Page 24 of Rescued

“What? What other client? What does he want with her?” Davrik felt the first stirrings of Rage—the berserker-like fury that all Kindred warriors went into when they thought a woman they loved was being threatened or harmed.

“Please. Sir Davrik—calm yourself,” the manager said soothingly. “As I told you, most of Sonya’s clients are aurally stimulated—which is to say, they mostly just want her to sing to them. I believe the client who booked those hours is a Xeba-shla—they are a species with very large hearing receptacles located on each of their three buttocks which they use to sense the vibrations of a song. ”

“Well…all right.” Davrik took a deep breath. “Are you sure I can’t buy those hours too, though? I’d be willing to pay double whatever the other male is paying.”

“I’m afraid we cannot do that. Here at The House of a Thousand Flowers, we pride ourselves on integrity and good customer service! We cannot simply cancel a reservation just because someone else offers more money.” The huge slug drew himself up importantly—an effect which was somewhat ruined by the slime dripping down his blobby body.

Davrik swallowed his irritation and nodded.

“Very well. But I want her immediately. I need my week with her to start now.”

“I’m afraid it won’t be possible for your time to start until she finishes her set in The Flower Lounge,” the manager said smoothly. “Perhaps you would care to go and listen to her lovely voice? Afterwards, I’ll introduce you and instruct her on the Supreme Treatment you’ll be receiving from her.”

Davrik nodded.

“All right—as long as my time with her starts directly after she’s finished performing.”

“You have my word as a Sluggorn,” the manager said. “Let me show you the way to our sumptuous lounge.”

Davrik followed the male, making certain to steer clear of the slimy trail he left behind and the little cleaner bot which followed him to suck the slime off the polished marble floors.

The inside of the club was even more luxurious than the lobby—he saw the muted gleam of gold and platinum everywhere and the walls were covered in the same net of densely packed, tiny scarlet blossoms which gave off a subtle scent that spoke of wealth and decadence and privilege.

At last they arrived at the entrance of the Flower Lounge.

“If you’ll just slip in and have a seat, you’ll be able to watch the last part of Sonya’s act,” the manager told him. “And I’ll be back to introduce the two of you a few minutes after she finishes.”

Davrik nodded and opened the heavy Treal wood door to slip into the lounge. His heart was pounding as he stepped into the darkened area, where most of the light was provided by the shimmering footlight glows which hovered around the bottom edge of the circular stage.

Sonya’s back was to him as he slid into the lounge and found a seat in the shadows to one side of the stage, but Davrik recognized her at once. Her full curves were encased in a sleek red gown which glittered in the dim light and contrasted with her velvety brown skin tones. Her long black hair, which hung in natural ringlets, cascaded down to the small of her back and her lovely, ethereal voice filled the air. She was singing what she called a “torch song”—a yearning love ballad filled with longing.

“Each time I see a crowd of people,

Just like a fool, I stop and stare.

It’s really not the proper thing to do,

But maybe you’ll be there…”

The song was one Davrik knew and it sent a shiver of pure emotion down his spine. This reminded him so much of the very first time he had seen his mate!

Sonya had been singing in a club called The Speak Easy in Ybor City. Davrik had stopped in for a drink on a whim, because he’d heard that there was live music there. He worked for the Kindred Mother ship as a scout, looking for new worlds to explore, but music was his passion. One of the things he loved to do was experience the music of other cultures and peoples and Earth had a very rich musical scene to explore.

The moment he had heard Sonya’s beautiful voice, Davrik had been mesmerized. She had a three-octave range that could growl a low, sultry contralto or soar into a dizzying soprano. She took his breath away before he even saw her and then, when he did see her, well…

The humans had something they called “love at first sight.” The Kindred called it “the lightning strike.” Davrik had felt it the very first time he had seen his future mate and he felt it all over again now as Sonya turned to face him. Gods, she was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her and yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away!

Her eyes slid over him in the darkened lounge and came to rest on another male who was sitting a few tables away. A look flitted across her face—a look that Davrik had seen before, but only when he woke her from the nightmares that stalked her in her sleep.

Terror. It was there for just a moment, in the widening of her brown eyes and the set of her lush lips, and then gone again, but her gaze remained glued to the male at the other table.

Davrik cast a sidelong glance to see what had upset her and felt his heart stop in his chest.

It was a Trollox—a really huge one with three heads and yellow, slitted eyes—all of which were trained on Sonya.

He understood at once why the sight would upset her. She had told him of the origin of the night terrors that ruined her sleep so often. It was a book of stories for children called “fairytales”—though why the humans would write tales that would terrorize their young, Davrik couldn’t understand.

This particular book had a picture of a mythical creature called an “ogre” in it—a great, lumpish brute with more than one head who lived in the dark forest. The story associated with the picture had been a bloody one, about how the evil creature loved to catch and cook children for dinner, grinding their fragile bones between its sharp, jagged teeth.

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