"Wake up!" Yuliah's head wobbled back and forth before she finally opened her eyes. She scrambled towards the corner. "Stay back!" A young man with dark brown eyes and black hair stepped away from her. The rich robes he wore had intricate stitching. With her back against the cage, she slowly stood up, her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the room. Great, another cage! She shook the bars.
"Easy, love. We've already tried that. It's a waste of strength." Ward's tired voice came from the other side of the cage.
"YOU!" Yuliah lunged forward, her bounded fists pummeled onto his chest. "Didn't I tell you! You bastard, but you wouldn't listen to me!"
She flung back. It was the young man from before he pulled her towards him.
"Calm down before they hear us and come back in. They've already taken a few of my men."
"Who are you and what is this place?" Yuliah asked. There were about ten men in the cage with her eleven, including Ward. All of them wore matching black clothes.
"We're in a holding area underneath the tavern," the man replied. He spoke with a high patrician tone.
"They put an odorless poison in our drinks. The Nomen women did, and we all woke up down here. All of us except him." He pointed outside the cage.
Yuliah looked from inside the cage to see another man suspended upside down, they bound his hands with a black chain, not a rope like theirs and so were his legs. A bag covered his head where another chain tied the bag shut around his neck. More chains wrapped around his entire body. He hung there, motionless.
"Who is he?" Yuliah asked. A dry ache grew inside her chest as she watched the man slowly swing back and forth before looking away.
"One of my men," the young man answered.
The more she looked at the hanging man, her chest tightened. "Is he dead?" She asked.
"No, he'll be fine."
"What do you think they want with us?" Yuliah asked.
Ward finally spoke, "Us," he sat with his arms folded in the corner.
"What do you mean by us?" Yuliah glared at him.
"Not you, but us. The men here." Ward pointed to everyone except Yuliah.
"Wait? You're not a fucken man?" Another man stepped out, he looked similar to the young man from before but was even younger.
Yuliah clutched her shirt and backed away. "No. I'm a woman."
"How could you not tell Lohan? Look at her ridiculous beard."
"See!" Yuliah hissed at Ward. "What kind of man has a beard like this!" She pointed to her face and a few chuckles erupted throughout the cage.
The man in front of her clamped his mouth and turned sideways, but Yuliah caught a slight curl in his lips.
Her face turned hot, and she jumped towards Ward again.
"Whoa... Whoa... Whoa... Calm down, girl." Lohan grabbed her by the waist before she could reach Ward. "You in the corner - what do you mean by they want the men."
"I thought it was all a joke, between the traders. Drunken stories. I guess it's true."
"What stories?"
"There's a rumor that a band of Nomen females came together and kidnap men to breed with. I didn't think it was real."
"Fucken barbarians. The males kidnap our women and now the females kidnap our men. I can't wait -"
Zehan shot him an angry glare, and he stopped mid sentence. "It's true. Status is inherited or given to only the Nomen males who can produce sons, and the males only want females who can give them sons. With most of the females being barren, it makes sense they would turn to other races. The Gods sure know how to give a curse." The young man said.
"If they can't have children. What do they want with us? Sex?" Lohan shrugged.
"No. That's where the Gods Curse comes in. The females can produce children with men or Geneoshi, but you don't want to breed with a Nomen female. They have that same shit that the males do. That shit that binds you to them for life," Ward cut in. "That's how they keep their mates loyal."
The men looked concerned — even Ward. Yuliah couldn't help it; all these men were afraid of a bunch of women? She burst out laughing, and they glared at her. "Finally, you men know how us woman feel. Don't be so scared it's not physically possible to be raped by a woman."
"This one has no experience. She's only been with one man - briefly," Ward mocked.
The men turned away and Yuliah's face burned bright red. "You had to go there!" Yuliah released the mark. "Kneel," she commanded Ward.
Ward fell to his knees. "You crazy fucken girl. NOW?" his fists clenched white as he grunted and shouted and tried to stand up.
Zehan and his men slowly backed away from Yuliah and Ward.
Behind them, the door burst open. "Quiet down girls!" A whip lashed across the bars, and they all rushed towards the back of the cage.
Yuliah shut off the mark.
Ward laughed as he coughed and rose to his feet. "This one is not a man!" he pointed to Yuliah. He ran over to her and ripped the string from her hair, releasing the top knot on her head. Long black hair fell down her face.
"She's a half breed and wants to challenge you for the rights to all males!"
Yuliah's mouth fell open. Oh, she was going to fucken kill him now. Yuliah launched at Ward, but the whip came through the cell doors and wrapped around her neck, dragging her towards the front of the cage.
The Nomen female stood close to seven feet tall, her arms and legs clad with muscles twice the size of Yuliah's limbs. Every muscle in Yuliah's body turned rigid, as she twisted and struggled against the female who now had a handful of her hair.
"Let's see what's under all these rags." the female's large hand took a handful of Yuliah's shirt and tore away, until it ripped off her body, revealing the undergarment that bounded her breasts together. "So you're a halfbreed bitch."
"Why the fuck did you do that?" Lohan stepped forward; his chest bumped into Ward's. "They'll kill her now!"
Ward laughed, "No, they won't. These females are just as aggressive as the males. They like to fight and love the chase. Just watch."
Across the room, Yuliah felt the female's fingers loop around her lock of hair, and then her body scraped across the floor towards a barrel. She let out an ear-piercing scream as the hair on her scalp began to rip.
Suddenly the man who hung motionless began to struggle against his chains.
"Shut it, bitch," her foot rammed into Yuliah.
She took a giant breath of air before being lifted and then shoved head first inside the barrel. Water crashed around her ears and face as she closed her mouth and held her breath. Her feet kicked against the barrel, and she struggled until the female pulled her back out.
Ward's torn shirt brushed roughly over her face as the female wiped the soot off. "I knew it. You were too pretty to be a man."
A constant creaking sound came from the left of her. Yuliah looked up to see the beam that man hung from on the verge of breaking, and her eyes caught sight of a faint violet glow, but before she could take a better look, the female picked her up by the hair again.
"I want to be sure you're not a man," and tore the pants from Yuliah's waist tossing it aside.
"You bitch! Stop pulling my fucken hair!" Yuliah's leg swung up and struck her in the thigh. She hung by her hair cold and vulnerable only in her undergarments kicking at the female.
"Let her go! Please," Zehan called from the cage. "She's just a woman like you."
"No, this whore wants to challenge us for the males. Let her. Whores don't need clothes," she dropped Yuliah to the ground and banged on the door. Two more female Nomens came through the door. Grab that one," she pointed up at the hanging man. "Throw him in the box before he tears this place down," she ordered them. "Put that whore back in the cage."
"NO," Yuliah's legs went up as one female picked her up by the hair again. "Stop pulling my hair!" Her head bunted forward and struck one female across her chin.
"Ugh!" The female's fist came down right onto Yuliah's cheek, followed by a flash of white.
She threw Yuliah back into the cage.
Ward laughed from behind the group of men, who now turned to glare at him. "What? She took her first Nomen punch without blacking out. You're tough you wicked girl."
Zehan was the first one to Yuliah; he removed his robe and wrapped it around her. Then wiped the water and swept aside the hair mangled across her face. "Are you all right?" He asked.
"Just great..." Yuliah wiped pulled the robe tighter. "When I get a chance, I'll rip her hair out too." Yuliah rubbed the sore spot on her head.
They watched as the two females pulled the hanging man from the ceiling and put him in a metal box. Then sealed up the sides and left him in the corner.
Yuliah lurched towards the front of the cage. "Can he even breathe in there?" her heart sank.
"He's fine. My General is tough - like you." The man smiled.
"You're General? Are you human?" She asked.
"Yes, we are. We're from..."
Ward burst over. "Hey, girl! Get your shit together fast! Those females will be back any minute now, and you will have to fight them. Or we'll all become man slaves."
"I hate you." Yuliah's voice trailed off. "Why should I care if they take you? You know what." Yuliah stood up. "I hope you're the first one to go!" She shouted at him. "I would love to see you breed and bounded for life." she hissed at him.
"Are you two together by chance?" Lohan asked.
"NO!" they both shouted.
"You fight like a couple."
Zehan's hand rested across Lohan's shoulder. "Can you tell us more about how challenging them works?" He asked Ward.
"Nomens fight each other over mates all the time."
"Only females can challenge other females?" Zehan asked.
"Yes, it doesn't work the other way around," Ward replied.
Zehan gave Ward a scornful look. "You've just offended the only woman who could help us. Why don't you apologize to the Lady and ask her to fight for us?"
Ward's face scowled, "I've been."
"Please, put your pride aside. It's serious. As beautiful as the females are. We can all agree that none of us want to stay here with these Nomen women for life, right?" Zehan spoke again.
Ward had a pinched expression when his eyes fell on Yuliah, and he refused to move.
The door opened again and in walked the same female from before and another Nomen female. Both women were the same height except the new female had a more curvy body. Her features were more vibrant, with too much rouge.
"We have a new batch of males. Take a look. These aren't your typical farm boys and peasants, so they'll cost more." she pointed to the cage.
"What are they then?" The female sounded excited.
"Soldiers."
Yuliah rushed to the front of the cage. "This one's half Nomen and Geneoshi." Yuliah pointed to Ward. "You know how rare Geneoshi are these days. Your children could inherit the ethereal spirit." Yuliah smirked. "Look how handsome he is too with all that golden hair and big stroooong arms." Yuliah winked.
"What's a woman doing in there?"
"Don't worry about her. She's a half-breed."
"Oh. Well, keep her away from him," the female answered.
"What are you doing?" Ward yanked on her arm, but Zehan blocked him.
The femal turned to Ward. "Oh, I like this one; he's handsome."
"He's also the biggest male here." Yuliah added.
"I want him." the female smiled.
"That can be arranged." the guard said. "Now let me show you to the parlor while we get him ready."
As soon as they passed through the door, Yuliah turned to Ward and smiled. "Bye."