Feather Bound by Sarah Raughley Page B

people they’re irresistible. Ralph Hedley caught one. New York has cages of them working in the shadows, just like every other city in the world. From the brothels to the streets. Been that way for as long as swans have existed.” Anton turned to the wall opposite me. It was carved into dark, interweaving boxes, dimly lit by little candles enclosed in amber glass. He was too busy admiring the flickering flames to acknowledge my screaming. “Do you have any idea why?”
    I rattled the cage. “Please let me out! Let me out !”
    Anton sighed. “Regular girls’ll give you what you need, whether it’s your garden variety sex, or something darker.”
    That’s when he finally looked at me, his blue eyes sanding my skin.
    â€œBut swans are different. It’s the helplessness, the fact that once you have their feathers, you are in complete control of them.” When he licked his bottom lip, I knew he was speaking from experience. “It’s not a Simon Says type of deal, of course. ‘Stand up, sit down,’ no, it’s not as if they’ll obey my every command. But that’s not what I want from them. It’s the loyalty. Pure and absolute. It’s not just that you own them, but that they understand themselves only as being owned by you. Once you take a swan’s feathers, they belong to you completely and they know it. After that there’s nothing the swan can do except give you all of them. Power, Deanna. Swan parlors, brothels and everything in between. Power is what they sell.”
    â€œSo if it’s power you want, why not come over here and get it, you asshole.”
    Not the smartest taunt, I know. My brain might have been completely fried by now, but I knew that I couldn’t let him keep me in this cage.
    Wait till he opens it. I repeated the words like a mantra, my grip like a vice on the bars. Once he opened the door, I could knock him out and take off. My body was still sluggish, but I didn’t need to be on top form. Just one blind swing – or I could scratch his face. Put out an eye, blind him, then tackle him. Anything, anything. Just open the cage…
    â€œCome on, Deanna, don’t be ridiculous. I don’t want your feathers.” Once again, Anton laughed. “I already own you.”
    â€œW-what?”
    He got off the couch and sat on the table, facing me. “Most swans will do whatever it takes to keep their identities hidden. They know the cost of a leaked secret. I take it you’re the same. I know you’re a swan. I can do a lot with that information.”
    My throat closed up as he leaned over.
    â€œThere are plenty of brothels that would love a pretty girl like you. Lovely skin. Hair that curls around your fingers. I’d earn a shitload of cash selling you to traffickers.”
    Somehow I was on my feet. My muscles were working overtime, but they kept me upright. My back pressed against the brick wall behind me as I struggled to keep my balance.
    â€œHey, human trafficking is a worldwide multi-billion dollar business, you know. But when they find swans like you… boy, it’s like winning the jackpot, isn’t it?”
    Tears blurred my vision, but I could tell he was walking towards me. I pressed my back harder against the wall, and one insane part of me actually believed that if I tried hard enough, I could go through it and fly away.
    â€œDo you know what they’ll do to you, Deanna?” His fingers curled around the bars, his eyes gray with an almost gleeful malice. “They’ll drug you. Rape you. They’ll pass your feathers around, force you to have sex with fifty men a day, maybe more. They’ll put you in cages smaller than this and take turns.”
    â€œStop it!” I huddled in a corner, my stomach clenched, my arms tight around my knees. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be. “Stop it! Please, please