Total pages in book: 175
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
And I do love something with hidden depths.
The human—Dora—sleeps for several hours. She wakes up with a lazy stretch, her arms over her head, and I appreciate her form. Not in a sexual way, but in the pleasant sight of a young, fully whole being with zero scars or prosthetics. There’s a beauty to that, too. “Sleep well?”
She straightens and looks around the room with bright eyes, but that brightness fades quickly. “No Bethiah?”
“Were you expecting her?”
Dora bites her lip and gives me an embarrassed look. “Part of me was hoping she’d come rescue me.”
I don’t tell her not to rely on Bethiah. That no one in their right mind does. There’s something achingly sweet about her trust, and I don’t want to be the one to rip that from her. “Just me, I’m afraid. You hungry?”
She slides out of bed and moves to sit at the table with me. “I’m okay. Did I take your bed? I’m sorry.”
I shrug. “I don’t need much sleep.”
“But you need some, right?” She gets to her feet, and moves across my tiny apartment to the kitchen. “If I make myself a bowl of noodles, will you eat, too?”
Is she trying to take care of me? I’m amused. Funny how a beat-up cyborg and a fresh-faced clone can be such polite roommates. “Sure, I’ll eat.”
Dora makes two bowls of noodles and sets them down in front of us. Mine is chski noodles, and it surprises me at how observant she is considering she picked out my favorite. I grunt my thanks and dig in, and the room is quiet for a time. Dora eats delicately, aiming her eating sticks with careful precision. She peeks up at me a few times, and I wait for her to ask whatever it is that’s bothering her.
Finally, she speaks up. “So…Jamef. What is the plan?”
I continue eating. “What plan?”
She sits back, setting her eating sticks down, and regards me. “There’s not a plan? But I thought you stole me for a reason.”
I did. Reason was I didn’t like how much attention Bethiah was paying to her.
But I don’t say that. She’s a sweet one and doesn’t deserve to be drawn into our games. “Didn’t like that she was trafficking humans, that’s all. Figured she would know it was me at some point and come say hello.”
Dora dips her chin, as if encouraging me to go on. When I don’t, she says, “And then what?”
I shrug. “Risda?”
She bites her lip, picking up her eating sticks and toying with them again. “Right. Risda. So we’re staying here for now? As roommates?”
I shrug again. “Got any better ideas?”
The human stirs her noodles and considers. “It’s hard. Part of me is angry with Bethiah because she wants to cyborg me up. No offense.”
“None taken. I’d prefer to be whole myself.” Or I would have, once upon a time. Now I’ve become comfortable with my new parts. I like ’em. Ain’t much of a point in mooning over the past anyhow. You go forward or you don’t go at all.
“But…she’s also been my friend, and I’d miss her if she was gone.” Dora sighs. “It’s complicated.”
“You’ve just described Bethiah perfectly. You either want to kill her or nuzzle her. There’s no in-between.”
She blushes when I mention the word “nuzzle.”
“So maybe we talk to her. Get her to see how wrong she was in trying to change me. And we can get you your ship back, too.”
I eye the human. “How so?”
“You could always set a trap, with me as bait.”
Nineteen
DORA
It’s been two days in Jamef’s small apartment. Two days since I got kidnapped and offered to be bait to lure in Bethiah. Two days since we established the plan and laid clues. Two days…and absolutely no sign of the lady herself.
Figures.
I should be miserable. I really should be. Bethiah’s my friend-slash-slightly-more-than-friends and I should be anxious to get back to her, if nothing else so I can yell for her wanting to switch my parts out like I’m a Mr. Potato Head doll. Instead, it’s nice here in Jamef’s tiny flat. He’s got a few plants that he grows, and everything is tidy. I’m not entirely sure what to do with myself most of the time, so he buys me a learning program and I practice the Homeworld alphabet on his data-pad. Rooming with him is quiet and comfortable and even if the quarters are cramped, the company is good.
For all that he’s a kidnapper, Jamef is a very kind host. He’s allowed me to take over his bed and hasn’t tried to be creepy in the slightest. From what I can tell, he sometimes “sleeps” in one of the chairs at the table in his kitchen…or more like he shuts down and meditates for a bit. He doesn’t crowd me, either. Maybe I’m suspicious of men after my experiences with the slavers, but he’s very gentlemanly. From what I can tell, Jamef has a code of honor that he sticks to, no matter what. Molesting humans is not in that code.