His words made my stomach do that weird flip again and I took a step back.
“If it’s that dangerous, why are you letting me go at all?”
“Because, well…” He ground his teeth, looking irritated. “Because I need you to get the hydrogen scoop’s panel fixed,” he admitted at last.
“What? Why would you need me to get your ship fixed?”
He took a deep breath. “Remember I told you that the Majorans are in ascendancy and their Empress rules the galaxy?”
“Yeah. So?” The idea of the galaxy having an Empress was still weird to me but so many strange things had happened in my life in the past forty-eight hours, it didn’t seem quite so shocking anymore.
“So…” He ran a hand through his hair. “So the Majorans are a matrilineal society and Gallana is a strictly Majoran port.”
“Oh…” I was beginning to get it. “So it’s all about girl power, huh? Females rule the roost and the men are at their beck and call?”
“Not exactly. It isn’t as if the females own the males as slaves—nothing that extreme. It’s that Majoran males worship their females as goddesses.”
“Wow!” I was beginning to like the idea of Majoran society—a lot. “That sounds pretty extreme to me,” I told Sarden. “They really worship their wives?”
He nodded. “They believe in each female resides a small bit of divinity from the Goddess of Mercy and so they treat them like goddesses and refuse to do business without them. Also, they refuse to do business with a male who does not have his own personal goddess with him.”
“Your own personal goddess,” I mused. It sounded like a song from the 80s. I put a hand on my hip and looked up at him. “And why should I agree to act as your goddess? What’s in it for me? I mean, you get that panel fixed and then it’s off to Giedi Prime to trade me to that Tazaxx guy. Why should I help you?”
“Because it’s not just for me I’m doing this.” He ran both hands through his hair this time. “I’m doing it for my little sister. She’s been sold to Tazaxx and I have a limited time to get her back. That’s why I bought you—to trade for her.”
“What?” Sold by who? How?” I was intensely interested and couldn’t quite hide it. I had been able to tell by his reaction to me touching his crystal picture cube how important his sister was to him. But to hear that all this was about her, that he hadn’t just kidnapped me to sell or trade for profit, put a whole new perspective on things.
“I don’t like to talk about it,” Sarden growled.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Well that’s too bad. You’d better talk if you need my help. And begin at the beginning.”
“All right—I’ll tell you. Briefly.” He sighed. “You know that I am a half-breed—both Vorn and Eloim. My mother was the daughter of the Rae and Ria of Eloim—the rulers of the planet. She was kidnapped by a high ranking Vorn and taken back to Vorn 6. There she became pregnant with me. Then her parents—my grandparents, the Rae and Ria—paid her ransom and she was returned home to Eloim.”
“Wow.” I nodded. “Okay. Go on.”
He started pacing the kitchen. “In due time, I was born. My mother hid her pregnancy until it was too late to abort me although that was what my grandfather, the Rae, wanted when he finally found out. But she wouldn’t allow it, even though I was a half-breed and a product of rape she…” He shook his head. “She was always protective of me.”
“Oh, Sarden…” I whispered but he shook his head and continued, his face stony.
“My grandparents married my mother to a respectable Eloim male for a considerable sum of credit so that he would overlook the fact that she was ‘used goods.’ About seven cycles later, my sister, Sellah was born and my mother died shortly after from complications of childbirth.”
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I lost my mom too. I know how awful it is.”
He shook his head, his face dark. “It was a long time ago. I do remember the last time I saw her though—she was holding Sellah in her arms. She introduced me to my little sister and made me promise to always take care of her and protect her.”
“Oh…” His words caused a stabbing pain in my heart. I had to sink down into a chair because my knees suddenly felt wobbly.
“You’re the oldest one—the one in charge,” I heard my mother’s voice whisper in my memory. “You have to look out for Angie. Sisters look after each other. The oldest looks after the youngest, remember that Zoe. Take care of your sister!”
“It’s a promise I was unable to keep.” Sarden had his back to me so he couldn’t see my reaction—I was glad.
“How…what happened?” I asked, my voice coming out hoarse and whispery.
He sighed. “Normally the oldest male child of the Rae and Ria will grow up to become the Rae in his own right. His mate will be the Ria so that the planet is balanced. However, if he has no mate, he can choose a female relative to help him rule. Because I was a half-breed, I was…discouraged from claiming my birthright. And so the honor of being the next Rae fell to my cousin, Hurxx. He had no mate so he chose my little sister, Sellah as his Ria.”
I remembered all the talk about her coronation on the crystal cube. So that was what it had been about. Sarden wasn’t just some common smuggler—he was the rightful heir to a whole freaking planet. Or would have been if he hadn’t been half Vorn. Also, his sister was a queen. Wow.
“So what happened? Was there some kind of political coup?”
“You could say that,” he remarked grimly. “Not three solar days after her coronation, Sellah was walking in the palace gardens when a band of pirates somehow got past security and took her.” He ran his hands through his hair again in a distracted, anxious way. “I traced them for months—so afraid of what might be happening to her. Then finally I found out she was with a male I already know.”
“Tazaxx?” I asked.
He nodded. “Tazaxx. He is a collector of rare and beautiful females which is why I bought you—there is no rarer female than one from a closed planet. Especially a La-ti-zal like yourself.” He looked at me and there was desperation on his strong features. “You’re so fucking gorgeous and unique, Zoe. I knew if I could get you to him in time, he wouldn’t be able to resist a trade—you for Sellah.” He lifted his hands, palm up. “And now you know why I need your help.”
“Wow…” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Of course,” Sarden went on. “I realize that my troubles are my own. Why should you care about helping to save my sister? Especially when her freedom means your own imprisonment? But there is something else I can promise you, Zoe—”
“I’ll do it,” I said quietly.
“I can go back to Earth when this is over and buy the contracts on your two best friends,” he went on. “That way no male searching for a mate can pick them from the AMI and take them away as I took you. It will guarantee their safety forever. It—”
“I said, I’ll do it,” I said, louder this time.
“It will—what?” Sarden looked at me uncertainly. “What did you say?”
“I said I’ll do it. I’ll help you.” I looked up at him, letting him see the sincerity in my eyes.
“You will? But…why?” He shook his head, puzzled.
“Because family is important. And I know…” I cleared my throat. “I know about feeling responsible for them.”
He bowed his head and looked down for a moment. When he looked back up, his golden eyes were suspiciously bright.
“Thank you,” he said in a low, hoarse voice. “I…thank you.”
“You did say that this Tazaxx guy just wants me to put me in some kind of display case?” I asked uneasily. “I assume I’ll still be alive, right? Not stuffed like some taxidermied gator hung up on a poacher’s wall?”
“You’ll be alive and well, living in a place as close to your home as possible,” he promised me. “He’ll consult you about your home planet and build you a beautiful habitat which resem
bles it in every way.”
“Huh. Like an exhibit at the zoo,” I said, thinking of how zoo designers always tried to make the animals feel at home by crafting them a place as close to native environment as possible.
Sarden nodded. “Exactly.”
I decided right then and there that I was going to have Tazaxx build me a private movie theater and see if he could catch the signal from Earth to get some chick flick and scifi movies imported. And also, a Godiva chocolate shop and maybe a Krispy Kreme as well. After all, if I was going to be an exhibit at a zoo with no dating scene to worry about, I might dump the 80-20 rule of eating and go something more like 60-40 or maybe even 70-30. What the hell, right?
“You’ll be perfectly safe and secure and comfortable,” Sarden promised again. “And I will keep my promise about your friends too—I’ll buy their contracts so no other male can choose them from the Alien Mate Index.”
“That’s good—that’s important to me,” I said, nodding. “But how much danger do you think they’re really in? Will the Commercians start importing five hundred thousand women a day or something? Because honestly, something like that is going to cause people to notice and wonder what in the hell is going on.”
“No—they won’t want to attract undue attention. Not at first, anyway,” he said grimly. “But I’m afraid your friends will be at more risk than most because of their proximity to and relationship with you.”
“What? But we’re not related or anything. Even if I am this Lata thingy whatever it is you keep calling me, it’s not like Leah or Charlotte could have inherited it or anything.”
“I don’t think you understand at all how the gifts of a La-ti-zal work at all,” he remarked. “Or how they are formed. The Ancient Ones sowed seeds of greatness all over your planet, but only in certain females do they sprout and take root.”
“Well, what causes them to do that?” I demanded.
“Sometimes a traumatic event in their past causes it,” he said. “Sometimes it has to do with the proximity of another La-ti-zal. How much time did you spend with your friends?”
“All the time,” I whispered. “Every weekend, practically. Plus we got together at least two or three times during the week. We…we were inseparable.”
Thinking of Leah and Charlotte put a lump in my throat but I swallowed hard and tried not to think about never seeing them again. Could I really do this? Could I really give up any chance of going back to Earth? “Take care of your sister,” I heard my mother whisper and I knew that I would do it.
“And when you spent time with your friends, did you eat from the same utensils and drink from the same vessels?” he wanted to know.
“Well, I mean sure,” I said thinking of all the times we’d split dessert to avoid scarfing down too many calories. “So…you’re saying they could have caught this, uh, specialness from me?”
“They may or they may not have. But the Commercians have them in their sights now,” he said seriously. “And they’re probably already refining their process so they can pick out latent La-ti-zals and sell them at a higher price.”
“All right,” I said, lifting my chin. “I’ll do it. If it will help you get your sister back and keep my friends safe from what I’m going through right now, it’s worth it.”
“I’m sorry,” Sarden said in a low, rough voice and looked away.
I couldn’t exactly say “it’s all right.” Because it wasn’t—no matter how good and noble the reasons were, I was going to be sold into a kind of slavery. A nice, cushy slavery if what Sarden was saying was true, but slavery nonetheless. And I would never see Earth again. Would never see Leah or Charlotte or…
Okay, if I let myself keep thinking this way, I was seriously going to bawl. I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath. If I was going to spend the rest of my life behind glass being a zoo exhibit, I’d better have as much fun as I could before we got to Giedi Prime. And that meant exploring the spaceport—well, as much as Sarden would allow me to.
“Hadn’t we better get going?” I asked him. “I mean, if we’re going to find a mechanic before it gets too late?”
“Yes.” He straightened up and nodded. “But first you have to get dressed. What you’re wearing now won’t do for Gallana, unfortunately.”
I opened my eyes wide, as though shocked.
“Really? Walking around in a man’s shirt ten times too big for me with no panties or bra underneath isn’t considered Goddess couture? Imagine that.”
He made a face. “Your humor knows no bounds, Zoe. Just go to your room and I’ll have Al synthesize you something that’s more in keeping with Majoran fashion.”
“Wait—you said he can synthesize clothes? The same way you make food in the food-sim?” I asked, frowning.
Sarden nodded. “Of course.”
“Well in that case, how come you didn’t give me something else to wear before now?” I demanded. “Why in the world do you have me running around the damn ship in your shirts with no underwear?”
His eyes suddenly went half-lidded. “Maybe because I like you that way. You look good in my clothes…and nothing else.”
His voice was a soft growl I swore I could feel right through my entire body, even though we weren’t touching.
My heart did a little jump and started to pound. I could feel my cheeks getting hot at the way he was looking at me.
“Big red pervert,” I muttered.
“Perhaps.” He gave me a lazy grin. “Don’t worry, Zoe—you’ll have some new clothes soon. Just wait in your room and I’ll bring them shortly.”
“Fine,” I said, turning to leave and hoping my blush wasn’t too evident. “But before you go, try the pizza-flavored crème brulee—you’ll probably like it.”
Then I left, trying not to feel his eyes on my backside as I walked away.
Aliens can be so annoying.
Chapter Fourteen
Zoe
“Okay, I am so not going out in public like this.” I surveyed myself in the 3-D mirror-like thing Sarden had called out of the wall somehow, the same way he’d accessed the closet. How did he do that anyway? It seemed to be a series of taps but when I had tried it, nothing happened. Maybe it was just keyed to his fingerprints?
I didn’t know and at the moment, I didn’t care. I was more concerned with the weird Majoran outfit Sarden had gotten Al to make for me.
It was see-through.
I’m not kidding, either or saying that it was really sheer fabric—I’m talking totally transparent. As in, I might as well have been wrapped in Saran Wrap—which actually was kind of what it felt like. The dress—(if it could be called a dress)—really was just one long strip of fabric which was wrapped around me and somehow adhered to itself like it was Velcro. But there was no Velcro scratchiness—the fabric was as soft as silk. In fact, I rather enjoyed the sensation of it against my skin—although I would have enjoyed it a Hell of a lot more if it actually covered anything.
“What’s wrong with it?” Sarden asked, frowning. “You look gorgeous.”
“I look naked,” I pointed out.
“Not true. The modesty patches cover your most private areas.”
“Barely,” I said.
In fact, the three black dots he’d given me to paste over my nipples and crotch reminded me of the stick-on stringless bikini I’d seen once while looking for a new bathing suit on the Internet. Almost no coverage! Our most daring suit! Turn heads everywhere you go! screamed the site that was selling it. At the time, I had assumed that only porn stars would want to buy and wear such a thing. I had certainly never imagined putting my own size sixteen ass into one.
And yet here I was—looking like a plus sized porn star wrapped in cling film. The shoes that went with it didn’t help either—they were platforms with three inch heels, more like stilts than shoes. I totally looked like I should be pole dancing to dirty, sexy music somewhere.
I sighed and looked at myself again. Wh
at is it they say about when life hands you lemons? No wait—a lemon would cover more than this freaking outfit. I wished someone would hand me a good sized lemon right about now. I’d put it to good use, damn it!
“You can’t seriously expect me to believe that the women of Gallana go around dressed like this,” I said, looking at myself again. The only good thing I could say for the Saran Wrap dress was that it had good support. My boobs had never looked perkier—or more exposed.
“Actually, you’ll be dressed more conservatively than most. Only virgins wear modesty patches,” he said, pointing to the three black dots again.
“Well I’m not a virgin,” I said tartly. “But I’m not a freaking exhibitionist either!”
“I promise you, you’re dressed like every other female on Gallana,” he said patiently. “They believe in showing off their divine beauty.”
“Because they’re all like some kind of manifestation of the Goddess of Mercy, right?” I said.
“Well, one of her aspects, anyway. Most of the galaxy worships the one Goddess. She created the Ancient Ones and commanded them to sow the seeds of life throughout the galaxy,” Sarden said, reaching out to adjust the part of the dress that went around my shoulders. “But to the Majorans the Goddess wears many faces. The Virgin, the Whore, the Lover, the Healer, the Comforter…and too many more to name.” He sighed. “It’s a complicated religion but then, Majorans are fucking complicated by nature.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “The whole idea of worshiping a woman pisses you off, doesn’t it? Careful, Sarden—your misogyny is showing.”
“I’m no Sahjist,” he said, with surprising vehemence. “So don’t insult me. But I believe that males and females are equals—neither one needs to worship the other.”
“You’d better put a pin in that attitude if you want to get this deal done,” I pointed out. “What am I supposed to do, anyway?”