Page 43 of Anna's Bounty
The streets of Loetti are bustling. Aliens are everywhere, and there are so many species that I can’t tell which ones are native to the planet. They fill the streets with every kind of vehicle you can imagine. Some hover, while some look similar to cars and trucks back on Earth. There are even bicycles and motorbikes. Right outside the port is a train depot that Rovos leads me to. It reminds me of the “L” lines in Chicago that my friend and I used when we took a trip there after graduation.
The train car looks exactly as I would expect a train car to look. We file in and find a bench seat to settle ourselves into while the rest of the car quickly fills up around us. An automated voice spits out safety instructions and destinations from an overhead speaker while the rumble of voices grows louder, the more people cram into the train car.
I worry we are going to stand out, but that ends up not being the case at all. All around us is a hodgepodge of aliens and a myriad of sights and smells. Male, female, and other. All wearing a variety of different styles. I even pick out several wearing Blatos similar to mine, making me feel a little less like I’m sticking out.
At the first stop, Rovos stands and then holds out his hand to me. I grab hold of him without hesitation as we shuffle toward the exit with the rest of the disembarking aliens. The train has spit us out in the middle of the city, where we’re surrounded by tall buildings, crowded streets, and busy walkways.
I crane my head back to see the shiny glass buildings towering above me, while Rovos pulls me along beside him. We pass businesses, with their large shop windows showcasing their wares for window-shoppers to peruse, and I can’t help slowing down to look. Strange music and savory smells drift from restaurants, making my stomach rumble, even though it wasn’t that long ago that I ate.
With my hand tightly clenched in Rovos’, I follow him through the maze of streets. Somehow he knows where he is going, even though he says he’s never to been Pamia before. Must be some kind of built-in male GPS.
I dated a guy like that once, who never got lost. Whether or not he’d ever been to a city before, he just instinctively knew where everything was. Meanwhile, I still get lost in the city I’ve lived in my entire life. At least, I did.
A wave of homesickness hits me, and I don’t notice that Rovos has stopped until I stumble into him. My hands come up, wrapping around one of his thick biceps to steady myself, and my cheeks heat, both at my clumsiness and for copping an extra squeeze of his muscular arm. Some girls love a guy with a tight ass; well, I must be all about broad shoulders and thick arms.
Clearing my throat, I step back and try to get my hormones under control. That’s when I notice we’re standing in front of one of the taller buildings that line the street.
“What’s this?” I ask when he pulls the door open for me.
“Hotel,” he rumbles.
Ducking under his arm, I walk through the doorway and into the sparsely decorated lobby where small groups of aliens gather here and there. Some are sitting. Some are standing. One man keeps checking his comm impatiently as he waits for someone. Every step echoes throughout the room as we make our way to the check-in desk that is built into the far wall.
The desk is empty, until Rovos raps his knuckles on the mahogany-colored desktop. Then an android pops up from behind it and startles me. Plated in shiny silver, it has a humanoid face and smooth torso, but no arms—I peek over the edge of the desktop—or legs.
“Greetings, Sir. Madame.” The android nods at us. Its voice is smooth, not electronic or halting, like I expect. “How may I be of service today?”
“A room,” Rovos says, “something large enough to be comfortable for several days.”
Once again, I can’t help turning to stare at him in disbelief. He really intends to stay with me until I’m settled.
“Excellent, sir. Just scan your chip here,” the android says as a square lights up on the desk.
“I’d prefer to pay with credits. Up front, of course.” Rovos reaches into a pouch I didn’t notice clipped to his side, and he sets a stack of what looks like poker chips on the desk.
“Certainly,” the android says. “And what name shall I place the room under?”
“Garrus.”
I frown. That name is familiar, but I can’t recall where or when I’ve heard it, at least at first. Then it comes to me. It’s the name of the clan Rovos said he belonged to. My teeth gnaw on my bottom lip. If he’s worried about using his own name, I hope it’s not a name that anyone looking for us might know.
“Wonderful, I hope you and your companion will enjoy your stay.” I watch in awe as the desk swallows up the chips—credits—and a plastic keycard pops up in their place. Its business completed, the android disappears back behind the desk.
Rovos plucks the card from the desk. He turns it over, and his brows knit together. “Room 502,” he reads aloud.
Looking over his arm, I can see a string of characters stretching the entire length of the card. Too many, I think, to spell out the room number. Before I can question it, Rovos is striding across the lobby to a smooth wall. As soon as we stop, the wall slides open, and we step inside what must be an elevator.
The doors close behind us, and I hear a ding before they slide open once more. Except now the lobby has been replaced with a hallway lined with doors.
“That—” I look down the hall and then back at Rovos. I didn’t even feel the elevator move! “Wow.”
“Have you never been in a lift?” Rovos asks me as we step out into the hall. The doors slide closed behind us, disappearing into the wall.
“I have, but never one that’s sofast.”
“Hmmm.” His hand settles against the small of my back, and he leads me down the hall. Ours is the last room. Rovos slides the keycard into the handle, just like hotels on Earth. When a green light flashes, he pushes the door open for me.
I take two steps in and freeze.
