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“To your backward cesspit. You can’t be serious.”
I was serious. It might be a backward cesspit to her, but to me, it was the only home I had.
I wasn’t a fool. If there was a chance I could get home faster, easier, than working as a maid in this place, I would take it.
“If what you say is true, I respect you for all the hard work you’ve done,” I said. “And I won’t do anything to embarrass you or your company.”
Shrisa looked me over and raised her nose.
“Good,” she said. “At least we can agree—”
“I’m not finished,” I said. “But I’ll make you and your company a laughing stock if you do try to make things difficult for me to get off this planet. I’ll put a mark against this business so dark it’ll never rub off. I never asked to be abducted. I never asked you to buy me. I never asked for this asshole to choose me. But if it leads to me getting the hell out of dodge, I’m not going to turn him down. So, you do what you’ve gotta do to survive, and I’ll do the same. Do I make myself clear?”
The blood drained from Shrisa’s face. She nodded.
“Good,” I said. Then I softened my tone. “Believe it or not, we’re on the same side. You want to get rid of me and I want to get home. Neither of us want there to be any problems.”
I’d shaken her. But I meant what I said. Nobody pushed me around.
Nobody.
“Then get to work figuring a way out of here,” she said.
She opened the door and nodded at me in a way that signaled at least a little respect. I stepped into the room and she shut the door behind me.
I let out a breath. Since when did living become so difficult?
I found myself standing in the only well-designed room in the entire stinking place. The endless hallways and cavernous rooms reminded me of cheap porn sets from the seventies. This room, at least, was tasteful. An entire wall was taken up with old books and a large window ran along the back. There was no second door in or out, no way for me to escape. I moved for the window and looked for a handle but couldn’t see one.
WHOOSH!
I screamed and wrapped my hands over my ears as a huge shadow zipped past the window. I opened my eyes slowly.
Rapidly departing into the middle distance was a small airplane. It was more futuristic, with short wings and powerful engines. A flying ship.
A flying ship?
Just how high up was I?
I peered through the window at the ground below.
Far below.
This building was so tall I couldn’t even see the ground.
Across the way were a row of similarly tall buildings. I couldn’t make out their tops either. I wondered if they even had one. They made our skyscrapers back home look like tiny needles. Surely it couldn’t be safe to have such big buildings like this? A stiff breeze might knock them over.
The blood drained from my face and my body shivered.
It wasn’t safe for someone to stand so close to a window like this either. Nothing but a skinny slice of glass kept me from falling out.
I’d never liked heights.
I stumbled back and fell into one of the large wing-backed chairs. It was made of hard leather and wasn’t the most comforting material in the world. I could still make out the hair follicles from when they’d killed the beast.
And skinned it.
For all I knew, that was what the Titan wanted me for.
