Page 60 of Bela's Bounty
“Bela!” Skylar cries out, darting around Anna and running at me. “I’ve been worried! You just disappeared!”
“Treto,” Rovos grumbles, “I told you to be ready in an hourtwo hours ago!”
“Bela needed a little extra time to recover.”
My head snaps to the side, and I glare at him.
“Recover from what?” Skylar asks. A worried expression creases her forehead as her head swivels between me and Treto.
“Treto!” The look I shoot him should have knocked him dead on the spot. “I told youI’m fine.”
“Bela, you passed out, and I could not rouse you.”
Suddenly four sets of worried eyes are focused on me, and my hands go to my face, which is burning with embarrassment. “I swear to god, I’m fine!” I try to laugh, but it comes out sounding high-pitched and forced.
I look down when I feel a hand at my elbow and then up at where Anna has appeared at my side. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks.
Great, now I’ve got herandSkylar crowding me. My eyes roll to the ceiling. Clearly I’m not getting out of this without telling everyone in the universe that Treto fucked me unconscious.
“It’s nothing, I’m sure. I passed out when I—um—you know,with Treto,” I whisper to her.
Her eyes widen in surprise as she realizes what happened. “And has this ever happened before?”
“Hell no,” I snort and then share a knowing look with her while sweet, innocent Sky looks on in confusion.
“Okay, if you start to feel weird or it happens again let me know, okay?” Then she winks, “Maybe we can share tips.”
I nod and then turn back to Treto, who is watching me like I might collapse in front of him at any moment. “See?” I backhand him across his arm. “I’mfine;you don’t need to worry so much.”
He grunts, but finally lets it drop.
“Here,” Anna says, handing Skylar and I some kind of robe.
“What’s this?” I hold it out, trying to make heads and tails of how it should be worn.
“It’s ablato,” she says, helping Skylar into hers. “Pamia might be considered an asylum planet, but that just means they don’t really do much policing. There are still those who would snatch a human for their own gain without a second thought. So it’s best to hide our identity until we get to the compound.”
I watch as she pulls a hood over Skylar’s head and then affixes a mask that hides the lower part of her face. Letting her words sink in, I wonder out loud, “Is this how things are always going to be?”
Anna gives me a sympathetic look. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Well, that just sucks.
When the three of us are covered, it’s finally time to make our way off theShade, where I’m blinded by harsh sunlight and hit with waves of dry desert heat. I haven’t given much thought to what this planet would be like, but this isn’t anything like I expected.
Treto and I follow closely behind Anna and Rovos, my hand firmly clasped in Skylar’s, with Igid covering the rear of our group. It’s a short walk from the docks to a ramp that leads to a train depot. From this vantage point, I get my first look at the city of Loetti.
It’s a bustling metropolis surrounded by nothing but sandy dirt and scrub brush. Tall skyscrapers spike up from the center of the city, with the buildings gradually growing shorter and smaller toward the outskirts, until it all but fades into the surrounding desert.
There is a large group waiting for the train with us, which arrives shortly after we get to the platform. The exchange is similar to the few times I’ve taken the subway, and I keep a firm hold of Skylar, so as not to lose her in the melee. The train itself is filled with an eclectic menagerie of aliens, many of them who don’t look the least bit human, apart from having a head, arms, and legs.
We take the train into the heart of the city. From there we walk, staying together as we make our way through the winding streets. Anna speaks animatedly with the blue female, Igid, while Rovos keeps his arm around her shoulders. In much the same fashion, Treto keeps my hand clutched in his. On my other side, Skylar’s head swivels back and forth as she takes in all the strange sights around us.
The farther we walk, the more rundown the buildings start to look until we turn down a street that looks downright decrepit. I find myself tucking in closer to Treto.
“Are you sure about this place?” I whisper, not wanting to worry Skylar.
“Yes.” He tilts his head down to mine and offers me a tight smile. “You are safe with me, Bela.”
