When she had seen Xenia approaching, Paloma had reacted from panic and ran into the forest. Alinda and Winona had stopped her a little later and now, they decided what to do next.
„Well, I have cooperated with her once. Maybe, I should start negotiations“, Alinda suggested. She didn`t mention the fact that their last cooperation hadn`t ended well. Both had been left naked, bound and gagged, only to be found by Yankee soldiers hours later. And after that, they had never seen each other again.
Winona didn`t have good memories at Xenia either. She and Alinda had left her bound and gagged on the pirate ship, this being the beginning of a number of humiliating things done to her, including her being misused as a ship`s figurehead for an entire day. However, their alternatives were either avoiding any contact with Xenia – and losing their boat and supplies – or to fight her – which was an uncertain thing, since both sides had three men.
Paloma, who was ashamed of her headless flight, tried her best to calm herself down and didn`t take part in that discussion. At least, they still had their guns, though the reserve ammunition had been on the boat.
„If they stay by the boats, we can`t do more than just watch. But if they separate to look for us, we maybe have a chance.“
„B-but, what a-about the others. Those that have abducted Zenobia?“, Paloma asked.
„We must take that risk. After all, they ran away with her, so perhaps they are already a mile away. Anyway, we must watch the boats now.“
From their hideout, they could see Xenia and the two men just some 200 yards away. And indeed, it seemed that they would get their chance. The two men grabbed their rifles and disappeared between the trees whilst Xenia was sitting at the water, her back leaned against one of the boats.
„Quick! We have to overpower her as long as she`s alone! Then, we take our boat, destroy their`s and leave before the men come back!“
Alinda`s plan was better than nothing and so, they sneaked closer to the boats, always looking for any trace of the men. At the same second, they jumped from the bushes and pointed their weapons at the blonde.
„Alinda? Winona?“, she asked, obviously really perplexed. She had expected Paloma to be around, but not the two agents. With a puzzled look on her face, she raised her hands and stood up.
„Get over to that tree! It`s your lucky day, we only need the boat!“
Whilst Winona guarded Xenia, Paloma and Alinda hastily began to throw supplies on their boat and to push it towards the water. To do so, they of course had to put down their guns and suddenly, Winona felt the grip of strong hands at her arms.
„Sometimes, the old tricks are the best“, Xenia mocked, lowering her hands. Her henchmen had just hidden nearby and waited for a good opportunity to get all of the other boat`s crew if they would be so stupid and come here. From the leftovers at the canoe, they had been able to guess that there were three more and now, two of these were at their mercy.
Whilst one of the men pointed at Alinda and the trembling Paloma with his rifle, the other one had disarmed Winona. He handed the gun to Xenia and pushed her over to her companions. Then, he also aimed at the group with his rifle whilst Xenia did the talking.“
„So, here we are again, Paloma. I guess that my favorite slave is with you, too, maybe with her lover?“
„They have been kidnapped! Both! Someone was faster than you!“, Paloma blurted.
Xenia raised an eyebrow. At the Saloon, they had heard about the disappearance of a woman working there and they had read the letter left at Fiona`s house. So, they had heard about a mysterious kidnapper`s ring working around here and that Zenobia was looking to get her beloved Andrea back. So, her work wasn`t done here, but before she could continue her search, she would have to take care of their three captives.
„Well, you must know that I hardly ever forget about an insult. Like leaving me naked, bound and gagged before making your getaway.“
Xenia did her best to sound calm and superior, but her voice was a bit hoarse, for she only too well remembered how the men, among them her two henchmen, had found her in her nude predicament. In the corner of her eye, she could see on their faces that they remembered the sight, too. However, here were possibilities to distract her men`s memory from her.
„So, I think a quid pro quo sounds fair to me. Strip!“
Paloma shook her head no and tried to hide behind the others. With her left, Xenia waved one of her men.
„Please, remove that bitch`s clothes for us!“
„No!“
Paloma did not want to expose herself in front of Xenia and her men – not again! - , but she even less wanted the men to touch her. So, she reluctantly began to unbutton her shirt. Buying some time by slowly removing her boots and socks, she finally opened her trousers and stepped out of them, leaving her in just her camisole and knickers. To her great relief, Xenia told her to stop.
„Winona, I am quite surprised that you and Alinda have come to terms. So, I think you should become a bit more familiar, too. Please, remove your clothes, too.“
Alinda stared daggers at her former ally and Winona murmured a Gaelic curse, but they both obeyed and stripped to their shirts and knickers.
„Who told you to stop?“
„Screw you!“
„Who`s in charge?“, Xenia purred.
In one move, both agents turned their backs to Xenia and her men. When they removed their shirts, they could see the reason for their reluctance: none of them was wearing anything beneath. They remained with their naked backs turned towards their captors, their hands defensively crossed in front of their boobs.
Xenia quickly thought of a way to stow these three, but before, there was one thing to do.
„Paloma, I think you are looking a bit overdressed in comparison to your friends now. Remove your camisole. Do it slowly and seductive, or you will loose your knickers, too.“
With widened eyes and trembling, the blushing Paloma obeyed after some hesitation. It was not really an erotic performance, because Paloma tried to reveal as little of her big boobs as possible, but Xenia decided not to be too petty now.
When all girls were standing side by side clad only in their silky knickers, Xenia ordered her men to tie their wrists and ankles with the handcuffs she had brought with her. Winona and Alinda remained calm, but Paloma blushed from not being able to hide her breasts anymore.
Next, they all were gagged with pieces of their shirts stuffed into their mouths and had a sleeve tied between their lips. For a while, all three looked at the row of heaving bare breasts and reddened cheeks. Then, Xenia whispered something in one of the men`s ear. He smiled and when he had given the information to his comrade, the other man grinned, too.
Then, to the girls`s surprise, he took the stake that was used for the boat and held it beside each girl, measuring their heights. Of course, the stake wasn`t a ruler, but he could estimate that both Alinda and Winona measured some 5`2`` and Paloma was one inch shorter.
„Mhm?“
Winona couldn`t help mewing questioningly when she saw one man filling sacks with sand and pebbles whilst the other hat take an ax and was chopping some thick branches from a tree. Finally, he had three sticks, each some yard long and some three inches in diameter. He even took his time to remove the bark, smoothing the surface.
One by one, the girl`s were tied differently now. Each had one of the sticks pressed between her arms and her back, then, their wrists were tied in front of them. Now, the sticks were trapped between their elbows and their backs. Though it was a bit inconvenient, it was not painful and the wood choosen was also quite lightweight. In addition, they considered that they could easily get rid of these sticks once nobody was watching them.
Drawing by hugues66
The men now ordered Winona to get on the canoe they had come with. All the supplies now were aboard the other boat, but Winona recognized that the men had taken one of the sacks filled with sand and pebbles with them. A terrible thought was coming up within her. And indeed, one of the men repeatedly checked the water`s deepth with his stake. Finally, he nodded and whilst he kept the redhead in his grip, the other one tied the sack to her cuffed feet.
„Uuuhhhhhmmmm! Mmmhhmmmmmmph! Nnnnnnggggg!“
Despite her desperate struggling, they threw her overboard. When the water had calmed again, it took the spluttering and mewing girl a while till she found out that she wasn`t drowning. The heavy sack forced her to remain where she was, but since it wasn`t that deep and because of the stick`s buoyancy, her head and neck remained above the surface. Whatever this torture was meant for, they did not intend to kill her, at least not immediately.
Though they tried to squirm and wriggle and screamed into their gags, the other two girls soon found themselves anchored close to Winona. Only their heads protruded from the water and they moaned desperately. However, the men just staked the canoe to the shore where they broke it`s hull. Then, they went aboard the other boat and came close to the bound, gagged and helpless girls.
„That should help you to remain cool for a while. Once we have Zenobia back in our arms, we will come back and release you. You will be pardoned then, for I will have my lust for revenge focussed on the Black then. But maybe, those kidnappers living around here will see you first. Then, we will maybe never see again. Anyway, have fun.“
The laughter of Xenia and her henchmen was the last thing the three girls heard as the big canoe disappeared.
***
At Laura`s mansion, the mood was rather down. Laura blamed everyone but herself for Andrea`s escape, Curt was nursing his shot wound and Nathalie was looking through her books if the ritual would work with six women, too.
They had decided to secure the remaining captives in a way that they would not try anything like that. The time for playing games was over. Each woman`s arms were trapped in one of the leather sheaths. Nathalie and Laura had taken great care in pulling the laces as tight as possible, crushing the captives`s elbows together, the sheaths were not only secured by the shoulder straps, but also by a strap around the waist from which a vertical strap disappeared between the women`s legs until it was padlocked to a ring at the fingertips of the sheath. The two evil women had pulled each of these straps excruciatingly tight, makin sure it had sunk deep between the victim`s labia and buttocks before tying it off. However, the muffled mews and grunts had been rather mute, since now all of the six women had a pair of used knickers stuffed into their mouths before the gag mask had been reapplied. Only Niamh and Clarissa, who had been gagged that way already, had been left alone, but now, Joanna and Scarlett were choking on a pair of Laura`s or respectively Nathalie`s knickers. Rose and Fiona had been temporarily released, but only to change their gags between them, so that now every woman had to endure being gagged with another woman`s used underwear.
Joanna and Scarlett, who had at least been spared that cruelty so far, were making retching sounds through their gags and their eyes showed their disgust and revulsion. Fiona, on the contrary, was suffering most from the crotch strap, since she had the least experience with such a restraint.
In the middle of the living room, there was a solid iron ring embedded in the floor. They had the women arranged around this ring, cuffing each`s ankles to it. The captives now had to lie on their backs in the formation of a six ended star. Their naked busts were heaving and they were slightly squirming in their bonds, but they all had soon realized that escape was not an option.
„Madame?“
Nathalie had appeared from the library, calling for Laura. Curt realized that she had spoken French. Whenever the two did not want him to understand what they were talking about, they changed into that language, not knowing that Curt, who had grown up amongst the Cajuns at New Orleans, spoke French quite fluently, too. When they had hired him, Curt had not revealed that fact to Nathalie or Laura, since he somehow had felt that this could be an advantage. He had not overheard something of real interest yet, but now, when Laura had followed Nathalie inside the library, he listened carefully.
„I have checked the books once more and they all say the same thing: the more lifes, the better. But, we can change the conditions a bit. It will also help us with the other problem.“
„You mean, what to do with these women after the ritual?“, Laura asked.
Now, Curt was electrified. His employers had always told him that, once the ritual was finished, he could get the women somewhere to be found. They would not be seriously harmed and would only lose a little blood – and some of their dignity. Curt had agreed upon helping in that, though he considered such rituals as complete nonsense. However, he was no murderer.
„All we need is a full moon – which we will have from tomorrow night on. And then, we can invoke Asmodeus.“
Asmodeus! Now, Curt had to oppress a laugh. Even he knew a bit about that demon from scrolling through Nathalie`s books. He was a mighty demon, some said he was nearly as powerful as Satan himself. But then, Nathalie continued:
„Asmodeus cannot grant you eternal youth, but he will give you seven years of not aging at all for each life you offer him. So, even with only six victims left, you would see the next century as pretty and young as you are now!“
Curt`s blood was running cold. So, these completely crazy witches intended to sacrifice the six women`s life on a simple horror story! His first intention was to burst into the room, slap their faces and then release the women. But then, he thought twice. Maybe, he should play the game a little bit longer. After all, until the next night, the women were safe.
So, he stepped away from the door and behaved unsusicious when Laura and Nathalie came out. When they ordered him to search for the escaped woman, he just bowed slightly and left.
When they were alone with their captives, Laura bent over them and said in a cold and threatening voice:
„You better pray that he will be back soon, for as long as he hasn`t been successful, you will stay like that. There will be no food, no water and no relief for any of you until you are complete once again!“
***
After a while, Zenobia and her new friends had stopped running and paused from exhaustion. They were quite sure that they had shaken off the three men now and besides, they all needed a rest. They all were barefoot and Virginia had even lost her skirt when Zenobia had torn on it. Her shirt covered her hips, but her shapely legs were all visible.
However, that was a minor problem. What was much worse was that they only had the clothes they were wearing. They had no weapon and no food and none of them had the slightest idea where they were now. Since they were surrounded by water, of which some was clear and drinkable, they would at least not die from thirst, but hunger would soon become a problem.
„Maybe, we can climb a high three and look for something, a village, a hut or maybe, even the shore. Then, we know where to go.“
Virginia`s plan was the best they had and so, they looked around for a tree that looked both high and easy to climb. When Virginia went up the trunk, Zenobia couldn`t help looking at her firm butt and her pink silky knickers showing underneath her shirt. However, she was soon distracted from her indecent thoughts wnen Virginia quickly came down again.
„I saw someone coming here!“, she whispered.
Hastily, all the three girls grabbed a stick and they hid in the bushes. They knew that they had no chance against the three men, but if it was only one of them, they could possibly overpower him.
For some minutes, they heard nothing but the usual sounds of the jungle. Then, a faint, rhythmical clink came closer and closer. Zenobia grabbed her stick harder and prepared when a person stepped out of the bushes.
However, it was none of the Seminoles. It was a brown haired woman, stark naked except for an iron belt. At the sides of this belt, her hands were cuffed and the short chains of these handcuffs had caused the clink. The woman`s lower face was covered by some kind of iron mask that also encircled her neck, but her blue eyes Zenobia would have recognized from millions of others.
„Andrea!“, she cried and, dropping her stick, she jumped from her hideout and hugged her long lost lover, covering her face and her gag mask with kisses.
„Mmhhmmmm!“
Andrea could not say anything except for a faint moaning and she could not answer the hug either, but her blue eyes glanced with joy and relief and she leaned against Zenobia, allowing her to embrace her even closer.
„So, she`s your abducted friend?“, Caroline asked. The two girls had stepped from their cover, too, feeling a bit confused by that turn of events.
It took Zenobia a while before she could let Andrea go and introduce the girls to her. Virginia and Caroline avoided to look directly at Andrea, feeling a bit uneasy about her nakedness.
When the first joy of reunion had calmed down a bit, they tried to free Andrea from her bonds and gag. However, this turned out to be impossible. The belt as well as the cuffs and the gag mask were secured by firm locks and none of the girls had a hair pin or something similar on her. Zenobia tried picking on the lock with a twig, but to no avail.
„Poor thing, I am afraid you will have to stay like this for a little longer.“
„Mmhhmmmm!“
The small sound Andreas made told them that she was more thasn thoroughly gagged underneath the mask, but they could not change that for the moment either. All Zenobia could do was to sit beside her friend and keep her in her arms. Suddenly, Caroline undid her skirt.
„It`s nothing that will really help, but maybe, you will feel a little more decent“, she said and helped Zenobia to put the skirt on Andrea. She glanced gratefully at the young woman. Though she still was topless, she now felt covered.
Zenobia thought what she could do to comfort her friend even more. But she was little better off than her companions who now both were reduced to their knickers, camisoles and shirts. Zenobia was wearing the same, plus a pair of trousers. She would have liked to sacrifice her shirt, but with her hands cuffed to her belt, Andrea would not be able to put it on.
Then, she took off her shirt and placed it over Andrea`s boobs before knotting it at her back. It looked ridiculous, but now, a potential rescuer would at least not see her assets. She kissed her beloved`s forehead, but then, another thought came to her mind.
„Your kidnappers! Are they around here? How have you escaped them?“
„Uuuhhmmmm!“
Andrea`s moaning reminded her of her gag and so, the following conversation turned out to be difficult, since Andrea could only answer questions by nodding, shaking her head or showing numbers with her fingers. But after a while, they knew at least the following:
Andrea had escaped from her captors, a man and two women, who were residing at a mansion only one or two miles from where they were now. She had seen two women, a blonde and a redhead, that fit the description Alinda and Winona had given Zenobia of their aunts and there also were Fiona and two more women held captive at the mansion.
„We can`t just let them there to whatever their intended fate is! Besides, we have to get the keys of your restraints.“
Virginia nodded at Zenobia`s words, but Caroline hesitated:
„But, they are armed and sure, they are already searching for us! We should better try to get back to the town you came from and inform the Sheriff! Then, we can wait for them to free the others and to arrest these criminals!“
Zenobia knew that Caroline`s arguments were valid, but she also knew that this plan would not work.
„We have no idea where the town is, and neither does Andrea. But we can find our way to the mansion. It won`t be easy, but perhaps, if they are really searching for her, they might not suspect an attack from us, since they don`t even know we are here. It`s our only chance! If we wait much longer, we will starve, and poor Andrea can`t even drink water.“
Caroline hesitated and there were tears in her eyes. Virginia hugged her friend and finally, she nodded. Again taking their sticks, they followed Andrea`s tracks towards the hidden abductor`s mansion.
***
„Mph!“
Winona`s gagged protest trailed off in the forest like the many, many others she and her equally gagged companions had uttered during the last hour. They still were in the water with only their heads protruding and they had found out that they would not be able to change that on their own accord.
Drawing by hugues66
With their hands and feet cuffed, there were no knots they could try to loosen. Both Alinda and Winona had learned how to open such cuffs with makeshift tools, but they hadn`t anything but their fingernails, who were inappropriate for such work. The only knots were those that held her feet to the heavy sacks, but the sticks shoved between their arms and their backs were an obstacle in reaching these ropes. They helped the girls to keep their heads above water, but they also prevented them from diving down to work on the ropes. Alinda and Winona had tried a few times, but they had not been able to get deep enough.
Of course, it would have been possible to wriggle these sticks off, but then, they would have only the buoancy of their bodies and if they failed in getting loose, they would drown sooner or later.
However, before they had to make further desicions, they could see an approaching canoe in which a tall blonde man was sitting.
„Uuhhmmmmm! Mhhmmmmmmm! Mph!“
Before the two agents could consider what to do, Paloma tried her best to draw the man`s attention and indeed, he paddled close to them as soon as he had spotted them.
Curt, who had quickly repaired his boat, could not believe his eyes when he saw the heads of three gagged women in front of him, each some yard apart from the other. His first thought was that these were water-corpses, but then, their moving and the mewing sounds told him that they were all alive. Then, he recognized Paloma.
The last time Curt had seen the young Mexican, he had left her bound and gagged together with the black woman whom he could not see anywhere. The other`s, he had never seen before, but they had a resemblance towards Niamh and Clarissa. When he was just a yard away from the three gagged women, Curt stopped the canoe, ignoring their muffled pleas to get them free. He had to think what to do with these first.
Of course, he could just leave them where they were, since they were not the one he was looking for. Or, he could hide and wait for whoever had left the girls here. But he wasn`t sure how many people they were. He could see a boat with a damaged hull lying at the shore, but that didn`t help him in estimating the other group`s strength.
Well, the girls could tell him if he would ungag and ask them. But they also could scream and alert their captors. And setting them free wasn`t an option either, for they could run around and attract someone`s attention. Curt was sure that there were also some men around, wether a searching posse from New Hope or other criminals, he couldn`t say. But it didn`t matter really, for the more people were walking through the swamps, the more likely was it that they would find the mansion. It was well hidden, but not on another planet. So, Curt decided to take the girls to the mansion. He thought of what Nathalie had said about „Asmodeus grants you seven years of not ageing for every life you offer him“. Perhaps, his employers would even be grateful that he got them three more potential victims. At least, it would keep them occupied whilst he prepared his own plans.
So, Curt slid into the water and examined the way the girls were bound. Then, he went under water and cut the redhead`s feet loose.
„Mmhhmmph!“
Winona squirmed when her legs came up, forcing her body backwards. The stick helped her in keeping her head above water, but now, the back of her head had sunk to her ears and only her face was in the air whilst the tops of her boobs were showing now, too.
„Mmhmmmm! Uuhhmmmm!“
She wanted the man to ungag her, but instead, he took a short rope dangling from the canoe`s stern and tied it to the short chain between her ankle cuffs. Winona moaned with anger and fear and tried to flail, but soon stopped as this made it difficult for her to keep her mouth and nose above water.
Now, Curt once again dived and freed Alinda. Then, he used the chain of her ankle cuffs as a handle and forced her to take Winona`s upper body between her legs.
„Uuhmmph Mmhhrrrrrrhmm!“
„Ghhhmmm! Mhhmmph!“
When the redhead`s head was resting in the blonde`s lap, he took a short piece of rope and tied Winona`s bound wrists to Alinda`s ankle cuffs. This position allowed Winona to keep her head save from the water, unless none of them struggled too much.
Paloma was added next to the row of bound, gagged and nearly naked damsels. She had to take Alinda`s upper body between her legs and then, her ankles were tied to the blonde`s wrists. Then, Curt got himself back into the canoe and began to paddle slowly towards the direction he had come from.
Since he adjusted his speed, the heads of his three captives were not pulled below the water`s surface. Both Winona and Alinda had their heads embedded on the laps of the woman behind and it seemed that Paloma`s big boobs gave her enough buoyanca not to drown either. Anyway, Curt was paddling very slowly, always having an ear and an eye on the shore for anyone trying to attack him. Curt hated to use his rifle, but he was quite a good shootist and would sure be able to frighten off anyone who would try to stop him.
The three girls kept on moaning and grunting through their gags, but they had soon come to the conclusion that too much wriggling and flailing wasn`t a good idea. So, they could do nothing but wait. Winona had thought of picking on the rope tying her wrists to Alinda`s ankles, but the man was looking back at the three women in his keel line every few moments and so, he would have noticed immediately when she had freed herself from the other girl. She wasn`t sure, but maybe that was the reason why Alinda had made no attempts to ungag her, although her head was resting in her lap, close to her fingers. But here, in the middle of the Everglades, maybe nobody would have heard their screams anyway. At least, they would not have been able to attract anyone`s attention before the man would have had time to punish them for trying to do so.
She tried to think about their current situation. So, this man sure wasn`t one of Xenia`s henchmen. But somehow, she was sure that he didn`t belong to the group that had abducted Zenobia either. She had only seen a glimpse of these three men, but they had been Indians whilst this man definitely was a White.
The only party left were those who had kidnapped her and Alinda`s aunts and maybe more women, including Zenobia`s friend Andrea and that Fiona where they had been living. But why had they left Paloma and Zenobia behind, only to now take the latter with them?
„I have to admit that now, I am quite curious. The only problem is wether I will like the answers once I have gotten them.“
***