Garden of Serenity Read online

  Now her stomach grumbled in protest. All she needed was a quick bite from the kitchen and she too would sleep through the night without the aid of drugs.

  This was her third visit to Dr. Bresilee’s home in as many months. Though the accommodations were opulent and the food a gourmet selection she wasn’t offered at the breeders’ grocery—she hated it here.

  At nineteen, Camille had never traveled far from her family’s home. She may lack the life experience many of her breeding sisters possessed, but even she understood the things that happened in this mansion weren’t part of the government’s procreation decree.

  Besides, when she was here, she wasn’t with Nathaniel and that was the part she detested the most. The man was sweet. A gentle and considerate breeder. He did things to her body no woman could ever do. Not that she’d had much experience in the sex department before arriving at the Garden three months ago.

  She’d been pleased when Dr. Bresilee had confirmed that she wasn’t pregnant. It meant another month living and mating with Nathaniel. The fact that the director had touched her so intimately in front of the honorable Dr. Khateri had been rather humiliating, but many of the things Dr. Bresilee did embarrassed the young women she took under her wing to train.

  Camille made her way cautiously down the long hallway of bedrooms, her bare feet sinking deep into the lush carpet. She listened for noise from the other four bedrooms on this floor, each sleeping two young women. Nothing, save for a soft snore, emanated from the rooms. She imagined they were all snoozing blissfully content in a dreamless fog of drug-induced sleep.

  She should be focused on not getting caught wandering the mansion after lights-out, but her mind drifted back to Nathaniel and his invitation to the lake. He’d contacted her yesterday by vid-com, begging her to sneak out of the mansion today and meet him at the lake. Many of her breeding sisters had spoken of the romantic spot outside the Garden proper, with its waterfall and lush jungle vista, but she’d never had the opportunity to visit. Unfortunately, every female breeder understood the invitation to stay here at the mansion wasn’t really a request and Camille hadn’t even bothered to ask Dr. Bresilee to let her leave.

  Despite the Garden’s temperature controls, the shadowed hallway felt cold. Camille should have chanced breaking the rules and thrown a tunic over her naked body. She shot a look back down the hall, contemplating returning to the room, but the insistent rumble from her stomach forced her forward. She’d never been one to skip meals.

  Peering over the staircase, Camille checked to make sure no chaperones roamed the halls. She tiptoed down the stairs, taking in the breathtaking expanse of Dr. Bresilee’s foyer, the vaulted ceiling and crystal chandelier dominating the entryway. The wooden antique clock that had just chimed out the midnight hour in lovely resonating tones sat majestically in the corner.

  As Medical Director and leader of the Governmental Body of the Garden of Serenity, Dr. Bresilee had the only mansion on the premises. Some of the lower members of the Garden’s government had private dwellings, though none were as ostentatious as this. Camille’s entire breeding complex, with its four apartments and communal swimming pool, could fit in this house.

  She looked to her left, noting the two separate wings. The pool, entertainment room, and library ran straight to the back of the house. Dr. Bresilee’s private wing angled off in another direction. The girls were permitted there only by invitation.

  Shuddering, Camille thought of her last visit to the mansion. Dr. Bresilee had invited her to sleep in her private wing. She’d been told it was the highest honor bestowed on a guest at Bresilee’s home and she’d accepted willingly. But the experience had been anything but pleasant. She’d experienced only humiliation in the activities Gabriella, as she was called in her private quarters, expected of Camille and another young woman.

  Camille had bitten back a gasp of shock when Gabriella had stripped before them. The skin of her torso was rippled and twisted, the coloring on her arms and legs resembling a road map of blue veins and bruised lines.

  “This is what fire does to the skin,” Gabriella had said, shamelessly modeling for them. “I had an accident when I was just about your age. The healers did their best, but no one could repair my body.” She slid her hands down her belly and back up again, teasing the small mounds of her breasts. “But the fire did not damage my heart. I desire love and companionship just like everyone else.”

  She walked toward them and laid a hand on their astounded faces. “Tonight you will learn how to love completely and without reservation any woman, even one who is not beautiful on the outside. For you see, girls,” her gaze roamed the length of their naked bodies, “beauty comes from within.”

  Camille had arrived at the Garden, like so many women, a virgin in every sense of the word. She’d never been with anyone before. Nathaniel had been her first and only lover. He made her body taut like the string of an instrument, slowly, painstakingly playing it and bringing forth sweet music that vibrated through her body in a release of incredibly sensual ecstasy. Male and female bodies were so obviously made to complement and pleasure one another and she loved every moment she spent with Nathaniel. She wasn’t sure why so many women believed otherwise. Perhaps her inexperience made her young and foolish—but body mechanics would suggest otherwise.

  In any case, what Gabriella had asked of Camille and the other girl had seemed unnatural. Gabriella had taken them into her bed and under the guise of instruction, had shown them both how to kiss and touch every part of her. Camille had been too frightened by the power Gabriella held at the Garden to refuse the woman, but the whole thing had sickened her.

  Later, Gabriella had stimulated herself while explaining to the girls how to touch one another. Camille had pretended to enjoy the experience, but it had been a torturous night enduring the intimate touches and Gabriella’s lurid gaze. Though she knew many women enjoyed it, even preferred it, Camille had been completely turned off by a woman’s hands on her.

  It had been a long night.

  And here she was again, trying to fly under Gabriella’s radar, hoping to finish her week here without receiving another personal invitation. Two nights ago, she’d joined two other breeding sisters in Gabriella’s private bedroom. Camille had writhed and moved and managed to avoid intimate contact with the women without arousing suspicion. She needed only to get through another night or two before Gabriella allowed her to return to her breeding residence. Since pregnancy was the goal of the Garden, even the Medical Director couldn’t keep a woman from her male breeder for indefinite amounts of time.

  And she missed the warmth of Nathaniel’s strong arms around her.

  The blue light of the ever-present full moon slanted through the windows, casting long shadows across the wood floor. Camille turned right at the foot of the stairs and crept past the sitting room where the girls played board games and dreamed about their futures. The shelves lining the walls were filled with artifacts of the ancients. Books, statues and aged artwork decorated the space, but were only for the eyes. The ancient artifacts were secured behind pieces of glass, keeping hands and dust from ruining Dr. Bresilee’s extensive collection.

  The library in the other wing held thousands, if not tens-of-thousands of titles that could be accessed through the multiple video screens. And a studio in the back of the house was available for artistic pursuits.

  Camille peered into the dining room, the sour smell of sickness still hanging in the air. The dining table had been extended and was already set with twenty-four place settings, twice as many as had been at dinner. Camille hoped, with the additional people for the morning meal, that she’d be asked to serve. She much preferred the role of servant to guest.

  An unexpected sound behind her, nearly jumped her out of her skin. She swallowed her startled gasp as she ducked into a small alcove of the dining room. The distinct sound of a lift moved behind the paneling across the hall. The noise grew louder as it dropped past the first floor, fading as it glided
to a lower level.

  She hadn’t known there was an elevator—let alone a basement—in the mansion.

  The unmistakable tone of Dr. Bresilee’s clipped voice wafted down the hall, rising in volume with each click of her shoes.

  “What Mikalyn told me today is disturbing. She was at the lake again. I should’ve had the water stopped on that wretched river months ago. There’s just the little problem of irrigation for the crops.” Her voice sounded as if it came out through clenched teeth. “I knew Brenimyn was trouble, but I hadn’t expected Jahara to join his cause. I’ll have Mikalyn keep an eye on her at the clinic. Maybe having her working with the men at the well-check all these weeks wasn’t the best idea. I knew something was amiss when she arrived here.”

  Stopping at the wall, Dr. Bresilee’s hands fisted into the pockets of the lab coat covering her yellow jumpsuit. Her foot beat out a quick tempo on the wooden floor.

  Kylie, Dr. Bresilee’s blond shadow, stood next to the healer. She didn’t utter a word. Her head simply bobbed in affirmation, like the disjointed toy dog Camille had seen among Gabriella’s artifacts.

  “What’s taking so long?” Dr. Bresilee slammed her hand on the paneling. “All four of those girls better be down there, prepped and ready before I arrive.” Her fist pounded the wall once again in frustration. “It really isn’t that much to ask. It’s not like you people don’t know the routine.”

  The wall disappeared, exposing the inside of the lift. Two burly women, naked from the waist up, stood in the artificial light of the elevator. Two stretchers held the motionless bodies of young girls.

  “Oh for goodness’ sake, we can’t possibly all fit in there.” Bresilee threw her hands into the air. “Forget it, we’ll take the stairs. These girls should have been prepped thirty minutes ago.” Bresilee looked down at her wrist, annoyance coloring her voice. “The night’s getting away from us.”

  She turned on her heel toward the foyer. “Come, Kylie. Hopefully Mikalyn will have them ready before I arrive.” Her voice paused, but not the incessant clicking of her shoes. “This’ll give me time to think.” The elevator door closed with a sigh, leaving no evidence of its existence.

  Camille peeked around the corner, staring at the women disappearing around the staircase.

  She wondered what Dr. Bresilee had in store for the comatose girls. No doubt it would feed her unnatural sexual hunger.

  Unable to fight her own curiosity, Camille’s bare feet carried her silently across the floor. She surreptitiously followed the two women to some unknown destination. Her head understood the consequences of being caught, but Camille couldn’t seem to convince her body to stop and turn around. Her pulse ratcheted up several notches as both fear and a sense of adventure warred within her heart.

  “Getting rid of Brenimyn should be easy enough.” Bresilee seemed to be talking to herself as she and Kylie hurried down the hall. “He’s a man with no rights. It doesn’t matter what foolishness he spouts at the lake. He can’t possibly get all the breeders to find a backbone.”

  Cursing her bad fortune for not being there, Camille wished she could talk to Nathaniel about his visit to the lake. Brenimyn was the leader of the male breeders. Nathaniel had spoken with reverence about the man. No doubt he’d heard whatever Brenimyn had said to the crowds and now Camille wanted to know why it was upsetting the director of the Garden.

  The three of them turned down the hall of Bresilee’s private wing. Camille slipped from the cover of one large potted plant lining the hall to another, always keeping close enough to hear their conversation. She needn’t have bothered. Caught up in their own problems, neither woman turned to be sure they weren’t followed.

  “Besides, there are laws,” Bresilee continued. “We just need get him to break one and we can make an example of him. Without a leader, this feeble resistance will surely crumble.” Bresilee’s hand swatted at the air as if removing an annoying gnat.

  “The man is very cautious. I’m sure he expects we are watching him,” said Kylie.

  “Yes, but if we can get recorded evidence that he’s broken a law …” Bresilee paused as if in thought, her hand suspended at her forehead. “Your apartment. You must get him back to your apartment and we can manipulate the computer feed to our advantage.”

  “But as a new breeder Jahara has—”

  “But nothing, Kylie.” The harsh words reverberated off the walls. Bresilee stopped again and glared down at the cowering woman. “Am I not ruler of the Garden?” Kylie nodded. “Then I can change any law.” Bresilee continued down the hall, her voice once again carrying the controlled tone of a moment ago. “And I decide that an ovulating government official, that’s you,” she nodded down at Kylie, “may usurp the rights of a female breeder. Tomorrow, we’ll invoke that law and take Brenimyn from Jahara Khateri’s residence.”

  They turned left into a room at the end of the hall.

  Stopping at the threshold, Camille could see the two women skirt around the overstuffed furniture of an office and past the large windows. They paused at the far wall, the light of the false moon giving their pinched expressions a demonic quality.

  “Now Jahara will be another problem altogether. Her Dame could make problems for us if something should happen to her.” A door retracted in the otherwise smooth wall. “I do so hate using this entrance.” Dr. Bresilee swiveled her long neck back and forth, bouncing the tight bun of hair. “Heads will roll tomorrow.” They disappeared into the darkness.

  Dr. Bresilee’s voice was swallowed by the night. The silence hung like a dark cloud bringing a storm. Camille had a bad feeling about this whole situation.

  “Camille, what’s happening is none of your business. Just go back to bed,” she whispered to herself, even as her feet carried her to the secret door, fearing it would close before she could follow. “Don’t do this. You know you’ll only get in trouble. Nothing good can come of you going down there.” Though she spoke the words aloud, they did nothing to convince her of her folly. Curiosity to discover Bresilee’s hidden rooms below burned hotter than her fear over getting caught. Besides, Camille wanted to know what Brenimyn had done that had upset Dr. Bresilee so.

  Nathaniel had spoken of Brenimyn with admiration. He’d hoped to introduce them at the lake. Dr. Khateri seemed sympathetic in Dr. Bresilee’s office as the healer had run her fingers intimately over Camille’s body. She wondered how these two ordinary breeders could be a threat to Bresilee.

  The short flight of stairs before her was lit by wall lamps glowing in orange intervals. The two women were not in her line of vision. She was a botanist, not a visionary. What was happening with the girls below was none of her concern. But none of these thoughts seemed to register as her feet touched the velvet carpet of the stairs, she gave up trying to talk herself out of prying into other people’s lives.

  Slinking down the stairs, Camille kept close to the wall.

  The lower level was as plush as the floors above. Though the corridor split in different directions she followed the muffled sound of Dr. Bresilee’s tirade. With great caution, Camille slinked into a brightly lit room dominated by large windows.

  Positioning herself in a shadowed corner, Camille could see into the room beyond. Overhead spotlights illuminated four operating tables where the muscular women were transferring the unconscious girls. They propped their feet and knees in stirrups that spread their legs and exposed their genitals.

  These young women were certainly positioned for procreation. Though males weren’t allowed in the mansion, Camille wondered if Bresilee made exceptions in the secrecy of this underground suite. Whatever was going to be done to her breeding sisters would be done without their permission—and that certainly broke the number one procreation law.

  But no male entered the room, only Dr. Bresilee, Kylie and a dark-haired woman in a lab coat. Kylie remained just inside the door, the tattooed women taking up position on either side as if guarding the room. Bresilee talked mutely to the other woman as they scru
bbed their hands and arms in the chemical wash at the sink.

  Settling onto a rolling stool, Dr. Bresilee moved to the first gurney and hunched between the legs of the first unconscious woman. The other woman in scrubs, rolled over a stainless steel tray covered with instruments of torture. Camille suspected she was privy to some bizarre sexual ritual. She wanted to look away from the horrors she suspected were about to take place, but obligation to witness the mutilations kept her eyes focused on the women.

  “Mikalyn, the first syringe.” Holding out her hand, Dr. Bresilee accepted a large instrument that looked to Camille like the tool she used in the kitchens to baste chickens. She nearly gasped as Dr. Bresilee inserted it deep into the young woman’s vagina. With the plunger, she injected the blood-red contents of the tube. The burly women stepped forward, one pushing the knees of the unconscious girl to her chest, the other strapping them in place.

  Dr. Bresilee wheeled down the line repeating the process, until all four girls lay on their backs, their buttocks and soles of their feet the only parts of their bodies visible from this angle.

  “They are so lovely like this.” Bresilee walked back down the row, stopping at each woman to admire her work. “Keep them here for the next hour before transferring them upstairs. We’ll keep them in bed tomorrow.” She stroked one of the girls and sighed. “Kylie, do find me one of the other girls to join me in my bed. There must be someone who’s slept off the effects of the drug.” She turned to Kylie, her mouth twisted in a reptilian smile. “And do have them in my chambers when I arrive.”

  Camille had seen enough.

  She raced back down the corridor, praying she didn’t get lost. Taking the stairs back up to the office two at a time, she ran as fast as she dared back down the long hall. Panic clawed at her throat and wrapped around her chest. She didn’t want to explain why she was out of bed at this hour of the night. Three quarters of the way up the main staircase, the unmistakable hum of the elevator echoed in her ears. Camille fell to her belly as Kylie glided out of the hidden panel in the wall on the second floor.