Abducted Read online

  “But—”

  “You have exactly two solar seconds to finish this scan and let me pass,” Sarden snapped. “If you’re not done by then, I’m getting back in my shuttle and leaving and I’m taking my credit with me.”

  “But—” POC said again, helplessly.

  “Nor will I be at the auction later, though your Master specifically invited me,” Sarden continued, giving POC a withering look. “I didn’t come all this way to be insulted.”

  I had to give Sarden credit for his performance—he sounded like every rich, South Tampa customer with a snotty attitude I’d ever dealt with back when I was working retail in college. Poor POC was obviously bowled over by it too. Seeing the look of abject terror on what passed for his face, I almost felt sorry for him.

  “Forgive me,” he burbled in his bullfrog voice. “Master Tazaxx very much wants to meet with you, Baron Van’Dleek. Please come right this way and bring your entourage with you.”

  “That’s more like it.” Sarden straightened his jacket with a few huffy jerks and flicked at an imaginary speck of dust off one immaculate sleeve. “Lead on. And I hope you brought transportation. I don’t walk.”

  “Of course—of course.” The POC made an obsequious bow which almost tipped him over—he was kind of top-heavy—and led us from the large landing area, which appeared to be in some kind of vast warehouse, to a large door.

  The door slid open at our approach and I caught my breath. The scene here was in direct contrast to the outside of the black bubble.

  The sky overhead was a pale, lovely purple, filled with sunlight and big puffy white clouds floating by. We had stepped out onto a kind of rolling meadow, covered in thick, neatly clipped dark blue grass. There were wildflowers and trees with purple bark and blue leaves. Here and there I saw little furry creatures that looked kind of like a cross between a cat and a raccoon nibbling the lush vegetation. Really, except for the color palate, it looked like something out of a Disney film.

  “Wow,” I breathed, looking around as POC lead us to a device that looked kind of like a large bright green golf cart with caterpillar treads instead of wheels.

  “Fuckin’ nice,” Grav agreed under his breath. Sarden said nothing, just looked around with a faintly bored expression on his face as though he’d seen it all before and this was no different. I wondered how he had learned to play a rich, entitled jerk so well.

  “If you’d care to take a seat, Baron Van’Dleek,” POC burbled, indicating the cart. “I’ll be happy to drive you and your entourage to the main house.”

  “That’s acceptable,” Sarden murmured coolly. He settled himself in the back of the cart, leaving POC to take the wheel at the front.

  Grav sat beside POC and glared at him, presumably for extra intimidation and I sat beside Sarden, at his feet.

  “Hey—you don’t have to be down there,” Sarden muttered to me, his voice pitched low so POC couldn’t hear him.

  “Yes, I do,” I whispered back. “You’re playing your role and I’m playing mine.” I batted my lashes at him and leaned against his leg, looking up at him with a flirty little smile.

  He rumbled laughter and reached down to stroke my hair, an action my nib-nibs objected to by chattering angrily and running to the other side of my neck. Their little claws gave me a ticklish feeling but I was more interested in the sensation of Sarden’s long fingers caressing my curls.

  I had only meant to get into character—the adoring slave girl staring up at her master. But his hand felt so warm against my head—so right. I nuzzled my cheek against his palm and looked into his eyes. His face looked different because of the mask but the expression he was wearing was unmistakable—desire and tenderness that made me catch my breath with yearning of my own.

  Stop it, I told myself. He’s playing a part—that’s all! But somehow I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his until the garish green golf cart came to a jerky halt.

  “And here is the main house of Master Tazaxx who is expecting you,” POC said.

  I tore my gaze from Sarden’s at last and looked up to see a large, rounded dome-shaped building that looked a lot like the black bubble dome we were in. But this one was pink. Not pastel pink or even rose pink—it was full on, blazing pink—a shade so bright it hurt your eyes to look at it.

  There were doorways and windows on the curving side of the hot pink dome and all of them were outlined entirely in what appeared to be solid gold. Apparently Tazaxx liked to flaunt his wealth.

  “Wow—classy décor,” I muttered to Sarden.

  He just gave me a look.

  “This way,” POC said and led the way up a curving pathway made of smooth, electric blue stones which might have been some kind of sapphires to the front door. I stared in disbelief. The doorknob was an enormous diamond. Ostentatious much?

  I wished I could twist it off and stick it in my pocket for a souvenir because Leah and Charlotte were never going to believe all this without some proof. But that would be stealing—plus, the Slave Leia outfit I had on didn’t have pockets. It was really sexy though—I’d thought Sarden would swallow his tongue when he first saw me in it—which, if I’m honest, was the exact reaction I was going for. I liked the way it swirled around my legs as I walked, even if I did feel a little exposed in it.

  But enough about my sexy disguise. POC was leading us into the garishly expensive pink dome-mansion and we all had to be on our toes.

  Speaking of toes, POC opened the gold encrusted, diamond-handled door and ushered us into the hot pink dome…and right into a half-inch puddle of water.

  “Oh!” I jumped back but my toes—and the rest of my feet—were already wet. Then I looked at the vast, pink marble floor (yes, the neon pink theme continued inside too) and saw that it wasn’t just a puddle—the entire floor was flooded with a half inch of water. Was Tazaxx having a plumbing problem? “What the Hell?” I muttered to Sarden.

  “Apologies but Master Tazaxx is going through his molting cycle at the moment and requires moisture,” POC told us. “Be so kind as to leave your footwear outside the door if you do not wish it to get wet.”

  Molting, huh? That sounded interesting. I took off the little strappy sandals I’d had Al synthesize for me and left them on the hot pink doorstep. Sarden and Grav did the same and then rolled up their trousers. Then we all filed into the house barefoot.

  Inside, POC led us through several large empty rooms with high, rounded ceilings that had strange artwork on them. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was because it kept moving and changing—shifting colors and forms that didn’t seem to have any kind of pattern. After awhile, my neck started getting a crick in it so I looked down and stopped trying to figure it out.

  Finally we came to an area about as big as a ballroom with only two things in it. The first was a raised dais about two feet tall.

  “This is where your interview with Master Tazaxx will be conducted,” POC informed us. “If you will please ascend to the platform?”

  Well, at least it looked dry up there, which would be a vast improvement over the wet marble floor—my toes were getting pruney. It also faced the only other thing in the room, which appeared to be a giant mud puddle.

  “Um, what are we supposed to do?” I asked Sarden in a low voice as we all climbed up onto the platform. It was a high step for me so he simply lifted me by the waist and set me down beside him.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen Tazaxx during his molting phase,” he murmured. “This is all new to me.”

  “If you will please be patient, Master Tazaxx will be ready to speak with you in a moment,” POC said. He hadn’t climbed onto the platform with us, (maybe because his tiny little caterpillar legs couldn’t reach that high?) and was still standing in the inch-deep water on the floor below us.

  We stood silently on the platform—which was carpeted in the same dark blue grass we had seen outside—and faced the mud puddle. It looked brown and thick—more like a mud slick than an