Page 34 of Bonded

“Priya?”Ruzan’s voice was strong in my mind, as if he spoke directly to me. My link with the ship was full of images and overall sensations, as if all that I experienced extended from my own body. With Ruzan, he very much was a separate body from me. Maybe there was a linking step I was missing, because I like the experience of seeing through the bots’ eyes, and wondered if I could do the same with Ruzan.

“I hope I’m not bothering you. Do you mind if I just tag along with you for a while? I wanted to listen and possibly see what’s going on. I’ll be real quiet.”

A warm glow flowed through my chest. It felt like I swallowed the rising sun. “You are always welcome to link with me. Always.”

There was a feeling of being wrapped in a blanket. As if I could almost feel his arms around my middle.

“Thanks. I didn’t want to bother Vryek. I know he’s supposed to be talking.”

“He would not mind either. He would also welcome linking with you.”

I didn’t quite believe that, however, maybe I misinterpreted Vryek’s reserve. He could be just as open as Ruzan. Still, I would do nothing to distract him at the present.

“That’s good to know for the future. Thank you for letting me eavesdrop.”

I felt a pat on my head, like a phantom hand acknowledging what I’d said. I would have to learn how he did that.

We were going into a really loud area that sounded like an average bar back home during peak business. It was just missing a harried-sounding hostess.

Even in some random part of the universe that I hadn’t known existed, the local watering hole seemed to be as normal as any I’d seen in the colony.

The bar was dark, with battered tech that looked like they survived a few wars. The droid host greeted Vryek, who said, “We have a meeting with the Kaza twins.”

The droid pointed to a spot on his console. Vryek pressed a finger against it, and the screen lit up in approval. The droid spoke in broken tones to follow and led us to a front corner of the bar. It was away from more of the raucous patrons yelling at vid screens and placing bets, but still in view of the entrance.

Ithran could still see us once he joined. Hopefully, that would be soon.

The droid announced Vryek and Ruzan to two males, presumably the Kaza twins, sitting in the center of a U-shaped cushioned seat elevated off the floor by some technical wizardry. The level of technology and quality of the seat itself was out of place in this greasy dive bar.

The males were exact copies of the other. So much so that I wondered if they were clones. They were each dressed in brightly colored suits—one in green, the other orange—complete with a high collar and something that looked like a feather boa wrapped around their shoulders. Their pompadour hairstyles were platinum, with orange or green ends, depending on the twin.

“Perfect timing—” Twin one said.

“As usual,” Twin two finished.

Neither of them introduced themselves by name. It was just as well, since they seemed to present themselves as one united person. They even ended each other’s sentences, which was jarring.

“We were parched, but waited…until you arrived to order.” They each raised an empty glass, signaling a nearby server to scuttle over and fill their glasses.

Neither Vryek nor Ruzan made a move to grab a drink, remaining where they were, standing beside the table. “If it is all the same to you, we prefer to start business immediately,” Vryek said.

Another voice emerged from the background murmur. “Ah, in that we are of one accord.”

Something shifted in the shadows, and when the figure emerged, I had a moment of gut-twisting panic upon seeing him. I tried to wrestle down my anxious thoughts with cool logic, but I fought a losing battle.

The male was gray-skinned, with ridges along his brow and scalp. He was shorter than average, which meant that if I stood next to him, we would be eye-to-eye. I’d never seen him before. I was positive about that.

But there was something familiar in the way he sneered. The way his three-fingered hand rested on his belt, emphasizing his bulbous belly bulging over top of it.

I had been alarmed when I’d accidentally stumbled into the mess hall of aggressive males on the ship. But this male scared me like no other male had. My bones ached with mind-numbing terror, and I couldn’t understand why.

Bright cold pain shot through my skull and radiated down my spine. It felt like the whipping sting of arctic wind on my cheeks on a harsh winter’s day.It wasn’t pleasant, but it was what I needed to emerge from that grip of fear that had locked my body.

Okay?

Vryek’s message glowed dimly in my space. A flicker of light that was a beacon calling out a shelter in the storm. My heart expanded and only warmth and goodness filled me.

I am now. Thank you.

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