Chapter 36

A bunch of impatient, angry, and displeased family members had gathered outside the door to Flitz’s office. Their anger was pretty understandable. Based on their conversation, the adorable beasts had had a taste of almost each of them, failing to recognize their masters.

Marina and Kyon squeezed through the crowd cutting the line, which caused an uproar.

Flitz had just finished applying another formation. He wiped the sweat from his brow, noticed Marina enter the room and grinned from ear to ear, which made him look like a taut prune – isn’t she beautiful! The formacist yelled to the people waiting outside:

«Ladies and gentlemen, I’m taking a fifteen-minute break!

One lady had already entered his office. She threw her hands up in frustration, grumbled something under her breath and returned to the corridor.

Kyon briefly noticed that the window had already been fixed – {That was quick.} – but the next moment, all his attention was concentrated on the typical scene “a boss and his suckretary.” Flitz beckoned the girl, hugged her and squeezed her delicious butt, taking advantage of his position of power.

Marina looked miserable and scared. She didn’t even dare to raise her head.

Kyon cleared his throat, reminding them of his presence, which saved the poor girl from further harassment:

«Good morning, Flitz.»

The old man reluctantly released his “hostage”:

«Hi, pipsqueak. Today is your big day! Get ready to be given as a gift. By the way, the wrapper looks good on you.»

Kyon looked at his black clothes. Those were high-quality things, indeed, and the color was right to his liking.

Flitz whispered to the girl:

«Call on me at lunchtime.» – He winked, giving her a smooch on the cheek before leaving. Then he went to the door and waved to Kyon: – «Follow me.»

Kyon gave Marina a pitiful look and followed Flitz.

As soon as the door slammed behind them, Marina wearily leaned against the wall and sighed bitterly. She kept wondering all night long, or rather all “breaks” long, what weakness Kyon had found in Flitz. Could it help her against his abusive sexual behavior? Could it help her start a new life?

First things first, Flitz led Kyon to the medical center. On the way, the old formacist decided to give Kyon a brief overview:

«The common dining room is over there. Can you see it? And that wooden shack is the canteen for the slaves. You won’t have your meals there. The slaves sleep in that flophouse. You won’t sleep there, either. I’ll ask lady Juno to take care of you. Enjoy! So? Why are you not smiling!»

Kyon obediently bared his teeth, feigning a smile.

They came across slaves dressed in gray robes. Some swept the territory, others dragged carts with wood or other stuff. Some of them were busy renovating houses… Kyon noticed a couple of familiar faces. Their eyes were full of envy: the boy had a nice life! Just look at his black clothes. No one would even think he was a slave! The only thing left from his past was the mark on his forehead.

«If some of the slaves have lost their formations, why don’t they run away?» – Kyon said thoughtfully. – «Are they happy living here… I don’t think so.»

Flitz waved his hand:

«Not so long ago, some bright spark showed an example to everyone… Barosh the bear, our main guarding beast, shat his remains afterwards. So, if you are planning to run away, think if you’re ready to turn into shit. Well… Some people are born shit. I hope you are not one of them.»

Kyon swallowed nervously.

«What makes you think he ran away? What if he just went out for a walk and accidentally became the lucky beast’s dinner?»

Flitz thought for a moment, gave the boy a direct look and said:

«Between you and me, there are barriers around the territory. If you pass through them without permission, you’ve got a meeting coming up with lady death.» – Flitz looked serious: – «If anyone finds out I have told you this, they will cut off your head… And I’ll get it in the neck, but before that, I will check how strong your neck is.»

Kyon nodded understandingly, flipping his bangs out of his eyes with a jerk of his head. He didn’t want any problems. Synergy had failed to neutralize Martin’s formation, it would be helpless against the new formation that Flitz applied. In his memory flashback, Synergy was of the 6th degree. Small wonder it could demagnetize the formation. With the best will in the world, Kyon was powerless to escape from slavery with its help.

Flitz looked at his tousled hair and rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

«What’s the matter?»

«I am thinking of shaving off your hair, but I’m afraid you will lose your charm. It might make you an unbecoming gift…»

«Then don’t shave it off. Why would you do that?» – Kyon asked cautiously, taking a step back as if he was afraid that Flitz was going to take out the scissors right away. He liked his long hair.

«You know… Juno is afraid of everything shaggy… Wait, never mind.»

«Is Juno afraid of beasts?» – Kyon wanted to clarify this important detail. By the expression on Flitz’s face, he knew he had hit the nail on the head.

The old formacist blurted out a secret Bai had asked him to keep mum about. He cursed and raised another burning issue:

«Listen! Did you happen to see someone hit on Marina? Or did you by chance notice her make eyes at anyone?»

Kyon could hear concern in his voice. The old man was secretly jealous of his beautiful maid. It was logical, he was anything but handsome while Marina could seduce any guy on the estate.

Kyon smiled:

«I haven’t spent enough time with her to notice anything like that. But I will tell you for sure if I do.»

Flitz breathed a sigh of relief and patted the boy on the head.

Finally, they approached a large white two-story building that smelled of herbs and medicine. Even the walls seemed to be saturated with that scent. They had come to the hospital.

The white floor, the white ceiling, the white walls… Flitz didn’t miss a chance to flirt with the nurses in white coats. As they went upstairs and appeared at a certain door, the expression on Flitz’s face lost its dreamy lustful shade and distorted in a grimace of disgust.

An obese lady was sitting in the enormous armchair. She looked at Flitz with her tiny piggy eyes and exclaimed joyfully:

«Uncle! You don’t visit me too often and you should have!»

Flitz forced a smile.

«Hello, Bilya. I seem to be fine. Why should I bother you? You’ve got enough on your plate without me adding to it.»

The damsel made a miserable face:

«Why would you say that, uncle? You’re upsetting me! You can’t imagine how I’ve missed your delicious pies! You have brought them, haven’t you?» – Her words were meant as a threat in spite of her joyful grin.

Flitz forced another smile.

«I have them, but I need a favour from you. Give this boy five or six milliliters of evilball.»

A bloodthirsty smile spread across Bilya’s face. She looked at the boy who she didn’t like from the start – too thin – and darted to the fridge a bit too swiftly for her body size, wailing all the way:

«Oh, he is so young to become impotent! What have you done, poor thing? Oh my God! What a shame. It’s terrible!»

Kyon shuddered in disgust. The matron nearly danced with joy, rammaging quickly around the shelves in search of the necessary medicine. And yet, there was so much sympathy in her words!

Flitz asked idly, without much interest:

«How is your Buzik doing in the Fat sect?»

«He’s gained another thirty pounds, my little bunny. Such a good boy! I’ve always said he is the best of the best. He writes in his letters that he’s got lots of friends, that girls make eyes at him. I’m so happy for him!» – Bilya found a vial with blue liquid and, with a happy “yup,” took a dose twice as much as Flitz had requested.

Kyon frowned and gave Flitz a meaningful look but the old formacist only patted him on the shoulder:

«Take it easy. I’ll let you have a go at one of my maids for the inconvenience. I have lots of them, anyway.» – and after a pause, he theatrically slapped himself on the forehead: – «Oops, sorry! No offence…»

Bilya appreciated his sense of humor and giggled, the needle dangerously jerked against Kyon’s eye.

The sound of her grating laughter was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

Flitz stamped his foot:

«Put a sock in it! Now I get it why your husband died twenty years before his due time.»

«It was a heart attack! What does it have to do with me?» – The porker carelessly waved him off and injected the drug into Kyon’s vein, her hands trembling.

When the liquid began to spread through the body, Synergy detected it, neutralized and revealed the effects. {Evilball suppresses testosterone production… No wonder there’s no libido. Judging by the concentration, an average man can become impotent for about thirty years. Flitz, you old asshole… You’ve made a mistake. A huge mistake!}

His organs, resistant to stress, neutralized the insignificant part of the liquid that Synergy might have passed.

The big lady stared expectantly at Flitz:

«Where are my pies, uncle?»

Flitz was already standing by the window. He casually opened the shutters and said nonchalantly: «The sun is up. The world needs a hero like me!» – In the blink of an eye, he grabbed Kyon by the scruff of his neck and jumped headlong out the window.

They could hear Bilya shout furiously after them:

«Just you wait! I’ll see to your treatment when you get sick! Old buzzard…»

Flitz breathed a sigh of relief, shook off an invisible speck of dust from his shoulder and strolled like nothing had happened. Kyon tidied his hair and hurried after him.

«I should have put her in her place but she’s one of elder Boe’s daughters. I don’t want any trouble… My rank isn’t high enough to quarrel with him…» – Flitz mumbled at Kyon’s questioning look.

Kyon couldn’t help asking:

«Why did you bring her pies if she is so…» – He failed to find a decent description and decided not to finish his phrase.

Flitz winced:

«For the fun of it. But then I felt sorry for the dogs…»

Kyon nodded his understanding.

They continued on their way. Flitz was getting more cheerful with each step further from the windows of the “hospitable” lady. He patted Kyon on the shoulder:

«Well, how are you feeling? Any desire for a girl?»

Kyon’s grin was barely noticeable. He shook his head.

«I don’t know. I feel an unusual emptiness inside…»

Flitz chuckled:

«You feel emptiness in your balls! Ha-ha-he! Alright, don’t worry about it. It’s just a precaution. It’ll be over in five years or so. Anyway, it’s better than making you a eunuch. Come on, it’s time for you to meet your lady.»

On the way, Flitz told Kyon a couple of things he should know:

«The most important people of the family live in the courtyard. They have little respect for unworthy people like you. If you flaunt your formation in front of them, you are in for big trouble, got it?»

Kyon nodded. Flitz’s intentions were not quite clear, though. Did he want to give a slave to the status lady as a punching bag or as a coach? No. There is no way a slave could be a coach. There was something wrong. Alright, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Also, Flitz told him that the mansion used to be full of life… There were crowds of guests, plenty of feasts, balls, important meetings every day but now… Things changed after the patriarch had disappeared, and not for the better.

They came to a vast and luxurious mansion. It was surrounded by a high metal fence with patterns and all but precious stones.

Kyon saw two guardsmen at the entrance, whose appearance broke his expectations. He had expected to see noble knights with swords and in gold armor like the ones at Martin’s door. The mansion was guarded by special agents in dark glasses and black uniforms along the lines of “men in black.”

A barely visible barrier covered the territory and prevented trespassing of any solid physical objects. However, the guards could always create a temporary gap for the invited guests.

Flitz pulled out a tube of something and handed it to Kyon:

«Today is the trial period for you, boy. You’ll be alright if you pass. If not… Well, you will see. Here, some good ointment to help you. It accelerates wound healing a hundredfold. There’s no point to apply it to your balls, though. It doesn’t work that way! Ha-ha-he!»

Kyon hid the tube in his pocket with a sense of an unpleasant foreboding.

«Why do I start to think that other slaves are better off than me?»

Flitz looked away, showed the guards his formation and went inside with the boy. They checked the formation on his forehead and registered him in the guest log.

Beige velvet carpets covered the floor in the spacious entrance hall. The walls were decorated with paintings and the heads of the beasts baring their teeth. Luxurious chandeliers matched the beige home design.

{It’s pretty in here.} – Kyon snickered, admiring such finesse. Apparently, he would have to spend a fair amount of time in this house that looked much better than the gloomy mine or the wooden shacks where ordinary slaves spend their nights. Maybe, he was lucky after all?