The Tithe That Binds (4 page)

“What about Jenny?” Barbra cried. She was terrified about what her parents were going to do to her when they found out they had lost everything, and she worried about her little sister.

“She’s the six year old,” George called up. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration
. Dammit, Chris
. “Shit, we’ll take her. She’s young enough to acclimate to the hills, and maybe we can salvage something out of her.”

Vera bit her lip to keep from bitching about the loss of five B pelts and a cow. They were supposed to be part of her bid for post next summer. At least she was acquiring a new little girl out of the situation. Vera loved children.

Barbra was still sobbing while she was being led off the stage to the kitchens, and for just one moment Debra was alone on the stage. She was no longer tethered to anyone, and Paula was over with the jailer straightening out the mess with Barbra.

Gabrielle’s eyes narrowed and she watched the girl.
Oh, you’re right. No one is watching you… except me.
Gabrielle watched the girl move slightly back on the platform and towards the steps at the side of the stage. She began backing up through the audience while they continued to bitch about the mix up. Eli looked at his wife, and he followed her green gaze to the stage. “Want any help?” he whispered.

“No way, Eli. She’s mine,” Gabrielle whispered back.

Debra scrambled down the steps, but nobody else noticed until Gabrielle pulled her skirt up and bumped into Minerva while she made her way out of the crowd. “Oh goody,” Minerva laughed quietly.

Debra was running with her hands bound in front of her and her naked bottom and breasts jiggling as she dashed towards the trees. Behind her, she heard the yelling of people who had realized what was happening. “My money’s on Gabrielle,” someone yelled out.

“Hell, we’re getting a display for free,” a man bellowed.

Debra dared a glance over her shoulder and saw the tall dark haired woman had her dress held up over her knees while she ran. Her green eyes had a frightening smile as she raced after her, and Debra realized the woman was gaining on her. Gabrielle loved to run barefoot through the foothills and her shoes were only a slight encumbrance. She had already noted that the girl was soft, probably from lazing around.

Gabrielle cut across at an angle and grabbed the girl’s hair, jerking her head back and stopping her. She gripped the front of the girl’s collar, and Debra panted and tried to bat her hands away. “I’m glad you like to run, girl. You’re going to get a chance to do a lot of it.”

Gabrielle pulled the reluctant girl back to the stage with firm fists wound around her collar and through her hair. “Please let me go,” Debra sobbed. The woman yanked her hair and she screamed. “Oow. I don’t belong here. I didn’t agree to come here,” Debra wailed.

Gabrielle let go of her hair and gripped her chin. Her eyes held a mixture of angry pleasure. “Silence,” she hissed. “You are a tithe, girl. That is your only value and the reason that you were bred. You are payment so that the rest of your family and the clan can survive. You are
exactly
where you belong.” Gabrielle straightened, and said, “Eli, place my bid.” She had long, dark, stray hairs that had escaped her braid, and a light sheen of sweat and excitement on her face.

“Two hogs for display,” Lucy called out. Holden’s mouth dropped open and he glared at his wife.

“No display,” Gabrielle announced. “And Holden would have to bid anyway.” She had already heard that Lucy was going to try to have the girl marked, but she knew that Holden would not dare cross Eli.

“Ten A pelts, five Bs, and the paint.” He smiled at Gabrielle. She would not be needing the cart pony any more, and no one could outbid him with it thrown in.

Samuel chuckled and stroked his short beard. “Shit, Eli.”

“I don’t need Gabrielle running after
me
if I lose her tithe,” Eli laughed back.

Chapter III

Lucy scowled when Gabrielle led Mara off the stage. Holden knew that Linda would be in for a rough time because he would not back his wife’s decision to bid for display. It was not the first time he felt like kicking himself for marrying a McEnroe.

Debra could not fathom her current circumstances. Life working in the mall and a room at Audrey Wilson’s seemed more a fantasy than the surreal situation she found herself in. Dazed with shock, she followed behind the tall woman, occasionally yanked by the leash hooked onto her collar. She was a slave. It made no sense to her. If what this woman had told her was true, then her parents and grandparents had always known this would happen to her.

The devil man was still speaking to other men from the crowd, but Debra thought his wife was just as frightening. She was led across the clearing to a cabin halfway down the street. The woman sat down on a chair on the porch and snapped her fingers. Debra continued to look around, silently crying and searching for nonexistent help. There was a sharp jerk on her collar causing her knees to practically buckle.

“You will kneel when I stop,” the woman stated calmly.

Debra stared uncomprehendingly at her. The woman reached for a crop beside her chair, and smashed it against Debra’s thighs. “Ow.” Frustration, fear and anger finally surfaced, and she kicked a long leg out. “You bitch,” she screamed.

The curse was loud enough to reach the street, and the men’s discussion stopped abruptly when Eli’s black eyes narrowed and he slowly turned towards his house. “I’ll meet you at daybreak,” he said quietly, and strode towards the porch.

“Damn,” Joseph smiled. He grabbed Nancy’s hand. “Come on. This oughta’ be good.” Samuel followed them, with several other couples sauntering in the direction of Elijah’s porch.

Debra was still kicking out at Gabrielle and somewhat managing to avoid the crop while the woman swung at her legs, belly and bottom. “Fuck you,” she cried. “Let go of me.” She pulled back on the leash just when a voice spoke over her head.

“Bring her inside, Gabrielle.”

Gabrielle looked up to see half the town, including Lucy, staring at her. Eli continued. “You will follow my wife inside the cabin, and I suggest you stop this embarrassing display.”

His voice was chilling and more terrifying than the crop. It cut through Debra’s anger, but her panic had taken hold so completely that she continued to kick out at Gabrielle. When she refused Elijah’s order, he knew that they had to get her to submit before the crowd that had gathered.

Eli hooked his finger through the loop on the back of her collar, and Debra felt a steady force pulling her head down while he sat. Her back arched over his thighs, and although she had to stop kicking to balance herself, she reached her bound hands over her head to try to hit Eli.

Debra’s head was resting in his lap while she continued to try to connect with his jaw. He ignored the weak attempts, and keeping hold of her collar with one hand, he gripped her nipple with the other.

“Let go of me, you bastard. I’ll have you all arrested,” Debra screamed in outrage, and continued to try to thrash and bat him away. There were excited murmurs from the people who had gathered to watch. Eyes either narrowed or widened, anticipating what they would do to the tithe for her outburst.

Debra heard a whistling sound and felt a pressure on her thighs. A moment later, the creamy flesh was on fire. “Oh… Aaah.” Debra tried to force her legs together and buck up, but the awkward position made it impossible.

There was another whistle and the pain on her thighs was more immediate with the second stroke. Debra screamed in agony and looked up to see the tall woman raising the crop again. She arched a brow in question.

“Please,” Debra begged. The crop came down again. “Ow… oh, please don’t hit me again.”

The man released her nipple, but Debra barely felt the pain of the bruised nub with the inferno of bruising on her legs. Eli gripped her jaw, forcing her to look at him. The crowd had gathered in front of their porch, and Elijah wanted Gabrielle’s authority to be unquestioned. In a deep, low voice, he ordered, “You will ask your Mistress for one last strike.”

“No,” Debra sobbed. “Make her stop.” The crop slammed down again, and Debra thought she would faint. “Aaah… oh, oh, stop,” she sobbed.

“We can do this until you pass out, and when you come to, we’ll begin again,” Eli warned. “Now, say, ‘Mistress, please whip me’.”

“No,” Debra wailed. The tormenting leather crop raised again, and she finally realized they were serious. The torture would not end until she said the terrible words. “Please whip me,” she shrieked.
Oh, god. Oh, Jill. Someone come get me.

“Mistress, please whip me,” Elijah corrected, though he was rather pleased the new tithe had broken to the point she had.

Debra’s tearing blue eyes looked into the excited green stare of the woman. Her arm was raised and prepared to strike. “Mmmistress, please whip me,” Debra moaned. The crop came down and Debra shrieked again. She felt her collar released and opened her eyes to see Gabrielle once more sitting in her chair, with a victorious expression on her face. Debra fell to the ground, rolling on her side and curling her legs into her stomach. She heard a snap, and looked up to see Gabrielle staring at her and pointing to the ground beside her chair.

Debra groaned, pushed herself up and crawled over to kneel beside the woman. “Spread your thighs, Mara,” Gabrielle ordered.

The girl’s head rose and she looked at the woman. There was almost a hopeful trace tracking through her tears. “I’m not Mara. I’m Debra McEnroe. You’ve got me mixed up with someone else.”

Debra was almost relieved when the woman smiled and reached down a hand to stroke her hair. “You were Debra McEnroe in the flatlands. Up here, you are my tithe and your name is Mara. Now, answer ‘Yes, Mistress’, and get those knees spread, or I’ll whip your pussy.”

Debra gasped. No one had ever spoken so lewdly to her, and the few times her mother had slapped her face could not prepare her for this witch’s torment. She had no idea that Sarah had to admit those infractions to Elijah. Tithes were not supposed to be physically punished on the flatlands, nor were they supposed to be unduly chastised with words. Although most of the girls arrived spoiled and lazy, the clans liked to break the tithes to their own unique submission requirements.

Debra looked out on the street where people were making no attempt to hide their interest concerning the correction being displayed on the porch. It was a unique performance of Gabrielle’s ability to train her new slave, and they noted that Elijah had only stepped in to restrain the girl. Debra shuddered and cried quietly while she spread her knees, exposing her pink slit while color flooded her face.

“Yes, Mistress,” Gabrielle reminded her.

Debra thought of the painful flogging and she looked at the welts forming on her thighs. The thought of an agonizing lash on her pussy… it was too horrible. “Yes, Mistress,” she murmured.

The people on the street nodded approval, and slowly made their way back to their cabins. After the excitement of the auction and Mara’s display, most were stoking lust-filled passion and in search of their own tithes to relieve their tension.

Eli looked down at Mara who was silently weeping and rubbing her bound hands on her bruised thighs. His eyes fixed on Gabrielle, and he smiled warm approval. He knew that she would need encouragement asserting her authority at the beginning, and decided to ask his mother to stop by while he left to retrieve the proper twin on the flatlands.

As happened over the years, Gabrielle could practically read his mind. She knew he did not question her ability, but he was worried over leaving her alone with her new tithe. “How long do you plan on being gone?”

“Chris’ farm is close to the foothills, and I will be pushing to get back quickly. We’ll have to rest the horses, but we should be back in three days.”

Gabrielle gave his words some thought. “Do you think Minerva might be able to help me with her treatment? It would have her prepared for your return.” It would mean Eli would miss the exfoliation, but as the tithe was rather inaccessible during the time, it seemed like a worthy trade-off.

“I hadn’t considered that, Gabrielle. That’s a wonderful idea. You’re certain you won’t mind having to treat her yourself?”

“Eli, I know darned well you were going to send Minerva to check on me… not that she wouldn’t have stopped by on her own.” Gabrielle smiled. Elijah’s mother had always cared for her as though she was her real daughter.

As if sensing her summons, Minerva had walked up silently from the side of their cabin. “I hear I missed a fine display.” The older woman’s eyes narrowed on the welts on the slave’s legs. “You should bind her wrists behind her, Gabrielle, to keep her from covering the markings.”

Debra felt a hand smack into the back of her head. “Stop covering your welts,” Gabrielle ordered. The shocked girl’s hands floated over her pussy. “Don’t you dare hide yourself.” Gabrielle was rewarded with a small sob, and her tithe raised her hands to her belly. “Yes, Mistress,” Gabrielle uttered in mock exasperation. She knew it would take many reminders… and many punishments… before the response became automatic.

“Yes, Mistress.”
Jill, please find me and get me out of this place.
In her numbed state, she had ignored the conversation about the treatment.

“Minerva, could you help me get her exfoliated while Eli’s gone? It seems to be a useful way to use the time of his absence.”

“Well, it would keep you busy,” Minerva agreed. It seemed unfair that Eli had just returned from a five day trip and now had to turn back around due to the McEnroes’ attempted treachery. “The elders and Preacher have already ruled, and they’ve ordered the family brought up. Abram should be back tomorrow, and I imagine he won’t be too happy about riding back down so quickly, either.”

“We’re picking up the girl, so I don’t think Chris will suspect the enforcers will show up. He’ll be pissed off about losing both twins, but he’ll figure it satisfied the elders for his deceit. I imagine he’ll be surprised when my brother shows up,” Elijah chuckled.

Minerva nodded. Her two sons had risen to be in charge of the clan’s primary positions of acquisition and enforcement. There were already murmurs that Elijah was in line for principal elder when Shawn retired. She turned to Gabrielle. “I’ll be over after Eli leaves in the morning, and I’ll send Tara to collect the supplies we’ll need.”

At the mention of the name, Debra raised her eyes to find herself staring into the brown gaze of a small girl kneeling beside the older woman. The girl’s expression was dulled, though she seemed to be leaning into the hand resting on her head. The girl looked to be in her twenties, and Debra wondered if that was the same complacent acceptance her own face would reflect in a few years.

Debra had no idea that Tara was Minerva’s third tithe and not subject to breeding. Only first tithes were expected to produce heirs for their Mistress’s sons. Clan women themselves were rendered infertile to keep the bloodlines from becoming entwined. With the assurance of several generations removed and a mixture between the clans from the tithes on the flatlands, it alleviated the problem. Naturally, the clan women had no interest in months of bloating and submission to a painful delivery. They had become dominant and sadistic, so pregnancy offered no nurturing allure to them.

Minerva had two sons, and her first tithe had been required to provide two children to each of them, once they were married. Some history in Elijah’s bloodline had produced two sets of twins through her tithe. With two more single births for Abram, her first tithe had produced a remarkable accounting of six children.

Gabrielle had been thrilled with the look-alike daughters, now engaged to the equally identical Branson twins. Justin and Jason were fraternal, and where Jason was fair and stocky, Justin looked like a younger version of Elijah. It was unprecedented that a clan mother be honored with four children. Even Lizzie Branson only had the one set of twins and a daughter.

Minerva reached down and lifted the tithe’s chin. Debra found herself looking into a piercing gray stare. “How many boys have fucked you?” Debra pulled back, and Gabrielle smashed her hand into the back of her head again. Years ago, most of the girls brought up had been virgins. The lack of morality on the flatlands over the years had destroyed that lucky trait, though last summer the Clausen’s had been fortunate enough to bid on a tithe who turned out to be pregnant. It further diluted the murky bloodlines of the clans.

“Answer Mistress Minerva,” Gabrielle demanded.

Debra felt the heated rush of embarrassment flood her cheeks again. If they had a doctor up here and he checked, they would know she lied if she denied it. Her eyes filled with tears. “One.” The hand smacked her head again. “One, Mistress,” she murmured, trying to look away from the woman’s stare.

Minerva was certain the girl was telling the truth. She still had a touch of innocence about having her body displayed. “Who? What did he do to you?”

Debra quivered and her tears fell faster. Already anticipating Gabrielle’s blow, she whispered, “DJ. DJ Jensen. He was a guy working at a store I liked to shop at.” While Debra’s thoughts moved mercifully to the mall, Elijah stroked his cock, enjoying his mother’s expert manipulation of the girl.

“Did you suck his cock? Tell me what you did with him,” the horrible woman ordered.

“No,” Debra gasped, and she tried to shuffle back on her knees, despite the promise of Gabrielle’s blow.

“Get me your crop, Gabrielle. A few strokes on this slut’s pussy should get me my answers,” Minerva said.

“No,” Debra shrieked. Mention of the cane slicing down on her crotch was terrifying, but she knew the old woman was as serious as Eli’s threat had been. “He… he played with my boobs for a while and used his hand on me, and then he made love to me.”

“Love to you?” Minerva burst out laughing. “How many times did he ‘make love’ to you?”

Debra was crying, and speaking the truth out loud sounded cheap and horrible. “Once,” she sobbed. “Once, and then I caught him with one of the girls he worked with.” That had all happened two weeks ago, just before she had graduated. She had already lined up the job at the mall, and had spent time during finals letting her mind daydream on scenes of them spending their break time in the dressing room of his store. When she had caught him in one of those dressing rooms with a co-worker, he had laughed at her naivety. She had still built a romance with the boy when she dreamed at night.