Beyond Charybdis Read Online Free

opportunity to be thankful for her freedom of movement, savouring it while she could, because she had no idea how much longer she would possess such a gift.
    As they approached the beach, she noticed people moving about or reclining beneath colourful umbrellas, iceboxes and other luxuries surrounding them. Just before the tree line sat a small primitive hut with log walls and a straw roof, apparently a bar manned by two naked, dark-skinned women. Another small group of females in chastity belts wandered the beach and served the needs of the guests, while still more young women played in the sand or the surf, chasing each other and swimming in the crystal waters wearing only steel bands about their loins and around their throats.
    Passing the first of the rocks rising from the water, Mina saw the statues were alive; women had been encased in stone shells and set as trophies upon the rocks. Their eyes were visible inside small ovals permitting them a view of the sea, their stone cells penetrated by internal hoses, enabling them to remain inside their immobile tombs for lengthy periods of time.
    The sand grated against the yielding hull of the craft with a scraping hiss as the motor forced them up out of the waves onto the beach. Two Hispanic looking women promptly paddled over and took hold of the bow as other slaves hurried down the beach from a paved road leading into the trees. Wading into the water, they took the suitcases from the boat and headed back up the trail with them.
    â€˜Well, here we are,’ Oceanus declared, jumping out onto the sand and extending a helping hand to Tethys, whose heels sank into the soft surface, forcing her to walk on her toes until she reached more solid ground.
    â€˜Come on, Mina, let’s go,’ he called over his shoulder, waving her out of the boat where she still sat staring dreamily out at the tranquil, lovely island.
    The sand clung stimulatingly to her feet as she followed her masters, the feel of the particles shifting beneath her bare toes and tickling her soles making her giggle like a child. The euphoria gripping her heart and mind in those moments was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She felt completely at peace, her life full of new promise and wonder.
    Crossing the beach, the couple waved to a few shadowy forms lounging beneath umbrellas, their features hidden by sunglasses. Most of them were either naked or wearing only token garments.
    The delicate chirping of birds and the music of leaves rustling in a gentle breeze gradually replaced the sound of waves breaking against the sand. The slender road wound between the trees, the shaded air of the forest cool and moist and saturated with all the heady scents of untamed nature. Then the trees gave way to a large meadow so lush it resembled an emerald carpet. A sizeable mansion rose from its heart, built entirely of wood and dotted with individual balconies accessed by sliding doors. Mina could see people relaxing on these vantage points being tended by slaves as they enjoyed the sunshine and the temperate climate. The main doors were fronted by a sizeable portion of pavement into which had been secured whipping posts, gallows, stocks and other heavy engines of restraint, some of them currently occupied, some not. In the rapidly dying light, a woman was lighting torches set in iron shafts approximately five feet high that supported metal braziers forged in the shape of flames. The jagged fangs rose up to mimic the genuine article as the woman placed a flame in the interior of each one, the small pyres flinging up a cascade of flickering yellow and orange light and banishing the gathering darkness.
    To the right of the house sat a squat and windowless oval building, the purpose of which was impossible to determine from its façade. Then whinnies and neighs reached Mina’s ears, distracting her from her contemplation of the strange building and drawing her attention to what she assumed to be an ordinary