Wasteland
by Becca Abbott
Prologue
There were hovercars over the ruins for most the day. Katze stood by the window of his apartment, watching them. He felt empty, drained by his grief. He smoked cigarette after cigarette and wondered.
Jupiter would not give up on Iason. The AI would have men sift through every ash, turn over every twisted steel beam. They would find Iason's remains, however charred or broken, and they would rebuild the Blondie. But would the result truly be Iason? Katze reckoned not even Jupiter's power could restore that complex personality.
On the other hand, he thought with a faint glimmer of self-deprecating humor, he had been known to be wrong.
Part 1
"Riki?"
The dark-haired Pet opened his eyes. White light filled them. He felt cool air on his naked skin. His mouth was dry. "Iason?"
A feather touch on his mouth, the silky caress of that long, golden hair as it swept across his face. Riki felt a sudden, profound sense of relief. He tried to remember where he was and how he got here, but there were only chaotic images. Alarmed, he made a small sound.
"Shhhh." Iason's fingers on his mouth stilled the panicked cry rising in Riki's throat. "There was trouble, but it's over now. You're home."
Riki lay still. The light went out. He was in Iason's bed in Eos. He sat up. The familiar restraint between his legs made him look down, startled. The pet ring. Of course.
"Guy. I was looking for Guy."
"You found him."
"I don't understand."
"We died. Jupiter has given us life again."
"We? We died?"
Now Iason did smile, the merest curve of perfect lips. "Yes. We. Together. You came back for me."
Riki stared at him a long time, then his eyes fell away. He could not remember. "How long?" he asked finally. He felt strange.
Iason leaned forward and touched his lips against Riki's once more. "A year and half. The doctors have finally allowed me to awaken you. Don't let it concern you. Your body is as perfect as ever."
"Guy?" Riki whispered, chilled to the bone. "Where is he?"
"Why did you care?"
"He's my friend." Now thoroughly frightened, Riki pushed Iason's hand away, sliding from the bed. Blue eyes flashed dangerously, but Riki didn't back down. "What have you done to him?"
"What does it matter? He killed us both. Unfortunately for him, Jupiter can raise the dead."
"Why can't I remember?"
"Your memories stop the moment your pet ring was removed." A gentle hand caressed Riki's face. "Jupiter could only restore them up until that point."
Riki saw a dark, dank place, metal walls, abandoned machinery. Fear flooded him. A scalpel and more pain than....
"Riki!" Those beautiful hands caught him as his knees buckled and he was pulled against Iason's familiar strength.
"W-where is he?"
But Iason would not say, nor did he release the young mongrel from his embrace. Riki struggled, but without conviction, knowing very well that Iason was too strong and that his patience was not infinite. Iason stroked his hair, then kissed his forehead.
"I want you," whispered the Blondie now, hands moving down Riki's naked back, long fingers slipping into the cleft of his ass. "It has been so long..."
Without conscious will, the young mongrel arched into that touch, legs sliding apart, moan rising in his throat. This he knew. This he remembered perfectly. Firm lips took possession of his. Again Riki felt the helpless languor that overcame him at Iason's touch. The Blondie's other hand moved to circle the pet ring, to carelessly stroke Riki's penis. He felt himself react to Iason's desire, hardening in the Blondie's hand.
Over a year? He tried to seize on it, but he couldn't concentrate. Iason left Riki's lips tingling, mouth traveling along the curve of the mongrel's throat to his nipple. It was more than the pet could handle. Riki fell back onto the bed, legs opening. Gasping, he felt a finger prod at the entrance to his body, then slide in.
He was lost, played by Iason with ease and skill. He cried out again and again, and finally, Iason took him. They came together in a white hot explosion. For long moments, they were still, he pinned under Iason's greater weight, the Blondie nuzzling his ear. Then Iason said, "I must go. I have business to attend to. You may not leave."
"Iason?"
"No. I will not risk you again." And he was gone.
Guy stood against the wall in the dimly lit cell. His new arm ached and he could still see the fine scar, slightly pink, where the limb had been attached. He was stark naked, his hair unbound and lying in a tangle over his shoulders.
He might have known it would end this way. Iason was still alive, resurrected by Jupiter like some ancient, malevolent god. Had they bothered to give Riki back his life, too? Guy doubted it. Why should a Blondie value the unthinkable sacrifice of a mongrel?
His own fate was obvious enough. He would die in some spectacular fashion, probably to amuse his enemy. Guy smiled bitterly at the blank wall opposite him.
I should have stayed in the Wasteland. At least my death would have been clean.
But he hadn't stayed. He'd grown tired of being alone or hunted, the only choices you had in that hell, tired of being haunted by his memories of Riki. He'd come back to Ceres and Iason had been waiting.
Someone was coming. Guy looked over at his wrists, wrapped in steel manacles and held by chains to the wall. His ankles were confined in like fashion. The door rattled and opened. His heart stopped, but somehow he kept his face expressionless.
"Good evening," said Iason.
Guy lifted his chin pugnaciously, all the while uncomfortably aware of his nakedness and the scorching eyes that moved over it. Iason made a small movement with his hands. At once, the chains retracted, jerking Guy's arms up and out, dragging his ankles wide apart, leaving him stretched awkwardly against the wall. He shivered and waited, refusing to reveal his fear. So. Vengeance at last.
"Thanks for the arm," he said.
Iason smiled tightly. Something bright flashed in his fingers. "I dislike my pets mutilated."
"Just dead."
The gleam in those blue eyes was bright and filled with malice. "Dead? No one is dead."
Guy's world stood still. "You – you brought him back?" Horror – and unspeakable relief – filled him. He hung in his chains, staring mutely at the Blondie.
"Did you think I would ever let him go? As long as I live, he is mine. Even death cannot part us."
"You sick son of bitch." Guy's head spun, horror winning out. Riki!
"And now," continued Iason, leaning forward, "You belong to me, too."
The gleam in his hand resolved itself. Guy shrank, eyes going wide and round. "D-don't even try."
Iason held the pet ring, steel and heavy, much bigger than the one that had bound Riki. Guy waited, trembling, as Iason bent over and, careless of his helpless rage, put the damned thing on him.
It constricted sharply and pain sent off explosions behind his eyes. He came back to awareness, breathing hard, trembling uncontrollably, his genitals in agony. Fearfully, he stared up at the Blondie.
Iason bent forward and kissed him. "And we've just started."
The van's driver hit the brakes with a curse. His vehicle skidded, fish-tailing across the wet pavement. He heard shrieks from his six passengers. The boys, all pets recently graduated from the academy, clung to the arms of their seats to keep from being thrown to the floor. Across the road, in front of the van, were two wrecked cars. Cursing, the man threw the van into reverse, then cursed again. In his mirror he saw the truck blocking the way behind him.
Was he being hijacked? It didn't seem possible. This was a Mink delivery. Who would dare interfere? He put the transport into park and got up.
"Wait here," he told the anxious boys. "I'll be right back.
Climbing out of the transport, he threw an uneasy glance at the makeshift roadblock. It was late, and the street was deserted, but they were very close to Ceres, and you never knew what lurked in the shadowed alleys and doorways. Turning, he started back toward the truck. The name of a large grocery chain was emblazoned on the side. After a moment, the cab window came down. He found himself looking at, of all people, a woman. The driver opened his mouth, then shut it again. "Uh, ma'am?" he said finally. "You need some help?"
She was pretty, with short brown hair and a twinkling smile. He was momentarily blinded by it. Then movement at the corner of his eye made him look swiftly around. Fear shot through him. Figures in black, definitely male, appeared from behind the big truck. They were carrying guns. He looked back at the woman, eyes very round.
"No," she said, and suddenly he was looking up into a gun aimed straight at his face. "But thanks for askin'."
The mongrel was sobbing. Iason stepped back, fastening his clothing, looking down at the bleeding, battered man. That body – almost as lovely as Riki's – was slick with sweat, long black hair clinging wetly to back and shoulders. If Guy and Riki had not been pairing partners – and if Iason wasn't seized by the most unreasonable possessiveness when it came to his pet – it would have been amusing to watch them together.
Six days he'd been coming to the small room in Katze's Ceres headquarters, bringing all his fury and jealousy with him. To be fair, it taken far longer to force obedience from this boy than he'd reckoned. That was all right. This was, after all, no gentle taming, no judicious mixture of firmness or indulgence such as he'd used to train Riki. Guy deserved none of his mercy and would not receive it.
A talented young mouth, however. Others might enjoy him. Iason bent over and seizing some of the long hair, dragged Guy to his knees. Chains clanked and rattled around the young man. Guy stared up at Iason without hope, face wet with tears and Iason's seed. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. Almost lazily, Iason backhanded him across the face and Guy went sprawling.
"Katze!"
The cell door opened. The red-haired eunuch met Iason's eyes.
"I've had enough. Take him to the Dragon's Heart. Tell Shane I don't want him to have a good time."
Leaving things in Katze's capable hands, Iason went to his office. He himself had been out of the hospital for only six months. His memories of those final moments were horrific, the flames, the great beams that had come crashing down on them. Even the drugs in the black cigarettes hadn't been enough to wash away the terror. He'd sheltered Riki as best he could, knowing it was a useless gesture, but the beams, paradoxically, had saved them. There had been enough left of their bodies for reconstruction. It had taken over a year and a great deal of Jupiter's considerable resources, but they were alive again, both of them. Best of all, there were no more objections from Tanagura's powerful computer about his mongrel pet. Jupiter had seen for herself that Iason was willing to die rather than live without him.
Iason worked for a while, catching up on old business, then went home. He couldn't help the way his heart raced or his spirit sang at the thought of who waited for him.
Riki was sitting cross-legged on the balcony, smoking. He wore only a pair of jeans and the breeze ruffled his fine, dark hair. Seeing Iason, he rose, tossing the cigarette away, face alight.
Iason embraced him, kissed the yielding mouth, then reached to unsnap his pet's jeans. Riki's eyelids fluttered at Iason's touch and his lips parted. "Iason..."
"Shhhh."
The Blondie went to his knees, pulling Riki's jeans down around those narrow hips. Taking the man's large sex into his mouth, Iason sucked. Riki whispered something and moaned.
Riki was so beautiful when he was lost in passion. It didn't matter that the world named him a mongrel, the lowest of the low. To Iason, there was nothing or no one more precious. He brought Riki to a shattering climax and held him while the young mongrel's breathing steadied and the sweat dried on that golden skin.
"Are you hungry?" he asked finally. His own desire still raged, but it amused him at the moment to savor it, knowing that he could quench that thirst at any time he wished.
Riki smiled. "Starved," he said, bending gracefully to retrieve his jeans. "Shall I call down to the kitchens for something?"
"No. Get dressed. We're going out."
That startled Riki. "Out?" he said faintly.
"Out," repeated Iason.
Riki nodded and disappeared into his bedroom. Iason stood by the window, looking over the city until he heard Riki return.
Iason cursed himself. Before, "out" meant the salons and Riki on stage with other pets. Even at the end of the three year taming period, Riki had hated displaying himself to public view. He'd done it, of course, but he'd hated it. Now he stood, waiting for Iason, dressed in a pet's display harness, eyes on the floor, fists clenched.
"I'm sorry," Iason said. "I wasn't clear. We're going to eat. There should be something more appropriate in your closet."
Those fine features lit up with relief and Riki disappeared back into his room. Just in time, thought Iason with wry humor, since the sight of him dressed like that had sent the Blondie's pulse racing.
Looking magnificent in a suit, unruly dark hair briefly tamed by Iason's comb, Riki walked straight and graceful at his side as Iason strode through the restaurant to the finest table. The waiters, pets of uncommon loveliness, gave the mongrel dark, jealous looks when they thought Iason wasn't looking. He and Riki talked, ignoring the help, and Iason was conscious of contentment. It was a novel feeling and he relished it.
Riki, too, seemed happy. His eyes sparkled and when Iason's knee pressed against his under the table, that wide, mobile mouth curved into an arch smile. Breathless, Iason summoned the waiter, paid the bill, and dragged his pet back to the condo.