Denise Hall [Judgment 01] Judgment (pdf)

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him 'until his eyes cross.' But no guard would have presumed
to command a master's Personal without his express
permission. As far as I knew, permission was never even
asked.
Maybe I was misunderstanding the question. "I am shared
with the other masters, sometimes."
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Judgment
by Denise Hall
"What about the guards?"
"Maybe they're all gay?" the mean detective suggested.
"Or eunuchs."
I fidgeted with my fingers again, growing increasingly
uncomfortable as the conversation steered unerringly toward
the topic of the Lessers. Personals did not associate with
Lessers. They did not look at them. They did not talk of them.
I licked my lips, answering carefully, "They use the others."
"Other Personals?"
"No." My voice dropped to a whisper as I did the forbidden.
"Lessers."
"Lessers?" He began writing again. "What's a Lesser?"
"The unfinished product."
His pencil stopped its busy scratching. He echoed, "You
girls are a product?"
I rubbed my hands upon my knees, trembling as his
expression began to darken angrily. Had I said something?
Was his anger directed at me? I was answering his questions.
Was it something I'd said?
"Is he selling his slaves here?" The Detective pointed at
the table between us. "In my city? How many girls, Callie?
How many Lessers does he have?"
"I-I-I don't know," I quavered. My fingers picked nervously
at my clothes, and I dared a quick look behind me, past the
blonde detective, who was chewing on his bottom lip. I didn't
want to talk about this anymore. I wanted to be helpful but,
oh, if my Master were to hear this conversation...
"This is important, Callie." The Detective was writing again,
the pencil scratching furiously at the paper before him. He
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Judgment
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filled the page, flipped it and continued on the blank one
beneath. "What's your best guess? Ten, twenty girls? Where
does he get them?"
"He buys them," I said, my throat closing on the words,
choking me.
"He buys them!" His voice rose. "Somebody else is selling
these girls?"
"Mac," the blonde detective said behind me. "Lower your
voice."
I hugged my shoulders, beginning to rock. Why was he
angry at me? I was answering his questions! Why was he
angry?
"How many girls, Callie?"
"I-I d-don't know."
"Is it more than twenty?"
I couldn't breathe right. My heart was pounding in my
throat. I tried to think. "I-I don't—Maybe two hundred. There
was almost that many before my Master took me from Pit."
"Two hundred?" The blonde detective groaned and covered
his eyes.
"He keeps you in a pit?!" The Detective's fury seemed to
magnify right before my eyes, and I couldn't bear it. I bowed
into submission, pressing my forehead to the floor at his feet
as I burst into tears.
I felt a gentle hand on my back, and the blonde detective
said, "We're taking five."
"I don't need a god damn break!" The Detective snarled. "I
need to catch this fucking asshole and put him in jail for the
rest of his life. Two hundred girls in a pit!"
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Judgment
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"You are going to take a break," the blonde detective said
firmly. "And so will she. And when you come back, kindly
remember to keep your fucking voice down."
I felt the flow of air shift around me as the Detective
slammed his chair back. I felt him touched the back of my
neck. Struggling for calm, he said, "I'm sorry. It's not you I'm
mad at."
And then he stalked from the room. The door shut hard
behind him.
* * * *
I had been a Primary for less than one day and already I'd
earned my first Demerit Caning.
Dinner was held first. The Primary table was right in front
of the masters' dais, and I found myself sitting squarely in
front of Tane's place, where I felt his eyes on me throughout
the meal.
Brunette sat down next to me. In a soft voice, she asked,
"You've got a Demerit already?"
"Yes." Surprisingly enough, talking was permitted in the
dining hall so long as we were sedate about it. I noticed her
wince as she shifted on her chair. "Did they get you, too?"
"Ten with a paddle," she confided. "I wasn't paying
attention."
A guard made his way to our table, and tapped Brunette
on the shoulder. "Your name is Honey."
As he walked away, I noticed the newly-declared 'Honey'
blushing. "What?"
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Judgment
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She didn't look at me. "Master Hutch, my barrack master,
he said I tasted sweet as honey. You know," her voice
softened and lowered in embarrassment. "Down there."
I looked up at the dais just as Master Deaton leaned
toward Tane to ask, "What is your fascination with that one? I
have never seen you so affixed."
They did not bother lowering their voices, and we sat so
close that everyone at our table heard them clearly. I
dropped my eyes to my plate and stared at it, feeling a slow,
burning humiliation suffuse my entire body.
"I happen to know you are equally affixed to a certain
Midpoint named Desire," the Mountain Lord countered. "What
is your fascination there?"
"Point taken." Deaton glanced down at me and one corner
of his mouth turned upwards. "Do you share?"
"With you? Absolutely. I didn't know you had a taste for
redheads."
"She's held your interest this long. There must be
something there worth investigating." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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