Beyond Charybdis (2 page)

 

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Mina rested her elbows on her knees, leaning over and staring blankly at the deck plates as she let her latest meal digest. Her body felt much better; her limbs had become true extensions of her willpower rather than awkward appendages over which she had little influence.

She jerked around when she heard heavy clunking sounds coming from the door. Remaining where she was, she adopted an indifferent façade, feigning apathy so she might more easily unleash a surprise attack should it be required. She did not tense her body, for that might betray her intentions. Instead, she regulated her breathing and let the cold clinical wall of a fighting trance embrace her.

The click of a heel against metal sounded like a judgement trump in her heart, and she melted, all notion of combat vanishing like a morning mist as submissive fires raged through her body, burning away even the concept of resistance.

Tethys stood tall and defiant on the threshold, a smile on her ebony lips. She was clad in latex leggings in a garment with a black zip crotch. The polished jet fabric followed her delicious curves and flowed almost imperceptibly into knee-high riding boots with wicked heels and silver spurs. The waistband of her leggings was surrounded by a studded belt, from which hung a leather sheath. A purple riding crop with a black leather handle and a ringed tip was slung into the holster, reaching down to her knees. A rubber bra clung to her breasts and offered her cleavage to Mina's adoring stare, its slender straps draped over her elegant shoulders. A spiked rubber choker encircled her throat, and wrist-high gloves of the same clinging fabric encased her hands, leaving her fingers free, her long black nails curved like pointed daggers.

‘How is my slave?' she asked happily. ‘Did she miss me?'

Mina plunged off the bed and sank to her knees to embrace the lower half of the woman's body, her cheek resting against her naked belly. Tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her face as she wept with joy upon seeing her beloved dominatrix once more.

‘I'll take that as a “yes”,' she said wryly, stroking Mina's hair. ‘But don't forget to thank my boots, slave.'

Without even thinking about it, Mina collapsed and kissed them in adoration. She curled her tongue around the heel, her body shaking with pleasure at once more performing this humble task.

Tethys crouched down as Mina worked, the sound of creaking rubber bliss to Mina's ears as her mistress's sharpened digits ran through her hair, and then lodged beneath her chin to draw her face upward so their eyes met. For the first time Mina saw the woman's true eyes with her coloured contacts removed. The cool blue irises were flecked with streaks of light green, a marked contrast to the consuming featureless black Mina was accustomed to.

‘How do you feel, slave?' Tethys asked, affirming that nothing had changed between them.

‘I'm fine,' she replied calmly, trying to hide how elated she was to have been rescued by those she loved, and who loved her.

‘Here you call me
mistress
, slave.' She tapped a finger lightly to the tip of Mina's nose in token chastisement.

‘Yes, mistress, but...' she began, looking around her cautiously.

‘Yes, slave?'

‘Where is
here
, and is Oceanus with you, mistress?'

‘Come and see,' Tethys offered, rising to her full impressive height over Mina's cowering form. She walked out into the corridor, her heels sounding dark notes against the metal floor like a heartbeat that captured Mina and lured her forward.

Following her mistress across the cold floor, she could not take her eyes off the bottom so beautifully presented by the skin-tight leggings, the fabric delving into the sweet valley between her cheeks, her high-heels tautening the muscles of her buttocks in their mouth-watering rubber skin.

Walking up a flight of steps they emerged onto the deck, and the sudden flood of sunlight made Mina bow her head and shield her eyes with a forearm. She hesitated a moment, afraid of the light's intensity after her long gloomy life in the depths of the ocean.

‘Come on, little slave, there's nothing to fear here,' Tethys assured her, her black-clad figure exquisitely silhouetted against the luminous air.

Mina walked after her, and the feel of the sun upon her skin was a delight she had not experienced for a long time.

‘Oh my, I'd forgotten what it felt like,' she murmured, caressing herself and tossing her head back to feel the full force of the sun on her face.

‘It's been a while, hasn't it, slave?' enquired a familiar male voice.

Mina's lips curved up in a smile of joy. Using her hand as a visor, she gained enough shade by which to scan the deck.

Oceanus was dressed in a similar riding style as his wife, except the trousers hugging his legs were white, flowing into polished black boots fitted with spurs. A studded belt encircled his waist and served to tuck in a black silk shirt. In his hand he held a riding crop that was a twin to Tethys's, but for its deep sapphire-blue colour. He wore mirrored sunglasses, and his hair spilled down his back as he smiled down at Mina's greeting. She had run over to him and dropped to her knees to hug him as she had Tethys, overjoyed to see him.

‘I take it she remembers us,' he commented to his wife.

‘How could I ever forget you, master?' Mina blurted, assuming the change of title extended to him as well.

‘Such a sweet slave,' he laughed.

‘What happened?' Mina begged to know. ‘How did you find me? Where am I?' She held on to him tightly, unwilling to ever let him go again.

Tethys stepped behind her and ran the tip of her crop down her back, rolling the leather against the wrinkles in her vest. ‘Once you were kidnapped, we used every resource to try and find you again,' she began, setting the weapon aside and kneeling down behind her. Mina leaned back a little, raising her arms so her mistress could pull off her vest. ‘We looked everywhere,' Tethys went on. ‘We called in favours to have others use their contacts to try and locate you.'

‘Nothing worked though,' Oceanus announced, sinking to his knees before Mina, who shuddered when Tethys tossed her vest away and ran her nails down the inside of her arms and then over her breasts.

‘Eventually, however, Poseidon came to be deeply in our debt,' Tethys took up the tale, ‘and offered us a way to erase it. When we accepted, he told us you had been taken by Atlas on someone's behalf. He had sent you to Hephaestus to be concealed until such time as we had given up on you.' She paused to kiss Mina's neck, who was panting in delight as Oceanus pinched both her nipples, squeezing them softly and rotating them in his grasp.

‘We've had dealings with Hephaestus before, so we could guess he would get a perverse joy from hiding you right under our very noses,' he explained. ‘Once we saw him launch his eel project into the oceans, we knew you would be amongst them, at some point.'

Mina's lips drifted around to meet those of Tethys, and the two of them exchanged a deep and lust-filled kiss, their tongues dancing around each other's, tasting and devouring with gusto.

Tethys pulled back. ‘We waited until the eel population had stabilised and then began checking the bodies of the Nymphs until we were certain which one was you. It took a while, because even though you have a very distinct and luscious form, little slave, it's hard to tell who's who in those suits, and even harder to keep track of the possible candidates.'

Oceanus lowered his head to suckle her teats, his hands massaging her sex and causing her panties to grow damp with desire for them. ‘A little assistance from Poseidon, in exchange for a favour, allowed us to manipulate the valves,' he murmured against her breast, ‘and draw you to where a submersible could snatch you back to us.'

‘Didn't Charybdis see?' she gasped, with physical and emotional pleasure.

‘We told him secretly, in advance, informing him we intended to take back our slave,' Tethys replied, letting a finger reach into the cleft of Mina's bottom cheeks, pushing her panties in and then hooking a digit around them to drag the bunched cloth and pull it up against her pussy. Oceanus did the same, turning the cotton underwear into a version of a crotch-rope the two of them played against her, the fabric chafing against her clitoris and parting her vulva as it dug against her anus.

‘What did Poseidon want?' Mina asked breathlessly, overwhelmed by sensations, the warm sun penetrating her skin as she surrendered to the hot joy of their combined touch.

‘His one stipulation for rescuing you and for arranging your escape,' Tethys answered her, ‘was a return to the surface so you could come to his ranch. We were invited as his guests, and so here we are. Take a look at your new home,' she urged, rising in tandem with her husband.

Wincing slightly but still possessed by a heady bliss, Mina let the improvised crotch-rope force her back up to her feet, and her eyes were sufficiently accustomed to the intense tropical light to let her see the deck, littered with comfortable lounge chairs, and a pair of maids, naked save for their chastity belts and a slick coating of sun-block, holding trays at the ready to serve the needs of the nobles on board.

The ship was moving slowly along the perimeter of what Mina recognised as the territorial waters of China. The strange collection of misshapen islands extended to the starboard side, filling the sea with sporadic clumps of overgrown rocks, the isolated mountains coated in luscious green vegetation. They seemed to be heading for a fair-sized peak surrounded by a maze of smaller islands, many of them barely clearing the ocean surface.

‘What's going on, mistress?' she asked, marvelling at the gorgeous view.

‘We're about to arrive on Poseidon's island, where we're going to train you as a pony, Mina.'

‘Does that sound intriguing, slave?' Oceanus asked her kindly.

‘Oh yes, master,' she replied, mulling over the concept of being harnessed and bridled as a beast of burden and transport. It would be massively different from her position as a hapless fish, for as a pony she would be expected to obey commands. As a fish she had nothing to do save meander and perpetuate her own existence. As a pony she would be looked after and subject to intense training. It was a far more attractive fate, and she was eager to embark upon it.

A third servant walked out onto the bow where they stood gazing out at the sparkling blue-green sea lapping against golden beaches or crashing against rocks to create areas of snow-white surf.

‘Lord Oceanus, Lady Tethys, the captain wishes me to inform you that the landing craft is ready for launch,' the girl said meekly. ‘Your baggage has been placed onboard and they await your arrival.'

‘Excellent,' Oceanus declared. ‘Shall we go, my love?'

‘Yes, indeed,' his wife replied. ‘We don't want to keep our host waiting. Our slow boat to China has been fun, but I'm eager to feel dry land beneath my feet again.' Smiling, she turned and led Mina down the starboard side of the ship to where a large dingy with an outboard was waiting for them.

The three of them climbed into the yielding craft, and the crew lowered it to the water. A stern haul brought the motor to chugging life, a puff of acrid grey smoke rising into the air as it began churning the sea with its small blades. Once freed of the cranes, the small craft cruised effortlessly away from the side of the ship, making straight for the island weaving deftly amongst the jagged rocks protecting it from any larger vessels.

Mina leaned against the soft sides of the boat, her two beloved owners sitting opposite her arm-in-arm, watching the island looming closer. She looked around her, bouncing slightly as the small vessel rode the waves. The sun was beginning its descent towards the horizon, and long shadows were stretching across the sea while the far side of the island was sheathed in twilight. A warm breeze caressed her hair as she gazed up at the towering dagger of stone forming the centre of the island. A few sporadic ledges provided veins for life on the massive, lifeless fang, which was flanked on one side by jungle and on the other by the golden crescent of a beach that continued all the way around the island. Small rock outcroppings on which Mina could spy figures rose from the ocean a few yards offshore dressed in barnacles and devoid of plants. At first she thought the figures of the women were merely standing still, but as they drew closer she discerned they were made of stone and were representations of classic mermaids. The statues stood to attention facing the sea like sentinels guarding the island.

The scent of the sea overwhelmed Mina's starved senses as she traced her fingertips along the edges of the boat, feeling the smooth fabric and taking the opportunity to be thankful for her freedom of movement, savouring it while she could, because she had no idea how much longer she would possess such a gift.

As they approached the beach, she noticed people moving about or reclining beneath colourful umbrellas, iceboxes and other luxuries surrounding them. Just before the tree line sat a small primitive hut with log walls and a straw roof, apparently a bar manned by two naked, dark-skinned women. Another small group of females in chastity belts wandered the beach and served the needs of the guests, while still more young women played in the sand or the surf, chasing each other and swimming in the crystal waters wearing only steel bands about their loins and around their throats.