Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“A caning, I think,” the Elder with the deep voice said. “Ten blows should do it. Elder Jonash, bring the cane.”
“With pleasure,” came the familiar voice of Brother Jonash.
“She must be stripped again,” the deep-voiced Elder said. “Stripped and held for the caning.”
Sev ground his teeth together as several Elders rose to obey the orders.
“You’re not fucking caning my wife,” he growled, glaring around the circle at the hooded figures. “You’re not laying another finger on her—any male that does is going to lose that finger and the entire arm it’s fucking attached to!”
He must have looked exceptionally fierce because the hands that had been reaching to take Mia from him were suddenly drawn back and the hooded Elders shrank away from him.
But the Elder with the deep voice—who seemed to be the leader—wasn’t giving in easily.
“Stand down, Brother Severith,” he said icily and Sev saw that his blaster—an especially large and nasty looking one with a wide bore—was pointed at his head. “Release your wife into our custody,” the Elder commanded. “She will be returned to you after her punishment is complete.”
“No!” Sev tightened his grip on Mia, who was still sobbing in his arms. “No—she didn’t do anything wrong. I never told her not to touch herself! She can do what she wants—it’s her body!”
“That’s not the way we see things here at the PPP Dome,” the deep-voiced Elder said steadily. “Orgasm Theft is one of the most serious crimes possible—why, your wife couldn’t be guiltier if she’d killed a man!”
“So you’re equating touching yourself with murder?” Sev couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“What I am, Brother Severith, is deadly serious,” the Elder informed him. “Release your wife for punishment. She must be caned.”
“No!” Sev shoved Mia protectively behind him. “No, if you’re so fucking set on caning someone, you can cane me!” he snapped. It seemed clear these people were out for blood and they wouldn’t stop until they’d gotten it. And since they had blasters pointed at his face, there was no other choice than to give it to them.
But not Mia’s blood, he thought fiercely. I’ll die before I let them shed a single drop of hers. If it’s blood they want, they can have mine!
His words seemed to have provoked some kind of scandalized reaction among the Elders. They were all whispering together and he caught several phrases.
“Never been done…”
“Against the rules?”
“I don’t think so…”
Finally the Elder with the deep voice spoke to him.
“Very well—it’s never been done before but there is nothing in our rules that states that a husband may not be punished in place of his wayward wife. But are you certain you wish to do this, Brother Severith? We will not go easy on you!”
“All I know is that you’re not touching Mia—if you try, you die,” Sev growled. “You want to cane someone? Fine—you can cane me. But if a single one of you bastards lays a hand on her, I’ll take you down. You might blast me full of holes, but before I go down, somebody’s losing their fucking head! And I mean that literally.”
He bared his teeth, which had sharpened into fangs due to the Rage that was still hovering just in the back of his mind and several of the Elders murmured and backed away from him.
But the Elder with the deep voice seemed determined that someone would be punished.
“Very well—she will not be touched. Jonash—bring me the cane. Methusum, wheel in the caning post.”
“And turn that off,” Sev snarled, nodding at the screen as the Elders rushed to obey their leader’s demands. “That was supposed to be private—you had no right to violate Mia’s privacy and watch it without her ‘knowledge or consent!’”
If it annoyed them when he threw their words back at them, Sev couldn’t tell. Their faces were all still hidden by the hoods.
Fucking cowards, he thought contemptuously as he watched them set up the stage for the next act in their sick little play. The images of Mia were finally—mercifully—turned off and the screen was blank once more. The chairs were cleared away and a tall post was placed in center stage and locked in place. Sev noticed there were iron manacles near the top clearly meant for restraining someone. To one side of it stood their Spiritual Advisor, Brother Jonash, holding a long, thick wooden cane. Its lower length was stained an ominous dark red.
“All right,” the Elder with the deep voice boomed, when everything was in readiness. “It’s time for the caning. In light of the crime, I believe each of us should deliver a blow and let it be the hardest and heaviest blow you can lay, Brothers. A great crime has been committed—the marks of it should never fade.”
“Time to go.” One of the Elders pulled at Sev’s arm but suddenly Mia was there, standing in front of him again, tears standing in her clear gray eyes.