The Tithe That Binds (3 page)

Lonnie allowed herself to be led over to a wall and she felt her wrists unlatched. She stretched her arms briefly, and then the man snagged her hands and hooked the cuffs together in front of her. He pulled them over her head with one strong hand and reached behind her to turn a winch and lower a chain from the ceiling. Lonnie’s eyes widened in surprise when she felt a hook threaded through her wrist cuffs. She was stretched to her toes when he turned the crank again. Her mother had not explained this to her. In truth, her mother had told her that she would merely be a maid to one of the clan families, and after ten years of servitude she would be released to marry one of the mountain clansmen.

“Get her stripped down,” he bellowed at his girl, and he walked back to the cells to collect Suzy.

When it was Sherry’s turn, she had to be dragged across the floor, and the man raised her by her collar so that her feet were off the ground and she was choking. She kicked out at him and his hand smashed across her thighs, driving her legs into Suzy. The naked girl stepped back with the knife she was using to cut Suzy’s nightshirt away. Paula knew she would be severely punished if she marked one of the tithes.

Debra watched the blossoming red handprint across Sherry’s thighs and it reminded her of the fading bruise from the reins.
What kind of nightmare is this?
Debra backed against the wall when the big man approached her cell door.

Caleb could see the panic in her eyes, and his cock pulsed sadistic arousal.
Shit, Gabrielle’s getting herself a looker with this one.
“You don’t want me to have to come grab you.” He figured he would not get another chance with the girl after auction. Unlike Lucy, who was constantly running her slave back to him for correction, any punishment this girl earned would be seen to by Gabrielle or Elijah.

Debra began to cry, and she forced her stiff legs to move her forward. She glanced to where the girl was cutting off Sherry’s panties. Sherry was wailing and screaming at the girl to stop, and the girl smashed her hand down on top of the already red mark. Debra was sliding into shock and she felt the cold goop of the stew in her stomach rolling.

When she felt herself being stretched beside the others, she was pleading garbled nonsense about a job serving coffee and promising to gather eggs with her grandma. Caleb was used to the ramblings. The spoiled flatland girls were willing to promise anything… except what their new owners were going to require. He rubbed his cock while Paula stripped the girl. She was lean and tall, with a golden braid that had highlights filtering through the trail dust. It hung in a thick rope to her waist, and while his girl unthreaded the twist Caleb imagined that Gabrielle would make good use of it.

Paula knelt by his side with her hands on her spread thighs and her pussy glistening and leaking onto the hay spread on the dirt floor. Her Master picked up the hose and sprayed freezing mountain water on the hanging girls. Paula’s pussy clenched while she listened to their shrieks. When the water turned off, he said, “Get them soaped up, slut.”

Paula rose, grabbed a coarse bar of soap and began scrubbing Lonnie’s short hair. She worked down the row girls, and just as her eyes narrowed and her fingers threaded through Debra’s hair, Caleb warned, “Don’t you be yanking any of hers out, slut. If I see one strand fall, I’ll have you bent over this bench so fast your eyes will pop out.”

“Yes, Master Caleb.”

Paula stared into Debra’s frightened eyes while she scrubbed, and she mouthed, “You are so fucked.” Paula already hated the pretty girl, even though she was going to Elijah and Gabrielle. Most of the tithe girls already hated Mara without even knowing who she would be. Ironically, to be tithed to Elijah was considered an honor among the stolen girls.

After scrubbing their hair, Paula walked back to Lonnie and began walking down the line, scouring the trail dirt off with a stiff soaped-up brush. It left their skin red and raw, and all of them were wailing again by the time she was through. The frigid water rinsed them off, and then the girl brushed the tangles out of their hair. They were left to sway and hang dry by the heat of the fire.

* * * * *

“Can we go see her?” Gabrielle finally asked. She had been silent through most of their dinner while she considered the girl she had waited so long to acquire. “I mean, we don’t know if there’s some scarring or horrid birthmark, or something.”

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Eli answered. He planned to give into her request, but the wait would make his anxious wife more excited. He looked into her worried emerald stare. “Gabrielle, she’s fine,” he repeated.

“Eli… it’s just that… well, everyone expects…” How could she explain to him that over the years everyone had built her tithe into some kind of princess slave. The girl had to be perfect, or her friends would laugh and sneer when they saw her.

Elijah could see that she really was distressed and that it was not just curiosity that led to the request. He finished the last of his dinner. “Come on, I’ll walk you over. Sarah says she’s willful, so remember, if she isn’t right we still have Liz’s kid coming up in August.”

“She’ll be big boned and short, Eli. That means I’ll have to wait until next year,” Gabrielle worried. It would not look right for her to keep passing until one suited her. The match was supposed to be almost a fateful type of arrangement. Over the years, Gabrielle’s vision of what the slave would look like never altered. She would be tall and blonde, with a good figure, shining blue eyes and full lips… exactly like the girl sitting on the saddle in front of Samuel when the men returned this afternoon.

Caleb had expected Gabrielle to show up, and he looked up from his chair across the room. He was waiting for the girls to dry, with Paula kneeling between his thighs and sucking his cock. He was deliberately holding back so that she would have to finish while Gabrielle was in the room. He knew how it humiliated the girl.

Paula heard them come in and she renewed her efforts, taking the man deep down her throat and encouraging his sack with her fingers. She looked up into his eyes with a pleading expression when she felt him tighten. Caleb smiled down at her and stroked her hair. She really was a good girl, and he knew that she wanted to watch the new tithe’s reaction to Gabrielle. “All right, slut.” He jerked into her mouth, and she quickly lapped up and sealed him behind his leather breaches, doing a half-assed job of cleaning him that she was sure to pay for later.

Debra roused from her shock when the couple walked in, and she watched the devil man and his wife approach them. The woman stared critically at the other three girls, and then she stopped in front of Debra. The woman smiled, and Debra began to cry. “Please… please let me go. I don’t belong here.”

Gabrielle reached out and ran two tapered fingers over the swell of one firm breast, letting her nails scrape up the side to a nipple that was tight in the cool air. She pinched it in a vise of pain, and said calmly, “Silence.”

“Aaaah.” The pinching agony pierced through her fright, and Debra automatically swung a long leg out to kick the woman. The green eyes narrowed and she continued to grip the nub while her free hand grabbed onto the golden curls between Debra’s thighs and pulled down.

“Aaah… god, let me go,” Debra begged, thrashing her legs while the woman continued to tug at her nipple and pussy. Debra finally hung limp and the grips loosened slightly, but the woman did not release her.

“She doesn’t seem to have much tolerance,” Gabrielle noted. “I’ve hardly got hold of her.”

Eli stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. He could feel his wife’s excitement. “She’ll be fine, Gabrielle. You know you have to build that sort of thing up in some of them. She does have McEnroe blood in her, and none of those lazy bastards have any stamina,” Eli replied. He reached out and ran a hand down Debra’s lean thigh. “She’s tall enough, and her muscles are pretty good.” Eli turned his head into Gabrielle’s neck, and whispered, “It might take a lot of work, but I think you could train her to a cart for you.”

Gabrielle began braiding the golden mane, and she imagined the blonde beauty pulling her through the hills to visit her friends. After tying off the rope with a twist of hay, she looked up at her husband. “Oh, Eli. Do you think I can? It will make the others positively green.”

“Like your eyes, my beauty.” Eli smiled down at her delight with the suggestion. “So, are you satisfied?”

Gabrielle looked back at the girl and turned her to make sure that the other side of her was also visually appealing. She had flared hips that would strengthen and tone up, but she was definitely the best of the offerings. With Sarah and Clara in her background, her only concern had been the McEnroe influence. It seemed that all she had inherited was a little extra height, but with Gabrielle standing at almost six feet, the girl was still four inches shorter. “She’s perfect, Eli.”

After the frightening couple left, the girls were put back in their cages with their wrist cuffs still bound in front of them. Even though there was no way for them to unlock the cages, Caleb spent the night in the cabin. He did not need an unfortunate accident the night before the long awaited tithe auction. “Don’t mess yourselves up,” he warned.

He stared down at Paula. “I’m sorry, Master Caleb.” Her fingers trembled, and she reached for his zipper.

Chapter II

It was soon after they were locked in their cages, quietly crying or lying in shocked silence, that the man finally walked into Sherry’s cage and gagged her again. It did little to stifle the agonizing moans, but at least she had stopped screaming and let the rest of them suffer in relative silence.

At some point, Debra had managed to drift into an uncomfortable sleep. She kept jerking awake at visions of the devil or green eyes surrounded by darkness. In the morning, Paula brushed the hay out of their hair. They were stretched on the chains again to keep them clean until time for the auction. They were also not fed, presumably also to keep them clean, but Paula would lift a cup of water up to them occasionally.

Debra’s arms were cramping with the strain of the uncomfortable position. One look at Sherry’s gagged mouth and miserable expression kept her quiet. She was even too tired to tremble. Suzy whispered to ask Paula what was going to happen, and she was rewarded with a punch… aimed at her pussy. Debra winced and mewled in pain for her, and Suzy howled and tried to lift her legs.

Just past noon, as close as Debra could ascertain, the big man stood in front of them with Paula kneeling by his side again. “You will be led onto the stage to be presented. I assure you, any misbehaving will be dealt with swiftly.”

The girls were tethered together with ropes latched onto the front and back loops of their collars. Lonnie was first, then Suzy, Sherry and Debra. Paula followed behind the column and they were led to a gray weathered platform. Debra stared at the splintered planks instead of at the dozen men standing in front of the stage with their wives beside them. She had never felt such humiliation, and she wondered hopefully if perhaps her mother was trying to teach her a lesson and would be coming for her. She looked down at a man in an old wooden wheelchair up close to the stage, with a stern woman standing at his side.

Sherry was sobbing and jerking in fright, and the connecting rope pulled at Debra’s leather collar. The jailer untied Lonnie’s lead and he led her to the front of the stage. Caleb glanced quickly at Eli who shook his head, and he looked down at Edna and Artie. “She’s Hallie’s girl, Edna. She has a calm, efficient temperament, and the rest of the posts have agreed to stand down for your bid. Would you like her displayed?” Caleb asked.

Edna noted the girl’s plainness, but she also looked strong enough to help with Artie. Her eyes were red from crying, but she was not all wild-eyed like some of the others. For her part, Lonnie was not stupid. She realized that service with the old couple would be easier for her. She gulped nervously, and said softly, “I helped mama take care of my grandpa when he had a stroke.”

Edna looked up at her in surprise. Other than pleading the girls never spoke, much less offered themselves to a bidder. She ran it through her mind. “You’re the Tilson girl? Ed Tilson’s granddaughter?”

“Yes, ma’am. I even got grandpa down to the lake to fish a couple of times. We figured out how to strap the rod to his hands. He liked that,” Lonnie said nervously.

Edna looked down at her husband. His mouth was distorted, but his eyes were very much alive. His hand made a jerky movement on the lap robe and he pointed at the girl. Edna knelt down. “What should I bid, Artie?”

“Oooo… oooo,” he garbled.

“Two? Two of the roans?” It broke her heart to sell off his speckled horses, but they both knew he would never be able to ride again. Edna stood proud. She knew they could get the girl for one, but Artie wanted his wife’s tithe to go for a respectable value. “Two of the roans, Caleb.” Edna twisted her hands, as if anyone really would bid more for the plain girl.

Caleb looked over the crowd. Most of the wives were nodding their heads in agreement that Edna had made a wise selection. Gabrielle leaned forward and whispered to the woman, “Alice will be a great help to you, Edna. She has strong Tilson blood and their calm manner.”

“Thank you, Gabrielle. It kills me to sell off the roans. I’m keeping Rusty, just so Artie can watch him from the window. He’s still good stud stock, but too old for much riding.” Edna looked towards the back of the crowd and smiled at Holden. “I’ve made an agreement with Holden that he can speak to the elders and Preacher about breeding his sons to her. We’re not telling Lucy, and even if she finds out she won’t be allowed near Alice.”

“We have a bid of two roans to the elders.” No one said a word, and Caleb held his hand down to help Edna onto the stage.

Edna’s hand was shaking, and the girl trembled and gave her a nervous smile. She hooked on the leash and led Lonnie off the stage. When they were back on the dirt, Lonnie looked down at the old man. He had been powerful once; it was still in his eyes. She sank to her knees between the couple, and placed a quivering hand over the gnarled fist resting on the blanket. Lonnie, who was now Alice, was relieved that her position was secure.

Next came Suzy, quivering and sobbing. The jailer threaded his fingers through the back of her collar and he lifted the tiny girl to her toes. “Bids?” There were gossipy whispers from the onlookers. It was tough having first post, because they never knew if the end of summer offering was going to be better. “This is the Cauldron girl… good clan name,” he enticed.

“A hog for display,” a man shouted out with uncertainty, while his wife tugged at his arm. “Are you sure? She’s awfully small,” Joseph said in confusion.

“Look at how nicely she tears up, though,” his wife answered.

“I have a hog for display. Does anyone want to place a bid before she is marked?” Caleb asked. With the little brunette’s welled-up eyes, he doubted anyone would interrupt a paid display even if they were going to bid on her.

“One hog for display,” Caleb announced. He snapped his fingers, and Debra felt Paula pass behind her. Her own legs were frozen in place from fear, except when Sherry pulled her off balance with her jerking around.

Paula grabbed the girl’s collar and pulled her back against the post. Suzy raised her bound wrists, twisting frantically to keep from having her collar secured. The girl was so small that Paula easily overpowered her, and the slave girl’s eyes got the crazy excitement Debra had noticed before.

“Position, Master?” Paula asked.

Caleb looked down the line. Sherry would be a mess for display and Gabrielle was not going to let him mark the blonde, so even though the bid was only a hog, he said, “Three point.” He noticed Paula’s smile and he scowled at her. The girl enjoyed this almost as much as he did.

Paula grabbed a short rope with two loops and snagged one of the girl’s flailing legs. She threaded a foot through one of the loops and tightened it. She reached for her other ankle and secured them with the short rope between them and behind the post. The position forced the girl’s legs to bend slightly and spread. With her awkward stance being bowed slightly forward, Suzy shrieked in terror and embarrassment while she looked out onto the crowd for help. Paula grabbed her wrists and she pulled on a rope hanging from the top of the post, threading the hook between the cuffs. She yanked on the free end, raising the panicked girl’s wrists over her head and securing the rope to the peg on the back of the post.

Paula stepped back and watched in fascination when Caleb picked up the thin crop.
Oh… how it stings and burns
. Paula had had many experiences with the reed and she could practically feel the girl’s pain.

“No… no…” Suzy screamed. Fat tears spilled down her cheeks, greeted with affirmative whispers from the onlookers.

“She’s a good size for you, Anna. She would be quite manageable, and she’s cute… in a tiny sort of way,” Samuel said. “She cried on the way up, but mostly behaved.”

“The others would laugh at me, Samuel. Besides, I think Nancy wants her,” Anna whispered.

“No one will laugh, honey, and Nancy only had Joseph bid so that she could see the tears. Listen, Anna, everyone is watching her… and nobody is laughing.”

Anna chewed her lip. At only five six, she knew that she needed a smaller tithe to control, and there was no guarantee which tithes would be acquired during the end of summer acquisition.

Samuel had been nudging her towards Suzy since he got home, pointing out that her hips were wide enough for breeding and that her parents were both tall. Her petite stature had to be a throwback from an earlier generation, perhaps even one shared by Anna.

“Should I let him mark her?” Anna whispered.

Samuel looked at the anticipation in the faces around him. “Definitely.” He squeezed her hand.

The reed slashed down across the top of the two perfect little globes. They were in perfect confirmation of the rest of the girl’s small stature, and the girl silenced with the strike. Her big brown eyes widened, and then she let out a clear, clean shriek.

“Aaah,” Suzy screamed. Her breasts were on fire. “No… oh god. Stop,” she wailed.

The next strike came down across the tips of her nipples, and again she silenced in shock, gulped a deep breath, and screamed for all she was worth. Anna leaned over and looked at Minerva. Her eyes were narrowed and fixed on the stage in approval. She caught Gabrielle’s green gaze, and the tall woman smiled and nodded at her. With Gabrielle’s backing, no one would make fun of her. “All right, Samuel, but let Caleb finish the display before you bid.”

“Please… please stop,” Suzy begged. The next strike came up between her split pussy lips, and her belly knotted. She tried to raise her knees to protect herself, and there was the predictable silence before she shrieked a clear tone that had half the men’s cocks straining in their breeches and half the women squeezing their thighs together.

“Bids?” Caleb panted. He looked down at Joseph.

“Sorry, Caleb. The hog was only for display. I’m afraid I’d crush the little thing,” he laughed.

“A bay gelding and a dozen grade A pelts,” Samuel offered.

Anna gasped. “That’s too much, Samuel.”

“You want her, Anna? She’s going to be yours,” Samuel stated, hugging her with the arm draped over her shoulders.

Like Gabrielle, this was Anna’s first tithe. She was shaking when she walked up the steps to claim her. Caleb helped her latch on the leash while Paula unsecured the wailing, dazed girl. Suzy dropped to her knees and cupped her hand over her swollen pussy. Anna looked at Samuel who smiled up at her, and her eyes met Gabrielle’s. Gabrielle made a tugging motion with her hand to encourage her, and Anna straightened.

She pulled on the leash until the watery eyes stared up at her, and she continued to pull until the sobbing girl had to stand. “How dare you embarrass me,” Anna hissed loudly. She dragged the sobbing girl from the stage while Suzy continued to cup her sore lips.

Sherry was next, and Paul was already wincing at the thought of anyone wanting to put him through a display with her. The girl whined in a nasal, airy way that was irritating. Instead of delightful arousing tears, her face turned blotchy and her nose ran. Just before he queried for display, Edna interrupted him and climbed back onto the stage.

“Excuse me, everyone.” Edna walked to the girl’s back and touched something on the girl’s shoulder blade. “I think we have a little problem of deception going on here.” She glared at the girl. “What is your name?”

“Shshsherry McEnroe,” the girl stuttered.

“No. It’s not.” Edna slapped her so loudly they heard the crack in the back row. “What is your name?”

The girl’s eyes filled and her face mottled. “Bbbarbra. Barbra McEnroe.”

There were gasps from the audience, and Edna said, “My tithe has informed me that we have been duped into taking the younger of the twins. I asked how she was certain. Apparently, this younger one has a heart defect. The family has kept the older one who has no health problems.”

“Pppleease,” Barbra begged. “Sherry got a scholarship to state next year for track. I’ve missed so much school I wasn’t going to make it to college. Oh, god. Please, I’ll work hard.” As terrifying as it was to be auctioned in the mountain, her parents’ threat if she was sent back was even worse.

Samuel and Joseph had worked their way over to Elijah. “What a fuck up,” Samuel muttered.

Elijah called up, “Why weren’t we notified there were twins? All we were told was that the older daughter was eighteen.”

“Who wrote up the acquisition report?” Edna queried, her steely eyes already scanning the crowd for the man she knew was at fault.

Eyes slowly drifted to George McEnroe and his face paled. “Shit. We never had one amount to nothing, and with Sherry getting the scholarship I let Chris and Thelma convince me one was as good as the other. I swear, I didn’t know nuthin’ about her being sick. I’ll ride back down and collect the right one myself, if you want.”

The audience continued to stare at him. George was more pissed off than nervous. “Look, I worked hard for my place with you… harder than most of you had to, because of my name. I know Vera isn’t up for post at least until next summer, but I’ll even make a decent bid on that sick one and we’ll take her ourselves… and the deal to get the right one is still on,” he added.

“The elders are going to call the family in and take the farm,” Elijah predicted.

George shrugged. After twenty years of busting his ass in the mountains, he could lose it all because of that worthless cousin on the flatlands. “They can do as they see fit, Elijah. You know I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t think the girl was healthy.”

Elijah turned to Gabrielle. “I’m going to have to ride down in the morning. If they catch wind that we know, they’ll try to hide her.”

“I’ll go with you,” Samuel offered.

“No, Anna’s going to need you. I’ll take George and the others. I imagine the elders will send the enforcers if they’re back with Tom. Abram’s going to be pissed off at having to make a double trip so fast, too.” Elijah looked over at Gabrielle. “Are you going to be okay alone with her? I can have Caleb keep her caged until I get back.”

“We’ll be fine, Eli. It might be nice to have a few days to ourselves to get acquainted,” Gabrielle replied.

Edna looked at the frightened tithe and then over to Vera.
Why the hell did my daughter have to marry George McEnroe?
Still, she hated to see Vera throw her post on the sickly girl. “Caleb, if George is willing to throw an adequate bid on this girl, I think it should be agreeable to place her in the kitchens and let Vera keep her post next summer. The girl is useless for breeding, and we could get something out of her over there. We’ll still be getting the right girl for auction and the parents for the work camps.”