Fair warning: This chapter gets fairly dark, and does not contain a ton of sex. We're entering the final chapters, here, and things are gonna get a bit rough.
~ ~ ~ ~
Jerrod, Senya and Merisi stood in a triangle, each at an equal distance from the other, in the midst of a 'chicken coop' that contained as many plush throw pillows as feathers. Buxom women with the wings and talons of chickens lay all around, their eyes glazed over, paralyzed within the confines of a trigger with limited duration.
Aside from a few scraps of lacy lingerie worn by the hen harpies, everyone within the coop was completely naked. Somehow, that was, by far, the least awkward aspect of the standoff.
"I dunno what you mean, Boss," Jerrod said coolly, turning away to look over the nest boxesâsearching, no doubt, for something to wear that wasn't frilly and pink. "We should prob'ly get moving. You ain't yourself."
"I..." Senya gritted his teeth. "...
Don't do that
."
"Do what?"
"Talk to me like I'm an invalid!" Senya stomped his foot into the soft carpet, feeling his face heating up. "It's what you've been doing this whole time!"
And there it was. Senya stared up at the hulking figure of Jerrod, back turned to him, and gathered all his strength together. After weeks lost to the licks and kisses and caresses of the Ambrosia Ranch, there wasn't much.
Keep it together. Keep focused. Have to keep my mind
working
.
"Well, how 'bout you try actin' like an adult, then?" Jerrod snorted. "We're just lookin' after you, Boss."
"Oh, yeah? You mean like not mentioning that this Ranch shouldn't even legally
exist
?" Jerrod didn't react. "Yeah, I thought so. Did Bobbin even tell you about that?"
"It's true," Merisi said, her eyes darting toward the exitâclearly, she was eager to leave. "The Gokuri Forest peoples never opened access to Lacratians."
"Huh. Weird." Jerrod leaned back against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And what am I s'posed to do about that, Boss? I'm just..."
"Doing your job?" Senya's head tilted. "How much does this Ranch make in a year?"
"Enough to keep expenses."
"
What
expenses?" Senya flung his arms wide. "The
fey
handle the expenses! Dryads keep the fruit fresh, we put fairies to work picking crops, the
hens
look after the chickens for usâ
what
expenses, Jerrod?"
"
Ugh
." Jerrod let out a hissing noise through his teeth. "Boss, now ain't the time or the place. Why don't we go talk this out with Bobbin?"
"And let her mindwipe me again?" Senya shook his head, almost choking on fear and anger. "How many times has she done that? Jerrod, do you really trust her?"
Jerrod's eyes narrowed "I trust that she knows how to run this place.
She's
not the one who let the wards break down, Boss."
"How much does she pay you?"
"Aside from room and board?" Jerrod shrugged. "A little, I guess. Not as much as I bet you'd expect. We didn't get paid in much money at Market Day."
Senya stared hard at Jerrod, searching for a lie. And then it struck himâJerrod didn't
need
to lie. "Ha." He gave a smile he couldn't make un-crooked, shaking his head ruefully. "Ha! Of course. You don't need to get paid much. Why would you? You live like a king here!"
"And you don't, Boss?"
Senya felt Merisi's dark eyes on him. He swallowed. "IâI didn't want to! I didn't want
any of
âI didn't want to control anyone! But
Bobbin
â" He recovered himself a little, taking a step towards Jerrod. "Jerrod, this Ranch isn't a prison. It's a
business
. We're intruding on foreign lands, we're
raping fey
â"
"Half the time, they want it," Jerrod said simply.
Senya's blood boiled as Bobbin's words echoed from the ex-pirate's lips. "And the other half?" he snarled.
"If you don't
want
to take advantage, you don't have to!" Jerrod was clearly getting annoyed now. He stalked around towards the back of the coop, where several large branches were stuck between the walls for the chickens to roost on.
Merisi sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, so, uhâ"
"I know I don't," Senya said, his voice shaking, his words coming out as distorted as his thoughts, "and maybe I never do, maybe I even make you neverâa-and even Bobbinâbut what about the next Master? Who
deserves
this kind of power?" His voice rose. "Jerrod, we're
brainwashing
them! You know who else does that to their 'undesirables'?"
Jerrod rolled his eyes, idly kicking at one of the branches until it fell out of its place. "Lemme guess: The Chosen."
"Hey," Merisi repeated, "listenâ"
"Yeah, the Chosen!" Senya spat. "Western Plains barons!
Evil fey
, Jerrod! So where the
fuck
is the difference?" He gave a manic laugh. "And that's another thing! Half of these fey? I-I can't see a thing they did wrong! What could Valina have done to deserve this? And the fairies! And these harpies, for that matter!"
"That's none of my business," Jerrod said, his voice terse and brittle. He stooped down and broke the branch over his knee. "Boss, we're here to do the job, andâ"
"Guys!" Merisi shouted. Jerrod and Senya both fell silent.
Senya heard a faint mumbling. He froze, realizing that the hen harpies were drifting out of their frozen state, slowly getting back up to their feet.
We should have had a full half-minute left!