The Labors Of Jasper, Episode 15 free porn video

20Jas0015, The Labors of Jasper Episode 15; 6143 words Jas found a crater where the house had been. It looked like it had been hit repeatedly by orbital weapons. She got down off her chevaline and inspected the crater. It was still smoking. She looked up into foggy sky. Then she looked around. The outhouse was still standing, precariously perched on the outside rim of the crater. The boathouse and dock were covered with dirt and gravel, but otherwise undamaged. She walked to the end of the pier. It was rimed with ice. It was difficult to see in the fog, but it looked like the collection of rocks to the south was still there. She walked into the boathouse. The door was already open. She called quietly, "Master Hoose?" She heard a voice behind her, rough and low. "He's gone. Won't be missed." She turned. She saw a low squat man. He smelled vile. The hat he wore smelled of rotted blood and pus. He had an enormous penis, the same color as his cap. He touched one of her glyphs. It activated. "Haven't seen these in an age." He grinned. He was missing four front teeth. The others looked sharp. Baboon-like. He said, "On your knees, girl. Let's fuck." "Um, I'd rather not." "It was not a request. You'll fuck or I'll call my cousins. We'll cut out your female bits and pass them around." Jas tried reaching for her sword. She couldn't move her arms. She also couldn't run. She fell to her knees. A sinking feeling of terror took her. This was a red cap. Its hat was dipped in blood. It would be her blood on that cap, next. It had cousins? Her sword was in the chevaline, anyway. Why wasn't she wearing it? Oh, yeah. The influence of demons. The red cap glanced over to the chevaline. He spat in her hair. "If the beastie tries to protect you, I'll make you fuck it. These marks?" He touched the other glyph. It flared. "...mean I own you. Any fey who finds you, owns you. If I tell you to fuck, you'll fuck. If you want to keep your strength, and your bones unbroken, you won't fight. If you wish to keep your mind, you'll use it to keep me entertained. No spells, no tricks. Got it? Except when I say." Jas tried to call up her spell list. It wouldn't appear. He fucked her vaginally, then in the arse. Then he made her lick it. She vomited and he rolled her in it. They fucked three more times. Between rapes, he dragged her by the hair through cemetery and forest. He threw her inside a hollow tree. He had a nest in there. It smelled worse than he did. He fucked her again. Carpenter ants crawled on her as they fucked. Spiders crawled in her hair. In the morning, he called his cousins. The women were the worst. Pregnant and waddling. They expected her to fuck like a whore. And cook. And clean. And mind their brats. They made her drink some sort of tea. It made her breasts hurt, and then the milk let down. She breastfed all the children. Some of the women here were human, or looked like they had been, once. On Sunday, Jas woke. Her glasses were gone, as were her clothes. She was cold, barefoot, chattering, battered and sore and could barely move. She applied a healing spell. Another spell for warmth. Both spells made her horny. Wait. Spells. Gift-giving, gift giving. She'd seen - here it was. This would only work if she'd recently had sex with the target and still carried the scent of it. She looked around. She'd fucked every adult here. And the chevaline. The memory of that still hurt. It fucked like a horse, rapid, deep, and then done. Messy. It had ruptured her. They let her lay there, chevaline seed and blood pumping out of her by the pint. Then someone asked if she had the gift of healing. That question allowed Jas to survive. She fucked the chevaline three times. After the second time, it finally learned it was hurting her. It thrusted more gently after that, and not as deep. Except at the end, where it got excited. She named it Rivet. The human women here got the reference and smiled. Then the males pulled her aside and gang raped her again. Gods, she hated red caps. She thought about manifesting her demons, infecting every one of these with Hive seed. No. Not here. Not on her home planet. Gift-giving. She cast that spell on every person she saw, asleep, drunk, or sober. She used mana that had accumulated from the factories she wore on her skin and in her gut. Her body manufactured three types of mana now. Slowly. She found her coin nested in the cleavage of one of the brood mothers. She took it. She limped to the chevaline. "Hi, Rivet." Her original captor challenged her. She now knew his name was Good Tom. "Don't be simple," he said. "You cannot escape." He pat the machine. She cast the spell on him. "Grant me my freedom, Good Tom." "Why would I do that?" She cast the spell again. "I'll be back," she said. "I promise." "You'll be back," he said absently. "Certain. Go." He sneered. "You've given your word. The marks won't let you go backsies." Jas hopped onto Rivet and kicked him to action. She sprinted out of there at a full gallop. The sword was still in its scabbard and harness. It bounced in the cargo bay. She arrived at the boathouse. She couldn't touch the sword, its scabbard, or the harness. She used a stick to lift it from the cargo bay. She opened the door to the boathouse. Ruined. Gutted. Broken canoes, ripped life jackets. But just outside, she saw a small self-powered river barge at anchor. It was a catamaran with a house at one end. Less than a meter of draft. She waded out in the icy water. She climbed up a boarding ladder, got on the barge, and hauled in the anchor. "Rivet," she said to her chevaline. "Meet me in St. Louis." The motor was nearly silent. Water lapping at the hull made more noise than the motor. She glided south, following the shore. The collection of boulders that marked the other house was still there. Where was Master Hoose? She turned the wheel, motoring out into the fog and slowing to minimize wake and wave noise. Then she consulted the display and set course for the channel that drained this lake. *Where the hell were you?* Jas asked Yara when she felt the Princess stir. *Letting you ride. That's the contract. You deal with curses and the troubles they bring. I dance on the graves of my enemies.* *I could have died!* *You live still. Why are we in a boat?* *I don't think red caps like water.* They had a strong aversion to baths and soap. And modern dentistry. *They'll just follow you on the shore.* *I need mana.* *Make some.* *I am. But it's painfully slow.* *Upgrade. I would teach you but it's been three hundred years since I had to teach. I've forgotten the basics. I would contact the University and ask for a primer but I've been banished.* *You use some simple spells.* *Not many. I don't keep them in a library like you do.* Yara smiled. Then she grimaced. *Wake me when this body heals.* There was a Tonbridge maker on the barge. Jas made clothes, boots, and sundries. A towel. Some soap. Conditioner because she'd learned the value of hair care. A winter jacket and a hammock. She ate hausfruit and drank coffee from a coffee tit. She stayed inside the house and center of channel. Just before the barge came out from the fog and into bright sunshine, she used her remaining mana to glamour her appearance, and that of the barge. It didn't look like a shipwood barge now. It looked like a fiberglass replica of an old river barge. And now Jas looked like Melissa. It was the strongest memory she had of a woman. She looked in the mirror. Some details were wrong. Likely the result of contamination. Recent memories of lesbian sex for the entertainment of the tribe. Eighty percent right. It would do. The coin was fully depleted now. Either she'd tapped it for the glamour spells, or else the red caps had drained it. Or it depleted on its own, like a battery in the desert sun. She followed the lake to a river, the river to another river, and then motored upstream, no longer concerned about wakes or noise. She hadn't seen anyone on shore following her, in any of four spectrums. On Monday morning she tied up at the cider mill dock just outside of Fairview. When she stepped ashore, she heard a familiar voice. "Did you miss me?" It was Good Tom. "The others follow your beast. I follow your marks. I can find you on any world." He grabbed her by the hair. "You know how I like it." He smashed her against the security shack in full view of the security cameras. He fucked her brutally. It was over quickly. "There." He pat her backside. "I put my seed in you. You'll have a belly soon." Oh, hell no. She checked her coin. No mana. Had she taken her birth control yesterday? No. Nor this morning. No specs, no secretary to remind her. And she'd been rather busy. She grabbed his penis and pumped it. "Again?" she asked. "What?" "I didn't cum." He chuckled. He looked around. "Bold and wanton. Shall I call my cousins?" "I can be yours exclusively. Day and night." She dropped to her knees. "No," he said. "We have to share." Jas felt a stab of alarm, mixed with titillation. Damned demons. Without them, she wouldn't be helpless. Without this ... person, she could just masturbate. She put her mouth on his penis and smiled sweetly. "I don't want to share. Not today." "Maybe I should sample the goods," he said, grinning. Jas reminded herself that it was important to dose herself with valentine. Which meant that she needed to ignore the smells and the taste. She'd climaxed before with him. She could do it again. Fuck. "Let's get this hard again, okay?" That took some doing. Apparently Good Tom couldn't get into the mood unless he was in charge. Jas sighed. She exposed her breasts. "Don't rape me," she said, batting her eyes. "I'm ever so scared." He growled and hiked up her dress. He fingered her roughly with one clawed finger. "Yeeow! That hurts!" That did it. He was hard now. She rolled her eyes, turned around and presented. She had to work for that orgasm, frigging herself madly as they fucked. When she came, it wasn't satisfactory at all. But it was enough for a dose of valentine. She dosed herself then sucked him off and swallowed his jizz. "You should do this for a living," he said. "Yeah, yeah. You're not the first to say that." Good Tom grunted. "If you weren't slave marked, I would mark you myself. Attitude problem, slut." Jas sighed. She pulled up her panties. Fluid ran down her leg. She ignored it. He pointed a clawed finger at her. "I should pimp you out." "Red cap." She touched his nose. "Blood of your enemies." "It's not all about murder and rape." Jas nodded. "I have a medical appointment," she said. "Doctors? Whatever for?" "I have diseases, love. I told the lot of you last night, but no one listened. I hope I haven't killed that poor chevaline." He blanched. "Get yourself checked. Humans, ya know? We carry some nasty shit nowadays." "I'll rip you in half." He grabbed her by the hair. "Come with me to the clinic. Get your pee-pee checked. I'll pay for it. I'll give you a handsy after if you're good." He released her. "I need clothes." Jas went into the boat. She came out with a towel and a large tunic. "Wear these. No one will think twice." They walked to the clinic. "I'm here to see Nurse Cutie. He needs an STD check." "He needs a bath." Darleen the PA wrinkled her nose. "Don't insult the man. See the cap? Dipped in the blood of his enemies." "I'll take a bath," he said. "Ah. Thank you," Jas said. "That will make sex more enjoyable. Can you wash the cap, too?" "Don't iron it." He passed the hat to the physician's assistant. She dropped it in a biowaste bag. "No, I'll wash it." Jas picked the cap out with her bare fingers. "Prized possession. Is Nurse Cutie here?" "Doctor Longstockings?" "Nurse Cutie on her name tag?" "Yes." "That's the one. Be gentle with this man. He's violent." She turned to Good Tom. "Okay, if you rape the help, they'll call the police. And nobody will check anything down here." She tapped the towel over his penis. "You're in my world now. Behave." Jas washed rotted blood from the cap in the sink of Exam Room Three. It was a Phrygian cap, originally off-white in color. It was old, worn, stained, and riddled with holes. A man walked in. It wasn't Good Tom. "Do we need to call the police?" he asked. "Only if he's violent. Do you have something that doesn't smell like truck-stop soap?" He opened a cabinet under the sink and handed her a three-liter container. "Why does Dr. Quintana need to see you?" "A procedure." "She doesn't know you." "I changed my appearance. Your name?" "Clyde. I'm an intern." "Clyde, check Good Tom. Really actually check, if you can. He's had a lot of unprotected sex. I told him I was here because I had something that might kill him. Don't make a liar of me but don't tell him lies, either. I think he can smell them." "What is he?" "A thing of nightmares and legend. He's a red cap." She dumped more soap on the cap and washed it. "I am hoping that Nurse Cutie can see me soonest. Good Tom is not a man of patience." Nurse Cutie walked in. "Are you my Monday?" "Yes." "You've been injured." "I've been gang raped. Can we get this done, please?" "You need an STI workup. And a rape kit." It occurred to Jas that all the combat rape on PASsport made an actual gang rape less traumatic. She tabled that thought. For the moment. Good Tom walked in, smiling. He had a nurse on each arm. He sat on the exam bench. "These are good people. I have warts." He smiled broadly. "Do you want to get rid of them?" Jas asked. "They won't kill me." His smile wobbled. Jas nodded. "What did they give you?" "Ketamine," he said. "Pretty lights." He stared at the crystal lighting and grinned. Nurse Cutie looked at him and then at Jas. "Did you have sex with him?" "Him, and others. A horse, too." Good Tom roused. "She took it like a soldier." He cradled his head. "I'm falling in a hole." People crowded around Jas. They took blood. They took swabs. They took pictures. "Okay," Jas said. "Don't publish those." She pointed at the camera. "Demonic runes. You can summon an actual demon. Three of them, actually." "Demons," Good Tom said. "Pussies." Darleen asked, "Do you want me to erase these photos?" "That would be wise." "You're lactating," Nurse Cutie observed. Jas shrugged. "Do you want to stop?" Jas shrugged again. "They'll just give me more tea." "We'll boost your milk production," the doctor said. "You need to offload calcium, anyway." She pulled down two milkers that would fit in a bra cup. She showed Jas how to use them, and how to refill the batteries. She placed vax patches on each breast. Jas put the milkers and bags in her vest pockets. She found Good Tom's cap and put it on his head. "I washed your hat." "I took a shower," he said. "We should wed." "I'm not the marrying type," Jas told him. He nodded. "Business girl. 'S'what the marks mean." Nurse Cutie asked, "He's your pimp?" She applied vax patches on different parts of Jas's body. "He wants to be." Good Tom held a finger in the air. He nodded. "Good news, no active infection, although you should come in next month and get checked. Every ten days if you're working a sex-worker's ID." "What's that?" "Something you should consider. Have you had your PPV shots? AIDs? Hepatitis?" "Yes. Um. No. Not in this body. I don't know." Jas tried to wake the Princess. "You're getting shots now." The doctor applied more vax patches. *What?* The princess stirred. *He's here? I'm out.* *Wait. Have you had your shots? AIDs, hepatitis, warts? Measles? Parvo? Hansen's disease?* *No. Don't need them. Immune.* Nurse Cutie said, "Come back in two weeks for your next series of soma patches." "Okay," Jas said. "I talked to the resident of this body. She's had her shots." Nurse Cutie stepped back. "Resident." *Tell her we're out. Going off-world.* "I'm the caretaker who deals with monsters. The woman you talked to a few days ago is the resident. She was born with this body." Nurse Cutie pursed her lips. "Your job sucks." "Testify." Jas held up a hand. Good Tom nodded. He smiled. "That's some extreme dissociation. Clyde! Get in here. He's our resident psych." "Intern," Clyde said. Nurse Cutie said, "I do brain mods. He shrinks them." "Hey." "Explain to him what you explained to me. These people have a different way to cope with trauma." "It's not really a...." Jas stopped. "I'm told this is unique. My situation. Our situation." She pointed to herself. "Explain it to him." "I'm a rider. The resident is also awake. When she's not zoning out." Jas poked the princess internally. "I deal with monsters and demons. She dances on the graves of her enemies." Good Tom held a finger aloft. "Good woman. Both of them." Jas said, "I'm headed off-world." Good Tom looked up. "Off world?" "You said you can find me." He nodded and went back to sleep. Jas asked, "Can I have the rest of the vax patches? Instructions on how to use them?" Nurse Cutie said, "Normally, I would refuse. Nanotech is still twitchy. But I suppose you have experience with it?" "Some. My resident has more experience. Three hundred years, I believe." "I should personally supervise your transition. We monitor your health, look for adverse reactions. Adjust the dose as needed." "Should?" "You'll need to sign paperwork. I'll need the resident to sign, too. Side effects are uncommon but include teratomas, blood cancers, sudden death...." Yara surfaced. She said, "I assume the risks. If I don't die this afternoon, your medicine won't kill me. It also might not work. Highest dose for this body weight, please." "You sound certain." "I am. I'm using human tech because our ways leave traces. There is war. They're checking IDs carefully now." The doctor blinked. "I'll load the prescription to your specs." She added two more vax patches to the small of Yara's back. Then, after consideration, she placed vax patches on each of Yara's thighs. She dumped vax patches into an empty box that had once held Dairy Morpholino. "Where are your specs?" Yara shrugged. "Lost them." "Found them." Good Tom produced a pair of specs. *I'm not touching him.* Yara ceded control to Jas. Jas took the specs. "Thank you, I guess. Do I want to know where you were keeping these?" Good Tom smiled sleepily. They stopped at the storage place again. Yara picked up another purse, a suitcase, some clothes, more money and a passport. Good Tom crawled into the storage cube and slept. "You can't sleep here," Jas said. Good Tom grumbled. "Go," he said. "I'll find you." Yara grabbed everything of value. "Lock the door when you leave," she said to Good Tom. Good Tom nodded. Yara found Tarhee, rented another locker, and put most of her things there. Then Jas walked to the boat. She asked Yara, *Should we bring Sheena?* *If this goes bad, two of us will be slaved.* *I should call her.* *You should buy coffee.* They stopped at Sheena's coffee cart. "Lavender Raf, please." Jas dropped a centurion on the counter. Sheena nodded. She handed the coffee to Jas. She took the centurion and made change. "We're headed out," Jas said. She dropped the change in Sheena's tip jar. Sheena nodded. She looked puzzled. "We." She looked around. "I'm off to rescue Missy. Or whatever." Sheena looked surprised. "Jas?" she asked quietly. "Yuh." "You change your appearance like I change socks." "Magic." Sheena nodded. "Do you need the bow?" "Yes, actually. If you can part with it." "I'm not coming this time." "I understand." "Bureau 13...." "Is doing the best they can." "They made me promise not to go. Are you going to be okay?" "Fuck if I know. I have a resident tour guide this time. It might help." They hugged. Yara took over at the dock. She topped off the tank and bought four barrels of MH4, along with utility net to hold it down. She bought a hand pump and hose to pump fuel to the tank. They motored into Wolf Run and then downstream. Every time she saw a fuel dock, Yara bought a barrel of MH4. That night, she got a fever. The pain started. Viral transitions hurt. Her pee turned neon orange and then brown. Yara surprised Jas by minding her own body for this. Jas woke on Christmas Day. She was being spoon-fed soup. "Get yer strength up. The boys are coming." It was one of the red cap women. Jas swallowed the soup. Her throat burned. She coughed. Good Tom said, "Fucky sucky girl, this is Badoesa. Obey her as you would me." "I am his second wife," Badoesa said. "What are these patches?" She pulled at the vax patch on Jas's left tit. "Magic. Makes the milk come in." "Makes it dry up." She smacked Jas. "Don't lie to me." "No. Check the preserver. It's full of milk. You're the one with twins, right?" She nodded. "They bite." "They hunger." Jas expressed milk from her right boob. "Does this look dry?" "Fever milk is no good. More tea. What are the other patches?" "This is for warts." "You like warts?" "A cure for warts." "Bah." "These make my bones smaller. These others, um. I forget. Some of them promote healing. Some make me small and weak." "Why you wen small?" "Don't know, second senior wife. I am one of many riders in this body. Maybe punishment for trying to escape?" Badoesa nodded. She touched one of the glyphs. "Demon marks. Bad." The glyph flared. Badoesa said, "You try steal my husband. I kill you. You try kill my husband, I kill you worser." She touched the glyph again. "Second wife, do you know what those do?" "They make you wet." "They wake the demons." Badoesa touched the glyphs again. "Not steal husband." "I'm not stealing husbands!" "He take bath for you. Wash his hat." "He took a bath for the doctor." "Woman doctor?" Jas smelled trouble. "A tribe of doctors." "A whole tribe of doctors? Man doctor, woman doctor, baby doctor?" "Yes." "You lie. No baby doctors." She smacked Jas. "They call them pediatricians. OB/GYN." Badoesa grunted. "Drink tea. Eat soup. Clean this place. Then fuck like a proper fucky sucky girl. Before fever the milk?" She pulled milk from the preserver. Jas nodded. "I think so." She opened a bag and sniffed. Badoesa nodded. "I feed babies. You get one-time pass. Feed the river with that milk." She motioned to Jas's boobs. "Go. Not steal husband." A game warden pulled alongside the barge. He'd seen Good Tom fishing. Good Tom stood. "Officer, welcome. We have tea. Pardon, my daughter can't dress herself." It was Badoesa's day to play the daughter. She blushed demurely and covered up boobs with her hands. She'd been wearing Jas's panties and nothing else. Jas was glamoured to look like she was wearing a short skirt and half tee, hiked up so she could breastfeed one of the twins. The glamour hid the dermal patches she wore. The man's nametag identified him as Hodge. He looked away from the 'girls.' "Fishing license?" Good Tom reached under his hat. He pulled out an oak leaf. He handed it to the warden. "Oh." The warden handed the leaf back to Good Tom. "Glad to see you bought a license." Good Tom put the leaf under his hat. "Be a shame for a man as yourself to leave without tea." "I can't...." The warden stopped. He looked puzzled. "I insist. Girls, show the tin man your titties." Both women complied. Good Tom said, "You can have one or both, officer. How much will you pay?" "I..." Officer Hodge couldn't take his eyes off of Jas's breasts. "Slut, relieve the man of his trousers." The officer looked troubled. "I'm sorry," Good Tom said. "Slut, treasure of my heart, remove his pants and make him wish his wife could be like you." He spoke into Hodge's ear. "Because I will find your wife and teach her. Relax. Have joy." Officer Hodge relaxed. He mumbled something as Jas removed his trousers and boxer briefs. Good Tom clapped with delight. "He's erect! Who wants the first load of cum in her pussy?" Badoesa raised her hand immediately. She danced. "Me, me!" Jas raised her hand a fraction of a second later. Good Tom backhanded both of them. "That's for being slow to raise your hand," he told Jas. "And that's for not being chosen," he told Badoesa. He motioned with his nose at the game warden. "On your knees, sluts." Officer Hodge had gone soft. He was visibly nervous and looking around. Good Tom grunted. He placed a clawed finger on the man's forehead. "Wait, wait," Jas told Good Tom. "Don't root around in his brain. I've got this." "Thirty seconds." Jas nodded. She cast a series of spells. Hodge was hard a few moments later, and focused on what Jas was doing with her mouth and hands. A moment after that, she stopped. "He's ready to cum," she announced. "Ladies, take turns with him, one stroke each. Whoever gets his seed can suck me off. The other gets his second cumming." Badoesa sighed. He backhanded her. "Moaning like whores. No other sounds." Badoesa rolled her eyes. But she nodded and positioned in front of Officer Hodge. Officer Hodge erupted as soon as he entered Jas. "You cheater," Badoesa said. "I get the hard work." She went to work on Officer Hodge, getting him hard again. Soon they were fucking like teens. Jas earned her mouthful of spunk. She looked up at Good Tom. "Are you going to kill him?" "He's fucking my wife." "Please don't. He has a wife and children. He's been mumbling their names the whole time." "You have a soft heart. Rob him. Take whatever you think you're worth. Hand it to me." Jas knew from experience there was no correct amount of money to take. Too little and he would accuse her of undervaluing his time. Too much and he'd call her a prize pig in an ugly contest. Either way, he smacked both of them. If Jas truly angered Good Tom, he would murder their john and make her wear his blood. She took half of what was in the warden's wallet. Eighty dollars. She'd just fucked a man for the price of a cup of coffee. She masturbated so she could dose herself with valentine the next morning. They stopped at St. Louis and loaded the chevaline on board. Twelve male red caps herded it to the boat ramp. They also chased a terrified woman on board. The woman had no clothes. Her feet were bloody. She had two black eyes and was missing one of her front teeth. The woman was named Danny. She'd run from an abusive relationship. The red caps had discovered her hitchhiking. On New Year's Eve, they watched fireworks. After that, Jas entertained the crowd by fucking and sucking the chevaline. When she was done, covered with semen and unable to walk unassisted, the red caps set up a contest. They wagered oak leaves, acorns, and Jas's panties. Which of the three women could collect the most seed? Danny died, despite Rivet being as gentle as he could be. They dropped Danny in the river. She was still twitching. Semen pooled in the water around her. Milk dribbled from her nipples. "I can save her!" Jas screamed. "Turn the boat! Let me save her!" Good Tom laughed. "You'll follow her soon enough." He bent Jas over and fucked her arse. Jas endured this latest abuse while watching Danny float away. She never did learn the woman's last name. They let Jas apply derms to herself as needed. It amused them that she was making herself smaller. Her boobs continued to grow with each feeding. The twins still bit Jas, but they fed now without getting frustrated. Sometimes they played while they ate. "We go," Good Tom said. They grounded the boat near a boat ramp across from Vicksburg. He patted her belly. "We make many babies." Jas expected the demons to sap all her strength again, to prevent her from even viewing her spells. It surprised her that she could pull away from the red cap. She could resist. For the first time in weeks? Jas consulted her Viz1. She ordered up a Phrygian cap in the maker. She bowed to Good Tom. "I promised to return. And I will. After I travel to another world." He backhanded her casually. Jas invoked a tree spell. She felt the blow, but it didn't hurt. He rubbed his hand. "No spells." He hit her again, with the same results. "I said, no spells!" She unfolded her demons. "Badoesa!" she called. "This demon will steal your husband. Those demons will steal you and your other wives." Badoesa screamed. She attacked Jas. Jas stood there, unaffected. The red caps eyed her. They gathered around. Jas heard the ping from the on-board maker. "The blood of my enemies." She pulled the hat from her maker and wore it. "Who here is my enemy?" "You can't give yourself a free hat," Bad Tom said. "I just did." "No one with slave marks can wear the hat," Good Tom said. "Take it from me." Now or never. The demons either were toying with her, or they were giving her a real chance for freedom. "Do you see slave marks on me today?" Good Tom tried to pull the hat from her head. It wouldn't move. He reacted as she thought he might. He roared. "I will break you." Jas smiled. "Not today." She used her Audio2 to take control of the boat. She backed it into the river and tipped the barge. The red caps fell in the water. Two of them climbed back on immediately. Demons tossed them back into the river. Her chevaline rounded up red caps and ferried them to shore. "The babies!" Jas checked the inside of the cabin. She found the babies, asleep in the hammock. She placed them in their basket and carried them outside. Jas called the chevaline on her Audio2 circuit. Rivet swam out into the river. Jas motored over to the chevaline. She placed the basket in the driver's seat. She secured it with a seat belt. "Take these to their mama. Careful," she told Rivet. "Precious cargo." Jas watched the chevaline return to shore. When it neared shore, Good Tom waded out to meet it. He reached into the basket, grabbed each child by the ankle, and carried them back to shore, not caring if their heads touched water. Jas heard the babies cry. Her milk let down. Good Tom smashed both babies against a tree when he reached shore. Jas felt a stab of pain in her breasts. She fell to her knees. Good Tom glanced back at Jas. He dropped the babies in the river. Then he fended off Badoesa and started beating her methodically and with all of his strength. "Run," Jas told Rivet on her Audio2 circuit. "Let them chase you. All over the continent. Don't get caught." The chevaline started running. Some of the red caps gave chase. Icky stood by Jas as they motored away. She said, "They're worse than we are." Jas sobbed. She turned to Icky and cried on her shoulder. Icky disentangled herself from Jas. "Get used to it, love." She stepped away. "Life is sorrow. Then you die and the afterlife is worse." Jas wiped tears with her wrists. She asked, "What changed? Why did you let me resist?" Icky smiled. "Setting you up for a bigger fall." Jas centered. She took a cleansing breath. "Kidding. You're taking us where we want to go." "Where is that?" "The moon. As much fun as it is to watch them corrupt you, I have a contract. Return you to your master. Release the Hive." Jas fell to her knees again. "My master. The one the princess ran from?" "The same." "What's the fucking use?" Jas glanced at the river. "Oh no. You're not taking the easy road to Hell. Suicide is not an option, babe." Jas rocked back on her knees. "Two stones for one bird. We collect the bounty for returning you. You find Melissa." "Not sure I like this deal." "Buck up, girlfriend. You have a sword. And a coin. That's more than Melissa has. What happened to your bow?" "Stolen. Back at the camp someplace." "Make another." "I can't...." Maybe she could. She'd studied it. Maybe she could reproduce it. Icky looked around. "We should do something with the decor. Tentacles." At that moment, Jas became aware that she was living inside, and riding on a biomechanical construct. If it didn't have tentacles and a penis, it could probably grow them. She folded her demons back in. She checked inside and out to make sure there were no red caps on board. Or clinging to the barge. She checked in four spectrums, fully aware that she could only detect some invisible creatures this way. The first bridge south of Vicksburg was teeming with red caps. Traffic was stopped. Jas held the barge upstream for a moment, and then gunned the engines and sped under the bridge. Red Caps dropped in the water around her. One fell on the barge. She stabbed it with her sword and pushed the dead red cap in the river. She chopped fingers from others who clung to the barge. She wiped her sword with her hat. On the next bridge the red caps threw humans into the water. Some of these were glamoured red caps. Jas rescued two women. A third one stank like a red cap. She poked it in the throat with her sword. It's glamour disappeared as it sank into the river. She spent most of the night with the Coast Guard, handing over the women she'd rescued, and giving a witness statement. Then she spoke with Louisiana police, and also a detective from Mississippi. She glamoured an oak leaf when they asked for ID or paperwork. She tied her barge to a four-square of barges hauling wood chips. She glamoured her barge to blend in with the others. Then she climbed from barge to barge, skipping across gaps and stepping over wire rope. She ate dinner with the crew of the pusher tug. It was the first home-cooked meal she'd had since leaving camp. The pusher boat was headed to New Orleans. She took a shower in the crew shower and used somebody's shampoo to change her scent. She borrowed clothes. One of the mates suggested she take the Three Rivers waterway. Fewer bridges to pass under. She thanked him, returned to her barge, reglamoured it, and watched channel markers go by. It was a moonless night but the pusher tug used a spotlight to illuminate channel markers. Two long blasts. She heard the pusher tug give its signal. Jas untied and pushed away from the other barges. Then she manifested her demons. Icky looked mildly annoyed. "He's tracking my slave marks," Jas said. "Does that mean he's tracking you or the folding magic plus you?" "I suppose we'll find out," Icky said. Two bridges on the first part of that waterway. No red caps. By noon, Jas was in open ocean.