Bird of a Nest - Chapter 29: Chapter 29

They weren't alone as Om'hat led them through the maze. Ryraso spotted their guards pretty quickly. For one thing, everyone else refused to look at them. There were markings here, on the trees and on the skin of the whores about. It was most likely Om'hat's clan symbol. Assuming Om'hat called what collection of fallen k'nairi a clan and didn't just admit what this was. A gang running a brothel.  The few whores they came across knelt as he passed, heads bowed low. Those who were not selling themselves also kept their heads low and their backs to the wall to let them pass.
Ryraso was painfully aware they were heading deeper into the maze. They had possibly even doubled back and were now heading into the poor district. Ryraso wouldn't put it passed them to try and make them go round in circles so Ryraso was truly lost as to his whereabouts.  The lights were certainly gone, making it harder to see. The streets were less scented with flowers and perfume and more with filth.
Cai'ness gripped on tightly to Ryraso. The smaller man was trembling in under his arm. Om'hat seemed content to let Ryraso and Cai'ress stick together and Cai'ress was terrified. Ryraso breathed slowly, trying to say calm. Cai'ness hands had been declawed. He hadn't noticed at first but now with the man's hands holding on to him so tightly.
It should have hurt. Talons should be digging into his soft skin, possibly even piercing through it. K'nairi talons were not like human nails. They needed cutting from time to time like nails but they were always sharp. They only thing Ryraso could feel against his skin was Cai'ress's fingertips. He had been de-clawed by these people or possibly by his house. Ryraso wasn't sure which. De-clawing was not unheard of for a submissive noble, but it was very old fashioned. It might have been a punishment before being sold. Or Om'hat's people might have done it to torture Cai'ress.
Without talons, he couldn't really fight people who were bigger than him after all. Ryraso's chest hurt. He was going to rip Tai'ray and Nel'os to pieces for this. Both of them should have known better than to abandon a former lover as they did. Tai'ray had basically made Cai'ress useless to his family all for the crime of having fallen in love with Nel'os and having that love returned. Tai'ray had been angry but Nel'os should have done something more than mope. He should have gone out and made sure Cai'ress was ok and not suffering. Instead, all he'd done was lay about wishing for his lover to reappear.
A spike of doubt bloomed in Ryraso's chest. Nel'os loved Cai'ress. He knew this. He'd felt it. He'd felt next to Tai'ray's irrational dislike of the man. Dyn'ad had loved Cai'ress too. Yet they had left him to his fate with little more than a complaint. Would they do it to Ryraso too?
"Here we are," Om'hat said as curtains pulled away to reveal a wooden door. They were pulled into the tree and stone structure. It was miserable. Ryraso could hear crying from somewhere in the building, a child weeping pitifully. The corridor they were in was dusty and almost completely dark. There was damp on the ceiling and Ryraso could smell body fluids. The floorboards creaked with every step and Ryraso was almost scared that he was going to plummet though them. "Sorry about this entrance. We don't usually bring guests through the back," he said cheerfully. "At least, not ones we are planning to keep alive."
A cold draft rolled down Ryraso's neck. Was that a promise or a threat? He chose to ignore it, his fists clenching as the urge to fight rolled through him. Cai'ress gripped tighter to his arm, wings wrapping around Ryraso's back. "You should have run," he whispered, sounding around to burst into tears. "I'm not worth anything compared to your safety."
Om'hat burst into laughter. It was cruel and echoed around the corridor. He glanced over his wings, an orange light ahead silhouetting his face in dark angles. "Pet's right about that at least," he chuckled, walking into a room shaking his head in amusement. "He's worth nothing at all. Just the coppers people will throw him to use those holes of his."
Ryraso pushed Cai'ress in ahead of him, watching his back for daggers. The guards were still there. Pale-faced and red-eyed, faces emotionless but big, far too big for Ryraso to fight off without a proper weapon. "He's worth more than that," he countered calmly as he looked at where he had been taken.
The room was traditional. It was even what could be considered nice. Om'hat had taken his shoes off and was sitting on a raised area on several large pillows, a table in front of him with a flower arrangement. The raised area was lined with woven mats and was clearly might to imitate the tea ceremony rooms that the nobles had. Ryraso sat on the edge gingerly not wanting to take his boots off. Cai'ress had already removed his sandals and was kneeling to the side, head bows low with his hands crossed in his lap. Ryraso felt sickened at the sight.
"Come," Om'hat ordered, gesturing for Ryraso to come closer. "Don't be shy. Join me."
The man could barely hide his smug amusement and Ryraso had to fight down the urge to growl at the dangerous creature. Slowly, he reached down and unbuckled his boots. He did have a choice here and the two of them knew it. "You'll have to forgive my attire. I was gardening before visiting the graveyard," Ryraso said calmly.
"So I've heard. You've taken to palace life very well. Cosying up with the other former consorts. A good move to make," Om'hat agreed. Eyes tracking Ryraso as he moved over and sat on the guest pillow. Only then did a pleased smile uncurl on Om'hat's face. "Unlike that one," he nodded over at Cai'ress. "I keep tabs on my new additions past lives. Only you bothered to send people to search for him," he chuckled. "No one else cared."
"I doubt that is true," Ryraso murmured, eyes watching Cai'ress. He didn't move from his spot.
"Oh, but it is. Pet had no friends in the palace and once he was removed they were all happy to forget about him os quickly. I was expecting at least Bonded Nel'os to search but no. It was you," Om'hat said, sounding thoughtful. "The reason for Pet being ousted in the first place. Speaks to a bigger problem within the establishment, really."
"How so?" Ryraso queried.
"A k'nairi would never go hunting for the people they had kicked out of a nest. They would settle happily and kill the person if they ever tried to wheedle their way back in. But you. You asked those guards to go hunting for Pet out of ... what exactly?" Om'hat asked. "Concern? Duty?"
"They are not mutually exclusive. I am a healer by nature after all," Ryraso stated, hand moving to his arm where the Goddess's symbol was still hidden under bandages. Tai'ray didn't want people knowing about it yet. Either did the priests for that matter. Not until Ryraso was officially bonded and in the nest. Any early would suggest things that they weren't willing to discuss or admit. He mentally tugged on the link and found he couldn't grasp the magic.
He must have reacted because Om'hat's catlike grin reappeared. "Just noticed have you?" he purred. "Can't torture people if the link can interfere and get help. The walls are lined with iron and lead. Not quite the seals that you caw wear, but it does the trick," his tongue clicked. "You are teaching the Royals to be," Om'hat's expression shifted, turning from the smug look to one of pure disgust. "soft," he spat. "Sentimental. The Winglord is supposed to be heartless, and unyielding. He is supposed to be a force to be feared and you make him weak," Om'hat sneered.
"Tai'ray is not weak," Ryraso challenged darkly.
Om'hat met his eyes but snorted and clicked twice. Cai'ress rose as if being controlled by strings like a puppet. He bowed low, almost doubling over in the act. "Yes, master? How may I serve you?" he inquired, his voice numb. Fear danced along Ryraso's spine at the sight of the slave training. Cai'ress had been fine outside but once in the room, the compulsion had kicked in.
"Get our guest some tea. Hibiscus," Om'hat ordered calmly.
Cai'ress' reaction was not so calm. He shook his head, horror filling his expression. Before words could form Om'hat clicked again. Cai'ress threw himself to the ground, forehead to the mats and hands outstretched in front of him. Alarmed Ryraso went to stand but Om'hat looked at him. It was the look of an insane man.
"Get our guest some tea, Pet. Unless you want to go back on the rack?" Om'hat said coldly. "I'm sure Ryraso would enjoy a demonstration of what we do to people who do not behave. We have no qualms with the old ways, you see," he smiled sweetly. "Obedient and respected submissives are supposed to homemakers. Cherished things that are protected and loved. Only Pet is neither. He is disobedient and unloved. Such things are to be punished. Do you know much about the old ways? I know the Winglord is starchly against them," he said casually, clicking his fingers twice again.
This time Cai'ress rose from his spot and voiceless left the room. Ryraso watched him go before turning back to Om'hat. A cold chill had taken over Ryraso and he could feel goosebumps all over his body. He could guess what Om'hat was about to do clearly. "I am a healer. I healed submissives whose partners believed in the old ways a little too much," he stated firmly, shifting so he was in a more stable position.
"Broken bones can restrict a mate a little too much," Oh'mat nodded to himself. "Do you know what the Winglords' of old would have done to you for running as you did?"
"I'm aware of the original punishment for the caw," Ryraso said stiffly.
"Oh, no. Not for that, though certainly this mockery of a punishment would never have been allowed," Oh'mat shook his head in disapproval. "I bet your back is barely scared if at all for your actions. No, I'm talking about your actions today," he said. "You did run from them after all. All the way from the gardens to the graveyard and for what reason exactly?" he asked lightly. "Certainly not a good enough one to warrant disobeying an order not to leave the palace. Don't try and say you aren't under one. Everyone knows that," he said sharply as Ryraso opened his mouth.
Ryraso looked away. People weren't stupid. It would be obvious as to why he was not leaving the palace to roam as he once had. "I had a panic attack," he said calmly. "Tai'ray does not forbid me those."
"He just forgives them," Oh'mat said mockingly, fluttering his eyes before sneering again. "No excuse," he snorted. "No head of the family should ever put up with such weaknesses. Why the Winglord would choose..." Oh'mat shook his head, not bothering to finish the sentence but the implication was loud and clear. "But he had chosen you and it is up to the rest of us to inform you of your shortcomings and how to fix them."
There was a cruel lint at the end of his words but Ryraso didn't feel fear building from the threat. He felt anger, fury building at the implication that this loathsome pimp had any right to police his behaviour. "You have no such right," Ryraso challenged.
"I think you'll find, I do," Oh'mat smiled darkly.