Chapter 10 Grtirr #2
They looked surprised that Igor even spoke to them. Exotech super soldiers were not known to speak at all.
“We still need a code.”
“He doesn’t have one,” Annabel said, “because he isn’t an Exotech super soldier.”
“Then what the hell is he? And who owns him?”
“I am Annabel’s.” Igor’s voice was low and even. “I do not have a control code. The only one who controls me is Annabel.”
The guards exchanged a look. Then one of them smirked. “Oh. So it’s like that. I didn’t know they were selling them for personal use. I didn’t know the equipment still worked.”
“Maybe this one’s defective.” The guard leered at Annabel, and Igor bristled. “Whatever. Everyone’s got their kinks. Go on in. But we’ll be watching you. Don’t start any trouble.”
They thought Annabel had acquired Igor for sexual reasons. Annabel didn’t correct them.
They waved us in, and the moment the door closed and they were out of earshot, Julie spoke. “I can’t believe they are implying you use Igor for sex.”
Annabel just shrugged, her face slightly pink. “Let them believe whatever they want. It got us through, right?”
“I would not mind,” Igor said, his voice full of honesty. “My equipment still works.”
Annabel’s face turned completely red. Julie and Kat pressed their lips into thin lines, trying not to react.
Poor Igor had the universe’s most obvious crush on Annabel, but Annabel had been doing her best to ignore it, even though any Kadrixan could scent her interest in him. I bet Igor could detect her lust too, especially with all the special equipment and sensors he had installed.
“This place reminds me of an old-world bazaar,” Julie said, saving Annabel from the unwanted attention and topic.
The interior of the tent was packed with tables and stalls crammed together in uneven rows.
Some vendors sat on blankets spread across the floor, their wares laid out in neat piles.
There was anything and everything for sale here: jewelry, tools, strange trinkets, and bundles of fabric.
Others vendors stood behind counters, their voices sharp as they called out to passersby.
The air smelled of spices, sweat, and the faint metallic tang of old tech.
A few stalls glowed with the faint hum of powered devices, their screens flickering with data or images. The noise was a dull rumble here, a constant murmur of bargaining, laughter, and the occasional shout.
We walked through the twisting maze of stalls, ignoring the eyes on us.
“Ooh! Real Earth chocolate!” Kat’s eyes were wide as she stepped closer to a stall.
Annabel and Julie went with her, and we males stood behind them, ever vigilant for dangers.
“I’ve never had the real stuff before. Just the simulated stuff,” Julie said.
“Me too,” Annabel said. “It used to be my favorite.”
“I used to receive them from Councilor Dubois when I worked for him,” Kat said. “You guys have to try the real thing.”
I couldn’t help but notice Trsak clenching his hands into fists at his side. He must hate every mention of the now-dead councilor. The male had coveted Kat, even though he’d already had a mate of his own.
“These prices are so much better than back in Nova Vita,” Kat said. “I know where I’m spending my credits.”
Kat bought a small, rectangular bar wrapped in a thin, shiny foil, and broke off some pieces for Annabel and Julie, who both moaned at the first taste.
Julie’s decadently murmured, “Mmm. So good,” had me twitching in an effort to keep my cock down.
I wasn’t the only one affected. Igor made a rough grunt, reacting to Annabel’s similar moan of satisfaction. Next to me, Trsak gritted his teeth.
None of the females were aware of the torture they were putting us through, and I was grateful when they started walking down the aisle again, none the wiser that they’d threatened the very seams of three pairs of pants.
We walked by a stall with shiny rocks and gemstones on one side and old trinkets and antique jewelry on the other. There were a group of females hovering around it oohing and ahhing at the sparkling gems. I never understood the appeal of jewels. To me, they were useless things.
Back on Kadri, males filled their nests with intricately designed jewelry, and so had I.
But I’d done so because it was expected of me, not because I believed them to have any worth.
On Vokira, there wasn’t much to fill our nests with, and many of the warriors chose to fill their new nests with jewels and gems mined from the mountain.
“I do not understand the appeal of such things,” I admitted to Trsak as we passed. “These trinkets sit there and do nothing but waste space.”
Trsak chortled. “Perhaps to you. But our weapons are just as useless to a scholar.”
He had a point.
We continued on, and I couldn’t help but notice the disapproving glare Julie sent back at me, like I’d somehow insulted her just by existing.
The first sign of trouble was the sound of breaking glass.
Then there was a loud crash as a display smashed to the ground.
Beads and trinkets rolled in every direction, glinting as they pinged and scattered everywhere.
Shouts erupted, sharp and panicked, followed by the unmistakable crack of a weapon firing.
The sounds sent a jolt through the crowd, and the once orderly marketgoers descended quickly into utter mayhem. Bodies poured down the aisle in a tidal wave of fear and confusion.
“Julie!” Annabel cried as Julie was swept up by the wave of bodies.
I reached for her, just in time to see her sunlight-colored hair whipping around her face as the crowd swallowed her whole, her small frame disappearing into the sea of panicked strangers.
“Julie!” I dove into the crowd, shoving against the tide of bodies.
But my mate was gone.