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brAX

The minute Brax entered the large, walk-in closet, he heard something suspicious. It sounded like a nibbling or gnawing sound and it was coming from the very back of the closet, down near one of the many shoe racks.

Brax pushed the rack aside, careless of the shoes that fell off, and went searching for the source of the sound. A moment later, he gave a bark of surprised laughter.

“So that’s where you went!”

“What is it? Is everything all right?” Behind him, Serenai sounded worried.

“Everything’s fine,” Brax reassured her. “ I just found Cheeky , that’s all. Come look.”

She knelt beside him in the rather cramped space and a smile broke over her lovely face.

“Oh, I’m so glad you didn’t lose him! But what’s he doing?”

Cheeky appeared to be trying to get into one of the baseboards. He was gnawing and scratching at it industriously, almost as though he was trying to pry it up to get at something beneath it.

But no—it wasn’t a baseboard, Brax realized.

“Look,” he said. “ I think he’s found some kind of secret compartment. Move , little guy—let me try,” he added, scooping the little animal up in one hand. “ Here , will you hold him?” he asked Serenai .

“Of course I will. Hey , little guy!” she cooed, cuddling the little animal to her cheek. “ Your fur is so soft!”

With Cheeky out of the way, Brax was able to pry open the compartment.

Inside , he found a wide, flat box about as big as his two hands put together.

It was made of some kind of fragrant wood that gave off a sweet, resinous smell.

No wonder Cheeky had been trying to get to it—the wood probably smelled like a sweet treat to him, Brax thought.

“Look at this,” he said to Serenai , who was still busy cuddling Cheeky . “ Do you think your mother hid it here?”

“I don’t know. Take it out and let’s see what’s in the box.

” She looked over his shoulder in interest as Brax brought the flat, rectangular box out.

The sweet wood it was made of was painted with black lacquer and polished to a high gloss—he could see his face in it when he pulled it out and wiped the thin layer of dust off.

“Let’s bring it out in the light to open it,” he suggested. At the moment, they were still crouched down in a pile of shoes with racks of clothes hanging over their heads.

“Okay.” Serenai nodded and they extricated themselves from the closet and went to sit on the bed in her mother’s old bedroom.

As soon as they were settled, Brax pried open the lid and let out a low gasp.

Inside the box, lying on black velvet, was a golden necklace set with hundreds of precious stones. At first he thought they were some kind of rubies but he couldn’t be sure—they were such a deep red they were almost black and they seemed to shine in a strange way that was almost hypnotic.

“Oh my…it’s beautiful!” he heard Serenai murmur. “ I can’t seem to stop looking at the stones.”

“Same here,” Brax told her. “ I thought they were rubies at first but now… I’m not sure.”

He reached out to touch the necklace but Serenai put a hand on his arm.

“Don’t!” she said urgently. “ I have a bad feeling about it.”

“A bad feeling about wha—?” he started to ask, but just then Cheeky —who had been sitting on Serenia’s shoulder—started a high-pitched chittering that sounded almost like an alarm.

“What the fuck?” Brax exclaimed, startled. “ What is it, boy? What’s wrong?” he demanded, looking at the little creature, who was standing up on his hind legs and chittering at the top of his lungs.

“Oh no—look!” Serenai’s voice sounded so frightened that Brax immediately looked where she was pointing.

In the darkest corner of the room he saw it again—the thing with the red eyes. This time he could see more of its body—if it could be called that. It seemed to be made of shadows that flowed in and out of shapes. Before his eyes could quite settle on what it was, it became something else.

“You fucker!” he growled and, shoving the box off his lap, he started up from the bed. But before he could get anywhere near the thing, the glowing eyes vanished.

“Come on—let’s get out of this room!” Serenai was already up and tugging at his arm.

Brax scooped the box with the necklace off the bed and they hurried out of her mother’s room, slamming the door behind them.

“It’s haunted in there—it must be!” Serenai exclaimed. Her eyes were wide with fright and her arms were pebbled with chill-bumps, Brax saw.

“I should go back and look for it,” he said, frowning. “ I need to make it stop and leave you alone.”

“No, please!” Serenai’s eyes were pleading. “ What if it comes after you, too? What if it hurts you? I couldn’t live with myself if that happened!”

Brax was touched at her concern for him.

“But you bought me to protect you from that thing,” he pointed out. “ Don’t you want me to get rid of it?”

“We don’t even know if it can be gotten rid of!” she exclaimed. “ Please , let’s just get far away from my mother’s room!”

They retreated back to the food prep area, where Robbi was still doing dishes. It was the brightest place in the penthouse and it felt like the safest, too. At least to Brax , it did.

“All right,” he said, putting the box with the necklace on it on the table. “ Do you feel better now?”

“Only a little.” Serenai shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms as though she was cold.

“Come here.” Brax reached for her and she came to him eagerly. He put his arms around her and held her close, rubbing her trembling shoulders and back until she stopped shaking. “ It’s all right,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “ Everything is going to be all right, little one.”

“Do you really think so?” Serenai looked up at him, her eyes wide and haunted. “ I’ve never seen anything like that…that thing,” she whispered. “ It looked like it was made of shadows.”

“It was pretty fucking strange,” Brax admitted. “ But I swear to you, little Mistress , it’s not going to hurt you. I won’t let it.”

“I feel so much safer now that you’re here.” she rubbed her soft cheek against his bare chest and Brax felt a strong wave of protective possessiveness come over him. Which didn’t make sense—he could protect her but he could never possess her. It was she who owned him, he reminded himself.

Still, he couldn’t help how he felt. He dropped a gentle kiss on the top of her head and hugged her tightly, letting her know she was safe in his arms. He loved the feeling of her soft, curvy body pressed against his, loved the way she came to him for protection.

“Ah, I see you have found the gift which was sent to my old Mistress not long before her death.”

The high, robotic voice interrupted their hugging and Brax looked over to see that Robbi was looking at the necklace.

“Gift?” Serenai asked, frowning. “ What do you mean, Robbi ? Are you talking about the necklace?”

“Of course. It was sent here to Mistress Bloodlash’s penthouse just about a week before she died,” Robbi explained.

“Did she have any idea who sent it to her?” Brax asked.

The robo-butler shook his round metal head.

“No, it simply was addressed, ‘ To Mistress Bloodlash —you deserve this.’ I believe those are bloodstones it’s set with,” he added, his blinking yellow eyes scanning the necklace. “ Very rare and precious.”

“Bloodstones?” Brax didn’t like the sound of that. “ What the fuck are bloodstones?”

“According to legend they are diamonds that have been dyed with blood, though I do not know if it is actually possible to dye gemstones a different color,” Robbi said.

“Do you think the necklace could be tied to the red-eyed thing?” Serenai asked in a trembling voice. She looked at Robbi . “ Did my mother say anything about a thing with red eyes stalking her before she died?”

“No, Mistress , but she did seem agitated in the week leading up to her death,” the robo-butler said.

“ She began to sleep with the lights on and she looked worried and tense. I asked if there was anything I could do for her, but she denied that anything was wrong. I was considering calling for a physician, even though ordering medical help without a direct order to do so contradicts some of my programming, but then her sister, your Aunt Nibblegrim , came into the penthouse and found her dead.”

“And you didn’t see or hear anything on the day of her death—anything that might give a clue as to how she died?” Brax demanded.

The robo-butler shook his head.

“No, I’m afraid not. I was in my docking station, charging myself at the time of her death. The medical personnel whom Mistress Nibblegrim called seemed to think that my old Mistress’s heart simply stopped beating, but they could not give a reason for it.”

“But then how—?” Brax began but just then Serenai exclaimed.

“Oh look—there’s a note in here—hidden under the velvet!”

She tugged at the corner of the velvet and after a moment, pulled out a piece of fragile looking parchment, yellowed with age.

“What does it say?” Brax asked because as she read it, her expression was first puzzled, then worried.

“Here—you read it.” She passed the yellowed parchment to him. “ It doesn’t seem to make any sense.”

Brax took the paper and read aloud.

“See it once

Or see it twice

You must beware?—

You’re on thin ice!

See it thrice,

Four times or more,

Pack your bags,

Look for the door.

See it seven,

Watch your breath.

Forget your name

Or face your death.”

He frowned as he finished reading.

“What in the Seven Hells ? You’re right—that doesn’t make any sense.”

“It sounds so ominous though—what does it mean, ‘ Forget your name or face your death?’” Serenai shivered. “ I wish there was someone we could ask.” She looked up. “ Robbi , did my mother say anything about reading this poem we found with the necklace?” she asked him.

He shook his head.

“I am afraid not, Mistress . But if you are hoping to find someone to ask about the necklace, I believe Mistress Trembledamp might be the one to speak to. She is the foremost expert on Bloodstones in all of Opulex . Your mother made an appointment to see her a few days after she received the necklace.”

“She did? What did she say Mistress Trembledamp said about it?” Serenai asked.

“I am afraid Mistress Bloodlash died before she was able to keep her appointment,” Robbi said. “ Would you like me to contact Mistress Trembledamp and ask her to see you?”

“Yes, please!” Serenai nodded. “ The sooner the better. Maybe she can shed some light on this.”

Robbi cocked his head to one side and his yellow eyes started flickering rapidly. For a moment, they heard a thin, high string of what sounded like garbled speech—or possibly language speeded up so fast it was incomprehensible.

A moment later, the robo-butler’s eyes stopped flickering and he spoke.

“I spoke to her assistant—another robot butler like myself. Her schedule is full for today, but she has an opening tomorrow.”

“Okay, that’s good. We’ll see her then.” Serenai nodded.

“Mistress Trembledamp’s assistant also asked me to remind you that his Mistress is very observant of custom and tradition,” Robbi went on.

“ She will expect your bodyslave to make a proper obeisance to you when you are announced in her presence and she expects you to discipline him if he misbehaves in any way.”

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” Serenai sounded indignant. “ Brax knows how to behave himself! There’s no need for me to punish him just to make her happy.”

“I think what he means is that I’ll need to kiss your panties when her footman announces us,” Brax told her.

He couldn’t help picturing tasting his new little Mistress as he spoke.

Gods , the Thirst was tormenting him! But he knew he couldn’t do anything about it until she was ready to let him taste her.

“Your bodyslave is correct, Mistress Serenai ,” Robbi agreed. “ And you should probably wear the fire and ice dust as well. That way you can show that you are prepared to punish him if necessary, even if you do not actually plan to do so.”

Serenai looked troubled.

“But…but that means I’ll have to wear one of those dresses that shows all my forbidden places!” she exclaimed.

“You’d probably have to do that anyway, to look like a proper Yonnite Mistress ,” Brax pointed out.

“ Please don’t worry, little one,” he added, putting a hand on her arm to calm her down.

“ I’ll be with you every step of the way.

I’ll even help you find the right dress and put the fire and ice dust on your nipples if you want me to. ”

“Actually, the new trend around Opulex now is to put fire dust on both nipples and to put the ice dust just inside the top part of the Mistress’s slit,” Robbi interjected helpfully.

“ I have seen many Mistresses do so, though of course, Mistress Bloodlash preferred simply to use her pain whip on disobedient servants.”

“Really?” Serenai looked nearly panicked now. She shook her head. “ I can’t… I don’t think…it’s too much!”

Then she fled from the food prep area, leaving Brax to stare after her.