Jard closes the door behind himself as he nods to the guard stationed at the end of the short hallway to the main corridor that runs the length of the Fortress along the cliff edge. The guards and the heavy workers were the first to see the need to return to the old ways of getting the substance that they need directly from the still warm Moles. The young ones, fresh from the initiation rites, were eager to experience the thrill of the chase and the glory of the capture and rapture as they drank the fresh warm blood, so they were the easiest to turn to Jard's new order.
He smiles contentedly, showing his sharp teeth as his scaled lips curl up. The number of new followers is growing by the period, as even some of the higher placed educated Shril's allow themselves to dream of the chase and the primal need that they have suppressed almost all their lives.
He carries on down the central corridor to the very end, away from the administration part of the Fortress, where the cells for the Moles have been dug out of the rock of the mountain itself. Most of the cells are large for temporarily holding large groups of Moles till the processing starts, which is traditionally done every seven periods. He passes all those on his way to the smaller single cells deeper into the back of the detention area. The guard that stands at the very back in front of the steel banded wooden door that even a Shril would not be able to force his way through, snaps to attention as he sees Jard coming.
Jard stops and turns to the large Shril, from one of the warrior houses. "Has she been quiet?"
The Shril shakes his head. "No, the crying and sobbing is almost too much to take. That is why I am standing guard here instead of in front of her door. There is no exit from the single cell area, and she is the only prisoner right now, so I did not think it would be a problem."
"That is OK, I don't know if I could put up with their weakness for long and would rather put a slow end to the noise myself," smiles Jard.
The guard smiles as he thinks about the idea. "Soon we will be able to do just that. I must admit that it takes all my control not to step into the larger cells and feast on the Moles as we did in the old days."
Jard smiles as he hears the Shril's confession, because it is one, he has been hearing a lot of over the last couple of cycles, and even more now that the time is getting near. He steps up to him and places his heavy scaled hand on his shoulder looking directly into his bright red eyes. "Just a little longer. The female and her male partner will be the first Moles that will be hunted so we can then usher in the new era. So please have patience, it will not be long now."
The guard smiles and nods his understanding, as Jard points to the door. "Has the water I requested been sent to the guards table inside?"
"Yes, it arrived a turn ago. Will it calm her down and stop the wailing noise?"
Jard smiles as he thinks about it. "It will not calm her down, but it will change the noises she makes, which I think you will find easier to listen to."
"Anything would be better than the continues sobbing," concedes the guard, as he produces a large key and unlocks the heavy door to the inner group of cells.
Jard steps through, and right away sees the metal pitcher of spiced water and a wooden cup on the table to the right of the door. The guard follows him in and takes up position against the door they just stepped through.
Jard stops and reaches out for the key to the cell that Evian has been secured in. He takes the key and opens the door to the small cell, furnished with only a single mattress laying on the floor in the far corner. Evian stands and backs away from him. She is still wearing the clothes from the village, which causes Jard's anger to flare immediately. He steps up to her at the back wall, and with a quick flick of the long claws on his right hand, he slices the cord that holds her lower covering in place, causing it to drop to the floor. His hand continues upward and severs the tie that holds the cloth over her breasts to spring out to the side, leaving her chest bare.
Jard quickly gathers up the simple material and throws it out the doorway to the outer room. "Moles do not deserve clothes. You are nothing more than animals put on this planet to serve the needs of the Shril."
Evian has spent the last period being locked up in this cell. So, being away from the village and the sweet smell of the vegetation has caused all the fears and anxiety to come rushing back to her. She can't help but remember the people hanging from the rail system, being processed for the Shrils. She stands against the back wall, expecting to be ripped apart by this huge creature at any moment, and is surprised by the smile that seems to come across its face.
Jard steps forward and leans in close to her and runs the back of his thick sharp claw along her right cheek. "You Moles, are so soft and helpless. You were made to be a succulent meal for the true leaders of the system of planets we control."
She quickly turns her head to the side as the smell from the breath of the Shril begins to assault her nostrils. She knows that there is no hope of resisting him, so stays perfectly still, with her eyes squeezed shut.
Jard slips out his tongue and runs it down the left side of her cheek, and can smell the fear from her, and taste the nervous sweat starting to seep out of her pores. He continues to stare at her closed eyes as he lets his right-hand slip down her front, to her breast, cutting a line in her soft skin, that immediately starts to seep blood in a long growing line to drip from the bottom of her heaving heavy breast.
Jard glances down to look at the big drop of fresh blood threatening to drip down onto the floor. "Oh, look what I have done." He quickly lowers his head and lets his tongue scoop up the drop of warm blood, savoring the taste as he closes his eyes briefly. "It is so good when it is fresh from the body, especially one as excited as you are right now. Strange though, that there is not as much of the substance in it as there should be. So, maybe it is true then that you and the male are from different planets. You from Ver and him from Ter."
Evian backs up into the wall as far as she can. The look of desire on the creature's face makes her wonder if it is going to go for her throat and the globs of blood that would be pumped out of her body if those teeth ripped out her main artery there.
Jard senses the thoughts of the female. "Don't worry, my dear. Your time has not yet come. We need to wait for your partner, the male, who will join you after he has given us the information we need. Then, I will release you both, so I can hunt you down, making you two the first as I usher in the new age, where we return to the old ways and travel to your planet, so we can hunt the Moles as we once did."
Evian's first thought is how to warn Adam of the plans he probably knows nothing about, but quickly realizes that there is no hope of doing that. A tear starts to roll down her cheek as she thinks about the two of them dying on this strange world so far from home. A home for her that is not even there anymore.
Jard sees the tear and steps out to the table, where he gathers up the metal pitcher and the wooden cup. He steps back into the small space, which he needs to duck down slightly in order to enter the doorway and pours some of the spiced water into the cup for her, handing it slowly to her. She takes it and brings it up to her mouth, where she stops and smells the contents first. She can tell it is the spiced water, like the drink in the village that made her forget all her problems for awhile. She continues bringing it to her mouth, and drinks deep from the glass, soon downing the whole thing. Jard takes the cup and fills it again and hands it to her. The drink is so strong that it makes her want more immediately, and she all but grabs it from his hand and downs it also. She can't seem to stop, and she has soon emptied the whole pitcher. She holds up the empty cup and begs for more.
Jard smiles at the need and the change in her body's' smell as he flicks his tongue around in front of her. "There, that will make it easier for you to deal with your situation."
Evian can feel her flesh flushing as she feels the need slamming into her mind and body. She looks to the size of the beast before her and almost longs for its touch on her body. She forces the thought from her mind, and instead, pictures Adam laying on the massage bench in her private quarters of the Palace on The Peaks, as she discovers his secret. The feelings that come over her at the remembered sight causes her legs to go weak, and she drops to the floor, twitching as the need floods her body. She forgets all about the concerns from moments before as she reaches for herself and tries to quench her need.
Jard smiles as she squirms around on the floor at his feet. "Well, that answers that question. Ten times the strength of the spice does drive them to a desire that takes over everything else. They are so easy to control," thinks Jard, as he backs out the door and closes and locks it behind him.
He hands the key to the guard and smiles at him. "That should stop the crying and wailing for a while."
The guard nods his head and watches Jard leave the only entrance to the smaller chambers. He turns back to listen to Evian as she cries out in need. Smiling to himself as she tries desperately to put out the fire that is raging through her body the only way she knows how.