"Did you know the demons had this level of tech?" I asked when my brain caught up with me. Tentatively, I touched my wrist and the display disappeared.
"No, but then, I've never had any dealings with them. I'm not much of a fighter," Bloudwedd said as she poked at her own wrist.
"It must be powered by our own energies. There is obviously some kind of quantum link with Claw, for him to be able to input information, which means there is probably some kind of tracking ability, too." I scowled down at it. Fuck. I didn't want to scrape off half my wrist to be able to escape my contract, but I'd do it if I had the chance to leave this planet earlier.
Bloudwedd's head bobbed. "You are thinking about escape?"
I cocked an eyebrow. "Aren't you? Do you want to live here for the next five years?"
She jerked her head, looking around us, before lowering her voice. "No, but getting off this planet isn't going to be easy." Her gaze rose to the gas giant hanging in the rust-coloured sky above.
"Agreed, but let's scope things out first. It'd be better to have a sense of this place and come up with something that has a reasonable plan for success so we don't end up in some demon's stomach."
Bloudwedd shivered and nodded. "Should we check out the maze?"
I gestured with my arm in a sweeping motion. "Sure. Lead on."
Together, we entered the turquoise-clipped hedges, taking right turns whenever one presented itself. Every few minutes, we encountered outdoor rooms that each seemed to have their own themes. Some were styled like bedrooms, with large padded surfaces and pillows. Others were styled as various businesses including offices with large desks, healer spaces with different types of seats, benches, and frames, taverns complete with various alcohols, and learning auditoriums that contained a few rows of seats centred around a platform with a desk. There were outdoor rooms that contained thrones and others that appeared to be arenas. Perhaps for performance? Or training? What role did arenas play on Muspelheim? Some rooms contained various shaped padded structures in wedges or curves while other rooms defied description, with walls and frames for chaining, restraining, or otherwise suspending bodies.
As we explored, we discovered some spaces in use and with a quick look, Bloudwedd and I passed those by. Gargoyles flew over periodically, their bodies only a few metres above the hedges and their gaze moving back and forth as they passed. A gust of wind buffeted us as something large took to the sky from the other side of the hedge in front of us and I parted the wind around us.
Bloudwedd's eyes widened. "Was that you? Are you—"
An Atlantean male rounded the corner, still buttoning his shorts. He halted and silver eyes looked us over. "You're both new. I'm Ethan of Fomora. I'd say it was nice to meet you, but..." Waving his predominantly midnight arm, he indicated the surroundings and wrinkled his nose. He had a strong jaw, with one side of his face midnight and the other pure snow. The bands of contrasting colour continued down his muscled torso. Numerous short dark braids adorned his scalp, with a few streaks of white.
A silver chain glinted around his left ankle, highlighted by the pure ebony of his legs.
So the demons had people from numerous races, it seemed.
"I'm Mist of Asgard. How'd you get here?"
A half-smile appeared on his face. "Right to the point, are you? The Wild Hunt. Their kelpies drove me onshore, then they traded me to the demons. What about you two?" His gaze moved between us.
"I'm Bloudwedd of the Summer Realm. Nemain caught me leaving the Winter Realm." Her tone was quiet and pained.
I sighed. "I'm not sure who darted me. Unfortunately, I didn't see before it knocked me unconscious, but I've pissed off the Wild Hunt and the Winter Court, so probably the same."
Ethan grunted. "It's not a horrible existence here, but I miss the ocean. There are seven other Fomorians here with me, all males, but you are the first Asgardian I've met. It's mostly humans, but there are some elves, Jotun, and a few Vanir, too." He started walking and pointed out the vee-shaped pattern in the slate tile of the paths. "As long as you are following the point of the vee, you are heading towards the exit, no matter where you are in the maze."
"Why are there so many mortals here?" asked Bloudwedd as we fell in step with him.
"They're all here on demon deals. For whatever reason, they agree to serve a five-year contract in the temple to get something back home on Litaui," he said. "For some, it's revenge against someone. Others want money or fame. Either way, they are absolutely here of their own free will." His silver eyes met mine. "Don't trust them."
How did he know I was already thinking of escaping this planet? I gave him a short nod.
A tinkling musical note rang in the air, so close it had me jolting and almost stumbling.
Ethan chuckled and tapped his left wrist, his brand. "It's the chime for the evening meal. Unless you are with a VIP patron, like one of the sky or surface realm lords, you are free to disengage and depart the session. We meet at the residence for all our meals. It's also a chance to clean up if you've been with a particularly... hmm"—his lips twitched—"productive patron so you don't bring the mess into the residence."
Bloudwedd's eyes widened, her mouth opening and a hand coming up to cover it.
"You mean if we're covered in jizz." I laughed.
His silver eyes glinted. "Yes. Some of them are... well, you'll see. I'd hate to spoil the surprise."
My eyebrow rose. "It's going to be like that, is it? Okay, I'm game. Bring it on, Orca boy."
He laughed, a big bellow of a sound as we exited the maze. "You are all right, Mist of Asgard. We're going to get along like anemone and clown fish."
"As long as you realize you are the clown fish," I told him.
Another bark of sound burst from him and he waved us through the main temple playground.
Two purple-fleshed harpies, black feathers cascading back from their foreheads to join with black feathered wings rising from their backs, stood at the imposing black iron gate to the street, ushering out patrons that hadn't flown away. A single curved talon on the centre yellow digit of their four-toed raptorial feet tapped impatiently at the last stragglers as they crossed their arms over black leather-harnessed breasts. Scales covered their lower bodies from waist to feet and I ducked my head when one of the females met my gaze with a predatory intensity.
"Yeah, don't piss off the harpies or gargoyles. I've seen them eat patrons that got out of hand. They are ruthless predators. Entirely vicious," Ethan murmured, guiding us through the gate to the private courtyard and residences.
"I can believe that about them. They definitely have that—" A viscous splat behind me had me pausing.
A woman walked through the gate behind us, grumbling under her breath. I bit my lip not to laugh when I turned to look at her. Long dark hair was dripping with orange spunk. With jerking movements, she wiped it out of her eyes, flinging wet globules to the ground as she stomped towards a wash station. At each of the half-circular wash stations along the far wall, females were soaping down to remove white, orange, and pink fluids from their bodies.
"Blessed Danu," Bloudwedd said as she caught sight of the female, her yellow eyes widening. "I see what you mean, Ethan. What type of demon does that?"
Ethan's grin was wicked. "I think I'll let you ladies discover that on your own."
"Hey!" I put my hands on my hips and glared. Or attempted to. The vision was too funny and I couldn't blame him. Frankly, it was something I'd have pulled if I could.
We followed him into the residence and we filled our plates with the food provided. But recalling the well-dressed demon's remarks about the meat market, I stuck to salads, cheeses, and bread. Ethan led us to a table and we sat with another Atlantean and two Midgardians.
"This is Marcus, Candy, and Marnie," Ethan said, introducing us. "And I see you know to avoid the meat. They do actually have a small amount of livestock on the planet, I'm told, but still, you just never know."
"The fish and seafood are okay, though," Marcus added. "They have plenty of aquatic life within their freshwater and saltwater seas. Since they prefer meat, they feed us the fish and seafood."
Candy tossed her pale blond hair, then ran a pink-toned hand down her curvy body. "Yeah, and you'll get hungry too. I've never eaten so much, yet I never seem to gain any weight. It's so different from Texas."
Marnie snorted and rolled brown eyes that matched the rich brown of her skin and dark hair. "Those Texans might ride you hard, hon, but these demons can fuck them right into the ground. If it wasn't for the healing creams and drinks, I think they'd have crushed my pelvis by now. We humans are just nowhere near their fighting weight."
"So they have aftercare products in the infirmary?" I asked.
"You'll find creams at the wash stations, as well as in your drawers. If you need something more substantial, it's in the infirmary," Ethan said.
"Where are you from?" Marnie asked, looking between Bloudwedd and I.
"The Summer Realm," said Bloudwedd.
Marnie nodded. "That's cool. We have"—she counted on her fingers—"six other light elves here. I'm from Mexico, a country on Earth if you aren't familiar with our geography. Ah wait... you call our planet Litaui, right?"
Bloudwedd nodded and took a bite of her salad.
"What about you?" Marnie asked, meeting my gaze as she sipped her drink.
Ordinarily, we were forbidden from revealing the existence of Asgard to mortals. It was to protect them from the immortal realms and dangers they couldn't comprehend. Yet the proverbial cat was definitely out of the bag with these Midgardians. Still, I debated the wisdom of giving them further knowledge.
Ethan touched me on my shoulder to gain my attention, an eyebrow raised in question.
"What happens when they"—I inclined my head at the mortals—"return to Midgard and start talking about their experiences here on Muspelheim?"
"I've been told that the memories become hazy, except for the occasional dream to allow the mythology to persist on Litaui and so they'll encourage others to enter into demon deals," he said.
"Midgard? Are you... are you an Asgardian?" Marnie asked in a hushed whisper, eyes wide.
"Like the movies?" asked Candy, looking up from her food. "That guy that plays Thor is just so dreamy. I could lick him up all day and never get tired."
She demonstrated with her fork, and I winced. The princes were more like brothers to me, especially with Loki having one of my best friends, Shannon, as one of his consorts in a triquetra soulbond.
Those damn movies, while amusing, were way off base in so many ways. As if Asgard was this bizarre chunk of a planet with water pouring off the side. Midgardian science was far behind ours, but even they should know that didn't make sense. But really, it was Thor and Loki's fault for playing somewhat bizarre versions of themselves and partaking in mortal acting careers, even if we wanted to maintain a presence on the little planet. Having mortal identities helped them move through modern Midgardian society seamlessly. It was getting harder and harder for immortals like my parents to reinvent themselves with the mortals' current technological advances.
"Yes, but both Prince Thor and Prince Loki are married, so you'll have to lust after them from afar," I told her.
Candy's blue eyes turned half-lidded. "Mmm."
Both Marcus and Marnie opened their mouths to speak and our wrists chimed. With a tap, we activated the schedules and they guided Bloudwedd and me on scrolling through our patron options for the evening. Not only did it provide a name and image, but also the race and favourite kinks.
My list had the choice of four patrons.
The first was a lion demon, Felix, who liked bondage. Handsome, with his mane of golden hair and matching eyes, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to be tied down until I trusted the protections in place here. Still, he had a very pettable upper body covered in a short tan pelt.
A minotaur, a bull demon by the name of Maximus, who preferred the bar setting was the second option. That was a definite possibility. Like all Asgardians, it took a lot to get me drunk. He was big though. Broad across the shoulder, with large horns and a bovine nose and mouth, Maximus was solid muscle. I did like strong males.
Next on the list was a fire demon, one of the dragon races. Shown in his humanoid form, Chikao had ombre hair that started black at his scalp to yellow then red tips in a spiky style that highlighted his oval face and dark skin. He was leaner than the others, not as bulky through the chest and shoulders, but still muscular. He'd listed one of the suspension rooms and a preference for kinbaku. My eyes widened at that. Erotic bondage to that extent required more trust and communication than I was prepared for at this point. Chikao was a definite no.
My fists clenched when the last name came up. Basmu. Guess he wasn't lying when he said he wanted me. Still, I wasn't about to give in that easily. Not after his deception. Scrolling back to the top, I selected Felix and confirmed.
Basmu was going to have to work for it if he wanted me.