“Little one’s species are unable to regulate their body temperatures,” Sir explained. “That might account for the warmth—she cannot lower her temperature enough to be comfortable in your chilly climate.”
“So she’s a warm-blood—no fucking wonder.” The Baron nodded thoughtfully. “Actually, I like things warmer myself, as you can see.” And he nodded at the fire which was blazing behind him. “Hope it doesn’t make anyone uncomfortable,” he added. “Since some of you are used to much colder temperatures.”
I saw Dru’silla move impatiently and give the fireplace a scathing look but Azz’lx, her husband said quickly,
“Oh, no—of course not, Vik’tor! We’reperfectlycomfortable.”
“It feels good to me,” I said, though to be honest, I was starting to get a little bit warm. I wondered if it would be considered terribly rude to remove any more of the furry layers Sir had made me wear. It was hard to know what to do ornotto do to keep from offending.
“I’m glad you’re all comfortable,” the Baron said. “Because I have a treat planned for tonight—a real, old-fashioned, traditional Naggian feast, just like our ancestors used to eat before we became a space-faring people.”
“That sounds delicious,” Sir said politely and I nodded eagerly, thinking of the little multicolored pies and the bacon on a stick that I had seen in the lobby downstairs, not to mention the steaming drink that had smelled like a cross between coffee and hot chocolate.
Baron Vik’tor clapped his hands and at once two servants in dark uniforms came in. They were rolling a cart with an enormous orange fish on it—in fact, it looked like a giant goldfish. After a moment, I realized that the fish was frozen stiff—it was obvious by the way its head and tail stuck out from the sides of the cart instead of flopping over.
The two servants reached the table side and one of them pulled on special gloves. He lifted the fish by its tail and held it lengthwise for the other servant, who had already produced a long silver blade which appeared to have two handles.
Gripping the handles, the second servant stepped up to the fish and, starting just under the tail, began scraping the knife straight down its side. This produced long, frozen curls of white fish flesh which landed in elegant disarray on the cart.
After the servants had produced enough for everyone at the table, the first one put down the fish and the second took off his gloves, picked up a pair of silver tongs, and began putting fish curls on everyone’s plate. The second servant followed behind, giving everyone a little crystal cup filled with some dark blue sauce.
I stared in dismay at the curly loop of raw, frozen fish in front of me. I like sushi as much as the next girl, but this was taking things too far, in my opinion. I looked around to see how everyone was eating the strange food and saw that both Azz’lx and Dru’silla, who were sitting directly across from me, had picked up pairs of what looked like golden chopsticks with little sporks on their ends. They were using these to pick up the frozen fish curls, dip them in the dark blue sauce, and bring them to their mouths.
The Baron was also eating heartily.
“I hope you enjoy theflux’en,”he remarked to Sir, who had also picked up his golden utensils and was biting into the frozen, raw fish. “It’s the food that used to sustain our ancestors all Winter long—which is a fucking long time around here.”
“So I understand,” Sir said politely, taking a bite of the fish.
I was a bit surprised to see him eating something besides nutritional gel cubes, but he didn’t act like it bothered him to try bizarre new alien foods, so I decided I ought to give it a try as well.
Picking up my golden spork-sticks, I held them between my fingers and thumb and used the tiny sporks on their ends to lift the fish curl to my nose.
I don’t like strong, fishy-smelling fish. Like salmon, for instance—I know it’s full of Omega 3s and it’s extremely good for you, but it just smells and tastes really strong to me and I can’t stand it. I was afraid the frozen fish curl would be the same.
But to my surprise, it didn’t smell of anything much at all. It didn’t taste like much either, when I took a nibble and then a bigger bite. It was kind of like chewing on a frozen fish stick without the breading, I concluded.
I tried dipping it in the blue sauce, but that was a mistake. The blue stuff tasted like a mixture of fish oil and licorice—nota good combination. Luckily, the servants were coming around the table and pouring us glasses of something to drink.
I watched with interest as the first servant put down a clear glass goblet rimmed in gold and then the second servant filled it, pouring from two different bottles at the same time like a bartender making a cocktail. One liquid that went into the goblet was a deep maroon that was almost black and the other was a cloudy white. The two liquids mixed in the glass, swirling and billowing like a chemical reaction taking place.
When the servants got to me and poured me a glass of the strange mixture, I was eager to try it—if for no other reason than to get the fish oil and licorice taste out of my mouth. But when I picked it up and took a sip, a flavor like sour milk and dirty salt filled my mouth.
I tried not to make a face but I must have done it anyway because when I put the glass down, I saw Baron Vik’tor watching me.
“Sl’urm’san acquired taste. You like it?” he asked, smirking a little.
“Uh…it’s definitely different,” I said weakly. “I mean, I’ve never tasted anything quite like it. What are the two liquids you mix to make it?”
“Fermentedcom’jamare’s milk andgrunblood,” he answered promptly. “Takes a little getting used to but if you drink it enough, you’ll start to crave the fucking stuff.”
“Ah. I’ll take your word on that.” I nodded and tried to smile, thinking to myself that it was possibly the worst thing I’d ever had in my mouth.
The Baron laughed.
“Yeah, I can see it doesn’t agree with you. Don’t drink any more of it if you don’t like it.”
“It has a unique flavor,” Sir remarked, taking a drink of his ownsl’urmand licking his lips thoughtfully.