next. Despite the peril of her situation Anne felt sympathy for him.

Surrounded by older men, he was plainly inexperienced in using a woman. She could teach him in time if she were allowed to live. The thought frightened her and she tensed up.

That excited the boy, who grew within her. Realizing this she squeezed him again and he grew more. Soon he was driving into her with adolescent vigor and made her moan. When he was done, Anne heard the others congratulating him and was quietly pleased at their mutual success.

At midday Cesar allowed her a bowl of water and one of milky gruel, then told her to kneel and offer her mouth to the villagers. The smallest boy of last night was one of them; he needed no instruction and displayed a confidence that belied his youth. This went on till near sunset, when the girl led her back to the stake.

A crowd of men and women gathered around as Cesar spoke. The white whore had been purchased for the temple; did anyone object?

A chorus of voices, mostly female, arose in protest at this sacrilege. They cried "To the fire with her" and she trembled as Cesar tightened her noose slightly.

Who favored keeping her he asked, and an equal chorus spoke up. Anne was glad to see at least some of them wanted her to live, and pleased to hear a few women among them.

Cesar thanked everyone; they could return to their homes and he would decide. The crowd dispersed at once.

He led her around to the side of the temple where a small low door, more like a hatch, was set in an outside wall. He opened it; then after removing her noose and releasing her hands told her to enter.

She crawled into a stone cell, too low to stand up in but wide enough to turn around as he latched the door and walked away.

On her knees she crept toward a grill at the far end which gave off a warm light. Directly before her was the end of an altar; a statue was ringed with votive candles.

She had been told by one of the farmers this sight was forbidden on pain of death to all but those chosen to serve the god, and she was afraid. But it could mean she was accepted, and she dared to hope she would be spared.

After a moment she recognized the figure. It was the Aztec god of transformation. Her heart was flooded with relief and gratitude; surely she would be allowed to live and serve the people of the village. Then she remembered his role as the Destroyer. Exhausted from the stress and labors of the day, she lay down and slept.

* * * * * * * * * *

Cesar came for her the next morning; he brought her outside and gave her food and water before leading her to a sandy area to relieve herself. Taking up her noose he drove her like an ox to the log before the temple where the girl awaited her along with four burly villagers.

She recognized one of them: Rico, the powerfully built blacksmith. He had used her the day before in the morning and again in the afternoon. She could not see him the first time of course - he was behind her - but she recognized his voice when he took her and said something in his language to the others.

At Cesar's direction she straddled the log and lay down; he bound her hands in back and the four men pressed her shoulders and legs on either side.

A short distance in front of her was a ring of stones. It was filled with a low mound of branches and wood chips. Cesar poured oil on it and lit the fuel with a taper. For a moment Anne was mystified; the morning was not cold, and if she were to be burned in the fire it was much too small.

Soon she could feel its heat in her face. What was this all about? Holding his ceremonial robe close about him, Cesar reached for a long metal object behind the ring and she saw. She was to be branded.

Transfixed with horror she watched Cesar place the brand in it and stand motionless, like the men holding her. After a few minutes - she lost all sense of time - he withdrew it. The end glowed red. He walked around behind her on one side.

She was determined not to cry out but her resolve failed the instant he applied the iron to the tender flesh of her rear. The girl clasped her head while she screamed as he counted slowly before removing it.

One of the farmers holding her said "A noisy one, this" and the men laughed. She continued for a minute after it was removed.

Cesar replaced the iron in the fire for its second application. Through her tears she watched him repeat the ritual of waiting for it to heat and inspecting it. Not hot enough; he added more fuel to the fire. Time passed slowly as the fire grew with the instrument in its heart. This time he was satisfied; to her it seemed to glow brighter than before.

It may have been; she fainted when he pressed it down on her other side and only awoke to see the men congratulating him.

Beside the ring of stones the brand stood quenched in a pot of water decorated with stylized flowers and a row of script around the rim. Her buttocks blazed and throbbed; she did not know how she could stand it.

Yet despite everything there was beauty in this. Her surrender to him was almost total; she wished she had not struggled.

She comforted herself with the thought that only her body had rebelled, and he had subdued it. She was grateful to him for that. She would try to do better next time.

Cesar pulled her up into a standing position. She admired his firm control and longed for him to use her.

The blacksmith knelt and she opened her legs for him. Noticing the steel ring and disk he spoke with Cesar, who pointed at the spot and gave instructions; the disk could be removed - it was in the way - but not the ring.

Rico took up a cutting tool while two men held her steady; he removed the disk and tossed the halves to the watching boys before inserting a large iron phallus into her. It was cold at first and made her shiver, but after a minute or two it warmed up and comforted her like a baby's pacifier. Rico secured it with a chain around her waist.

After a moment of confusion, Anne realized the meaning of this ceremony: she had been accepted for temple service and had just undergone her initiation. Her knees grew weak and it was all she could do to remain standing within the circle of men.