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This last part felt like a prayer, though she had never been particularly religious before. She was surprised when she felt a warm presence around her and a strong, feminine voice whispered in her ear,
“Fear not, daughter—a chance will be given.”
“Goddess?” Alli whispered uncertainly. While working on the Mother Ship, she had heard from several of her new friends that the Kindred Goddess spoke to her children, but Alli had never expected to hear the deity herself. Still, who else could it be? Though, wasn’t this the wrong universe? In Kane’s part of the Multiverse the Kindred had been created not by the loving Goddess but by the Cruel Father, so how was she here?
“I am wherever my children need me,” the Goddess whispered in her ear. “Take heart and be ready. You will be given a chance to save the little one.”
Then the voice and the warm, feminine presence were gone but Alli felt a little better all the same. She swore to herself she would be ready and she prayed that in time Rachel would heal from what was being done to her.
But right now, all she could do was try to get through this.
Thirty
“Well, a fine feast as usual, I think you’ll all agree,” the Overlord boomed. “Have we all had our fill of food and feelings? I know I have.”
Reaching down, he pulled Rachel off his shaft.
“Enjoyed that, did you, girl?” he demanded, giving her an ugly smile. “How many times did you swallow my load? Ten? Twelve? And still you crave more! Has my Sting made you that thirsty for seed?”
He roared with laughter at his own crude words and the other Kru’ell Ones laughed with him.
“You’re the best concubine I’ve had in some time,” The Overlord told the trembling Rachel. “The taste of your pain and humiliation was better than any dish served here tonight. How I love the flavor of an Immune!” He chucked her roughly under the chin. “I’ll be feasting on you again tonight, girl!”
Rachel said nothing in reply. She only wiped at her mouth and streaming eyes with a black linen napkin and then dropped her gaze to her lap, a look of dull humiliation on her lovely features.
Alli’s heart ached fiercely when she saw that look, but she was ready, she told herself. Ready to get Rachel out of there—if only she could get the chance. And now she hoped it was coming up.
“After the feast is over,” Kane had told her, in the elevator, “The concubines and their Masters will separate for a time. The concubines will be kept in a female waiting area not unlike the Harem Complex below while the Kru’ell Ones receive their final orders from the Overlord before they go. That is the only time you will have—use it wisely!”
Alli fully intended to do exactly that. So when the Matron of the Harem showed up to lead them all out of the grand dining room, she followed with her head bowed, trying to look sedate.
With a little maneuvering, she found herself at the back of the line. She wanted as much time as possible to map out an exit route.
She tried to be inconspicuous as she scouted out her location but actually, it seemed she needn’t have bothered. Once she raised the royal blue hood of the Peace Cloak over her head, it was as though all eyes looked through her. The Kru’ell One guards didn’t let their gazes linger on her—probably because the cloak made it clear she already had a Master. And the servants seemed to look right through her.
It’s like having a cloak of invisibility from Harry Potter, Alli thought. For all practical purposes, nobody sees me at all.
The long line of concubines was filing into a room up ahead that seemed to be lined with bookshelves—maybe some kind of study? Alli lagged behind, looking for a way out. She wished now that she had visited the White House in her own universe back when it was open to the public. But honestly, she doubted the layout of this one was the exact same. In addition to being painted dark gray, it seemed to have been modified extensively to suit the Overlord’s tastes.
Just as she was—reluctantly—about to go into the study where the other concubines were waiting, she saw a young man about Rachel’s age striding down the hall. He was wearing a gray, shapeless pair of overalls and carrying a basket of fresh vegetables—tomatoes and cucumbers. He also had Rachel’s large, dark eyes.
Remembering what her new friend had said about her family working in the garden, Alli decided to take a chance. Instead of turning into the study with the other concubines, she followed the young man until he turned down a long hallway.
Up ahead were a set of black swinging doors. From behind them was coming the clatter and noise of an industrial kitchen. Before the young man could reach the doors, Alli ran up behind him and touched him on the arm.
