Page 17 of Baited

“I need this,” Riklinn says. “I got grabbed by one of the clients, and Gabosh had to pull me away from him.”

“Did you get hurt?” I ask. Gabosh is one of the larger male Habosu the madame employs as a bouncer and he can be rough.

“I’m fine.” Riklinn flaps a hand at me and then picks up a slice of the cake. “Anyway, how are you getting on with your gladiator?”

“He bathed a lot, he ate a lot, and he sort of gave me a gift and then took it back.” I sigh. “He’s not making it easy, and I don’t know what to do to make it easier. I don’t know anything about his species. Can you help me?”

Riklinn’s eyes are huge. “How?”

“Can you look them up on your vid-screen? And translate?” I dip my head. “I can’t read,” I admit.

A pair of lavender arms wrap around me.

“Why didn’t you say?” she asks kindly.

“It didn’t seem important, until now,” I reply.

IZZY

I’m not sure if it’s trepidation which is causing my stomach to fizz as I approach the cubicle where Blayn has been deposited tonight or something else entirely.

I watched vid after vid with Riklinn yesterday, those we could find which were free to view anyway. She was able to explain to me what the symbols on the screen meant when they flashed up over the dome and the gladiators. There are four Gryn. Blayn, of course, a hulk of a male called Maxym, and two others who can only be described as batshit crazy.

And as for Blayn, he’s the craziest of the lot. He simply doesn’t seem to care what he does as long as there’s a weapon in his hand. The free vids rarely show his “kills,” as the symbols so delicately put it, but he has many to his name and his statistics make him nearly joint top with Maxym.

“They’re all indentured you know,” Riklinn tells me.

“Slaves?”

“Not quite slaves, given Trefa pretends it doesn’t endorse slavery, but they’re all bound to the dome until they get free.”

“Free?”

Riklinn draws her finger across her throat in a universal gesture.

My heart drops to my boots. Blayn is bound to the dome until it kills him. And after what I’ve seen, regardless of how good he is supposed to be, the dome has every intention of killing him, one way or another.

Which means the creature I’m going to right now is one who will kill or be killed, and it’s my job to get him used to being touched, providing the touch isn’t at the point of a sword, because from what I’ve seen, he’s not averse to being injured either.

The Zarvu guards stomp out of the cubicle as I wait to enter. Blayn is in the same spot by the window, but this time he’s facing me. His face changes when he sees me. It’s not a smile, not quite. It’s almost as if he doesn’t know what to do.

Like all the times previously, he’s filthy given he’s been brought straight from the dome.

“Izzy.” His wings droop slightly.

“Hi Blayn,” I say brightly, trying not to notice the gunk dripping from his left primary feathers onto the floor. “Bath?”

He nods enthusiastically. I guess it’s better than being ripped limb from limb.

“You know where it is,” I say. “If you need any help…”

His brow draws over his liquid dark eyes. He shakes his head almost as enthusiastically. I turn away to hide my smile as he races over to the door to the bathroom, opens it, and dives inside.

If Madame wants things to take time, I can, if need be, reassure her that they are absolutely going to take time. Because even if Blayn isn’t willing to let me anywhere near him, he is at least willing to stay in the same room as me.

Having laid out his usual spread, I sit and wait for him to exit the bath. The sounds of splashing have been more than the last few times he’s bathed, and I try not to think about the clean-up operation.

When the door opens, Blayn strides through as if he owns the place, hopping over the couch back with sinuous ease to take a seat and begin eating. I sit still, letting him enjoy his meal. After what I’ve watched, I can see how he might be hungry, given the energy he’s most likely expended killing things. I also don’t exactly want to be on the receiving end of those huge claws.

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