Chapter 7
Before Johar leaves us, he instructs Sherri to teach me.
“Surely you have a few toys,” he begins and the redhead opens a drawer, showing him an entire arsenal of sex toys. “Show her everything she needs to know.” This is his revenge for having been at my mercy, even if only for a few seconds, I think. His flashing eyes and his crooked smile tell me I’m right. There is nothing mean behind his smile. It’s something closer to sadness.
“Don’t you want to stay with us?” Sherri asks the question I don’t dare ask, even though it is at the tip of my tongue. “It will be much better with you than with a lifeless toy …” She is holding something in her hand that looks suspiciously like a mechanical penis. She doesn’t seem to think it’s strange that Johar is going to leave and that she is supposed to take the role of my teacher. She has probably seen many things more bizarre than this.
“Where are you going?” I want to know and try hard to suppress the sharp, whiny undertone in my voice.
“I am going to sit in the bar for a while,” he responds, completely calmly, but while buttoning his shirt wrong. I go over to him and button the jet-black buttons correctly.
“How long ….” I begin, but close my mouth again. I sound like a deserted wife.
“An hour, maybe two. That ought to be enough,” he says. His answer is meant for Sherri just as much as it is for me. He is going to try to find out something about the mysterious informant, while I let the redhead show me some tricks. Just wait, I think, and I decide not to go along with his game. All the friendly feelings I just felt for him disappear with my next breath. He looks at me suspiciously. “Don’t do anything crazy,” he warns me playfully and gives my bottom a smack that fits perfectly with our roles. Since my back is to Sherri, she can’t see that I am looking at him angrily.
“That hurt,” I snap, but he is already gliding towards the door like a black shadow and closes it behind him, but not without his first throwing Sherri an extra coin.
For half an hour, Sherri shows me things I would have never thought possible. Some of them remind me more of gymnastics than erotic enjoyment, but they are interesting, nonetheless. Now that Johar is gone, she saves herself the seductive attitude, and I forget that she is being paid for her time. When I think the time is right, I ask her about contraception methods. “Your boss offered to sell me something,” I explain. “She said I could stop by any time.”
She raises her red-gold eyebrows in question, and they form two perfect arches. I can practically feel her thinking. Once or twice, she starts to say something, but can’t get it out. “What?” I finally ask her, when I can’t stand it anymore.
She looks at me thoughtfully. “It’s okay. You can tell me why you’re really here.”
I am silent while thoughts race through my brain. Can I trust her? Will I endanger the success of our mission if I make my own inquiries and blow our cover? Nothing in my life as a scientist and as a daughter has prepared me to be able to make quick decisions – and basic training at the military base didn’t, either. It seems ridiculous in hindsight. This here is real life and the difference between it and simulated seductions and faked deals is like night and day. To buy time, I ask her a question. “What gave us away?”
“You didn’t sleep together,” she answers. “And for someone who claims to be his lover, you don’t know his body, well enough.” I sigh and acknowledge defeat. We worked so hard on our plans, and after two hours in the bordello, they are null and void. “I assume the cyborg is trying to get some information at the bar downstairs?”
“We are looking for a man named Hazathel Suk. He works here and he knows someone we want to meet.”
“You want to speak with Hazathel?” Her voice is full of disbelief. “I wouldn’t recommend that. He is the most dangerous man I know, and he will never betray a friend. And …,” she hesitates and looks me in the eye, “he is unpredictable.”
“It’s not about that,” I try to reassure her. “We are not expecting him to tell us any of his secrets.” I decide to tell her everything. “We are looking for a woman who was here on Betania a while ago. Hazathel’s friend, or acquaintance, knows someone who arrived here with her. That’s whom we are looking for. We won’t do anything to anyone. We just need information about the woman’s whereabouts.”
“What do you want from her? What is her name?” Her questions sound calm, but I know that she is hanging on every word.
“She is pregnant, and we are worried about the well-being of the child,” I offer. It’s the truth, or, at least, not a lie. “Her name is Cassie Burnett and she is traveling with a Qua’Hathri warrior.” I keep my eyes on her so I can see the smallest reaction, but it isn’t necessary. Her face contorts in anger when she hears the name Cassie Burnett. What did Cassie do to deserve such anger?
“Is she a friend of yours?” What a strange question.
“No. I don’t know her personally,” I explain. In her agitated state, Sherri doesn’t notice how strange it is that I am supposedly worried about the children of a woman whom I don’t even know. But then I realize that I shouldn’t have underestimated Sherri.
“I don’t care what the two of you have planned with the child. If your assignment is to liquidate her, then every inhabitant of this planet will help you in any way they can. Come,” She throws on a robe that only covers what is absolutely necessary, while I force myself back into my dress. At the last second, I remember to put my leather jacket on. I hold her back.
“What did she do?” I need to find out as much as possible about her. The better I know her, the easier it will be to trail her.
“She brought death with her when she landed on Betania. Her space ship crashed here, and she was one of the survivors. She seduced our king to save her own pathetic life, and didn’t care one little bit who she left in her wake. Our king’s second wife died because of her, and two employees in his household died, as well. The next to go was Zeyliv, our leader.” She closes her eyes. “She took the first chance to flee with her lover and a few others, by instigating an uprising. In the end, it was our leader’s first wife whom we could thank for restoring some sort of order to Betania again.”
I don’t think she realizes that she used a strange word. She said Cassie Burnett had fled. And fleeing, I think, is something someone can only do, if they are a prisoner. Why was Cassie held captive here? I concentrate on looking at Sherri, more closely. I can almost read her thoughts. There is something that she is hiding, or maybe isn’t even conscious of, herself. But what? I close my eyes for a moment, because I am getting dizzy. I can practically feel the hate rising in waves on Sherri, and, now, I am feeling nauseous, too. When was the last time I ate?
But the red-head has arrived at the end of her tale and opens the door. Johar and a man whom I recognize as Hazathel, thanks to the scorpion on his shoulder, are standing in front of us. So Johar was successful, as well. He takes in the situation with one look and can’t help but give me a punishing look. I shrug my shoulders coolly and tell him with my eyes to not make such a big deal. There will be consequences, he tells me, equally silent.
“Hazathel Suk, may I introduce Mara to you? She is with me.” Johar points formally to me with his hand and to my surprise, the giant gives me a toothless grin that is no less scary than the animal on his shoulder. My hand disappears in his paw, and I am afraid for my bones – unnecessarily, because he barely exerts any pressure on my hand. Sherri wants to push past us, but can’t fit through the door that is being completely blocked by Hazathel. He comes into the room and pushes the whore in front of him, and I understand why she is afraid of him. He towers head and shoulders over Johar, and is surely about twice as heavy, with not even an ounce of fat on him. His shoulders are so broad that he can barely fit through the door. In contrast, his scorpion is ridiculously small, but he definitely does not look harmless. His stinger tail is raised up high, and I think I can hear a quiet sound, almost like that of a rattlesnake. The agile animal runs across its owner’s bull neck, to the side where it can see Sherri better.
Johar takes the opportunity to pull me to the side. His fingers close painfully around my naked upper arm. He is furious and doesn’t even try to hide it. “What did you tell her?” He leans down to me, and his lips, which had grimaced with lust earlier, are now pressed into a thin line.
“Only that we are looking for Cassie Burnett. She apparently caused a lot of chaos here and has the ruler’s life on her conscience. Sherri will help us.”
“She is a woman who can be bought. She would help anyone who pays her well, and tell the person with the money exactly what they want to hear.” His words hit me, but he lets go of me.
“So?” I retort icily and hold my head high, without rubbing the painful spot on my upper arm. “The most important thing is to find out where Cassie fled to. Everything else takes a back seat.”
He will not intimidate me this time. “And you? What did you tell Hazathel?”
For a second he says nothing. “That we are looking for Cassie.”
With my hands, I prompt him to continue. That can’t possibly be everything he told Hazathel. Why else would a man who is considered to be “dangerous” and “unpredictable” suddenly be willing to help Johar, while practically beaming with joy?
“I will tell you later,” he mumbles, and I have to be satisfied with this for now, because the scorpion-armed giant is stomping out the door. Johar follows him, after pressing a small fortune into Sherri’s hands to buy her silence. When I turn to follow the men, she is still staring in disbelief at the shiny coins in her hand.