World of Io

12. The First Betrayal

Annie lifted the hem of her dress, enticing the rowdy crowd. She knew what to do, and she knew how to do it. She was back where it all had started: The Singing Woman.

Last time she was here, she hid from Devan's crew, scrubbing pots in the kitchen instead of dancing and singing. It hadn't helped. They found her, found her and carried her away against her will. She had been absolutely sure that they were going to kill her that night. She knew when they snatched her. She saw it in their gleaming eyes. It wouldn't just be the regular rape they handed out every now and then.

She had screamed every single time the brutes forced themselves upon her, but no one had dared to step in as they were all afraid of the violent crew. Then he came: Milo. He had defeated them so easily. She couldn't even remember how it all played out, the Nyx's movements too fast to follow. What she did remember was his arms around her, and the feeling of safety. She had thrown herself in love, thinking that this was the man of her dreams, the man she had dreamt would carry her away from her horrible existence.

When she had spoken of such dreams the other girls, her so called friends, had rolled their eyes, calling her naïve. Yet she had gotten her wish. He was her white knight in shining armor, even if his eyes were cold and his hands bloody.

Now, she couldn't understand why she had abandoned that dream. It had been stupid to walk away. She couldn't fight for her love if he wasn't here. All her efforts were now useless. She had tried to leave her old life behind, tried to find real love. She hadn't even used any of her old tricks as she didn't want to be taken for a whore again. Instead she had thought that she could make him jealous by flirting with Vito, but the Nyx'gaian failed to see it, or he perhaps he didn't care. Then Vigilante came along, stirring things up with that hateful smile of hers. She noticed how Milo looked at the other woman's brown curls and slender body hidden beneath a man's clothes. She had seen it and hated it. Milo was hers. He was her dream, her rescuer. Now, if she didn't get him, Vigilante certainly couldn't have him either...

Looking up she saw the one of the Magisters, one of the men who upheld the law of the Council. She saw him stare with lust upon her exposed leg, she smiled, knowing exactly what to do. This wasn't over just yet...

Half an hour later she was sitting in his lap. He fondled her breasts while she whispered in his ear, "Did you hear about the man with the white eyes?" She leaned back a little and could see his eyebrows arching.

"I do not listen to gossip," the man said with contempt, but he didn't push her away. She smiled again, knowing that she had met the perfect candidate for setting her plan into action.

"Well, I know where he is going, and the two persons who retrieved him from your prison. I'll tell you where they are if you get me out of this hellhole."

He looked at her suspiciously, obviously assessing whether to take her seriously or not. "Where did you hear these rumors?" he asked, and she smiled in victory.

"I was there with them, but what they did was beyond awful so I fled here to come and tell you."

He seemed to swallow her lie as she batted her lashes. His hands were still around her, prodding her soft parts. She didn't mind, not now.

-----

Vito slumped in the saddle. He was tired, extremely tired. He hadn't been able to sleep enough thanks to the vivid dreams and shrieking voices. He rubbed his face, trying to stay awake. It had never been like this before. His dreams had become monsters in themselves, black masses of hate, agony and hunger. Much more intense than usual. Scary.

He looked over his shoulder. His mentor had neglected him since their departure from Bankor. Qumo talked to Milo, or perhaps he should call him Io. He didn't know what he felt about the notion. He was jealous for the attention the Nyx got, the attention he craved for himself. He needed support, no: he craved it, for he was lost in his own mind.