Cleo
CLEO
He is infuriating. Dragging the truth out of me, giving me food I can eat. Looking at me like he actually cares.
And his offer of a nighttime visitation…well, my treacherous lady parts absolutely throw me under the bus.
“A nest? You have a nest?”
Maxym looks away and clears his throat. “Forget I said anything,” he mutters. “Your employer will be wondering where you are. I will escort you out.”
He gets to his feet and holds out a hand in a way which is so old-fashioned, for a second I don’t know what to do. My head feeling scrambled at his sudden change of pace, I take it and he helps me up.
I follow him obediently as I’m led through a maze of passages until we pass through a door and we’re out in the service courtyard of the dome, where Retah’s transport is waiting for me.
“Why not come and meet Retah?” I blurt out suddenly. “He’s a big fan. He’d love to meet you.”
Maxym shakes his head. “Alas, I cannot, little scrap,” he rumbles. “I am not permitted to leave the dome.”
“Oh, because of the games?” I ask.
His gaze is piercing, as if he’s trying to see right through me.
“Because of the games,” he says in his gravel wrapped in velvet voice as we approach the transport.
As I reach it, I turn to give Maxym my thanks and find myself caged against the cool glass. The huge gladiator gazes down at me.
“You will be back tomorrow,” he says, and it’s not a question. “With more weapons.”
“I will.” I should hate this, being pinned by him in this manner, but I don’t.
Maxym’s incredible dark eyes glitter in the artificial lights above us.
“Then I will be here for you tomorrow,” he says.
And just like that, I’m released from my cowl of fragrant feathers and muscles as if it had never happened, and instead, Maxym stands a foot away from me, looking as benign as a predator can look.
Ridiculously flustered, my cheeks burning, I force out a goodbye and stumble into the transport. As it departs, I watch Maxym. He doesn’t move, staring at me until the gates close behind us. I don’t know why I just invited him back. I don’t even know if Retah would want to meet him.
It felt like the right thing to do.
It doesn’t take long to get back to Retah’s. His dwelling is attached by a series of tunnels to his shop in the Solyom area of Tatatunga and tucked away down a myriad of side streets, which means the transport can avoid the main market.
“How did it go today?” Tibi greets me as I exit the transport in our courtyard, this one filled with multi-colored vegetation, some of which she is picking and placing in a basket.
“I got through all the gladiators I had on my list for today. Everyone was happy,” I reply.
“Excellent!” Tibi thrashes her tail. “I made you some of your favorite soup. Come eat.”
“I already ate,” I say, tiredness washing over me.
“Oh?”
“With the gladiator.” The words trip off my tongue before I can stop them.
“With the gladiator?” Tibi’s mouth curls up. “The very annoying gladiator?”
“Maxym offered to provide me with protection within the dome.”
“Did he?”
“As per Retah’s agreement with them,” I retort haughtily. “Nothing unusual. Is Retah around?”
I walk past her into the main dwelling, hoping she will let the matter drop or I can get away from her to process my own feelings about what happened today without an interrogation.
No such luck. Tibi follows me.
“He had to go away for a few nova-days, to finish off a few contracts.”
Damn, I remember him telling me that this morning. I can’t use him as an excuse to get away from Tibi or to find out more about Maxym.
“Of course, I forgot.”
There’s a small furry paw on my arm, halting my progress.
“I’m not the enemy, . You can talk to me,” she says.
If only!
“I’m sorry.” I take her paw in between my two hands. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”
“Why don’t you go have a rest. I’ll bring you some joh, and you can do a comm with Retah,” she says sensibly. “He’d like to hear how today went even if he can’t be here. Especially if it went well. You know how important the dome contract is to him.”
“Okay,” I concede, pleased she’s dropping her line of questioning relating to Maxym. “That sounds nice.”
She gives my hand a pat, withdraws her paw, and walks off in the direction of the food prep area. I feel my shoulders drop.
Sooner or later, I’m going to have to come clean with her and with Retah. The fact Maxym knows about my pregnancy means it isn’t going to be long before I can’t hide it anymore. That’s if he knows how to keep a secret…or a confidence.
I reach my rooms and, kicking off my boots, I climb into the bed, pulling the bedclothes over me and arranging them so I don’t look…pregnant.
It isn’t easy and it’s only going to get harder.
I pick up my vid-screen, a device like a cross between a tablet and a mobile phone. Being an alien abductee, I initially thought I shouldn’t like anything about my new living arrangements on a different planet in a different galaxy, but the tech is something else entirely. My vid screen is a single light transparent sheet, about the size of a piece of paper, but it can be expanded easily to be as large or as small as I want in a pinching motion reminiscent of the ones I used on a smart phone back on Earth.
I put in the comm request to Retah, and it hangs waiting for a while before he answers, his horned head and big smile lifting my spirits immediately.
“How did it go?” he asks.
I start off by telling him which blades were the most popular, and we fall into talking about what we’ll need to reorder. Tibi brings in some joh and a sticky cake, smiling at me as she sets them down. Once she’s gone, I decide to take my chance.
“I met Maxym again,” I say, taking a sip of joh to stop my lips from trembling. “He’s appointed as my protection within the dome.”
“You can’t go wrong with him,” Retah says happily. “Although I wasn’t expecting the procurator to use a gladiator for your protection.” His brow furrows. “But you can’t get any better than Maxym.”
“Than one of the dome’s best trained killers?” I chuckle. “That makes me feel so safe.”
“Maxym is one of their best gladiators, and admittedly, he does have a history, but he’s also honorable and true…” Retah breaks off as he looks over his shoulder. “Look, I have to go, . I’ll see you in two nova-days, and thank you.” He smiles. “You truly are the best thing which has happened to my business. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”