Anderson, Evangeline In The Halls Of The Pleasure Palace (Liqu

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As soon as they were certain he was gone Shaina and
Tyson had walked briskly down the mostly deserted corridor
to the slave quarters where Shaina was being as difficult as
she possibly could. While she distracted the guard and the
surveillance, Ty was creeping quietly around the smaller,
service entrance which he had noticed while spending his one
fateful night in the quarters. The plan was to grab Paul and
leave the life-sized idol in his place. As soon as he had Paul's
collar off and had a head start down the corridor that led to
the shuttle bay, he would send Shaina a thought. She, in
turn, would wind up her rant and appear to relent in her
demands and stalk off, ostensibly back to her quarters but
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actually to the bay as well. With a little luck, they would be
into the shuttle and well on their way to the She Creature
before anyone noticed the idol wasn't Paul.
What if they notice the idol before we get to the shuttle?
Shaina asked anxiously when Ty explained the plan.
Then we run like hell, sweetheart. Ty's tone was grim. It
wasn't the most elegant plan, more down and dirty than the
stylish spy vids Shaina had loved as a little girl, but they were
running out of time and she thought it would work.
"I said, I insist upon having a slave for the night. Did you
hear me, guard?" She resisted the urge to look in the
direction of the service entrance. How's it going? Aware that
Ty was already inside the quarters, she was getting anxious.
Pretty good. He's asleep, I'm going to get the collar off
before I wake him. Say a prayer that he wakes up in his right
mind and this thing hasn't fried his brain.
Don't forget the password to expand the idol is Zibathorpe.
Got it.
"But Mistress, the slave quarters are closed at this time as
you must surely know." The Kandalar guard demurred, clearly
unhappy and uncertain of what to do.
"It was your ham-fisted Norsoth that injured my slave so
that he couldn't properly service me and now you will provide
me with another slave until he is well. I was promised
compensation and every possible courtesy by Her Excellency,
the Executor herself." Shaina was really getting into the role.
"While I am sorry for your inconvenience..." The Kandalar
guard began reciting reasons why he couldn't open up the
slave quarters for her personal perusal after hours and Shaina
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let him ramble on, pasting a furious expression on her face as
she tapped one slipper clad foot and concentrated on Ty.
Got the collar off now and he's coming around ... Seems to
be Okay although the poor kid is scared to death. Another
rather lengthy silence in which Shaina assumed Tyson was
talking to Paul and getting him re-oriented to the world
without a love collar. It must be an ugly shock, she thought,
to find yourself in the middle of such a situation with little or
no memory of how it had happened to you in the first place.
All right, the idol's in place and we're moving out. Keep all of
the guard's attention on you. It'll only take a minute for us to
get past and then we're home free down the hall to the bay.
Follow us as soon as you reasonably can. We'll be waiting.
Got it. Turning to the guard, she poked one angry finger in
his long, thin chest and snarled, "I don't want to hear any
more of your excuses! You will open the slave quarters for me
this instant so that I may select another slave to serve me or
I will see you sent off-planet or better yet, to the colored
chambers before this night is through!" This statement got all
of the guard's attention and he paled considerably, turning a
shade of dirty gray that no longer matched the black hallway
and which, Shaina reflected, wouldn't have looked at all nice
in any of the Executor's rainbow colored Kandalar-skin gowns.
"Mistress, please be reasonable," he pleaded and Shaina
thought she heard a definite quaver in his voice as he
begged. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ty and a shell-
shocked looking Paul scuttle past the guard, hunched over
and moving quickly as they made their way down the corridor
leading to the shuttle bay. She let the Kandalar guard blather
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on nervously for another minute or two before holding up her
hand to stop him.
"It occurs to me that arguing with you and listening to
your foolishness is a waste of my valuable time and energy."
She affected a yawn as she spoke. "I will take this up with
one of your superiors tomorrow. For now I am going to bed."
"As you wish, Mistress. I am certain someone can be of
assistance to you tomorrow." The guard was clearly relieved
that she was willing to let the matter drop, at least for now.
He made a low bow, his bony forehead nearly brushing the
black floor and Shaina tossed her hair and swept away from
him, not bothering to acknowledge his parting gesture.
We're almost to the shuttle, no problems so far. She heard
Ty's voice inside her head as she walked slowly and
deliberately down the long, polished hall as if she had every
right to be there. Dimly, she could make out two pale figures
far down at the end, which must be Ty and Paul. Do you want
me to wait for you?
Keep going, I'm right behind you. The sooner you get into
the shuttle the better. Two slaves running free attracts a lot
more attention than one Mistress wandering the halls. If
someone stops me, I can always say I'm lost.
It was then that she felt a firm, cold grip on her upper arm
and a familiar voice whispered in her ear.
"Mistress Sender, I regret to inform you that the kitchens
are completely out of Rigelian lamb loin with ecru bitter berry
glaze. In fact," He turned Shaina around by force and she
found herself facing T'lar's glowing red eyes in the dim hall.
"It just so happens that our head chef is an off-worlder who
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studied exclusively at the Rigel Five institute of Universal
Good Taste. Surely you've heard of it. I understand all the
better families on Rigel Five get their personal chefs from
among its esteemed classes. No?" He drew closer, his burning
gaze boring its way into her skull and Shaina found that her
tongue had turned to a lump of lead in her mouth and she
couldn't think of a thing to say. Dumbly, she shook her head.
"Well that is a great pity although not as much of a
surprise as it once might have been." T'lar continued, pulling
her still closer. He grinned angrily, baring long, yellow teeth.
"You see, our very fine chef also informed me that there is no
such delicacy as Rigelian lamb loin with ecru bitter berry glaze
as all Rigelian cuisine is fungus based because the entire
population lives entirely underground. Does this surprise
you?"
"Of course not," Shaina finally found her voice. "What
surprises me is that you have the nerve to advertise authentic
Rigelian cuisine while your head chef is obviously an
incompetent moron who wouldn't know a true delicacy if it bit
him in the backside!" She was getting back into the part and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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