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No, but it was a good idea. I didn’t have time to explain what was the matter. Not that anyone would believe me anyway. My earlier interaction was proof enough of that.
“Yes!” I screamed. “There’s a fire! Everybody get out!”
The customers grabbed their things and hustled toward the nearest exits. They knocked the police officers back outside in a sudden wave of panic.
I ran for the back of the room and shouldered the door open. I bolted out and…
Ran into a strong pair of arms. The officer held me tight to his chest as I kicked and screamed—all in vain.
“No!” I screamed. “No!”
I’d caused a little fuss, but once everyone realized there was no fire and it was a hoax, they would go back to having a good time.
And life would return to normal.
8
NIGHTEKO
The tractor beam could be used not only to freeze targets in place and pull them toward the ship, but its bright light had another useful side effect. It made subjects pliant.
The Cornicians that stood to attention before the pods were drowsy and half asleep, like moths to a flame. They drooled and, given time, would return to normal.
I began at the most distant pod and looked the creature over. He was a male and would be used as the head of the household in a lord’s mansion. He looked the type.
“Get in the pod,” I said.
He did as I asked.
The next creature was destined for a pleasure house on Ryxix 5. She was voluptuous, beautiful… with slimy green skin and a cone-shaped head. I guess some people had that fetish.
“Get in your pod,” I said.
The next female was destined to be a governess of a wealthy household. I took her from a higher education facility. She ought to be well-suited for her position.
I was about to tell her to get in her pod when I noticed something.
“Raise your left arm,” I said.
She slowly did.
Wrapped tightly around her wrist was a thin chain. Its locket consisted of a polished stone in the shape of a spiral. I inspected it and pressed a button on the side. It flicked open to show moving images of two people she must have cared about. An older male and female.
Her parents.
Alice slipped into my thoughts like an assassin. We were in my quarters, naked, our bodies entwined, sharing that sumptuous moment immediately after great sex. She fingered her chain about her wrist. The bracelet her father had given her before he died. She opened it to show me the images inside.
I reached up and felt at the rings in my ear. One gold, the other silver. I was thinking about getting a third ring, one that would remind me of Alice. I decided against it. I needed to move on. I needed to forget about her.
Fat chance of that.
And then we were at my old village. There, buried in the soil were the remnants of my old life. Something no one but two souls in the entire universe knew about.
Only us.
For the first time I could recall, I smiled at the memory of my parents.
Yes, there were painful memories, but there were also very beautiful ones. Me as a child running in the fields as they played with me, every day in the kitchens while my mother cooked, and my father coming back from the hunt.
