This is Book eXtra. It overlaps Book 9 and 10. It also overlaps the books of Valencio's story, now available with some re-writing, as original fiction. I was not intending to republish this book, but since every month, there are several readers of the first ten books, then maybe some will enjoy this as well.
Note: Adult content. In some chapters, the novel speaks of cruelty and heartbreak. In some chapters, it speaks of sex, including rape. This series of books began as fanfiction, but by this time, the child wizards called Harry Potter has grown into The Great Wizard called Henry Bellamy. There is little left that belongs to J. K. Rowling. Terms used: The technical term for Wizardkind is Anirage.
**x**
Chapter 1:
Two little girls raced through the gardens of their home. There were cool courtyards, swimming pools, fruit trees, flowers, and everywhere, inside and outside, the cooling sound of running water. It was in desert country, in Morocco. But the Compound was large, and its occupants very wealthy. There was never a need to come into contact with the desolation outside, or to see the slums of the nearby city. Bouchra and Kichi wore only skimpy light tunics of a thin material in the noon day heat.
Kichi whispered, "There's a new one in the dirt-people enclosure, a white girl."
Bouchra hesitated, "We're not allowed near there."
Kichi pointed, "If we climb the orange tree..."
Bouchra grinned, and the six-year-old cousins slipped around behind a neatly trimmed hedge, and climbed the tree. They waited, watching a while, as the dirt-people wandered behind the high fence. The large enclosure had a section of garden to themselves, as well tended as that for the Family. Bouchra suddenly pointed, "Look!"
A blonde child, not much older than themselves, held tightly to the hand of an older girl, who looked pure Arabic. The cousins had seen white people before, when they'd been taken to Paris for a few months. All in that section were girls and young women. Most were Arabic, or Oriental, but a few were very black, from the Sudan.
There was another section behind the first enclosure, but the prisoners there were older, and used for different purposes, and yet a third, with no communication to the first two enclosures. It was usually empty.
The girls jumped and looked around guiltily, but it was only eleven year old Adil. "You know what they're for, don't you?" he said.
The girls looked at each other. They'd never asked. They were just the dirt-people. There were always some here, a score or so girls here, and more in the second enclosure, almost out of sight.
"The new one's for Ahjmed, and no-one's allowed to touch her until his return."
Bouchra asked, "But what does he want a dirt-person for?"
Adil hesitated. He wasn't actually quite sure. But he didn't admit that, instead saying airily, "That's men's business, not for little girls to know."
Bouchra said sturdily, "We didn't want to know, and anyway, I don't think you know either."
Adil threatened, "I'll tell on you for looking if you stay one more minute."
The girls scrambled down the tree, Kichi tearing her clothing, and ran.
Adil stayed and watched the girls and young women. He may not have known exactly what they were for, but at the age of Sorting, some time before he turned thirteen, he'd be promoted to the men's quarters, and then he suspected he'd find out.
Every morning, the girls had to go to lessons, along with all the other children, boys and girls, aged from three to ten. On their tenth birthday, they would be taken to the wand-makers to be supplied with their own wands, and would then join afternoon classes instead, where they would learn to work magic. Their teacher was a Japanese woman, her name Aichi. She smiled at the twelve children who sat respectfully in front of her. "Next week, we go to England for three months in order to practise English."
Bouchra and Kichi sat next to each other. They were best friends, and were seldom apart. Bouchra raised a hand, and spoke very respectfully, "Like when we were in Paris?"
Aichi nodded. "Like that. But today there's something else special. Grandmother Riza is going to talk to you."
The children became very solemn. Grandmother Riza was one of the most senior members of the Family, Khatabi-Vrie, second only to Nahoko, who was in charge of the breeding programme. She had to be treated with utmost respect.
Before the old woman visited, Aichi took them through their lesson. The dirt-people. Individually, they could be treated with contempt. But the lesson was repeated again and again throughout their schooling. There were an enormous number of dirt-people, and they could be dangerous. And there were hints of dreadful things that had happened in the past, "But Nezha will tell you about that, when you're older." Nezha taught the ten to thirteen year olds.
Grandmother Riza was accompanied by a younger woman, whom Riza didn't bother introducing to the children. Instead, one by one, she spoke briefly to the children, almost like a test. But the children were apt to stare, and answer in monosyllables. Then they were instructed to stay still, as the other woman touched a sensor to their forehead, and noted down a figure.
Kichi immediately followed Bouchra, and Riochi made an exclamation. Riza glanced at the little girl, and then nodded. "Just make a note."
The children were let out early.
"What do you think they were doing?" said Bouchra, slightly worried.
But Kichi shrugged blithely, "It didn't hurt."
Bouchra smiled, reassured, and agreed. "It didn't hurt."
There was a lavish lunch provided, as always, just the smaller children present at that setting, supervised by a servant. As she nibbled on a sweet tart, Bouchra said thoughtfully, "Ahjmed came back yesterday."
"In an hour, the older ones will be at lessons. It'll be safe enough then..."
An hour later, the girls were again perched in their tree. Kichi pointed. They could barely see, but it seemed like there might be a disturbance in the second enclosure.
Bouchra stood perilously, and squinted. "They're being lined up, I think."
"Is Quang calling numbers?"
The dirt-people were numbered, the numbers prominent on their right arms, and on their clothing, although too far away for the girls to see. They could see Enclosure 1 better, but the blonde child was nowhere to be seen. But then Kichi pointed again. Ahjmed was twenty-five, and he had a casual arm around the little girl, as he walked her back toward her enclosure. Yuri was with him, and the two men were laughing and joking. The girl was walking with difficulty, and her head was lowered.
The girls in the tree squinted, and then looked at each other. "There's blood," Kichi said.
Bouchra frowned, "If she was whipped for not being obedient, the blood would be on her back."
They stared, silent. Bouchra finally spoke slowly, "She's only a dirt-person..."
Kichi said quietly, "I think her number's 29."
The eight-year-old Swedish girl was handed to a servant with a brief word, and the two powerful wizards strolled off, laughing, jovial. The girls stayed watching, silent. After a few minutes, behind the high fence, they could see a tall dark women, walking away from the building. She was carrying the child, who clung to her, sobbing. Others touched, trying to soothe the heartbreak of a raped child.
There was a roar of fury. The girls had been discovered. Silent, frightened, they didn't dream of trying to run, or defy their elder. Instead, they were marched to the feared Disciplinarian. The gardener explained, and said, "Bouchra, daughter of Etsu, and Kichi, daughter of Kameko."
"Which is which?" and the gardener indicated.
The eyes of the Disciplinarian lingered on Kichi, and he spoke curtly, "There will be no punishment today, but change the gardens. The children should not be able to overlook the dirt-people."
The children ran as soon as released. The whippings they'd suffered at various times left no marks, but were very painful. They couldn't imagine why they'd been spared this time. They stayed away from the dirt-people enclosures, and didn't hear the protesting screams of the blonde child when she was taken back to the room of Ahjmed that evening.
**x**
When the children were assembled ready for the trip to England, Bouchra was very concerned. Where was Kichi? Why wasn't she coming? Aichi answered that Kichi was to go to Japan for a time, with her mother. Bouchra wasn't quite satisfied, and would miss her friend, but the explanation was feasible. Kichi's mother was more Japanese than Arabic, and many of the family spent as much time, or more, in Japan as they did in Morocco.
Kichi's mother did go to Japan, with Riza and Riochi. She was frightened, but like the children, she didn't dream of defying her elders. Once in Japan, she was ordered to face Riza. Riza aimed her wand, carefully enunciated the words of a spell, and Kameko clutched her lower abdomen, whimpering. There was hardly any actual pain, but it was the Nala Spell, irreversible. Kamiko had given birth to a dirt-child, and had been removed from the breeding programme. Kichi was dead, her body vanished.
Kamiko had always been obedient, and would be allowed to keep her wand and continue seeing her two younger children. But she'd lost face, and would never become an important member of the Family - still a Khatabi, as, once given, that status was seldom removed, but never Khatabi-Vrie, an elder. Her younger children would almost certainly be designated Khatabi-Richi, of the servant class.
Bouchra started spending more time with Nara, though Nara was a couple of years younger than herself. It was nearly a year before there was a visit to the Japanese Compound, where they would stay several months, until they were as fluent in Japanese as in Arabic. Kichi wasn't there, and Bouchra was rebuked harshly when she was too persistent in her questioning. All the same, it was only when she was threatened with the whip, that Bouchra stopped looking for her friend.
**x**
When Bouchra turned ten, there was a trip to Khartoum, to the shop of the wand-makers. Her very own wand in hand, she nearly strutted in her pride as she went to join the older ones for what they referred to as Junior School. Now she was going to learn magic.
Bouchra was to learn a great deal of magic in those few years, vanishing, fetching, sending away, cleaning, making things move. Part of the reason that they kept dirt-people captive became clear. They were used when the students practised 'Combat & Control,' the subjects brought to them silenced with a spell, but only if they were not sufficiently docile were their legs paralysed. The children practised on the dirt-people - tying up, paralysing them, and inflicting them with simple Vidi-curses such as Boils, or the Trembling Spell. Stunning was a little more difficult, and although Bouchra mastered it by the time she was twelve, several did not.
"When you're older," the teacher assured them. Their progress was reported to the elders. Every now and then, one of the students would be found to have sufficient power that their spells were not easily reversed. One of the more powerful Khatabis would be needed then, and the child would be carefully watched. Ahjmed had been like that, but Bouchra was not.
There was never any opportunity to talk to the dirt-people, who knew things that children, especially little girls, were not supposed to know. The dirt-people were easier to manage if they knew what was in store, and when needed, one of the guards would demonstrate, for instance, stunning one of them, and then waving a wand again, and reviving the victim. 'It's only to help the youngsters learn to defend themselves,' they'd be told. 'No-one's going to really hurt you,' and those in Enclosure 2 stayed there many years, women and an occasional man, no longer wanted in Enclosure 1.
A curious question from one of the girls about the purpose of those in Enclosure 1 was cut off abruptly. The boys kept quiet. Several had a very good idea, and they expected to find out soon enough.
There were other lessons - history, for example. They learned just how dangerous the dirt-people could be, when they combined and fought with determination. Nezha's voice was hushed as she related how Anirage had come so close to extinction. It was several hundred years before, but what they referred to as the Holocaust had been worldwide. In many areas, they had been wiped out. And Nezha looked at her students with grave eyes. "Remember, without a wand, we can do hardly any more magic than the people of the dirt."
The students nodded solemnly.
Nezha went on to reiterate the rules that had been drummed into them from infancy. Never show dirt-people that magic exists. If a dirt-person accidentally witnessed magic, they must be made to forget with the memory change spell, or they could have their minds obliterated, for example, by the Cha Keeyo Curse, or the person must be killed. Do not interfere in the affairs of dirt-people. Never, ever, bring Wizardkind to the notice of dirt-people.
Hurren asked, "What if they have wars that affect us?"
Nezha answered simply, "We move somewhere else." She continued, "Every now and then, a naive person might say that our magic could alleviate the problems suffered by other humans. Never be tempted. It only leads to trouble."
Hicham said, "Anyway, they're only dirt-people, aren't they? We do what we want with them."
Nezha nodded briefly. They were only dirt-people, but she didn't approve of the sort of casual cruelty the men indulged in.
When Bouchra approached thirteen, it was time for her group to be Sorted. Afterwards, the males and females of the family would lead largely separate lives. Instead of living with their mothers, as a rare few did, or in the Children's Rooms, looked after by servants, as the great majority did, the girls would have an apartment within the Women's Quarters, the boys in the Men's Quarters. They would no longer share lessons and would not even share meals except on special occasions.
They could talk to each other if they wanted. There were lounging areas shared by men and women, common areas of garden, and two of the swimming pools could be used by both men and women. Behind one of these, the 'Cloverleaf" swimming pool, there was a particular double row of bedrooms, where a man and a woman might sometimes meet by mutual consent. And sometimes, they'd be ordered.
There was a further division done at this time, and this one was an even deeper division than that between the boys and the girls. At this age, it was decided which of the youngsters had the required talent to be Khatabi, full members of the great Family Khatabi. The majority, however, would be designated Khatabi-Richi - servants.
There were five in the group that time, aged from twelve and a half to nearly thirteen. Three boys, Hicham, Fudo and Junichiro, and two girls, Bouchra and Hurren. A magical monitor was used to give an indication of their talent, but the results were viewed as indicative only. The reports of their teachers were held as more important, especially of their performance in 'Combat and Control.'
The verdict was made known. Fudo, Junichiro and the girl, Hurren, would be Khatabi-Richi - and those three were sterilised, painless for the boys, uncomfortable for Hurren, as the womb was vanished. The new Khatabi-Richi were supplied with robes, as adults wore, replacing the light tunics they had worn as children. The robes appeared far too heavy for the climate, but crio-magic ensured that they were still light and cool. On their right shoulder, they wore a bright yellow 'flash,' that denoted Khatabi-Richi.
They were no longer viewed as small children, and the increased status helped them accept their position as servants. For the boys, there was an additional consolation. They were shown a line-up of the women and girls of Enclosure 1. Available for sex once they were ready, and one of their first lessons was a sex education class. "Most boys are about fourteen when they start. But it's up to you. When you're ready, notify the enclosure overseer, and he'll choose an experienced woman for you."
Hicham had shown indications of enhanced power, and was accepted as Khatabi. His new robes were of a more elaborate styling than that of servants, and he would never wear stripes to indicate his status and skills. Hicham was Khatabi, would be known as Khatabi, and if he survived the inevitable fighting and duelling for long enough, might even be made Khatabi-Vrie, an Elder of the great Family Khatabi, the most feared family of Anirage in all of Arabia and Asia.
Bouchra was also accepted as Khatabi. She was intelligent, and an apt student. There were no indications of power above the average, but more women were needed than men. A man could sire many children, but a woman could only have one baby a year, and most objected to having more than three or four in a lifetime. She was moved to the women's quarters and to a new teacher for 'Intermediate' school. She was without friends, discouraged from consorting with the servant class, and discouraged from playing with the children. Her new teacher was Khatabi.
She heard about Fudo, that he had been whipped for disobedience, though she wasn't told the details. Did he not want to be sterilised? Khatabi-Richi were always sterilised. It was the way things were. The Khatabi name should not be carried by nonentities. They could leave, of course, if they chose, once the compulsory sterilisation was done, but most stayed. There was wealth to share, and they had magic, which meant that life as a Khatabi servant was not unpleasant. They could stay a lifetime if they chose, even when long past work. But they had to be unquestioningly obedient, and would be whipped if they were deemed insolent.
The Khatabi-Richi may not have had the overweening arrogance of Khatabi, but as a rule, they took a great pride in belonging to the powerful Family, and maybe because they were unable to have children themselves, most became as dedicated as the elders to the idea of breeding more and more powerful wizards.
The lessons for the girls, Khatabi-Richi and Khatabi, were in most ways similar to those of the boys. They learned to conjure, and learned history and sociology and languages. But the girls no longer saw the dirt-people. Curses were only taught in theory. None of the more wicked curses were performed in front of them, not even the Spell of Pain, regarded as basic. No-one was killed, and no bodies were callously vanished. It had long been known that girls were more unpredictable, and sometimes objected to the way things were. The boys were taught to apparate - to travel in an instant from one place to another. The girls didn't know such a thing was possible.
The teaching of Khatabi-Richi emphasised the superiority of Khatabi, and the absolute necessity to treat them with respect and unquestioning obedience. Their teacher, Ghewa Khatabi-Richi, instructed, "They are Khatabi. But we're important as well, our roles vital to the family."
Hurren asked, "Why don't the Khatabi marry?"
"They can if they want, I suppose. Khatabi do whatever they want. But it's not the custom."
Hamida, aged fourteen, said, "I like sex. I might have three or four husbands, I think."
The teacher smiled. "That's another freedom we have. A Khatabi girl is not supposed to have sex until her first ordered mating."
Hurren confided, "I don't like it much that my big brother can order me punished."
"You are Khatabi-Richi. He is no longer your brother, no longer even a 'cousin.' And severe punishments are seldom ordered unless merited. I've never been whipped."
Hurren said stubbornly, "But it could happen."
Ghewa was frowning heavily, and reminded her, "Khatabi are not the only ones who can order a whipping for insolence. Those in authority over you, such as your overseer, or the manager, or your teacher, can also do so."
Hurren looked at her annoyed face, and was silent. They were no longer children, and if a whipping was ordered now, it would be more severe, drawing blood and putting them out of action for a few days. Hurren thought she might leave, but maybe not for a few years. What would a thirteen-year-old girl do out in the world on her own? Was she still allowed to talk to her mother, who was Khatabi? She might try.
The boys in Intermediate School, including Hicham, saw a lot of the inmates of Enclosure 2, only fifteen of them at that time, as there had been a cull not so long before. Now he learned more difficult spells, Vidi-Curses, those unpleasant spells that made the victim look a fool, some of the more difficult control spells, such as Prindi Paralysis, that left head and face free, and the Filuah Kay Spell that made the victim very feeble, unable to fight or run.
Before they learned the Spell of Pain, though, the teacher reminded them that what they did was needed. Their skills were needed, and while it might be difficult to hurt a woman, it was necessary, and the suffering was minimised as much as possible.
Hicham asked, puzzled, "But they're only dirt-people anyway, aren't they?"
They were only dirt-people, but these women were those who had given pleasure when they were younger, and the older wizards often retained a fondness for particular women. They were seldom hurt more than deemed essential for the students to learn what was needed.
**x**
Bouchra remained lonely for a few weeks after the Sorting, but then Saeko joined her, sent over from the Japanese branch of the Family. Soon afterwards, they were given extensive lessons in Family History. How a few of the family had escaped the Holocaust, mostly owing to the talent for telepathy that cropped up now and then, but also because they were more powerful in magical talent than any other family of wizards.
"We look for both telepathy and power," announced Hasna, and talked about the outcrosses sought, in order to further enhance their power. "The most powerful families of wizards from all over the world have contributed to the Khatabi Family," she boasted, although Hasna herself was not exceptional, and had never been mated - Khatabi, but a nonentity in the eyes of the seniors.
Hasna went on to explain the essential role the girls played, and the vital importance of being totally obedient when it came time to be mated. The girls flushed and looked at their desks. They knew nothing about being mated, but it could come at any time.
"Reproduction," Hasna said, and the young girls looked at each other. A pair of large dolls were put on each desk.
"Look closely, feel. Here, and here."
One of the soft dolls had facial hair painted on. One had breasts. There was a difference in the genitals. The female had soft labia, though no detail was shown, the male had a gentle bulge, as one might see through clothing. Hasna went on to say that genitals were rubbed against each other, which gave pleasure sometimes, and was essential in order to become pregnant. "See, feel!" said Hasna, laying the girls' reluctant hands on the bulge. "Soft flesh that gently rubs against the softness of a woman, and afterwards, a woman can become pregnant."
Bouchra was relieved. If that was all, there was no need to be frightened. She still sometimes remembered bloodstains down the legs of a blonde dirt-girl. She hadn't seen the girl since, though she'd practised her magic on one of those who'd tried to comfort the child after the rape.
"The dolls are kept here," the girls were told. "You're free to have a look whenever you want." And then she allowed the teaching to become a more relaxed conversation, noting how the girls every now and then looked at the male genitals as portrayed by the soft dolls. Hasna had no practical basis to think she was teaching falsehoods, but she'd once been subject to an hysterical and accusatory tantrum by one of her pupils after her first mating. The girl had been whipped for her insolence, and never spoke of it again. But she'd had to be dragged back to the man, and Hasna heard later that a Snail Spell had been used in order to enable the mating to take place.
It had been worthwhile, as the resulting child was now one of their best fighting wizards. She didn't know what had happened to Indi, afterwards. Best not to ask, sometimes. She might have just left, of course...
Bouchra asked, "You spoke about outside wizards - outcrosses you called them. What sort of outcrosses might there be?".
"In recent years, we've had a Chinese wizard, also one from Sweden, another from Germany. Ones that have achieved note in their own lands. And there's an English wizard, called Henry Bellamy, we've been wanting for years, but he doesn't seem interested in girls. Lillichi's in England, trying again, as his bloodlines would be such a valuable contribution. They call him the great wizard because he can work magic without a wand, and is very powerful. Rumour has it that no-one can break his spells, but that he can break anyone else's spells."
"Even Grandmother Riza's?"
"Probably not that powerful. But he's quite old, I believe, and still looks young, and that's always an indicator of a very powerful wizard."
Bouchra screwed up her nose. She didn't want to be mated to an old man, even if he didn't look ancient.
"How would you ask him to mate with one of us?" asked Saeko.
Hasna answered, "Men love sex, and don't worry about whether there's a likelihood of pregnancy. We never tell a target that he's to sire a child! The chosen woman simply seduces him into having sex with her. Then she works the spells to promote conception."
Bouchra asked, puzzled. "Are spells necessary? The dirt-people don't make spells, and yet they have children."
"The spells make it almost certain, even if it's only once. For the dirt-people, I presume, it's a matter of chance."
Saeko wondered if she was going to be ordered to seduce this man Bellamy. But Saeko's mate was already chosen. She was to be mated to Ahjmed, though it would not be until she was fourteen. Childbirth could be difficult if a girl was too young, and many of the Khatabis had small frames.
Lessons progressed. Bouchra and Saeko were taken to England again for a while. Their English improved. There were other trips. They had to know several languages, and know them well.
For Khatabi-Richi girls, it was a little different. They travelled far less after the Sorting, and no lessons in Reproduction were given. Their sex education was haphazard. They learned from each other, and often from the boys of their own age. Not the Khatabi men, who took no notice of the servants, as a rule. Some of the girls were a little sorry for the Khatabi girls, who were carefully protected, and who would be in big trouble if they were not virgins when it was time to be mated.
When Hicham turned sixteen, it was time for Senior school. Thirty more dirt-people were collected and put in Enclosure 3, for Advanced Combat & Control. Now he would learn to be a Fighter. There were five Khatabi boys in the class, himself and Brahim, plus three others sent over from Japan. Twelve were in the Khatabi-Richi class.
These subjects were not women. They were men, collected at random from the nearby city of Baradan. The students had to learn things that caused real pain for their victims - First Aid, to begin with - healing broken bones and deep cuts. The injuries, of course, first had to be inflicted. It was necessary, as the Khatabis saw it. Every adult wizard, and especially every Fighter, should have a working knowledge of First Aid. The victims were tightly controlled, and always restrained, wrist and ankle, for the lessons.
Once deemed competent at First Aid, it was time for the 'serious' curses - the Cha Keeyo Curse, the Bajet Stun Curse, which was difficult to perform, the Hendrix Curse, others as wicked. Some of these were irreversible, and the subjects were finished off with the Death Curse and then the body vanished. Sometimes, a victim of a curse was kept for demonstration purposes, for example, the way that the Rindi victim lasted a few years, and then gradually withered away. And there was a victim of the Cha Keeyo Curse kept for a while, lying mindless on a pallet in the classroom, drooling now and then, incontinent, his mind completely destroyed.
Discipline tended to fail with these subjects, and the Control Spells were essential. After the first weeks, there were fights within the enclosures, as the prisoners turned on each other in their torment. It was not worth bothering entering the enclosure to clean and keep the gardens pleasant. Such things could wait until the enclosure was empty again. One could not be overly sentimental. The dirt-people were for using, for whatever the wizards wanted.
Three more intakes of thirty dirt-people were required before the teacher was satisfied that each of the young wizards was sufficiently competent, and a new contingent of Khatabi Fighters was trained. It would be more convenient for the enclosure to be completely emptied, so the last three men were killed and the bodies vanished. The enclosure could be cleaned and closed down then, until it was needed again, probably in a few years time. The students had done well. There were no failures.
For Fudo and Junichero, among others, there was a new stripe, a broad green stripe proudly worn next to the yellow flash. They were seventeen, and rated adult.
Fudo chose to continue as a Fighter, but Junichero requested to go into administration instead. His request was granted. He was a Fighter first, but if a man chose a different specialty, as long as the numbers of designated Fighters were sufficient, there was no reason his request could not be granted. Any who failed to master the skills required of a Fighter would also choose a different specialty. But the lack of the green stripe could not be hidden, and it would always be a matter for shame, that he'd been unable to meet the expected standard of every Khatabi male.
Hicham and Brahim were Khatabi. Once a Khatabi was rated adult, on no other authority than his own, he or she could order a servant to be whipped - for insolence, or for any other perceived crime. They were cautioned that it was unwise to exercise that prerogative very often though. Where would the Khatabis be without the essential servants?
***chapter end***
