Page 10 of Untraceable
“Oh. No one mentioned that.”
“It rarely is necessary but has occurred. Now, you are going to change into a robe, put your things in a locker, and when you are ready, you will be walked to the room where the men will line up so you can choose one. You will have a charm on your wrist that will identify what you need versus what the males need. When there is a match, you will know. No match, no sex.”
“Right. Well, I am crossing my fingers.”
“For no match?”
Val smiled. “Not telling.”
The woman laughed and guided her to a gentleman in a kiosk. He looked at her, nodded, and ducked to the back, coming out with a robe and some sandals. “There you are, miss.”
She took them and thanked him.
The bouncer grabbed something and then walked her to the change room, saying, “When you are changed, walk to the blue door, and someone else will take you where you need to be.”
She nodded and sighed. “Let me guess. No underwear?”
“Nope. You don’t want to leave anything that they can use to track you.”
Val’s eyes widened. “Okay.”
“We try to keep things anonymous, but some of those with mage or hunter training like to try to find their club partners. They give fate a boost.”
“They cheat.”
“They do. Yes. But we have an excellent matchmaking score.”
“I thought this was stress relief?” Val frowned.
“It is, but matchmaking is the long-range plan. The king wants a serene and productive population. That means new citizens and a solid maternity ward.”
Val blinked. “Oh. There is a birth-control enchantment over the building?”
“Yes. And bio screens. Everyone in the building is disease-free.”
They got to the ladies’ change room, and the guard smiled. “That door over there as soon as you are ready.”
Val nodded and said, “Thanks. You didn’t let me bolt.”
“That’s my job. Have a wonderful time, and I hope to see you again.”
Val nodded, went to the locker, stripped, and got changed into the polished cotton robe. She stepped into the wooden sandals and made sure that there was nothing anyone could use to find her. Her hair was straight. No clips, pins, or ties. The charm on her wrist was the only thing she was wearing aside from the robe and sandals.
She looked at her forearms and hoped that most of the men she would see wouldn’t know what they were looking at.
The robe was a pretty purple with gold stars and a gold sash. The sash was tight around her waist as she took a deep breath and walked to the blue door. She pushed on it, and it held, but the charm glowed, and there was a click that let her through.
She wasn’t in a receptive phase; she wasn’t pre-menstrual; she was at the perfect point of her cycle for nothing to happen. Val held to that status as she walked down the hall to where a man in a black robe was waiting for her.
He smiled. “Hello, miss. Are you ready?”
“No, but I am willing.”
He laughed. “Good start. Please come this way.”
She walked with him, and another blue door was at the end of the hall. He rapped once and then opened the door.
There was a bit of rustling fabric before she made it around the corner. When she made it around the corner... shadows.
