Abducted Read online

  “The cape probably isn’t necessary,” Sarden agreed.

  I was pleasantly surprised that he was giving in so easily.

  “Great! Then just give me a pair of dark glasses to hide my eyes and I’m ready to go.”

  He frowned. “We need to hide your hair as well. It’s so red it really stands out.”

  “Says the man who has red skin,” I pointed out.

  “Which is normal for a Vorn, even if it’s not for an Eloim,” he said. “But your combination of pale, silky skin with such a profusion of red hair is unusual—and desirable.”

  “Is that what this is about? Look at me in this get-up.” I spread my arms, indicating my bulky, be-caped figure. “Do I look desirable to you?”

  Sarden’s golden eyes suddenly went half-lidded.

  “Always, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I find you extremely desirable, which I think I’ve made clear in the past.”

  “I didn’t mean…I mean, I wasn’t fishing for compliments,” I said, feeling my cheeks go hot at the way he was looking at me. “I just meant, I don’t think anyone is going to be lusting after me while I’m wearing a baggy sweatshirt and a freaking Batman cape. That’s all.”

  “I know what you mean, but I disagree.” He frowned. “You really have no idea of your own beauty, do you?”

  “I, um…” I didn’t know what to say about that. When you’ve been called “chubby” and “chunky” and been freckled and short and pretty much the exact opposite of what society says is beautiful, like I had all your life, it’s hard to get a sense of your own “beauty.”

  “Luckily, I do,” Sarden continued evenly. “Which is why I had Al synthesize this.” He pulled something from behind his back and I stared at it in disbelief.

  “No,” I said at last, when I could talk. “No way am I wearing that thing.”

  Sarden arched an eyebrow at me.

  “Then I guess you’re not coming with me.”

  “What? But I did everything you asked. Look, just give me a scarf to wear over my hair or something. But not this—how will I even breathe in it?”

  I gestured at what he was holding out to me—a mask. But not just any mask—this thing would cover my entire head. It looked a little like those caricature rubber masks that bank robbers use to protect their identity when they’re committing the crime of the century.

  And wearing this thing would certainly be a crime. It wasn’t just ugly—it was hideous.

  Green, pebbled skin that reminded me of an alligator’s hide, black, compound eyes like a fly, and pointy, Shrek-like ears stared back at me. The mouth was a small, blue wrinkled hole and the nose wasn’t even a nose—just two flat nostril slits.

  “What is this even supposed to be?” I asked Sarden. “It’s awful.”

  “It’s a Grubbian,” he said patiently. “They’re one of the few sentient species as small as you Earthlings. Also, they’re traders, known to frequent the outer ports. You’ll fit right in with this on.”

  “I’ll smother with this on,” I protested.”

  “It’s very comfortable— made out of a special smart-fabric. I ran a shipment of it for a rich merchant in the Acanthion system last cycle and kept a bolt back for myself. Thought it might come in handy.” He grinned at me. “It’s illegal in most systems, you know.”

  “Great,” I grumbled. “So now you’re trying to make an intergalactic criminal out of me.”

  “Oh, you’ll see plenty of criminals in the Giedi Prime port—but only if you wear this.”

  He nodded at the mask and frowned at me. With a sinking feeling, I understood he wasn’t going to let up until I put the damn thing on. And he said I had a one track mind!

  “All right—fine.” Gathering my hair into a loose, messy bun at the nape of my neck, I pulled the weird Grubbian mask over my head.

  I had expected the closed in, claustrophobic sensation and the weird, plasticky smell of a Halloween mask. I was pleasantly surprised though—the mask was completely breathable so I didn’t get the feeling I was suffocating. I could tell something was over my face, but it was more like a thin piece of fabric or gauze—the same sensation I imagined I would feel if I was just wearing a veil draped over my head.

  “Well?” Sarden asked.

  “All right.” I sighed. “It’s not awful. But won’t it look weird, me not having any facial expressions. I mean, unless, uh, Grubbians just walk around stone-faced all day.”

  “Oh, you have expressions, all right,” he remarked. “Every time your face moves, so does the mask. Even the tiniest twitch is relayed to the smart-fabric.”

  “Smart-fabric, huh?” I murmured.

  “See for yourself,” he gestured at the 3-D viewer again.

  I looked at it, taking in my weird new appearance and wrinkled my nose.

  The ugly green mask wrinkled its nose too—well, the nostril slits did, anyway.

  “Hey!” I didn’t know whether to be horrified or delighted. I settled for a mixture—hor-lighted?—and made another face which the mask copied perfectly.

  I winked my eyes—the big, black bug eyes of the mask winked back. I waggled my eyebrows and the brow-ridges of the mask did the same. I stuck out my tongue—the mask did too. Only the mask’s tongue was long and thin and blue. Amazing.

  Sarden let loose a deep, rumbling laugh and I realized I was acting like a fool. But honestly, it was so cool—I couldn’t help myself.

  “Okay,” I said, looking up at him. “This is pretty awesome. I mean, it’s ugly as sin but I like it anyway.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me.

  “So you’ll wear it with no more complaining?”

  “No more complaining,” I promised. “This is going to be fun.”

  “Zoe…” He put a hand on my shoulder and looked at me intently, suddenly completely serious. “All joking aside, the station on Giedi Prime is damn dangerous. There are going to be males there who would cut you to pieces and use you for bait for a xanthun hunt without a second thought. So be careful when we’re down there and never get too far from me. All right?”

  His words made me feel like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cubes into the pit of my stomach.

  “Okay,” I said, in a much more subdued voice. “I got it. I’m just there to gather information and I won’t get too far from you.”

  “Good.” He nodded. “Now here’s what to listen for…”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Zoe

  I scanned the dim, smoky area of the VIP lounge carefully, trying to stay to the shadows and look unobtrusive. Not that I stood out at all. Even with my ugly-ass mask on, I was by far one of the least noticeable people in the big, weird room.

  There was a kind of round, circular bar at the center of the lounge that was made of what looked like bones. What kind of bones, I didn’t know and didn’t want to find out. The ivory of alien femurs and tibias and scapulas and whatever the other bones were gleamed in the dim, hazy light. Whoever or whatever it was that had donated the raw material for the grisly bar must have been big though—freaking huge. Most of the aliens sitting around the bone bar were Sarden’s size or even bigger and not all of them were humanoid, but none of them looked like they had bones big enough to make such massive furniture out of.

  Well, almost none of them. Far at the end of the bar was a creature the size of an elephant, taking up three of the bone bar stools at once with his wrinkled, purple behind. He spoke in a voice so low I felt it as a trembling vibration in the air and seemed to be having a conversation with the bartender—who had three faces and was speaking with several other customers at the same time.

  Beside the purple elephant man sat a thin woman—I thought it was a woman, anyway—wearing an elegant fur bikini which barely covered her three gigantic breasts. She had light green skin and was smoking the longest, thinnest cigarette I had ever seen. It must have been three feet long and the smoke coming out of it changed colors occasionally, from pink to p