Eternal Love (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 14

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Gulf was growing uneasy.

"If it gets too late, the other tour members are going to go to a lot of unnecessary trouble over me, so I'd like to at least tell them I'm alright," he said as they went in.

He didn't really want to call anybody, it was just a lie to point out once again that there were other people waiting for him.

Kadim shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I'm sorry but the phone here isn't connected."

"Oh, I see." Gulf's voice sounded bleak.

There were no door nor any bars over the arched entrance and so they simply passed inside. Oil lamps flickered from the ceiling. It wasn't only a phone libe that the building lacked, but electricity, too, apparently.

Gulf walked with Kadim down a barely illuminated stone pathway. Their footsteps echoed off the walls of the building, striking with each step a new note of fear into Gulf. This wasn't an apartment.

An unusual bittersweet scent reminded Gulf of burning incense. His eyes scan his surroundings warily when he heard the faint cries of kittens somewhere on the shadows. The air was dry, but he felt a heaviness clinging to his skin.

He turned around with a start. A woman wrapped in a black Arabian dress had appeared out of nowhere, following closely behind Gulf without so much as the sound of a footfall.

He couldn't even guess at her age since everything except her eyes were covered up. She regarded him with cold eyes, showing no emotions.

Kadim stopped ahead of him and Gulf nearly jumped into him, his attention still focused on the women behind them. He jerked to a stop as well.

Kadim was standing in front of a wooden door. Passing Gulf, the woman drew up beside Kadim and whispered something in his ear. Kadim nodded and she opened the door.

"After you," Kadim waved Gulf inside first, then followed him in. "Bring the guest coffee."

The woman lowered her eyes at Kadim's order and silently shut the door.

"Um..." Gulf's voice trailed off as he entered what looked like a private room.

The furniture was all extremely costly, despite the humility of the building. A table of stretched cowhide was set upon a carpet spread over the floor, and a thin tapestry covered the wall. Unusual dishes and clay pots decorated the walls beside a counter set further back in the room.

A man appeared from the next room.

"You're late, Kadim," he said.

He sat down unceremoniously on a sofa, smoking a cigar. His eyes crawled over Gulf's body, as if calculating his price.

"I'm glad you're here." Kadim approached the sofa where the man sat. "I made sure we weren't followed."

The man smiled vaguely as he chewed the cigar. "Why? My drivers are big guys."

While Kadim and the man talked together, Gulf studied them furtively. The man wore a white keffiyeh and thwab. His features were perfect, tinged with the arrogance characteristic of a well-born man. One knee was drawn up to his chest, but he still carried himself nobly.

"So we have a guest," the man commented. "Or are we going to use him to entertain another guest? As fas as I can tell, he looks like a man."

Kadim turned back to look over his shoulder at Gulf and chuckled. "What of it? These things happen all the time in Ziyard. We just can't let word get out."

"True." The man chewed his cigar and narrowed his eyes.

Feeling an ugly tum in the atmosphere, Gulf braced himself.

"What did you tell him to get him to come with you?" the man asked.

"He's a Thai man who got lost in the desert," Kadim replied.

"Hold on a minute! That's inviting international attention." The man spoke with surprise, but he didn't really look all that shocked.

"Come now, AA, sir, you know better than that," Kadim wheedled. "Once I get him in my brothel he'll be dead to the world. No one would ever be able to find him again."

Gulf went pale. "My brothel," Kadim had said. So this was a brothel under Kadim's management. No wonder it had such a corrupt feel to it.

Gulf's nervousness had certainly been well-founded. Kadim was obviously nothing like the helpful old man he had acted like in the desert. He now looked at Gulf with the cold-blooded eyes of a snake. A chill ran down Gulf's spine. He felt as if he might crumble to pieces. But the men went on their conversation, about even more ominous topics.

"I'm sure we could find any number of buyers for someone as good-looking as him. And there are some with interests in that direction who have a particular fancy for Asians." Kadim's mouth twisted into an ugly shape as he spoke these horrifying words.

The man called AA leaned forward and set his cigar in an ashtray  then stood up. Gulf's instinct was to run, but Kadim seized his arm before he could.

AA took hold of Gulf's chin, taking his time. "You can definitely charge a high price for this one. You don't already belong to someone, do you?"

This was even more horrifying and, suffocating with terror.

TBC