Page 3 of Indentured Companion
“T-thank you.” I accepted the tissues and dried my face. My breathing took longer to steady, but I managed it. “What a-about me?” I cleared my throat. “What contract do you have for me?”
Chapter 3
The contract
Valerie
“Now foryou, I have a very special opportunity.” Yalla stood and waved with her two right hands for me to rise as well. “I have a client that would make a great master, but so far I haven’t been able to find asatisfactoryindentured servant for him.” She headed for the door, so I took the hint and followed her. We didn’t go down the corridor after Cassie, but instead across the corridor and into another room. This one had green carpet, but otherwise matched the previous office of the processing room exactly. Why the change of location? When prompted I took the seat facing the desk, but Yalla didn’t sit on the other side. Instead she picked up the chair with one hand and brought it around to sit with me. “Tell me Miss Stone. What do you know about the Korvis?”
My heart sank.
In my mind I saw the images of the Korvis that were popular in the various horror films they featured in. Tall and shrouded completely in long green fabric, where only their terrible dark magenta eyes were visible. In the films the fabric around the mouth was always stained red with blood, and their eyes would glow as they shrieked like banshees.
“I…” I struggled to find the words as I stared at her wary smile. Evensheknew this was about to be a hard sell. “I know what most people know about them, I think. For a long time the Korvis weren’t allowed into Theskian space. They eat people.”
“I’ll stop you right there.” She chuckled nervously and shook her head. Her lovely frills were flat to her neck. “The Korvis do noteatpeople. They feed on proteins and particulates produced naturally in the blood of most sapient species.” I gave her a deadpan look. How was that any different to what I just said? So they were bloodsuckers rather than flesh eaters? The outcome was the same. “You were right about the Korvis not being allowed into Theskian space. Because the Council prohibited them feeding off of sentient and sapient species. The Korvis, therefore, remained within their own territories. Until last month.”
“I remember their freedom of travel into Theskian space and permission to trade being passed.” I shuddered. I could remember father’s voice clearly as he stated how ludicrous he thought it was that ‘space vampires’ were now part of the Theskian races. “It was in the news.” I folded my arms and didn’t like where I thought this was going.
“Yes, that’s right.” Yalla folded her lower arms and gestured with her upper hands. “They were granted admittance because they have developed technology that safely boosts the blood supply of their feeding companion-”Prey.“-and outlined strict care plans for anyone whovolunteeredto be one. They co-signed laws making it illegal to feed from anyone without consent.”
I knew where this was going. I could feel it in my bones. “As you can imagine? Not many Theskian races have volunteered to be feeding companions.”
“Yes, Icanimagine.” I folded my arms tighter, bracing myself for the inevitable.
“So?” Here it was. Her voice raised, her smile was nervous, and she prepared to drop the final pitch at me. “As the Korvisareeager to fully integrate with our galactic society, they have reached out to various channels to try facilitate new feeding companions. No one has volunteered, but a few have negotiated business arrangements. Payment for their blood.” Yalla slowly reached over to touch my shoulder. “They understand why people are hesitant to become feeding companions, but at the same time, they need feeding companions, or they aren’t allowed to leave the Hive. Their home. Which is why key individuals have reached out to Indentured Servitude Centres, like this one.”
“You want me to be a feeding companion?” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“You would be well cared for. Your health would be paramount, and you would suffer no long lasting effects from being the feeding companion of a Korvis. Not only that? But the pay my client is offering isreallygood.” Yalla thought she was going to win me over by making me focus on the pay-day at the end of the contract term. When I didn’t jump aboard or do anything more than stare at her, pale as a ghost and more than a little afraid of my options, Yalla rubbed my shoulder and leaned closer to me. “Trust me when I say that this contract is your best option. A young woman who needs to become indentured fast,usuallyleads to becoming adifferentkind of companion.”
I leaned back from her, feeling sick at the implication. It would seem the rumoursweretrue. Some peopledidbecomethatkind of companion. My mind thought back to the three women from the waiting room this morning and my stomach turned. Is that what happened to them? Are they being used for their bodies right now? Is that the alternative that faced me if I didn’t agree? “I can’t say much more about the client, other than you would live a very comfortable existence. It’s a one year contract, so you’d be done the same time your sister is.” I chewed my lips and knew she was right. What were my options here really? Allow someone to use my body? Or my blood? Both terrified me, but I knew which one would still allow me to sleep safely at night.
“The treatment you mentioned?” I cleared my throat. “To boost blood supply. It’s safe?”
“Yes.” She beamed, clearly relieved I was considering it. “It’s been thoroughly tested. Their admission into Theskian territories depended on it.”
“So I would come out of it unharmed?” I had to be sure that at the end of the year I would still be able to live my life. To be there for Cassie when we both finished our indentured servitude. I didn’t want to be a husk because my life had been sucked out through my veins.
“Absolutely.” Yalla giddily got up and marched over to another door at the back of the room. She held the handle and beamed at me with her frill wide at either side of her neck. “Please come through. He would like to meet you before the contract is agreed.”
“M-meet me?” The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My brown eyes widened as I darted them from Yalla to the door handle she still held. “He’s…?” I nodded to the door and to her credit, the lovely Sacron bobbed her head with a confident smile.
“Yes. As you can understand, the client wanted to meet any prospective feeding companion before agreeing to the contract. Right this way Miss Stone.” She turned the handle and opened the door. My heart raced and I wanted to ask her to wait, but it was too late. She swung it open and held it close to her so I could see into the room.
There, sat directly opposite me on the other side of the adjoining room, was a Korvis.
Chapter 4
The Korvis
Valerie
He sat up a little straighter and stared right back at me. He was tall and was enwrapped in the most beautiful fabric I have ever seen. He was covered from head to toe in an evergreen robe, and wore a headdress that veiled his face. It was far more elegant than anything I’d seen in the horror films about the Korvis. Silver swirls were effortlessly stitched into the fabric, which seemed to both hug his tall frame like a second skin, and billow down around him. His face was covered, apart from one rectangle over his lilac eyes. On top of the head wrap, he wore something that was halfway between a crown and a circlet. It had a distinct M shape and looked like lots of thin golden peaks were meshed intricately together with clusters of emeralds throughout.
Suddenly, he lifted a gloved hand and beckoned me to come closer. I gulped and looked to Yalla. I don’t know why. Was I hoping she’d call this off? Or that she’d say I didn’t have to go towards the mysterious blood-sucking alien? All four of her hands ushered me like one would a nervous child going to school for the first time to go into the room. I had no choice. I was going to have to go in there. I couldn’t believe this was really happening as I stiffly got to my feet. They felt like lead as I forced them to take one step after the other. A chill went down my spine once I crossed the threshold, and Yalla shut the door behind us. At least she wasn’t going to leave us alone. “Here.” She calmly retrieved another chair and placed it directly in front of the Korvis. I received the message loud and clear and lowered into it.
He didn’t take those lilac eyes off me. Not for a second. He tracked my journey across the room and into the chair. He turned in his seat and stared at me intently. What was he thinking I wonder? Did I look tasty? Or did I look pale and unpalatable due to stress? “Until the contract is signed I can’t use the client’s name, as he will require you to sign a confidentiality agreement as part of the contract today.” Yalla sounded way too giddy as she moved to sit behind the desk at the other side of the room. She might as well be at the other side of the station. I was trapped in those lilac eyes. Diamond shaped pupils swept over me, appraising me, and he cleared his throat to signal he was finally about to speak.
