Page 7 of To Quench Her Thirst

DRAGO

Drago was doing his best not to be rude but the three skinny females surrounding him wouldn’t fucking leave him alone! They were asking him questions and running their thin, cold hands all over his arms and chest while he wastryingto keep an eye on Addison.

“Pardon me, Ladies,” he said to them when they started falling behind his charge, who was walking ahead with the only sensible lady-in-waiting of the four. “But I have to keep up with Dr. Hollister. Can we move a little faster?”

“Why would you want to spend your time withherwhen you can spend time withusinstead?” one of them asked, making a pouting face at him.

“Yes, we’remuchmore fun!” another exclaimed.

“I’m not here for fun—I’m here to do a job,” Drago reminded them. “I have sworn to protect Dr. Hollister with my life so I can’t lose track of her.”

Somehow he was able to get out in front of the three of them and went striding down the long stone hallway, just managing to keep Addison in sight.

The three ladies-in-waiting pouted prettily and clustered around him again like a flock of skinny black crows, but Dragowas careful not to let them get in front of him and slow him down again. He took his job as a Protector very seriously and he wasn’t about to let Addison get away from him on a strange planet.

At last, they reached a curving black door which opened into a rather dimly lit bedchamber. The short lady-in-waiting was already showing Addison the amenities as Drago stepped into the room with the other ladies-in-waiting crowding around him.

“Here is your sleeping platform,” the short one said, gesturing to the vast, round mattress placed on a tall, white, marble pedestal in the center of the room. It had a satiny black coverlet and a mound of thick cylindrical pillows. A curtain made of diaphanous black netting was gathered at the ceiling above it and came down to enclose the entire bed, making it into a kind of cocoon in the center of the room.

There was a small dresser, also made of black wood and white marble, in one corner of the room and a tall, white wardrobe in another corner. In the third corner was…Drago frowned. Whatwasthat?

It appeared to be some kind of enclosure or cage made of shiny silver metal. But since the room was so dimly lit by the black crystal chandelier that was floating above their heads, he couldn't quite make out what was inside. Whatever it was, it was hiding in the corner, up near the top of the cage. It seemed to be covered in bristly black hair and it was about the same size as the Earth animal called a "cat" Drago thought.

“Come now—let’s get you a dress,” the short lady-in-waiting—Drago thought her name was either “Spicy” or “Sparki”—was saying to Addison. “You should be about my size—that’s what Lx Sambla told us anyway. That’s why he picked me to be one of your ladies,” she added.

“Er—what’s that? In the cage?” Addison pointed at the creature crouched in the corner.

"Oh, that? It's just a silky." The short lady-in-waiting made a shooing gesture. "It's a feature of all the high-end guest suites here in the Palace. It's supposed to bring good luck if you feed it."

“Feed it? Feed it what?” Addison asked, looking at the thing in the corner apprehensively.

“Here—I’ll show you,” one of the skinny ladies-in-waiting remarked. She gave Drago a look to be sure he was watching her and then stepped forward towards the silver cage. Reaching into a box he hadn’t noticed before, right beside the cage, she pulled out a small animal with silvery fur that squeaked and struggled in her hands.

“Hey, what’s that? It looks kind of like an animal we have on Earth called a guinea pig,” Addison remarked. “Except guinea pigs don’t have long, bushy tails.”

“It’s a squeaker,” the short lady-in-waiting answered. “Er, you might not want to watch if you have a soft heart,” she added and gave Addison’s arm a squeeze.

“Watch what?” Drago demanded, frowning. He didn’t like the direction this was taking.

The skinny lady-in-waiting didn’t answer. Instead, she opened the silver cage and shoved the tiny animal inside.

The squeaker stopped squeaking at once. It crouched low to the floor of the cage, its large, bright eyes rolling nervously. It looked to Drago like the small furry animal was trying to make itself invisible.

At last, the creature in the corner of the cage moved. Slowly at first and then with shocking speed, it skittered on many long, hairy legs from the ceiling, down the wall to the floor.

“Oh my god a spider—it’s agiantspider!” Drago heard Addison gasp.

Before the words completely left her mouth, the spider thing pounced on the hapless squeaker. The small furry animalstruggled and squeaked pitifully but it was clearly hopeless. The spider creature spread long, sharp mandibles and bit it, right at the base of its neck, whereupon the squeaker abruptly went limp and stopped struggling, though it did continue to squeak feebly. The spider then began to wrap it rapidly in a cocoon of shimmering white silk.

“See—that’s why they’re called ‘silkies,’” the lady-in-waiting who had fed the squeaker to the spider remarked brightly. “See all the lovely silk they make? We use it for our finest clothing—like the dresses we’ll all wear tonight to the Choosing Ceremony.”

“Ugh!” Addison shuddered and took a step back from the cage. “Please, can I have another room?” she asked, speaking to the short lady-in-waiting. “I don’t mean to be rude or culturally insensitive, but I can’t sleep in a room that has a giant, cat-sized spider in it. I justcan’t.”

“What? Youdon’twant a room with a silky cage in it?” one of the other ladies-in-waiting exclaimed.

“But they’re a status symbol!” another protested.

“Everyone who’s anyone has a silky cage in their room,” the third remarked.

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