Page 12 of Bela's Bounty
“Oh, right. Sorry.” I resist the urge to slap my forehead with my palm and instead glance over at Nita, who just shrugs. “Um, I’m Bela. This is Nita and Skylar.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Cybele says politely with a nod.
Nita snorts and folds her arms across her chest. “Can’t say I feel the same way.”
Behind Cybele, Elara bursts into a fit of giggles. “I like this one!”
“True enough,” Cybele admits, trying to hide her smile.
“It’s not so bad,” Elara tells us, coming up to stand beside Cybele. “It’s hard to beat orgasming every night. Once the soreness wears off, that is.”
Skylar, who has been standing frozen since we entered the room, suddenly bursts into tears. She covers her face with her hands as her narrow shoulders shake with each racking sob.
Shit! What must this kid be thinking about all of this? As bad as I feel for her, I have no idea how to help her with this. I mean, none of uswantto be here. But then I remind myself that she has no experience with men whatsoever, which can only be terrifying.
“Poornyul,” Cybele croons, reaching out to stroke a hand down the side of her head. “It wasn’t so long ago I was in your place. It will be alright, little one. We’ll help you.”
Skylar rubs her palms across her eyes and gives the pink alien a withering look, showing some fight for the first time.Good! Maybe she has more bite than I thought.She’s gonna need more than that, much more, but it’s a start.
“I’ll show you around,” Cybele says with a wave of her hand before turning and striding further into the room, leaving us to follow after.
The space is huge, similar in size to a gymnasium, and we follow her down into a large recessed area designed for lounging.
“This is where we relax in between customers.” She spreads her arms out and gestures to the colorfully swathed sofas and settees. “There are tablets with media already downloaded. The madame doesn’t let us have access to the net, so don’t bother asking. She likes to keep us separated from the outside, as much as she can.”
The rest of us step down into the pit, except Skylar, who completely misses the step and ends up sprawled on her hands and knees.
“Are you all right?” I gasp, hurrying to her side to help her up.
“Yeah. Yes.” Her cheeks are bright red with embarrassment. “I—I can’t see well without my glasses.”
“Glasses?” I look back at Nita over my shoulder, silently asking if she knows anything about her glasses, but she only shrugs. So I turn back and ask, “What happened to your glasses?”
“I don’t know? They must be still at h-home. The last thing I remember is going to bed, but when I woke up, I was in that cage with the rest of you.” Her eyes fill with tears again and she sniffs but doesn’t cry.
Those thievingmotherfuckers.It’s bad enough to take a child, but to steal her from her own damn bed!
Cybele steps forward and rests a pink hand on Skylar’s upper arm. “I’m truly sorry. Unfortunately it’s a story I’ve heard many, many times.”
To Skylar’s credit, she nods.
“I will send a message to Madame Athea. Perhaps she will allow you use of the med-bot.” Her pink lips quirk at the corners. “After all, we can’t have you tripping over our customers.”
I know it’s meant as a joke. Normally I might appreciate a little brothel black humor, but it’s too real, and I can’t help but feel a slight kick to my chest.
“What is a med-bot? What will that do?” Skylar asks.
“It will cure your vision,” Cybele explains as if everyone should know that.
“It can really do that?” Skylar’s mouth drops open in amazement, and her tears start to dry. “I won’t ever need glasses again?”
“Of course.” I can tell Cybele is trying not to laugh at the girl. Clearly, things like glasses aren’t common place in space.
The alien female leads us across the room to where a large jacuzzi tub is set into the floor, bubbling away and perfuming the air with a light floral scent. A low shelf surrounds it, acting as a place to sit as well as holding an array of colorful bottles and neatly folded towels.
“You are free to use the bath anytime you wish. It’s often relaxing after, erm, long sessions,” Cybele says, ignoring the face I make.
Next she takes us to the far side of the room, which is lined with a row of curtained-off alcoves. I count six, three of which have their colorful curtains pulled closed. The open ones are bare except for a pallet with a thin mattress, a small dresser, and a neatly folded pile of bedding.
