Chapter Five
Gabrielle awoke to a hand caressing her hair and sharp fingernails swiping gently over her face. She struggled against her bonds, but they refused to budge. "You always have been so determined," Callisto crooned as she smiled down at her, "and pretty. Your hair . . . " She ran her fingers through it, and though Gabrielle struggled even harder, she could not break away. "So long and shiny. It's not as long as it used to be, but there's still enough that I bet Xena just loves to have it run over her."
Callisto reached over and picked up a candle. "And I think it's time we did something about it." She touched the flame to the end of Gabrielle's hair and let it burn. Though she could not see it, Gabrielle knew she was on fire. She tried not to panic but struggled even more fiercely against her bonds.
"She's coming to." Those were the first words Faith heard as her world slowly started to return to her. The very second she opened her eyes, she wished she hadn't for she found herself laying naked in front of the two greatest enemies she had ever known. She struggled violently, but the chains held her pinned to the table.
Lilah smiled down at Faith. "I'm so glad to have you back," she told her, "but you know it hurt so much when you left me. I knew you always liked your men, but I never thought you'd leave me for them." She pouted.
"I never liked you, Lilah," Faith spat at her. "I only fucked you, because I knew it was the only way to survive!"
A look of hurt fell over Lilah's face, but she quickly shook it off. "Even if that's so," she told her, "you'll be doing it again." She reached out a hand and began to run it up Faith's leg, caressing it as she did so.
Faith fought to break away from her touch but could not. "I'll never do it again!" she protested. "You'll never have me again!"
"Au contraire, mademoiselle," Judson purred to her. "We'll both have you, isn't that right, my dear?" he asked Lilah.
Lilah smiled as she edged onto the table. Faith's feet kicked despite their bonds, but she could not reach her. Lilah kneeled at the end of the table and lowered her mouth to Faith's core. Faith struggled more violently than she had ever before in her entire life, but she was powerless to protect herself as Lilah's tongue flicked out and licked her.
Even as Lilah began moaning with pleasure as she licked and nibbled Faith, Judson's hand gripped Faith's long hair. He yanked her head down to the table and slammed his lips against hers.
Darla had left a crossbow with a stake already loaded waiting for her in a hidden spot of the Saucy Wench's holding cell. She fetched it the very minute she entered behind her captives and turned to hold it pointed at Angel's heart. "Chain Connor up," she instructed.
The males shared a glance. "No," Angel spoke. He heard Cordelia's soft intake of air where she was held in the cell but dared not look back at her.
"Do it, or our son," Darla snarled, turning to now point the crossbow at Connor's heart, "is dust."
"You do it," Angel retorted.
"There's no way in Hell I'm giving you a shot at my back. Boy," Darla tried commanding Connor, "chain him."
Connor shook his head, so Darla changed the crossbow's target again, this time moving it back to Angel. "Do it!" she snapped.
Angel folded his arms in front of his chest, and Connor followed his example. By now, Cordelia's knees felt weak, and it took Crystal holding her up to keep her from fainting. Both women ignored the collars biting into their arms in their fear for Angel.
"You can either chain us both yourself," Angel informed Darla with false bravado, "or you can shoot one of us and chain the other one."
"What do you want?" Kitty demanded of her mother the minute they were alone.
"What any mother wants," Elektra replied with a smile. "Bonding time with my daughter."
Kitty snorted. "If you think I'm stupid enough to believe that -- "
Elektra cut her off. "Here's the deal," she told her. "I'm going to take the collar off of your arm and give you a sword," Kitty eyed her suspiciously as she continued, "and we're going to play a little game, but if you run, I'll shoot you dead."
"What kind of game?" Kitty questioned.
"You were not well known when we first fought, but these days, they say that Shadowcat is a great swordswoman, possibly the best the high seas have ever seen. I want to test your skills. For each blow I land, you will have to answer a question of my choosing."
"And when I strike you?"
"You're dead."
Kitty quirked a brow. She had always been a quick thinker, and this time was no exception. "So you're not woman enough for a real challenge, huh?"
Elektra's eyes narrowed. How dare the insolent girl suggest that she was not woman enough for anything! "What do you have in mind?"
"If you strike me, I have to answer your question, but if I strike you, you have to answer mine."
"Depends on what the question concerns," Elektra returned. "I'm not going to help you break your little friends out."
"I wouldn't dream of asking you to," Kitty falsely assured her with a smile that was just as much a lie as her words, "but every orphan has questions about her long-lost parents."
Elektra snorted. "Very well. Turn around." Kitty did as she instructed. Elektra removed her arm's collar and tossed a sword to her, and their swordfight began.
Tom had tried to fight against his captor but had not managed to gain an upper hand a single time. Now he lay naked and chained to Catra's cot with her standing before him. As she started to undress, Tom quickly shut his eyes. "Oh, come on. I know you're not a Saint," Catra purred to him.
"I will not look upon you, wench," Tom informed her through gritted teeth.
"Oh, but you will," she assured him, but as she began to climb over him, he unleashed the last weapon he had at his disposal. His toenails scratched Catra's naked chest. They were just as sharp as his claws had once been and brought an immediate scream from her. He could smell the blood and couldn't help but to smile. "You won't have me!"
"I'll be back," she told him, her claws raking angrily against his face. They sank so deeply that they took both fur and skin with them, but he bit his tongue rather than holler. "Clawdeen, watch him," Catra barked as she stormed out. His smile grew when he heard her bellowing for the doctor a few seconds later.
Belladonna had barely succeeded in chaining Paige to the wall and Autolycus to her table when she heard Catra yelling her name. "What," she muttered in French underneath her breath, "has that idiot done now!" She then spoke again in English. "You two," she pointed at her prisoners, "don't move." She laughed. "It's not as if you can any way!" She then grabbed her bag and headed out to see about Catra.
Stepping onto the deck, Belladonna was startled to find Catra standing naked just outside the steps that led to below deck with blood streaming from her bare breasts. "Mon dieu! What the Hell happened to you!"
"Don't ask," Catra demanded through clenched teeth. "Just fix it." Her green eyes blazed with fury. That tomcat would regret ever laying his claws on her! She now wished that she had thought to grab his wife, as well, but she would make him pay and make him just as miserable as killing his little bitch would have!
Darla was still staring at Angel and Connor in disbelief and desperately trying to think of a solution to her dilemma when the door opened behind her and a cheery voice called out to her. "Mommy," Drusilla called with the joy of a child having just been given a new toy, "guess what I have!"
"I hope you have their little bitch," Darla growled.
"Well, yeah, but I also have this weird monkey in a Priest suit . . . "
Darla cut her off. "Throw him in the cell, and we'll use the blonde against these two."
Dru looked at the men with a puzzled frown. "Why aren't they chained?"
"Because they're being bloody idiots!" Darla snapped angrily. "Now do it, Drusilla!"
"Yes, ma'am," Dru replied, pouting like a puppy with her tail tucked between her legs. She pushed Kurt and Zora ahead of her to the cell, threw him in, and turned back to the others with Zora still in front of her. Zora was too angry for words and was hissing instead as she struggled against her bonds. Blood was already pouring from the wound her arm collar had inflicted, but still she persisted.
"Now," Darla commanded, turning to point the stake at Zora's heart, "I shouldn't have to tell you that a stake will kill a human just as easily as it will a Vampire, Connor. All I have to do is strike her heart with this and she's dead, so unless you want that to happen, chain your father to the wall with the hand, foot, and neck bonds."
Connor looked helplessly at Zora. She had finally stopped struggling and returned his desperate gaze. "Connor, don't!"
"I have to -- "
"No -- " Zora broke him off, but Angel moved so swiftly that Connor was chained to the wall before the two could break into a real argument. He pressed himself against the wall and hung his arms out so that he could easily be chained. "Do it," he told Darla.
"You're too easy." Darla grinned and eagerly moved forward.
Clark had already been feeling weak from his inability to access his powers, but for some reason that he could not explain, he felt even weaker around his captive. He had been completely unable to raise a hand against her as she had stripped him and chained him to nails around her cot. He had tried, but he seemed to be as weak as a newborn kitten. Come on, Kent! he thought frantically to himself as she stripped somewhere out of his eyesight. You've got to get it together! You can't just lay here and let her take you!
It was then that he heard her approaching footsteps. He tried again to fight but could hardly move. She stepped into his view, and his eyes quickly shut as he realized that she was completely naked except for some kind of strange, green necklace that gleamed from its place around her neck. "Keep your eyes shut if you want," she told him. "That really doesn't matter to me. I just want some sausage."
His strength renewed slightly as her tongue touched his sword. He tried fighting against her, but pain shot through his body. "Please . . . " he whimpered as her licks grew more numerous and rapid. "Please . . . don't . . . " Rubella ignored his pleads and continued to work on her goal.
Neither Clark nor Rubella took any notice of the others in the sleeping quarters. They had barely even paid any notice to Catra's ordeal with Tom, but Dawson, who was chained nearby to a spare cot next to Enchantra's, had. He was glad that their side had finally gotten a blow in but was still scared for Faith for whatever Judson and Lilah were doing to her, himself for what would undoubtedly come his way when his captive tired of poor Cole, and Tom who Gods only knew what Catra would do to when she returned. He also feared for the rest of the people who had come to be his family, but it was Faith his mind kept returning to. What were they doing to his love? Would he ever even see her alive again? Could she already be dying and he simply not know it?
Cole was chained to Enchantra's actual cot, which lay right next to Dawson. Both Dawson and Cole were trying desperately not to think of what Enchantra was doing to Cole, and Cole prayed that Piper was not suffering a similar fate at her captor's hands. "You can go ahead and scream," Enchantra told Cole as she brought her fingernails down his thighs. "It won't do you any good."
Cole remained laying still and silent. He'd tried fighting against his bonds, but it hadn't gotten him anywhere. In fact, he had continued struggling until Enchantra had grown tired of his squirming and, when striking him didn't help her any, and reached out and hit Dawson instead. She continued to work on him, though he refused to grow hard within her mouth, and Cole continued to force himself to hold his tongue and be still and pray that she would stop soon.
Helvira was growing tired of trying to wake Brendan the easy way. The other three men she had hung around him -- Jareth and Wolf to one side and Wolverine on the other -- had awakened now, but still her attention had remained on Brendan. She rose the feather again to his face and was rewarded by his body jerking at the ticklings. She ran it over his nose, and both his nose and eyelids began to twitch.
Helvira continued running the feather over his nose as it began to jerk more and more violently. Brendan's eyes flashed open at last as he sneezed. The winds from his nose were so violent that they knocked Helvira backwards against the cell and triggered the wolf. The collar blocked the wolf's attempt, however, and sent shocks spiraling through Brendan's body.
"The one bad thing about those," Helvira commented as she got herself back on her feet. "Wolfie can't come out to play. And you'd better not sneeze again," she warned him, "or I'll be even harder on you."
"I find that hard to believe, bitch," Brendan managed to gasp out as the shocks finally ceased.
"Oh, you've developed a tongue, have you? We'll see how fast I can break it." She had dropped the feather and let it stay on the floor as she approached him again. This time, she reached out with her fingernails. She raked them against his inner calves and drew thin lines of blood. She pressed her mouth to the one on the right and began to suck.
Brendan tried to kick her, but his feet and hands were both chained to the wall. During his struggles, his eyes happened to catch Prue's gaze. He could not stand for her to see him like this and turned his eyes away in shame.
Prue wanted to cry out to Brendan and wished that she could use her powers and knock Helvira silly. She'd love to tear the bitch apart for what she was doing to her beloved Brendan, but she knew it was impossible. Tears welled in her eyes, but Carl pressed a hand to her lips and a finger to his own. She nodded, understanding the silent message -- If she revealed herself, Helvira would use her to torture Brendan even more.
Helvira took only a little of Brendan's blood before drawing the ruby-encrusted dagger from her dress' sash, raising it to his chest, and beginning to carve her name in him. Brendan fought hard to keep from screaming, but though he managed to silence himself for the time being, he could not stop the tears of fear, shame, and pain from dropping from his eyes.
The men next to him struggled against their chains but could not break free. It tore at their hearts to see what Helvira was doing to him and know that there was nothing they could do about it. They called out names and threats to her, but Helvira only laughed as she continued her work on Brendan. "You'll get your turns soon enough, boys. Don't fret it; I promise everybody will get plenty of attention!"
In the sleeping quarters of the Harlot, as Rubella and Enchantra worked on their chosen prisoners, Silver Fox gazed steadily at her own chained trio. Her attention was particularly drawn by the strange dog who seemed to think he was a Knight. She was determined to show him that no so-called Knight could stop her from getting what she wanted, but she couldn't quite figure out how to approach him.
Finally, she approached him. He barked, his frantic yips even louder and sharper than usual, as she ran her hands over his small body. She used her dagger to cut off his clothes, but as she was working on his shirt, he managed to get his mouth close enough to her that he was able to bite her. She hollered as his sharp teeth ripped into her hand.
Her free hand grabbed him by the throat. As soon as she had succeeded in forcing him to relinquish his hold on her, she told him, "You're not worth a fuck! I'll have Jade make a stew out of you!" She spit on him before backing away and turning her attention to the Chinese man. "Guess it's just you and me now, China."
As she moved toward Chong, her foot kicked out, striking Trely in the ribs for no particular reason other than the fact that she felt like inflicting a little extra torture on the tiny, ugly woman. Drawing her sword from its sheathe, she began to slice off Chong's clothes much as she had used her dagger on Didymus.
Neither Will nor Donkey had had another chance to do anything against Anamaria as she had taken them into her cabin. Their backs had both been pointed to her when she had suddenly pressed Will in the small of the back with cold metal whose shape he recognized by touch -- a gun. "You see those chains on the wall?" He fought to remain calm and nodded. "Chain Jack's beast to them."
For a moment, Will considered telling her the truth about Donkey, but then he realized that some one must have misinformed her for a reason. She was holding Donkey to use against Jack, but . . . Why? he wondered. Why if Jack was truly dead as she wanted them to believe? "You chain him."
"Chain him," Anamaria countered, pressing her pistol harder into his back, "or I'll shoot you."
"Go ahead. If Jack's dead, I have no reason to live."
"And if I shoot the beast?"
"Oh, please don't shoot the beast!" Donkey cried, his entire body trembling in fear.
Will looked down at Donkey, trying to convey his apology and the fact that he truly did care about him through his eyes even as he returned, "He's just an animal. Why would I care what happens to him?"
"Oh, Will!" Donkey cried. "Don't say that! Come on, man; you know you care!"
"If Jack's dead, I have no reason to care about anything."
"Well, if that's so, I don't see why I'm keeping him around," Anamaria stated as she swung her pistol to point at Donkey instead.
"Go ahead. Shoot him. I don't care." Will had to force himself to speak the words, but though he managed to get them out, his charade crumbled completely as Anamaria started to pull the trigger. "All right! All right! I'll chain him!"
"Yeah! I knew you cared!" Donkey exclaimed as Anamaria pointed her pistol back at Will. Even he could not manage a grin, however.
Will chained Donkey to the wall. He petted his head and was just telling him, "I'm sor -- ", when Anamaria broke him off with a new command.
"Now strip."
"Huh?" Will asked in surprise, his eyes shooting round with fear, as he looked over his shoulder at her.
She pointed her pistol at Donkey again. "I said strip."
"Don't do it, Will! There ain't no telling what she'll do to you if she gets you naked!"
Will wanted to tell Donkey that he didn't have much choice, because he could not stand idly by and just let him be killed. He kept himself silent, however, and forced his shaking hands to undo the buttons of his clothes. Anamaria's grin grew with each piece of clothing that Will added to the growing pile on the floor. When he was at last completely naked, Anamaria gave him a new command, her pistol still trained on Donkey. "Now lay face down on my bed."
Will had to force himself to make each inch, but he did as instructed. His heart thundered in his chest and roared in his ears as she approached him and locked him into the bed's restraints. Once he was securely chained, she returned her pistol to its holster. "Now, as I understand it," she spoke, "you and Jack are lovers."
Will did not answer her but listened as she moved around the room and picked up an object. Donkey's eyes grew so wide that they seemed to be nearly about to bulge out of his very head at the cruel-looking instrument Anamaria picked up. He brayed loudly, jumped, kicked, and did everything he could to break free from his bonds, but the chains held him pinned to the wall. His braying echoed over the ship, and his fear for him chilled Will's heart even more as Anamaria approached.
When she spoke again, her voice came from just behind Will. "When I'm done with you, there won't be anything left for Sparrow to screw."
Despite his fear, Will heard her last words and clung to them in hope. If there would be nothing left of him for "Sparrow to screw", as the evil Pirate Captain had so bluntly put it, that must mean that he was still alive because he wouldn't be able to even consider making love to him again if he were not alive!
Will's joy was short-lived, however, as he felt Anamaria thrust something into his rear. It hurt, but he managed not to scream . . . until he heard a click and the Pear of Anguish extended within him. His scream and Donkey's braying carried out through the cabin, past the ship, and out onto the ocean.
The door opened to the kitchen just long enough for Elizabeth to be shoved inside. Harriet shut the door quickly behind her. "SUMMERS," she bellowed through the closed door, "TAKE CARE OF THE NEW GIRL, AND YOU TWO GET LUNCH GOING!"
A redhead looked up at Elizabeth. "I hope you can cook?" Elizabeth shook her head, and the redhead spoke instead, "Then I hope you can at least fake it better than I can."
"W-Why?" Elizabeth questioned. "What happens if . . . if they're not pleased with our cooking?"
Rachel turned and lowered the back of her dress enough that Elizabeth could get a peek at her back. The blonde gasped in shock at the ugly, red gashes that her startled eyes were met with. "They give you ten lashes for every meal they're unsatisfied with."
Elizabeth felt weak. The redhead turned back just in time to see her knees beginning to buckle. Quickly catching the blonde, she helped her to a chair. "My name's Rachel," she told her. "My friends used to call me Ray. Who are you?"
"Elizabeth." She could barely get her own name out past the sudden dryness that had beset her mouth and throat.
"Well, then, Elizabeth, welcome to Hell."
Elizabeth wanted to tell her that that comment didn't help at all, but she was still trying to overcome her shock when Will's yells and Donkey's brays met her ears. Her face paled even more.
"Your lover?"
Elizabeth managed to shake her head. "No . . . " Tears welled in her eyes. " . . . but he is . . . He is my best friend." Dear Gods, where was Jack! Where was Jack, and why was this happening to them! She began to sob.
"Sh," Rachel tried to hush her even as she reached out and drew the other woman into her arms. "You don't want them to hear you."
"I don't care -- "
"Yes, you do," Rachel told her. "Some of them will beat even more tears out of you if they know you're crying," she explained.
Elizabeth pressed a hand over her mouth but still could not stop her tears.
"Sounds like the Captain's having fun," Jade commented as she stood in a chair before Wesley, who she had stripped, chained to the kitchen table, and forced to get a rise through use of a wooden ring placed around his sword. "Now it's our turn." Her face shifted, and for the first time, Wesley realized he'd been left alone to be prey to a Demon's mercy.
Wesley wanted to scream, but he could get no words out for the iron gag she had strapped to his mouth. He squealed even as she landed on top of him, forcing him to shoot home though he'd never wanted to. Tears welled in his eyes both out of fear of what this horrible woman would do to him and Fred's reaction if they ever even got a chance for her to find out!
"Here," Kalena spoke as she shoved a mop to Fred and a bucket of water to Dawn. "Mop the deck. Make it sparkle. And I don't want to hear a word of complaint out of either of you."
Dawn stared at the redheaded, muscular woman even as she took the bucket. She had heard of the Saucy Wench, knew its crew to all be either Lesbians or bisexuals, and had expected a far worse punishment.
"Th-Th-Th-Th-That's a-a-a-al-all!" Fred finally managed to ask in surprise.
"That's all," Kalena told them with a smile. "That and keep your mouth shut. No talking. No crying." She watched as the younger women exchanged a nervous glance, then rushed off together to fulfill her order. Only then did she allow herself to think sadly, It's for your own good.
Ororo surprised Piper the very second they walked into the Sorceress' private quarter. Although 'Ro had walked silently the entire trip and had complied with each of their captive's commands without ever making a sound or giving her a look or any other sign that she was angry, she now acted swiftly to place herself between Piper and Dantalian. "You will not touch her."
"Excuse me?" the Sorceress questioned, more surprised than angry at the black woman's sudden change.
"You will not touch her," Ororo repeated sternly. "You can do whatever you like to me, but you will not lay a single hand on . . . "
Dantalian's hand shot out to strike Ororo, but 'Ro caught her blow in mid-air. She ignored the blood that poured from her arm and the pain that shot through her from her collar. "You will not touch her!" she dared to repeat even while strengthening her hold. Dantalian kicked at her, but still she remained firm . . . until the Sorceress began to chant.
Piper could not understand the language the Sorceress used but knew she was chanting a spell. She tried again to use her powers only to be rewarded with another set of shocks ripping through her body. She fell to her knees even as Ororo's eyes glazed over. "A-A-A-A-Aunt O-O-O-Ororo . . . " Piper managed to squeak out as Ororo stalked toward her, her blue eyes clearly dazed. She had never seen her like this, and she wondered fearfully what the Sorceress would use her to do.
Ororo picked Piper up. Piper wanted to fight, but she could not bring herself to hit her beloved godmother. Ororo chained her own goddaughter to the Sorceress' bed, then walked across the floor, and drug a rug to the side. Piper peered anxiously over to see what Ororo was uncovering, and her heart nearly stopped beating when she saw the trap door. "No!" she cried. "You can't!"
The Sorceress continued to chant, and Piper's tears began anew as she watched her aunt, who was so terrified of close spaces, open the trap door and descend into the darkness. The door closed behind Ororo, and the sound seemed to echo in the room to Piper's ears even as the Sorceress rushed forward to lock it.
"What are you going to do with us?" Morph questioned his and Katrina's captive as Roxanne marched them across the deck of the Saucy Wench.
"Silence, slave," Roxanne snarled at them, "or I'll have your tongue for lunch." She stole a glance at Jocelyn and Kalena as they observed their slaves' work and Elektra, who, for some strange reason, was fencing with her prisoner. None of them seemed to suspect a thing, and she mentally breathed a sigh of relief as she reached her cabin.
After unlocking the door, Roxanne thrust Morph and Katrina into the cabin. She followed them, turned quickly back, locked the door again, and slipped the key into her bodice. "She's over there," she whispered to them as she reached out and took the collars off of their arms, "on my cot."
Katrina and Morph looked together to find Celina sleeping on the mentioned cot. They rushed to her, expecting their captive to stop them at any minute. Roxanne said nothing, however, and only took her seat.
Morph and Katrina checked Celina over, and she began to stir under their gentle touches. "Morph . . . Katrina . . . "
"Hush, dear sister."
"Rest, beloved, while you can."
"She was . . . " Celina's furry brow furrowed. "She was gentle with me."
Katrina nodded. She still did not understand why Roxanne was allowing them to be with Celina -- or why she had taken the collars off of their arms.
It was Morph who voiced the question on all three of their minds, however. His brown eyes peered up and over at their captive. "Why?" he asked her.
Roxanne sighed. "I'm tired of seeing good people be hurt for no real reason."
"Then why are you aboard this ship?" Katrina questioned.
"Once you become a member aboard this ship," Roxanne replied, not looking at them, "it's next to impossible to leave. In fact, there's only ever been one who managed to do so without being killed."
"Faith." It was not an answer or a question but simply an observation.
Roxanne nodded. "And now they're going to make it Hell for her, even worse than it ever was before."
Celina, Katrina, and Morph looked at each other. They could tell the woman was upset, and she seemed to be genuine enough . . . Yet she was their captor and a member of the most dreaded Piratess ship ever to sail the seven seas. Could they really trust her? The sisters' noses told them that she was not lying, but could that be some kind of a trick? Celina wished she had her gift of empathy for, without it, she did not know if Roxanne could be trusted -- or if trusting her would cause then to fall into an even greater Hell.
Callisto had let the flames nearly completely swallow Gabrielle's hair and lick at her skull before suddenly dousing her with a bucket of water. The fire sizzled but did not go out completely. She hit it with a second, setting Gabrielle to sputtering even more and dousing the remainder of the fire.
As Gabrielle continued to sputter and gasp for oxygen to fill her burning lungs, Callisto left the bed and walked over to a small table that stood next to a brazier. She picked up a metal instrument and filled it before returning to Gabrielle. "Now that the hair's gone," she informed her, "we'll start work on that pretty, little, nubile body of yours."
Callisto started at Gabrielle's head and began working her way slowly down her prisoner's body, shaking the lead sprinkler and coating her body with boiling oil. Gabrielle fought valiantly to remain quiet, but as the oil struck her most sensitive of areas, she could not help the scream that ripped from her mouth and echoed far out of the Captain's cabin.
As Callisto used her sprinkler on Gabrielle, Darla and Drusilla filled their own sprinklers with a liquid that was even more harmful to their kind. Darla checked and rechecked the sprinklers to be sure they were fastened accurately. Then she checked them yet again, not wanting any of the liquid to spill on herself. She also did not want it to strike her partner, but she was nowhere near as concerned with Drusilla as she was her own self.
Finally satisfied, she led the way from the brazier back to where they had left Angel, Connor, and Zora hanging. Darla stopped in front of Angel, and Dru moved to stand before Connor. The five stared at each other with blazing hatred in their eyes. Then the Vampiresses began to shake their sprinklers, tossing holy water out at Angel's and Connor's naked bodies. The water burned them in each spot it hit, and the sizzling sound it made seemed to fill the holding area.
Cordelia, Crystal, and Lorne fought to stay silent, but Zora struggled against her chains like a wildcat. She could not stand to see Connor being hurt or the way the holy water burned into his skin. "When I get free . . . " she hissed through clenched teeth.
"You'll do nothing of the sort," Drusilla told her. She had started to move toward her, but Angel called out with a question in hopes of deterring her.
"You can't make holy water," he told them. "How'd you . . . ?"
"We made a deal with Judson," Darla told him.
"What did you do -- fuck him for it?" Angel spat at her.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Darla smiled at him.
"No. I don't give a damn what you bitches did, but I'm going to rip you limb from limb -- "
He was silenced by Darla flicking holy water over his mouth. "If you knew," she told him, "you would care." His eyes blazed into her, but Drusilla's giggle chilled his heart.
"You definitely would," she agreed, grinning. When Angel's eyes cut into hers, she smiled up at him. "I just hope you weren't attached too much to that little Faith mortal?"
He did not answer her for he knew she was just trying to get to him. He wondered what Faith had fallen into but knew there was absolutely nothing he could do to help her. He prayed to any God who might have cared to listen at the time that Jack would find and rescue them soon.
Lilah had worked her way slowly up Faith's squirming body, and Judson had waited for her next to Faith's head. He'd watched as Lilah had made love to Faith's body, her mouth not leaving a single area untouched. Now, as she neared him, he nodded to her, lifted his robe, and revealed his hardened staff.
It took all Faith could do not to groan aloud as the thing thrust out over her face. She turned her head, but Judson reached out, wrapped his hand around her throat, and forced her to turn back to face him. "You're going to watch," he told her. "After you left Lilah to spend all those nights wondering what man you were with and why you'd chosen dicks over her . . . it's the least you deserve."
Lilah's lips wrapped around Judson's sword, but Faith closed her eyes rather than watch. Judson's hand tightened on her throat, cutting off her air. "I'll let up when you open your eyes," he told her, but still she kept them shut -- until she felt that she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen. Truth be told, she'd rather be unconscious at the time, but she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing she'd taken the coward's way out. Besides, she was Faith. She never took the coward's way out!
Her eyes reopened and Judson's hand let up. She gasped for air even as Judson moaned and Lilah's tongue worked double time. Lilah kept Judson in her mouth, sucking and licking him, until she felt his staff beginning to writhe. Then, she drew back. Her mouth lifted off of his steed just in time for his seed to explode all over Faith's face. Faith groaned in disgust but refused to scream. Lilah's and Judson's laughter filled the cabin.
