But he also had two curling horns on either side of his forehead and his white skin was marked with curving blue tattoos. They were easy to see, since his shirt sleeves were rolled up, showing muscular forearms. I could also see another tattoo curling up one side of his thick neck.
I wondered at first why he looked so different and then remembered that Sir had said he was only half Naggian and his other half was Braxian. He was certainly bigger than most of the Naggian men I had seen—he was broader across the shoulders and more muscular. He was also dressed more casually than the other two at the table, wearing just a plain blue shirt and black trousers.
As the servant bowed us into the room and introduced us, all three of the people at the table rose.
“Ah, Overlord!” the Baron rumbled, coming forward with both hands outstretched. “It’s good to meet you in person.” He wasn’t nearly as tall as Sir, but he was still a good seven feet tall, I thought—why did all these aliens have to be sobig?I felt like a little kid at the adult’s table among them.
“The feeling is mutual,” Sir said, taking the Baron’s offered hands in a firm grip. “Thank you for having me and little one, here,” he added, nodding at me. “No other Naggian Lord on the planet was willing to meet with me.”
“Well, that’s their fucking loss, isn’t it?” the Baron said, shrugging. “I’m afraid many of my people are set in their ways but I’m always interested in meeting and doing business with people from other worlds and galaxies. Come…” He made an expansive gesture towards the dining table. “Have a seat and meet my friends.”
“Thank you.” Sir and I followed him to the long oval dining table where the servant was already busy pulling chairs out for us.
“This is Mr. Azz’lx, my second in command—couldn’t run my business without him,” the Baron said, introducing the Naggian man with the maroon robe on. And this is his lovely wife, Dru’silla.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Azz’lx said, nodding his head and grinning widely enough to show his fangs. “Any friend of Vik’tor’s is a friend of mine!”
There was something about him I didn’t like, I thought—he had a narrow, weasely face and he seemed a bit too eager to please. His wife, however, was the opposite. She simply gave Sir a frosty nod and murmured,
“Charmed,” in a flat voice that seemed to indicate the exact opposite.
“It’s good to meet you both,” Sir said, nodding. “I am Sir Barinthian Ver’Toklar the Fourteenth but please call me ‘Bart’ if that’s easier for you.”
I was surprised to hear him using the name I had picked out for him before he had informed me I would be calling him “Sir.” Had he chosen it because of me or was it really the informal name he gave to acquaintances?
“Sir Bart comes from Korrigon Four in a galaxy close to ours,” Baron Vik’tor told Azz’lx and Dru’silla. “We’ve been in contact for some time. But please, won’t you introduce us to your lady?” he said to Sir, nodding at me.
“Ah, this is little one,” Sir said. “She is not my mate or my wife—she is my belovedpet—a distinction we Korrigons take very seriously.”
“A pet, eh?” Baron Vik’tor looked at me with apparent interest. “Where did you get her? She doesn’t look like any of the Twelve Peoples I’ve ever seen.”
“She comes from a Closed World called ‘Earth’ by its inhabitants,” Sir told him.
“Fuck, yes!” The Baron snapped his fingers. “I remember—the one the Commercians set up shop on. Are they selling Earth females?”
“They are,” Sir said, while I held my tongue with some difficulty. “Pure One females—some with special powers granted them by the Ancient Ones labeled ‘La-ti-zals’.”
The Baron raised his black eyebrows in apparent surprise.
“And your, er, pet is one of these La-ti-zals?”
“She is indeed,” Sir said proudly. “She has shown an amazing aptitude with languages.”
“AndI can also make the bathroom fixtures aboard your ship obey me, don’t forget that,” I remarked acerbically. I didn’t like being discussed like I wasn’t even there and I thought it was time Sir realized that.
“You can indeed,” Sir said gravely, looking down at me.
“Well, now that we all know each other, let’s all have a seat at the table and do the blood exchange,” Baron Vik’tor said.
At this, I saw the Naggian woman called Dru’silla make a face but she didn’t say anything.
“Er…blood exchange?” I whispered to Sir, as we took our seats.
“A Naggian custom,” he murmured. “Don’t worry, little one—it’s quite safe. Let’s be seated.”
Much like Sir’s furniture back at the ship, the dining table and chairs were made for people considerably larger than me. So when I took a seat, I found that the top of the table came up to my chin. I was about to get up on my knees, which was how I usually managed at Sir’s round picnic table in the ship, when Baron Vik’tor called the servant and asked for a “bolster” for me to sit on.
The bolster turned out to be a very thick, heavy cushion covered in soft, dense fur which was extremely comfortable. It supported me beautifully and raised me to the correct height at the table so I didn’t have to feel like a little kid at the adult’s table.