“Of course I came for you, but don’t thank me yet—we still have to make the sale and get you out of here,” Bobbi murmured. “Just keep quiet and follow my lead.”
Keelah nodded vigorously and let Bobbi go so she could talk to Wheezler, who had re-entered the room behind as well.
“I take it this is the Pleasure Girl you were looking for?” he inquired politely, raising his eye ridges at Bobbi.
“Yes—this is her!” Bobbi nodded firmly. “How many bangles do you want for her?” she asked, pushing up her sleeves again.
“She’s not for sale, bitch.”
The nasty voice was coming from behind her. Bobbi whirled around and saw that the customer who had come in through the front door had made his way to the sitting area. But it wasn’t just any customer.
It was none other than Zerlix and he was smirking at her like a predator who has finally cornered his prey.
57
Dragon was dreaming…dreaming of the past.
“I don’t like these lizard men, Taurex,” Dragon’s mother said. “I don’t trust them.”
“Don’t worry, Lalish, my love,” Dragon’s father replied. “I’ll take care of them.”
Only he wasn’t Dragon—he was Tolor. He was small but he was loved. And because he trusted his parents, he knew they would keep him safe.
Dragon saw his younger self running into the room, calling for his parents to come, calling that he had seen some of the “lizard men” through the front window and they were coming to the door.
His father—he of the black hair and flaming eyes—said he would handle the situation and Dragon believed him. No, Tolor believed him, he corrected himself. Because Poppa was big and strong and he could turn into…
What? What could Poppa turn into? Dragon/Tolor couldn’t remember, but whatever it was, it was big and scary and it could protect them all.
“The barrier is very thin now,” a voice whispered in his head. A strong, feminine voice that Dragon had heard somewhere before. “Soon it will be pierced. But for now, warrior, you must awake. Your female is in trouble.”
And suddenly, Dragon found himself fully awake and sitting on his couch in his rooms. He blinked stupidly, trying to understand what had happened.
I was dreaming of them—of my parents and my younger self. It was so vivid—I could see them so clearly! What woke me up?
“Warrior,” a voice said again. Not a voice in his dream—this was real and Dragon had heard it before. It was as though someone was in the room with him, speaking in his ear. And it wasn’t just a voice—there was a presence that accompanied it. A presence that filled the room so fully he could barely breathe.
“Warrior,” it said again. “Your female is in danger! You must go to her at once.”
“You mean Bobbi?” Dragon looked around, but there was nothing to see—just that presence filling his room—overfilling it, like too much water poured into a tank that was about to burst. “She’s in danger? But how do I find her? Is she in the women’s room?”
“Go to the Market and follow her scent,” the voice advised him. “But hurry if you wish to keep her alive!”
Then the presence was gone…but Dragon’s mind was filled with another voice.
Hurry! It was the presence inside him—the thing he had no name for. We must save our female! it urged him.
“But Bobbi’s in the women’s room, isn’t she?”
But what if she wasn’t?
Dragon got up and reached for his knife. He sheathed it in the holster on his belt and ran out the door. A quick jog to the other end of the large house and he found his adoptive Mother just outside the women’s room door.
“Mother Tilah,” he said quickly. “I know I’m not supposed to see her, but can you tell me that Bobbi is in there?” He pointed to the door. “I just had the strangest dream about her—I need to be sure she’s all right.”
“She was just fine the last time I saw her.” Mother Tizlah’s words were clipped and her lipless mouth was tight.
Dragon frowned—he was very familiar with his adoptive mother’s moods and expressions—something was wrong.
“What do you mean the last time you saw her?” he demanded. “Where is she?”
“Son, do you really think she’s the female for you?” Mother Tizlah asked, not answering his question. “I hate to say it, but she has horrible manners.”
“Horrible manners? What are you talking about?” Dragon said blankly.
“Why, she insulted both your brother and me,” Mother Tizlah exclaimed. “She called Zerlix all kinds of awful names and said such nasty things to me about how I raised him. It really hurt my feelings.”
“That doesn’t sound like Bobbi at all—why would she do that?” Dragon shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“What seemed to upset her was the fact that your brother sold that little Pleasure Girl of his. What was her name? Oh yes—Keelah.” Mother Tizlah sniffed disdainfully. “Anyway, he came by to say he’d sold her to her old pimp and it just seemed to set that mammalian girl of yours off. She started ranting and raving and screaming that he liked to hurt women and that I had raised him wrong and it was just a mess.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry to say it, but I really don’t think she’s going to be a good addition to the family. I think maybe we’d better call the wedding off.”