Spit 'Em Out (Bubbles in Space Book 4) by S.C. Jensen

Author:S.C. Jensen [Jensen, S.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Northern Edge Publishing
Published: 2021-10-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

I smiled insipidly while they attached the collar, a close-fitting silver neck brace that covered half of my throat and swept over my shoulders with a fluted edge. If they expected a genetically inferior halfwit, that’s exactly what I’d give them. A small ring at the centre marked the place where I would be leashed when the councillor paraded me before his dinner guests.

“There,” Councillor Leonard said when his servant had finished with the garnish. The servant stepped back and held up a glass mirror for me to inspect myself it. “How does that feel?”

“Very comfortable.” I licked my lips and crossed my eyes slightly. “Thank you.”

“It’s only for show, you understand.” The councillor appraised me with his wide brown eyes. They had the same flat look as the shark we’d met on the way in. As Price, for that matter. Predatory.

The corners of his thin-lipped mouth quirked slightly, amused, perhaps with his new pet. The smooth brown skin of his forehead barely moved when he lifted his eyebrows. “You may remove it in your own quarters. I’m sure one of your associates can help you with the clasps.”

Gore and Tom both shifted their feet uncomfortably and avoided eye contact with me. I said, “Are you sure it won’t be too complicated for them?”

Councillor Leonard sat upon a dark, high-backed chair at the centre of a wide dais, both carved from the same soft black stone as the pyramid itself. He attempted a smile, baring his perfect white teeth just enough to do the job but not enough to actually enjoy it. He said, “They may call one of our servants if they find themselves unequal to the task.”

I supposed he was attractive enough. The shimmering gold robes he wore gleamed off his luxurious brown skin, giving him a kind of warm luminosity. He glowed like the last rays of sun on a cloudless day. All the features landed in just the right place, like a painting. But it was a still-life of a plastic fruit bowl, an artificially constructed advertisement for humanity, missing all the imperfections that made art worthwhile to look at.

I yawned. The edge of the collar pinched the skin on my neck. “I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”

Gore moved in front of the dais to take the councillor’s attention off me. He probably thought I was going to do something stupid. Tom had the same tense scrunch in his shoulders. But I was in no hurry to blow the mission. We had plenty of time to search the Ridge before I taught Councillor Leonard and his cronies the meaning of the word unequal.

Besides, Gore seemed to have forgotten that I’d cut his suit into vermicelli and that he, in fact, was the one who looked stupid.

“You know why we’re here?” Gore said. “We have been given permission to conduct our investigation without interference, so long as we comply with your conditions.”

“You seek Nathanial Price,” the councillor said, disdain dripping from his words like liquid from a bag of rotting meat.

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