“Not true,” I said clearly. “I got it from another human girl who was here on O’nagga Nine not that long ago. Her name was Elli and she was here with her Master. She said she was his, er, ‘pet’…” I trailed off—this was possibly too much information and it sounded kind of crazy when I said it out loud.
But when I looked at the Baron again, he was nodding.
“Ah yes—I hosted them not long ago,” he said. “Did she give you my sigil because she wanted you to have some protection from males who might wish to do you harm?” Here he cut his eyes at Ass-licks, who visibly quailed at the foreboding look the Baron was giving him.
“No, she gave me this fur coat so I wouldn’t be so damn cold all the time,” I said truthfully. I had already decided that honesty was the best policy with the Baron—he seemed to value that in a person—if the way he was throwing shade at Ass-licks was any indication, anyway. “The sigil was in the pocket—I happened to grab it when I was searching for my can of ‘Get Off’,” I added.
One corner of the Baron’s mouth quirked up and a low rumble of laughter came from his deep chest.
“So you used my sigil like another female might use a chemical spray to hold off a male? I fucking like that!” he said.
“Baron Vik’tor, this is no laughing matter!” Ass-licks protested. “By misusing your sigil, this whore had been dragging your name through the mud!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say she wasmisusingit.” The laughter was suddenly gone from the Baron’s deep voice as he glared at Ass-licks. He looked down at me. “I’m glad it worked for you, little girl, even if you weren’t the intended recipient.”
“Uh, thank you,” I said weakly. “And thank you for not…not being angry about it.”
“Yes, thank you, Your Lordship.” R’xs, who still had a grip on my wrist, bowed his head subserviently. “You are most kind to excuse this whore’s actions. But I promise you again, she willnotgo unpunished. Now, let’s go!”
These last words were directed at me and he yanked me sharply.
“Hey!” I gasped. I tripped and stumbled to the ground, scraping the skin off my knees on the rough floor of the tunnel.
“Let her go,” the Baron rumbled again and this time there was a real threat in his voice as he glared down at R’xs.
“But Your Lordship, I own her—I don’t care what she says—her contract ismine!”the pimp protested.
“All right.” The Baron folded massive, muscular arms across his broad chest as I scrambled to my feet. “How much does she cost by the solar hour then?”
“Pardon?” R’xs asked blankly. “What are you asking, my Lord?”
“I’m asking how much she costs,” the Baron said clearly. “I want to buy her servicesmyself.”
My whole body felt like someone had dunked me in an icy river—I always felt cold on O’nagga Nine but this…thiswas a whole different kind of chill I was experiencing. I looked up at the Baron again—he washuge.Taller by at least a head than other Naggian males and instead of having the slender frame of most Naggians, he was built like a bull, with broad shoulders and a thick neck. He looked like he could dead-lift me right over his head if he felt like it and I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer if he wanted the same thing Ass-licks had wanted from me.
“Ah, well…” I could see the wheels in R’xs’s head turning. “Normally a rare whore like Natalie makes forty or fifty creds a solar hour,” he said—which was a blatant lie. I was lucky to make twenty, of which R’xs took fifteen right off the top. “But for Your Lordship, I could give you the bargain rate of thirty-five creds a solar hour,” he said to the Baron.
“Done,” the Baron said dismissively. “Now let her go.”
Slowly, R’xs released his bruising grip on my wrist.
“Very good, my Lord,” he said, ducking his head again. “Er, how many hours do you wish with the little whore? Just the one or—?”
“I’ll have her for the entire day and night,” the Baron said decisively.
“But my Lord, that’s an entire twenty-eight hours!” R’xs protested. (The days on O’nagga Nine are longer than they are on Earth.) “Which comes to—”
“Nine hundred and eighty creds,” the Baron said dismissively. “Yes, I know.”
I gaped at him and I wasn’t the only one. R’xs’s mouth was also hanging open, showing his yellowed fangs. The Baron was offering to pay almost a thousand creds for me—that was more than most Naggians saw in a week.
“Well…” R’xs said, recovering at last from his shock. “If that’s what Your Lordship wants, you shall of course, have it. Er…I generally take the money up front with such a large transaction,” he added, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
“That will be fine,” the Baron said dismissively. “Azz’lx, pay the male,” he added.
“I, but…but I’m not certain I have that much on me!” Ass-licks protested.
The Baron gave him a hard look.