Sophia

SOPHIA

What happened next was almost beautiful, in a grim, awful sort of way.

There was no doubt that he was a professional. Every move he made was confident, studied, and careful.

Even though there were four of them and just one of him, there was no doubt that he was fully in control at every moment.

Before any of them even realized the fight had started, he shoved the leader back into the other three.

"You Ewani-licking son of a…help me up, dammit," the leader sputtered.

While two of his friends steadied the blue alien, the Vinduthi trying to buy me from them crossed his arms in front of himself, sweeping his hands down each forearm.

And suddenly, slim black knives appeared, sprouting by magic from between each finger.

The first one flew into the left eye of the Maeux in the left side. He stood for a moment, wobbling, before his knees softened and he collapsed in a heap.

The other three scattered, reaching for their blasters.

They weren't fast enough.

The leader fell next, his mouth open and closed, like he was going to shout again, but no sound came out.

The other two stared blankly in terror when they went to aim, and the Vinduthi wasn't there.

"Surprise."

He'd already dashed behind them. While they were still turning around, he slit their throats.

The whole thing was over so fast, there was no time for me to feel anything but shock. One second, there had been four aliens making demands and threatening to sell me to be tortured.

They lay dead next, and the Vinduthi stood over them.

I just sat there, frozen.

What happens next ? Even if I am sold to him now, is there anything I can even do about it?

He dropped to his knees and searched through the dead sentient's pockets. A few seconds later, he had what he wanted. The alien's percomm.

"I said I'd pay him twice what he paid for your contract," the man said. "Any idea what that would be?"

"My contract?" I repeated, confused. What did that have to do with stealing a dead man's percomm?

"It's okay," he said. "I'll just be generous. I wouldn't want to undervalue you."

He punched a few numbers in, pulled out his own, and tapped them together. Finally, he returned both devices to their places, leaving the dead one's sticking out just a little.

"I don't understand," I said. "Why not just take it?"

"I'm a killer, not a thief," the Vinduthi said, walking back toward me. "And if I took the percomm, how would I prove you belong to me now?"

I swung my hand to slap him. Just as quickly, his shot up, and he caught my wrist before I hit his cheek. His grip was iron firm, and we stood there like that for a few seconds, just staring at each other.

"You just watched me kill four men," he said.

I nodded. "Yes."

"Four armed men."

"That's right."

"And you still decided to slap me for saying you belong to me."

I didn't say anything. There wasn't anything I could say, really. Legally speaking, he was right. My contract did belong to him.

Which really meant that I did, too.

But that didn't mean I didn't have dignity. Dignity was probably all I had left.

He smiled. "You've got a lot of spirit. I made the right choice buying you."

That was the moment I finally processed all of it. He bought my contract. I wasn't a dancer anymore.

I was whatever he wanted me to be. I was so focused on my boss and the dead aliens on the floor, I didn't even think about that.

What would a Vinduthi like that do with me?

What wouldn't he do with me?

If I were lucky, he'd decide my training as a dancer was valuable enough not to waste throwing me into other work.

The Modzrabe had been good enough to me, but I could dance at another club if I had to. If I were unlucky, he'd sell me to whoever would pay the most. That could mean being sold to one of the asteroid mining units, where they would have me go work until I died.

And if I was really unlucky, maybe the rumors of what the Vinduthi did to human women were true.

He walked over to the door and looked back at me.

"Well? Are you coming?"

"I didn't need you to save me from those men," I blustered, trying to keep my voice steady. "I could have figured something out myself."

He shrugged. "I'm sure you could have."

"So don't think I owe you anything. I don't. You started that fight. Not me."

"I'm not telling you to get over here because I think you owe me something," he said. "I'm telling you to come over here because I own you. Or do I have to consider you insubordinate?"

I had heard the kinds of things that happened to humans who rebelled against their owners. Swallowing my anger, I walked towards him steadily.

"Good," he said. "Just follow me. We'll be going to headquarters."

Headquarters. Did that mean he planned on giving me to his family? Then again, most of the big families had nightclubs. Maybe he just meant for me to be a dancer there.

"What's your name, anyway?" I asked as we walked down the hallway towards the main room of the club after a quick stop back stage for me to get dressed.

He stood there watching, silent, looming, as every piece of clothing covered me back up.

"I wondered if you'd ever be curious about that," he said. "It's Makar."

The name meant nothing to me, but he said it like it was one to be proud of. Clearly, this was a Vinduthi who had a reputation, at least among the circles he walked in. And a deserved one, too, I thought, remembering the deadly grace of his brief fight.

We reached the end of the hall.

"Are we just gonna leave the bodies there?" I asked, turning around. None of this felt quite real, and the fact that we just walked away from four dead men as if nothing at all happened only made it worse.

He raised his thick eyebrows. "Do you have something you'd rather do with them?"

"I don't know," I said. "I assumed you'd know what to do with a dead body."

"Disposing of dead bodies is for people who are hiding the fact they killed someone," Makar said. "That's not exactly what I do."

His voice was entirely matter of fact. He didn't need to posture about how little those men's lives meant to him. He really and truly didn't care.

He would care just as little about killing me, a voice in my head whispered.

We walked straight through the club and then out.

This will be the last time I see it , I thought, looking backwards quickly as we left. I couldn't say there were no bad memories there, but I'd figured out how to survive there.

I didn't know how I would do that wherever he was taking me.

We walked down the halls of the station, until we came to the Promenade, crossing the central area filled with ritzy shops quickly, heading towards the starboard side of the station, the flashy lights of the surrounding businesses swirling all around us.

Other people walked around us. I could tell that they recognized Makar, and that they were afraid of him. More than once, someone who frequented the Modzrabe noticed me, started to make a remark, then saw who I was walking with and quieted down.

This was his territory. He was in charge here.

"Have you ever done this before?" I asked.

"Walked down the street?"

"No. Bought a human's contract."

He thought. "Now that you mention it, I haven't."

So he was doing this whole thing on impulse? Did he even have a plan for me?

As frightening and dangerous as this man was, I couldn't help but find him interesting, too. From the way he talked, to paying the dead man's account, he never seemed to do what I expected. He was a lot of things, but he wasn't some simple thug. In a way, that was a relief.

Then again, maybe I was just trying to find something to like about him because of how attractive he was. He certainly was handsome. Those sharp eyes, that muscular body with a chiseled, almost refined face on top.

I almost wished I could have finished the dance with him before all this happened.

Almost.

Suddenly, I guessed where we were headed.

Rumors said the Fallen Star was run by the Vinduthi.

This was just another club. All I needed to do was dance.

Heck, even the tips were supposed to be better here.

I could do this.

At the door, a large orcish Dargun nodded casually at Makar. "Productive evening?"

Makar flashed a smile. "I'm about to find out."

Stepping inside the Fallen Star, I was immediately struck by its unexpected opulence. The rich, blood-red carpet, its abstract designs in black and gold, was almost dizzying. Above, hovering globes emitted a soft radiance, their resemblance to shooting stars or comets frozen in mid-flight captivating the senses.

Dance music boomed from a room further inside, but instead we turned off to the right, where Makar tapped a code into a panel set into the wall.

A door slid open, and he led me inside.

My stomach lurched, and not just from the rapid ascent.

Where were we going now?

The lift opened, and Makar stepped out, his hand still wrapped around my upper arm.

This… didn't look like a club.

This looked like somebody's house. Well, maybe.

This looked like the lobby of a fancy hotel.

A very, very fancy hotel. Dark fabrics covered the walls, gold and silver glinting in the light. Plush red chairs grouped around low wooden tables.

And from one of the chairs, another Vinduthi slowly rose to his feet.

My heart crashed in my ears and I had to fight to keep from backing away.

Makar was one thing. Tall, ruggedly handsome from his horns on down, that smile that made my breath catch, even the green sigils down the side of his face looked almost friendly.

Well, except for when he slaughtered those four Maeux back in the champagne room.

His eyes had gone cold, his entire presence changing into a terrifying killer.

Then he snapped back, all traces of the killer gone.

I could tell immediately this Vinduthi was different.

He was a cold killer all the time.

And I was nothing but prey.

Slowly, the stranger paced towards us, his gaze flicking over me, leaving me trembling, ready to step behind Makar for protection.

And then he smiled, which somehow made it worse.

"Here's something new," he said, slapping Makar on the shoulder. "Makar goes out looking for a spy and finds a dancer instead. What's the story?"

"I bought her," Makar answered. He glanced at me. "Sophia, meet Alkard. Alkard, Sophia."

I might have managed to squeak something out. Probably not.

"I'm used to telling all the other boys not to waste money," said Alkard. "But I've never had to do it with you, Makar. "

"I used my own money."

Alkard laughed and I blinked. "Well, everyone has to indulge themselves sometime. I hope you didn't pay too much for her. She's easy enough on the eyes, but we've already got all the dancers we need."

"I didn't say I got her as a dancer."

Alkard looked a little surprised and I felt my stomach turn as I turned all of my attention back to Makar.

That had been my last hope. Now what was going to happen?

"I got her for myself," Makar continued.

The words hit me like a meteorite.

What was he going to do with me?