Page 8 of Dark Space
The light was small and unconscious, with soft-looking, fair hair falling from a loose braid, some kind of organic life form. They were wrapped in a blanket that had clearly come from the Prince’s own bed.
The Roth stepped inside the cell.
‘You couldn’t have called ahead?’ I said politely. ‘I might have had something important on.’
He ignored me, and lowered the light – thebeing– onto the cell’s single cot.
I examined them. They were slight of build and pale all over, with full, lush lips. Their face was finely boned and delicate, fragile-looking, as if they’d break if I touched them.
But the light at their core was strong and warm; my fingers stretched out towards it. It was the kind of light that would burn for a lifetime, the kind of light that might flicker, but would never dim.
‘What are they?’ I said, unable to look away.
‘Human,’ the Roth grunted.
‘Human?’ I wrinkled my nose. ‘Oh, that little blue planet.’ I broke into a smile. ‘That little Category-3 blue planet that is decidedlynota signatory of the Universal Pact.’
The Roth’s lips twisted. I liked his face; his expression was even darker than the Prince’s. He wasn’t as handsome, but he was striking, with straight black brows and beautifully curved lips balancing a wide jaw and cheekbones. There was a pin of rank attached to his black uniform, but I didn’t know what it meant.
Had I been in a different situation, it was the kind of face I’d try to seduce – not for a purpose, not because he’d be part of a play, but just because I wanted to spend more time looking at it – looking athim– from closer up.
I grinned at him. ‘You’ve stolen something you shouldn’t have. Howinteresting.’ I cocked my head. ‘Where does kidnap from a Category-3 planet lie on the list of intergalactic crimes, do you think? Is it higher or lower than theft?’
The Roth stepped towards me, his chest rumbling with a low, dangerous growl.
‘Now, now,’ I said chidingly, intrigued by the sound and the resulting shiver up my organic spine. ‘You know I’m helpless, currently. But it’s something to keep in mind, isn’t it? My kind take averylong time to kill, and if you give me to the Tirians, I might just have a little song to sing. But perhaps we could cometo an agreement. I could keep my metaphorical mouth shut aboutyourcrime if the Prince decided to forgivemine.’
The Roth’s eyes narrowed. ‘This is all you are, isn’t it? A petty criminal looking to turn every situation to your own advantage.’
I put a bleeding hand to my chest. ‘Petty? Oh, handsome, I’m notpetty. And I’ve never kidnapped a being before, so don’t go shooting a lasergun in a glass starcraft and all that.’
He snorted and turned to leave.
‘Ah, meatsuit,’ I called after him, ‘I’m no expert, but won’t theyneedsomething? Sustenance? Moisture? What do humans need to grow?’
He turned towards the little light, his cheeks flushed with blue shadows, his forehead creased in worry.
I laughed again, delighted. ‘You don’t know, do you? How are you supposed to look after a human if you don’t know what theyeat?’
He spun to face me. ‘You want the Prince to consider forgetting your crime? Thenyoufind out. When she wakes up, ask her what she needs, and we will find it.’ He gave the human one more sweeping glance, then pinned me with his black stare. ‘Touch her and I’ll end you.’ He turned and marched from the cell without another glance back.
The glass slid closed, and I was left alone with the little light.
I frowned at her small body. I liked company, but that company fell into three main categories: marks, associates who would eventually become marks when I inevitably betrayed them, and temporary sources of pleasure. The Roth Prince and his black-haired friend had formed a surprise new category – captors I would eventually get the better of and maybe wouldn’t mind fucking if the opportunity arose – but I wasn’t sure where this alien female fit.
‘This is fine,’ I told myself. ‘It will be fine. She’ll wake up, I’ll find out what she needs to grow, and that will be that. The Roth will come back and get her, and it will be … fine.’
The human stirred; her light flared.
I pressed myself against the wall, unnerved, then looked up into the shadows, where I knew several small recorders were installed in the corners of the cell.
‘Come back and get her soon,’ I said.
‘I know what ourorders are, Dainn,’ I said, as calmly as I could manage. ‘But we’ve yet to find a suitable planet. And the Tirians are too close for us to do anything, even if wedidfind one.’
The ship’s medic tapped his fingers on the table. ‘You know what the King will say, Alcide.’
I knew it all too well.Failure, disappointment, weak. Wretched, clumsy, stupid.I knew all my father’s favourite adjectives by heart, down to the order he’d use them in, and which ones he’d say louder to emphasise. And to top it off, his finale:If only I’d had another son.
