Alien Slave (11 page)

Many vendors offered food. Aromas both
mouthwatering and stomach wrenching wafted into Dani’s nose.
Beneath the myriad of olfactory offerings lay the fetid vegetable
stench of the nearby jungle.

Everyone around them seemed to be in a
holiday mood. It reminded Dani of the illegal debauchery of Earth’s
New Year’s Eve parties she’d attended. Male and female sex slaves
of all species hung on the visiting revelers, laughing and drinking
and, in some cases, indulging in public intimacies.

It started out exhilarating, but after
walking through the wildness for five minutes, the massive
Kalquorians clearing a path like Moses parting the Red Sea, Dani’s
head began to throb. “Sure is a lot to process out here, isn’t it?”
she shouted to her companions.

Gelan leaned slightly towards her. “Are
you overwhelmed?”

“
A little, but it’s nice to
get out once in awhile.” Broken shards of something metallic lay in
her path. Wynhod swept her up and carried her past it before
setting her down to walk again.

Krijero looked fascinated and
uncomfortable all at once. “Was Earth anything like this?” he
asked.

Dani laughed breathlessly. “No way, not
with all the religious laws in place. You could be thrown in jail
just for kissing a somebody.”

Wynhod scowled. “Did that happen to
you?”

Dani shook her head with a naughty
grin. “No, though I did much worse. I got caught for indecent
behavior only once. My father used his connections to get me out of
trouble.”

“
Lucky girl,” the Nobek
observed. “We’ve heard stories of how extreme the punishments could
be for your people for supposedly lewd actions.”

She shrugged. “My dad had to cover my
brother’s troubles up a lot. He was a real wild one.”

Dani noticed Earther men across the
street. They were younger than her, wearing the military uniforms
of the now non-existent Earth army. Their scruffy beards and
unkempt hair were at odds with their clothing. They stood at loose
attention in front of one brothel, apparently the hired muscle of
choice there.

The skip went out of Dani’s step at
seeing her own kind. She huddled behind Gelan’s bulk, trying to
stay out of the Earthers’ view. Shame overcame her to be in the
company of the enemy. Kalquorians had killed a lot of Earthers
during the war, even more when they’d invaded her planet. No doubt
fellow members of her species would be insulted to see her not only
as someone who offered carnal sins but openly consorting with their
former foes.

Dani saw the clan take notice of her
shrinking posture. They followed her nervous gaze to the Earther
men and exchanged looks among themselves. She had the sudden terror
they would make her announce herself to the former soldiers, to
show off they’d possessed her in lewd acts. She cringed in
anticipation of being humiliated.

Instead, Wynhod took her arm and pulled
her towards a side street, away from the Earthers. “Let’s go this
way. I think it’s a shorter route to the restaurant.”

Dani relaxed as they joined another
stream of happy tourists, taking her from the expected judgment of
her own kind. Still, she wished with all her heart she was with
anybody else than the Kalquorians right now.

* * * *

The group entered the Joshadan eatery.
Low lighting came from the glowballs centered on each communal
table, their bluish light soothing after Ler’s hectic glare.
Equally restful was the hum of low conversation and restrained
laughter. Dani’s eardrums, abused by the cacophony outside, drank
in the quiet.

Savory, sour, and sweet scents set her
stomach to complaining. Servicing the Kalquorians had worked up
quite an appetite. She looked forward to tasting the foods that
emitted those heady aromas.

A Joshadan, half Dani’s height, greeted
them with a welcoming smile. Stout and covered with forest-green
hair all over, it waved its paws at the Kalquorians as all three
bowed deeply to it. Dani couldn’t understand what it jabbered, but
it seemed embarrassed by the respect her companions accorded
it.

The Kalquorians straightened and
followed the Joshadan to one of the long tables where many others
gathered. Their fellow diners slid down the bench seats on either
side, making room for them with good-natured hails. Dani sat
between Gelan and Krijero with Wynhod on the opposite side facing
them. A platter overflowing with a rainbow

selection of food landed on the table
before them. The Kalquorians rose to bow to the sapphire-haired
waiter who’d brought their dinner. Like the first Joshadan, it
waved them off, discomfited. It left them to their communal
meal.

“
What’s with all the
bowing?” Dani asked, bemused by the performance.

Gelan grimaced. “Our ancestors enslaved
Joshada many years ago. Even though they have been free of us for
millennia, the damage Kalquor did remains to this day. We offer our
regret any time we encounter their people.”

“
They seemed embarrassed by
the gesture.”

Wynhod nodded in agreement. “The
Joshadans are a tolerant race and have officially pardoned Kalquor.
They are not people to take advantage of others’ shame.”

The Kalquorians had bowed as deeply to
Dani when she’d first encountered them. She’d thought they’d been
displaying old-fashioned Earther courtliness for her benefit, but
now she wondered. Had it been an apology for Earth’s
destruction?

Whatever. Bows didn’t make up for all
she’d lost. Dani was nowhere near as forgiving as the
Joshadans.

Despite the renewal of her anger, the
feast before her demanded she swallow her pique. Dani peered at the
assortment of bite-sized fare before her. “It smells
good.”

Krijero plucked a purple and green
tidbit from the platter and held it before her mouth. “Would you
like to try this?”

Amused by his intention to feed her,
Dani replied, “Sure.”

She accepted the morsel from his
fingers and moaned as it fairly melted in her mouth. Creamy and
rich, reminding her of goat cheese, it was a little bite of heaven.
She decided not to ask what it was. If it was some gross part of an
animal, Dani didn’t want to know.

Gelan offered her another delicacy,
this one marbled pink and red. Dani snickered as he fed it to her.
It crumbled in her mouth, a crusty, savory bite. Wynhod waited to
serve her yet another bit of food.

Before she let him, Dani giggled,
“Who’s going to fan me and rub my feet?”

Gelan smiled his puzzlement.
“Pardon?”

“
Nevermind.” They were the
clients, yet they insisted on serving her the meal. Far be it for
her to correct their mistake.

Gelan swallowed a mouthful of his own.
“Tell us about your life on Earth,” he invited.

Dani shrugged, speaking between bites.
“I worked for my dad after I got out of college. I wasn’t ready to
be tied down as a wife though he pushed me to marry and be
respectable. Then he ran into some legal trouble, and we all had to
be really careful after that.”

Krijero offered her something that
tasted like chocolate. “Trouble of the lewd variety?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You know,
Earthers can find more kinds of trouble than just sex. Obviously
that’s our biggie, but no, he had to resign his post over a fraud
scandal. He was in Philadelphia on trial when Armageddon
hit.”

Philadelphia had been one of the cities
that went up in a poisonous mushroom cloud. No
survivors.

Krijero brushed her cheek with the
backs of his fingers. In a low voice, he said, “I am sorry for your
loss. What of your mother?”

The mouthful Dani swallowed stuck in
her throat for a moment. She forced it down. “The old lady was in
Philly too. She was a long-time resident of the Psycho-Druggie
Hilton there.”

Wynhod frowned. “I’m not familiar with
those terms.”

Dani scowled. Why don’t I just pull off
all my clothes and dance the Charleston on top of the table? It
would be less humiliating than this conversation.

Dani tried to keep her tone flat, but
anger managed to ooze in anyway. “My mother was institutionalized
for mental illness and illegally self-medicating. I barely knew the
woman. She was a drug addict for as far back as I can remember.”
Before they could ask any further questions, she snapped, “All my
family is dead, okay? All vaporized because your people invaded
Earth.”

Gelan sat very still next to her,
contemplating Dani with an expression she couldn’t read. Finally he
said, “Even before the invasion, it sounds as if you had a hard
life.”

She didn’t want their sympathy. Drawing
herself up with stubborn pride, Dani informed them, “Not really. I
had money and status, and most of the time when my brother and I
got in trouble, my dad paid our way out of it.”

The Kalquorians looked at her, their
eyes soft. Even Wynhod had an aura of compassion.

Forget it, you can’t fix my life. Your
people took that opportunity away when they invaded.

Her voice tight, Dani deliberately
closed the subject. She pointed at the platter. “Hey, can I have
some more of that green and purple stuff? That’s the
best.”

After a long silence, Krijero snagged
the delicacy and fed it to her. “Of course, Dani.”

She was relieved when the conversation
turned to the hunt they’d had that morning.

* * * *

An hour later they were back on the
riotous streets of Ler, the men well fed and at ease. Dani’s
disquiet hadn’t ebbed however. The conversation about her parents
kept coming back, tainting the delicious Joshadan food and the care
the Kalquorians took of her.

They did take good care of her.
Solicitous at every turn, they’d made sure she’d gotten her fill of
her favorite edibles. They had looked to her needs, doting on her
like a queen. But all Dani could think about were her parents, dead
and forever out of reach because of the aliens. Earth, reduced to a
lifeless rock that despite cleanup efforts, wouldn’t be habitable
again for decades, perhaps even centuries. Her carefree life in
which she slept with whoever she darn well pleased and wore pretty
clothes was all gone. Like the hologram of the green and blue dress
they now passed in the storefront that looked as light as a dream
and would have flattered her coloring much better than the gray bra
and skirts she’d been stuck with.

Life was so unfair.

Gelan said, “You’re very quiet, little
girl.”

Dani tore her eyes from the dress, the
one she’d have bought without minding the price tag in another
life. “Sorry. Thinking about stuff,” she answered, her tone
short.

She saw the men exchange glances. So
they’d caught her change in attitude. She didn’t care. Their kind
had ruined everything, leaving her to whore her body out in order
to survive. Despite the fun she’d had with them and the
mind-blowing sex, Dani was ready for the Kalquorians to
leave.

Unfortunately, they’d paid for her
whole shift tonight, and she was theirs for several hours yet. Dani
repressed a sigh and plastered a smile on for her customers. She
reminded herself that if she dwelled too much on the evils of the
Kalquorians, she would have a long night ahead of her.

Chapter 6

Back in the brothel’s playroom, Dani
steeled herself for the now unwanted romp, concentrating on sending
her mind away from her body as she did with most customers. She
pulled the straps of her bra down.

“
Dani.” Krijero’s warm hand
cupped a shoulder. He turned her slowly to face the
clan.

“
Yes, Imdiko Krijero?”
Polite tone. Please the clients, get the job done. Afterwards, she
would spend too long trying to wash the night away in the cold
water of the brothel’s shower. Just another shift. It would end
eventually, though not soon enough.

“
Where are you right now?”
He leaned down, propping his hands on his thighs as he brought his
pretty purple eyes level with hers. Dani couldn’t figure out if she
wanted to escape the intense stare or drown in it. Krijero looked
self-assured for a change, not awkward at all.

“
Here with you.” She
frowned. His question didn’t make sense to her.

“
Maybe physically, but
you’ve gone somewhere else in your head.”

His tone sounded so concerned. As if
her distance mattered.

“
What do you care?” The
words fell out of Dani’s mouth before she could stop
them.

“
I care because I’m worried
you’re upset about something. What’s wrong, sweetling?” He
continued to look at her with that patient interest, as if he had
all night for her answer.

Dani swallowed. She knew her mental
state didn’t worry him in the least, except what it might do to the
rest of his night. “Nothing of importance, Imdiko. It won’t affect
my performance. I promise you will be satisfied and get your
money’s worth.”

“
Perhaps if we were the kind
of men you’re used to, but we’re not, Dani. Kalquorians are very
protective of women. Not only are we committed to females’ physical
wellbeing and sexual fulfillment, but emotional welfare must be
addressed as well.” He stroked an errant lock of hair off her
face.