Page 11 of Asmodel

“Oh, are you in a play?” Izzy asked. The large doors of the auditorium banged shut with a resounding thud, making her jump. She glanced around the now-empty room, the place eerily vacant. Everyone was gone, no one around but the two of them.

“No.” Aja’s sigh was as sincere as a politician’s promise. “I’m happy to say my days of playing the disgusting part of a human liaison are over.” She grabbed Izzy’s elbow and tugged. “Come on, human.” The wordhumancame out heavy with derision. “Time to exchange your destiny for something a bit different.”

“What? But I… wait, the exchange isn’t until tomorrow, and the party’s over there!” Izzy pointed to the entryway behind her, now getting smaller as Aja dragged her farther down the corridor.

“Now, you don’t need to worry your pretty little head about that.”

The mean smirk crossing Aja’s lips made Izzy twitch. She’d never seen an expression like that before. On anyone. Human or alien.

“Where you’re headed, parties will be nothing but a distant memory.” Aja hissed, leaning closer and tightening her hold.

Her hot breath sent a shiver down Izzy’s spine, raising goose bumps all over.

“I promise you’re going to hate every moment.”

A sudden, searing pinch on Izzy’s neck drove Aja’s last word home. “Ow!” She slapped her neck over the pain. “What was…”

Her only answer was a thick blanket of nothingness.

Izzy’s eyes fluttered open. She gasped when a woman’s face hovered just inches from hers. The bright pair of green eyes speckled with golden flecks captured her with their burning, untamed, fiery spirit.

“You okay?” The woman’s voice was mixed with a clear, confident resonance layered with the bare touch of a smooth, southern accent. Her chestnut brows furrowed, matching the smooth caramel of her skin as her full lips pursed. A voluminous cascade of curls fell over her shoulders and framed her high cheekbones, straight nose, and a firm jawline that lent a no-nonsense air.

“Who are you?” Izzy whispered and put her hand on the side of her head. “And where the heck am I?” Ugh. Her mouth and eyes were as dry as a crisp autumn leaf.

The woman moved back and looked her over.

Izzy realized she was lying flat on a hard, unforgiving surface. Doggone it, her upper back and bottom were killing her. No telling how long she’d been lying like this.

“I’m Morgan Jackson. And this place—” The woman waved an expressive hand and sat back on her heels. “—is Chez de Captivus. The glory hole in this stupid gangster planet called FiPan.”

Izzy frowned. “Huh? Chez de what?” She leaned up on her elbows and glanced around. She didn’t recognize the small, dirty-white room that was no bigger than the cramped lunchroom at the library. “I’m not on theStarChance?”

Morgan laughed and stood. “Yeah, uh, no.” Her lips pressed into a tight line. “You, my friend, can now rightfully claim you’re a living stereotype.” She put her fists on her trim hips. “You’ve been kidnapped by aliens.”

Izzy must’ve heard her wrong. “No, I went with the Zerins willingly. I wanted to go into space.” She rolled with a grunt into a sitting position. “I’m part of an exchange program to meet an alien soulmate.”

A zing of pain shot through her temple. She rubbed it. “I think Aja was taking me… um, somewhere?”

Morgan smirked. “Aja. That’s the name of the Zerin who brought you here?”

Izzy nodded and stumbled as she tried to stand. She swung her arms as her legs wobbled like they’d forgotten what they were supposed to do. Thank goodness Morgan was there to help her get steady.

“Hang on there,” the other woman cautioned. “Give yourself a chance to come back online.”

“Thank you.” Izzy took a deep breath when her body stayed upright. She eyed Morgan. “Online? You some kind of coder?”

Morgan’s face went blank. She shrugged. “Something like that.”

When she didn’t elaborate, Izzy took another look around. “My goodness. There isn’t much here, is there?” That was an understatement. Three small cots along the side walls and a small bowl in a corner. Nothing else.

“Where did you say we were?” Her nose wrinkled when a shimmering light caught her eye. “Oh, what is that?”

She approached the open arched doorway with her fingers extended. A rainbow of colors flowed like a waterfall, except up-and-down instead of just down.

“Don’t touch that!” Morgan jumped and grabbed Izzy’s hand before it got close. “You’ll burn your fingers!”

Izzy clenched her fingers and took a step back. “What?” She peered at the reflective surface. “Is it some kind of force field?”

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