Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
“Speaking of new recruits, I heard you had some trouble with the ones you accepted today,” the Mistress of Silks remarked.
“Oh yes—they couldn’t understand the beauty of the Goddess laying with many different males and letting them breed her. One of them actually laughed—can you imagine?” La’ver’na sounded irritated and offended—at least to Celia. “I made them wash the dishes from tonight’s supper—they should be back at the dorm by now, though,” she added.
“Do you think they will make good emissaries for the Goddess?” the Mistress of Silks asked.
“They will if the little female’s nipples ever turn blue and she starts producing the pleasure drops. She can’t hope to control those two huge males without the power of the drops,” the priestess answered.
Control them? Celia exchanged a look with Hold and Fierce. What was that supposed to mean?
“Her nipples had better turn blue soon, or we’re just going to confiscate their ship and send them to Branch Five,” La’ver’na went on. “Those two males of hers are too dangerous to be left to their own devices.”
“But will the Mother Tree accept them as a sacrifice if they’re not true members of the Sisterhood?” the Mistress of Silks asked.
“Oh, certainly—she only wants to be fed, she doesn’t really care who she feeds on as long as she gets her nourishment,” La’ver’na answered. “Look, I must go now—several of my worshippers are starting to waken. I must feed them some of my pleasure drops to keep them quiescent.”
“Of course. Well, have a good night.”
The voices faded out and after a moment it seemed clear the Priestess and the Mistress of Silks had left the dining room.
For a long moment, Celia and Hold and Fierce just stared at each other in silence. And then Fierce said,
“What does she mean you need to make the pleasure drops to control us?”
“Maybe a female’s body makes a kind of sedative that affects males after being subjected to the Mother Tree’s energy,” Hold said speculatively.
“I don’t want my breasts making mind control drops!” Celia exclaimed.
“Yeah, but you heard La’ver’na—if they don’t and your nipples don’t turn blue soon, they’re going to feed us to the Mother Tree—whatever the hell that means,” Fierce growled.
“What does it mean?” Celia asked. “Do you think this tree actually eats people?” She shivered at the awful thought.
“I don’t know, but I think we need to find out,” Hold murmured. He looked at Fierce. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Brother?”
Fierce nodded.
“I think it’s time for a little trip to Branch Five to find out what the fuck is going on around here.”
35
CELIA
Celia bit her lip as Hold and Fierce pulled on the ropes to bring the sky-lifter up to Branch Five. She had a bad feeling about this little field trip they were taking, but she also agreed that they had to know what was going on here. The Sisterhood of Peace was beginning to sound more and more like a sex cult with nefarious plans and they were stuck in its sticky web.
Luckily, the sky-lifter was a silent mode of transportation and they were able to reach Branch Five with a minimum of noise. It seemed that most everyone who lived in the giant Mother Tree had already gone to bed, so they didn’t meet anyone as they stepped onto the forbidden Fifth Branch.
At first, it looked like the other branches of the Mother Tree they had seen, with a broad pathway carved on the surface of the giant branch and plenty of the huge, blanket-sized purple leaves rustling softly in the light breeze. Hold led the way with Celia in the middle and Fierce taking up the rear. They stayed in the shadows of the leaves but they didn’t see anyone as they made their way along the branch.
But they weren’t going out onto the part of the branch that grew away from the tree—rather, they were walking the width of the branch and keeping the massive trunk to their right. After a while, Celia wondered if they ought to make their way down the length of the branch instead because they weren’t seeing anything of interest. She was about to suggest that they take a left and explore further out, when she heard Hold give a low exclamation.
“Here! I knew it—come on!” The Light Twin motioned for them and Celia and Fierce followed him through a doorway cut into the massive trunk.
The room they entered resembled both the dormitory and the dining hall, but it was much, much vaster—almost the size of a football stadium, Celia thought, looking up and around in awe. It was lit, like the others, with the golden moss hanging from the ceiling high above, but there was also a reddish glow coming from within.
The huge room was empty, so Celia made her way towards the red glow, which seemed to be coming from one of the enormous rounded walls. When she got a little closer, she saw it was being caused by the same red flowers that had been heaped at the bottom of the large wooden cauldron in the dining hall. They gave off heat as well as a dim red glow that illuminated a section of the wall.