Chapter Two
Gwen stared around her new home; Kevin was gone, much to her relief.
Any perception that he might be kind had been snuffed out on her second day. He didn't make her perform menial labor, but the drained her until she was weak, not as weak as she felt when Michael did it, but she was often exhausted.
She just wanted to go home, even though Earth was an empty abandoned dust bowl, the idea of going back to something familiar sounded better than anything on the entire planet.
She'd made a few escape attempts, not outright escape attempts that would draw his attention, but she had tried to crawl through the vents, only to find that they were too small to squeeze into. She'd tried to take off the collar; it wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she pulled at it.
Trying her best to not to upset him, which was difficult because of his many, many mood swings. Some days, he would be amiable and decent, other days, she couldn't do anything right.
Kevin had tried to keep their relationship in a good light. He gave her simple things, decent food, plenty of rest by his standards, which wasn't actually much and he made sure that he controlled himself when he drained her Mana.
The months went by and he had grown used to seeing her. He still admired her, but he had to wonder if the admiration was just a silly thought in his head. She was still as dignified as the day she'd arrived and he was actually feeling his investment that he put into her was actually paying off.
He was heading home; he had no fear of anyone on his home planet and walked wherever he wanted. A large crowd bowed before him as he smirked at all of them.
"All hail the Caligula of Osmos V!" one of the human slaves shouted. Kevin glared.
"I don't know what a Caligula is but I don't like it," he looked at the Osmosian owner, "Take your human home and beat it, and make sure it knows when to shut up and show respect! I'm a breath away from killing him myself, but I'd have to pay you for it and I'm in no mood for that."
He stalked home and restlessly mulled over what he was going to do. He hated being insulted, but he didn't even know what the insult meant and that made him angrier because it made him look stupid.
Maybe Gwen would know the answer, since it seemed to be something that humans knew and could understand. He found her cleaning the floor; he didn't have other slaves to do work for him, mainly because he didn't care if anything was clean or dirty.
"What's a Caligula?" he asked.
Gwen was a little startled, where had he heard about Caligula?
"Caligula was the Emperor of Rome, a long time ago. Caligula was a very evil man. You've never read about him?"
"I have the reading level of an eleven year old; my reading level only goes so far."
"Do you have any Earth history books in this place? I can show you things about him."
Though I don't really want to. It might give him ideas. She shuddered.
Kevin showed her the history books that he had in the house; she flipped through them until she found the section on the Roman Empire. She proceeded to read to him about Caligula and his depravities, when she got to the part about the incest, Kevin's hands clenched, he kept his cool for a long time, forcing himself to listen to the rest of the entry. He nodded at her and ordered her to go about her chores.
Kevin summoned his Osmosian guards and ordered them to arrest the human who had insulted him since he'd seen the man's name. The owner demanded money from Kevin; his guards immediately killed him, on orders from their ruler that by demanding money, he was defying him.
The man looked up at him, angry and defiant.
"So you think I'm Caligula, huh?" Kevin snarled. "You think I rape women, huh? You think I torture for fun huh? Fine, I'll become your personal Caligula, since you think that's what I am. I'm already a monster, so why not?"
The man's eyes widened with terror. The guards dragged him off. "Do him real slow. I want him to suffer."
Kevin got up and left, he saw Gwen busy doing chores. He roughly grabbed her shoulders.
"Just stop what you're doing," he growled. "I need to feed."
Gwen groaned in pain, what had brought this on all of a sudden? Had she done something wrong she didn't know about? The agony seared her insides; it felt like she was being torn apart, for five minutes she could feel him draining her energy. She just wanted it to stop, he pulled away.
"That should last me until tomorrow," he sneered; his cruelty was fueled by his rage. He stalked off to continue planning his invasion of the Incursion Empire, they'd been putting up quite a fight, but he'd bring them to their knees soon enough.
He just had to secure another deal with the Forever Knights and he'd be ready to finish off the Incursion Empire for good.
Gwen was still working when she heard Kevin's voice groaning as he stumbled into the room, knocking over the glass on the table.
"Traitors!" He roared, "Backstabbing liars. I'll kill all of them! URRGH!"
"Kevin, let me help you," Gwen tried to ease him down onto the floor so she could examine his wounds.
"If I need your help I'll tell you, no doubt you'll want something in exchange for helping me."
"Why do you think that anything I do for you is because I want something and not because I have no choice?" Gwen looked exasperated.
"Just make the bleeding stop," he growled. She managed to get him over to get him to a healing tank and place him inside it.
"Find me whatever will get me back to normal sooner," Kevin ordered.
"But you'll be better in a few weeks," Gwen tried to state it while trying to avoid the idea that she was refusing an order.
"Are you refusing?" Kevin demanded.
"No, I'll go," Gwen hurried out to do as he requested. She wondered how long she was going to live like this.
Gwen headed outside to where various sellers offered everything Osmosians would want. Alien tech, food, various trinkets and things that they enjoyed. There was no illegal alien tech and anyone who wanted to sell anything could.
Gwen had noticed how Kevin took care of himself and what Osmosians considered to be healthy. She gathered up what she knew he needed and wanted to get it over with.
On her way home, she collided with another figure.
"I'm very sorry," Gwen apologized. She gasped and stared in surprise. It was her older brother, Ken!
"Ken!" Gwen exclaimed. "Are you all right?"
"Gwen!" Ken pulled his younger sister into an embrace. "I've missed you."
"Are you all right?" she asked, overjoyed to see him. Her joy was short lived, knowing she would have to leave him.
"I'm fine, well as fine as I can be," Ken explained. "My master has me work outside, run his errands that sort of thing, it's not the best, but I am trying to buy my freedom. I don't have the Anodite spark so they don't feed on me. And you?"
"Kevin Levin is my owner, it's not the best situation, but I am all right," Gwen told her brother. Ken looked horrified.
"Gwen, he's horrible, he's killed so many people and…any Anodite he's owned hasn't survived."
"But I'm alive aren't I?" she asked.
"Yes, but they all tried to escape and he's always caught them. Be careful."
"I will Ken, and when I escape, I'll come find you. I promise."
"Don't even try; I don't want him to kill you."
"Ken, have you seen mom and dad or Ben, or Grandpa Max?" Gwen asked, she needed to know about her family.
"Mom and dad, I've seen them, they're still together and owned by wealthy Osmosians, they work just like I do. Grandpa Max and Ben are still missing; I'm assuming they're in hiding somewhere."
"That's a relief," Gwen breathed. "I have to go Ken; I'll try to come see you."
"No, I don't want you to get hurt," Ken told her. "Go back and be safe."
"I will Ken, it isn't going to be like this forever," Gwen promised. "I love you."
"Love you too, Gwen," Ken had helped her gather up her things and turned to walk away.
Gwen headed home and arrived quietly. Kevin looked up at her a strange smile on his face.
"Did you enjoy seeing your brother?" Kevin chuckled.
"How did you know?" Gwen was terrified.
"I can listen to your conversations any time I wish. I did think it was amusing that you wanted to try to visit him, don't think I can't have him brought to me and killed. I know about all your feeble escape attempts, don't think for one second you'll get away from me, but I have been merciful to you for my own amusement, don't think that I wouldn't order your execution, because I would and wouldn't lose any sleep over it."
Gwen shook, utterly terrified. Kevin smiled. "Now, come here."
Gwen stepped forward. Her eyes were defiant.
Kevin smirked. "You think you can defy me. That's good, so many humans gravel at my feet. But you have always defied me, I think I like that about you."
Gwen still shook, but kept her gaze on him, she knew she was terrified, but she wouldn't back down from him.
Kevin moved forward, pacing around her in a circle, scrutinizing her. She was attractive, a pretty face, he concluded, he'd bought plenty of women and they're features had never struck him as appealing, but there was something about Gwen that intrigued him.
Her small figure seemed to hide her inner strength, other Osmosians viewed humans as strange creatures, obsessed with their looks and being what they viewed as thin, when they brought slaves from Earth they always looked for the strong ones who would be more likely to survive hard labor, Gwen didn't seem like the type who would survive that sort of ordeal, but he had looked over her records concerning the time she had been owned by Michael, she'd been forced to work outside as well as provide him with Mana.
Kevin leaned in a little closer; Gwen wondered if he was going to kiss her. She knew it wouldn't feel particularly nice. She was not going to kiss him; she'd kick him in the groin before that could happen.
Kevin's lips were centimeters away from hers. He smiled, "What's that look on your face?"
"Nothing," she replied.
"Go back to your chores; I will call you if I want anything." Kevin left her without a word.
Gwen was utterly confused, he loved to wield his power over her and yet he enjoyed her defiance. He seemed to despise her and yet he admired her.
Why did everything have to be so confusing? He wasn't an easy person to read. The compassion he'd shown her the first day she'd been there wasn't gone; it was muted and buried beneath a cruel exterior.
Gwen had no idea if she'd be able to reach him at all.
If they had met under different circumstances, she could have easily fallen in love with him, but that was something that would never happen between them, not if he continued to act the way he did.
She wondered if she was going crazy, thinking that she might fall in love with him. It was absurd. Gwen put the thoughts out of her head, she needed to rest.
Gwen lay down on her bed and ignored her confusing thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.
Gwen found herself standing in a house. It was a house she'd always dreamed of having. Something simple yet elegant and that showed off her personality.
She was free, free to do whatever she wanted. She was not at Kevin's beckoned call and she could come and go as she pleased. This could only be a wonderful dream. She lay down to sleep, to rest, Gwen felt it was something she deserved.
"Wake up," the male voice whispered sweetly in her ear.
"I don't want to," she replied. "When I do you won't be there."
"So this is a dream then," the playfulness was obvious.
"Yes," she whispered.
"Well, let's enjoy it," he smirked.
Their mouths met and the passion she felt was overwhelming. Who was this man that made her feel this way? The voice was familiar and yet different?
The man's tone was gentle, sweet, caring, all the things Kevin 11,000 wasn't. She felt reassured by the voice and the touch, even though her eyes were shut. She was lost in her emotions and as she tried to open her eyes to see her lover, she woke from sleep.
Kevin's thoughts ran a thousand different directions, he could put up a haughty, arrogant front but he couldn't deny that her actions appealed to him. Deception was something he admired, except when it was used against him of course.
Despite her obvious terror, she held her own against his threat to execute her. It was true, he had executed many of his enemies without losing sleep, a brief gesture and they were gone.
She was truly extraordinary, something to occupy his time with. The attachment he was feeling toward her made him wonder if he was going soft on her, despite his bravado.
Was he actually starting to develop feelings for Gwen Tennyson? No, he persuaded himself, he would not give into human emotions, he had never needed friends nor mates nor lovers or anything else, such silly things could be taken from him, and no one could do that if he didn't have the unnecessary emotional attachments.
Kevin frowned, the idea of exploring his emotions felt stupid to him. He wondered why he was thinking about this in the first place. Still resting in a Galvin healing tank he waited until he would recover.
He put Gwen out of his mind; he had a vengeance to carry out on the Incursions for betraying him and going back on their deal to supply him with weapons.
Kevin had fully recovered and the next day he saw Aggregor approaching him.
"Hello Levin," Aggregor looked at him. "Everything is ready for your invasion of the Incursion Empire."
"Good," Kevin smirked. "I'm looking forward to wiping them out."
Kevin woke Gwen roughly. "Gwen, we're going."
"Where are we going?" Gwen looked at him.
"The Incursion Empire, you're going to see what happens to anyone who betrays me."
"I've already seen what you do to anyone who opposes you," Gwen sighed.
She followed him to the ship and they left, Kevin had left Aggregor in charge of Osmos V.
Kevin stood on the bridge of his ship, deep in thought. He heard the door open and Gwen walked onto the bridge.
"Kevin, do you need anything?" Gwen asked.
"Why are you here? I didn't ask for you."
"I was worried about you," Gwen looked at him.
He turned around to face her. "You don't need to be." Still, it did surprise him, he wondered if this was some sort of plan of hers to win his favor in exchange for something.
"Do you want me to leave?" she asked, nervous, his displeasure could mean her death, and she knew that his mood swings were something she never wanted to experience if she could help it.
"No, you can stay," he said, his voice didn't sound quite as cutting or cruel. She had to be imagining it.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. Gwen expected to feel the searing pain of him absorbing her power, but it didn't happen. She didn't say a word but stood beside him, wondering what was going through his head.
Emperor Milleous had already received word of the 100 flagships of the Osmosian Empire hovering over the planet. Surely Kevin 11,000 wasn't foolish enough to think he could conquer his world without a fight.
He mobilized his army, with all their technology at the ready, there was no way he was going to lose this fight.
Kevin smirked and activated his communications.
"Get her out of here!" Kevin ordered.
"Let go of me!" Gwen protested. She tried to strike the guards. They beat her with their fists and tried to drag her away.
"Sorry lovely Gwen, you aren't going to see anything that I don't want you to see."
He pressed a button, sending waves of painful electricity through the collar until she passed out.
"Get her to a cell, and make sure she won't disturb anyone," he instructed the other Osmosians. They dragged her away and he watched as she disappeared.
"Unbelievable girl," Kevin chuckled. He turned his attention to the communications hologram.
"Send the signal down to the planet's surface," he ordered.
The signal was sent; he let loose a feral growl of satisfaction as he looked for the sure sign of victory. The entire planet's power began to flicker and die, like the embers of a fire. Yes, this was his world conquering technique. It worked without fail, Earth, the Galvin, Vilgaxia; they all fell before this strategy because no one had ever seen it coming.
He planned his invasions five years in advance. He'd send his fellow Osmosians down to the planet in ID masks and have them work their way into positions where they would have access to military installations and various power grids. When the time for the invasion came they would simultaneously drain the power of the important military bases, rendering the planet's technology utterly useless. He had also made sure that there would be sympathizers to his cause down on the planet; it was so much easier to take over when half your army was on the planet, merely waiting for their marching orders.
"Launch the ships," Kevin ordered the pilot to take him down to planet's surface.
They descended down to the planet and Kevin disembarked as the chaos erupted around him. His soldiers were winning with ease, various enemies were strewn about the capital city, Emperor Milleous was nowhere to be seen. At least, before Tennyson had run off like a coward, he had actually confronted him face to face. Perhaps that was why he had always been disappointed by the ease of conquests, because all the would-be leaders of planets ran away and hid, Tennyson had put up a terrific fight, and he actually missed that.
He strolled confidently into the city, shredding any enemy soldier in his path, he drained them and tore them to pieces with little effort, his fellow Osmosians were doing the same, and the sympathizers on the planet were helping them, it was all so utterly mundane to him, like a daily routine he had grown tired of.
He found Emperor surrounded by his guards, he dispatched them easily. He looked at his enemy, disappointed.
"At least put up a good fight for once," he smirked.
Milleous moved surprisingly fast for a creature of his bulk and size. He furiously fought Kevin; the Osmosian wasn't particularly impressed, as the Incursion's size didn't help him at all.
Using Swampfire's powers, he trapped Milleous in vines so he couldn't move.
"It's over already," he sighed. "I expected so much more from you."
"Go to h—" the once powerful ruler cursed at him.
Kevin impaled Emperor Milleous with his Diamond Head arm as the Taedenite tore through the creature and he slumped to the ground.
"So disappointing," Kevin was satisfied that his plans had succeeded. He ordered his soldiers to round up any remaining soldiers and gathered them in the execution square.
"I will be generous to you all, swear your allegiance to me, and you will be spared, refuse me and you'll die."
The lead commander looked at him defiantly, "Just kill us then!"
"Yes, kill all of them, every last one of them," Kevin's voice as cold. The other Osmosians began draining all the soldiers. The screaming was so loud, so piercing and horrendous that Gwen shuddered, hearing it through the communication speakers as the other Osmosians watched it happen from above.
"I wonder how good it must taste," the guards said loudly. "I've heard that the Tennyson girl is an Anodite, he's gone now; we could have some fun."
They can't come in here, they can't, Gwen thought furiously.
Two Osmosians entered, they smirked at her.
"Stay away from me!" Gwen warned them. She was defenseless; her powers were suppressed by the collar. She couldn't use them no matter what she did, she had her martial arts, but it would do no good against them.
"Sorry, we can't resist a drink," they sneered. "You have no rights here, human scum."
"Kevin will kill you," Gwen knew it was the truth.
"Not if he doesn't find out, he'll be down on planet all day. We can have you all we want. When he discovers your corpse we'll say you had an accident of some sort. He's gullible enough he'll believe it."
They rushed her, pinned her down and began to drain her life force. They weren't like Michael, using their powers to torture her; they were animals, only seeing her as food that they would devour until she was spent and dead.
Gwen screamed in agony. The pain was beyond anything she'd ever felt. She just wanted it to stop.
"Kevin, Kevin, please help me!" the plea ripped from her throat.
Normally, he would have stayed down on the planet to instruct his soldiers on what they were to do, but he felt an urge to return to his ship, as if he needed to be there, which was something he'd never experienced before.
Kevin had arrived on his ship and found his guards not at their posts, he was angry to say the least.
He heard the agonized screaming, he rushed toward the cell, he knew where his guards were, and they were defying him, taking something that belonged to him. He would not stand for insubordination and would make their deaths slow and painful; they had no right to steal from him.
He opened the cell door, Gwen was on the floor on her back, pinned down beneath his two guards, they were draining her, to the point that they were in a drunk, energy-induced stupor.
He'd never seen Gwen in so much pain, she looked to be on the verge of death, he moved and with an inhuman rage, pulled the two Osmosians off her, he single-handedly, decapitated the one that had initiated the idea to go and drain Gwen while he was away.
The second guard, he lit on fire and let him burn to death in front of him.
He would have gloated over his actions, but to his surprise he scooped up Gwen in his arms.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm exhausted," she whispered, she was barely conscious and hadn't seen what he'd done to the guards. "You come to drain me too?"
"No, get some rest," he touched her forehead. "They won't ever hurt you again. I've made sure of that."
Gwen drifted off to sleep, too tired to say anything. Kevin was puzzled by the entire situation. He thought he would be annoyed having her asleep in his arms, but he found that he didn't mind.
He was puzzled by the emotions he was feeling, especially his concern for her well being, he decided to let the girl sleep, so he could be alone with his confused thoughts.