Dragon in the Dark (Kindred Tales)

“But who would know?” Iyanna asked. “I entered your planet as a cherished wife—everyone saw me with my patches on when I stood in the checkpoint line.”

“Yes, and then they saw you again without your modesty patches as Sir Dra’vik carried you out of the scanning room,” the Minister declared. “For all intents and purposes, you are now a pleasure slave, young lady. And you must dress like one!”

Dra’vik glowered at the little male.

“So you’re saying you expect Iyanna to show up at a banquet full of strangers with her body on full display for everyone to see? Do you know what an insult to her that is? She’s the one with the advanced degree in Botany—she’s the one who’s a Viridi Femma. These males are her colleagues—she shouldn’t have to expose herself to them like that!”

He could feel himself heating up again but he tried to keep the Fire in check—burning the little fucker to a crisp wouldn’t solve their problems or get them the plants they were after. Flame-ups were never a problem for him aboard the Mother Ship—there just wasn’t any occasion that could bring them on. But here in Lix’dor Prime he found himself on the defensive, trying to keep Iyanna safe, and the protective feelings he had for her made the Fire inside him a constant danger.

“Now look here, Sir Dra’vik, your strange views about the value of females notwithstanding, you’re talking nonsense—offensive nonsense at that,” Ostensio sputtered. “The idea that any female would or could be a colleague of a member of the Royal Society of Botany is ridiculous!”

“Then Iyanna doesn’t need to come to your banquet at all, if you’re going to treat her like a second-class citizen,” Dra’vik growled. He was holding onto his temper with both hands, as his mother had used to say.

But this seemed to offend the Lix’dorian even more.

“What? Are you proposing to attend as a single male? That simply isn’t done—every male in attendance must have a pleasure slave with him! Besides, we centered the last part of the program around the fact that your female claims to be a Viridi Femma!”

“What do you mean ‘claims’ to be?” Dra’vik growled. “She is a Viridi Femma! I myself witnessed her cause a mass mating flight among upright glow blossoms that hadn’t taken flight in almost a solar century! And she did it with a single touch of her hand.”

“That’s most impressive—it’s exactly why we have planned to feature her at the banquet tonight,” Ostensio said, nodding. “Which is why I’m afraid if you don’t bring her, our deal to give you a mated pair of passion blossoms is off.”

Dra’vik felt the Fire climbing up his throat again but to his surprise, Iyanna spoke up.

“All right, we’ll be there,” she said firmly, lifting her chin. “And I’ll come dressed as a pleasure slave. But after the banquet is over, we want the plants and then we want to go directly home by the next shuttle.”

Both Dra’vik and Minister Ostensio turned surprised looks on her.

“You’ll dress properly and not try to cover your, er, assets?” the Minister asked. “You can’t go out in public like that you know.” He nodded derisively at Dra’vik’s vest, which was covering her breasts. “You’ll be arrested for indecent non-exposure!”

“Indecent non- exposure?” Iyanna looked at him in apparent disbelief. Then she sighed and shook her head. “All right, whatever. No, I won’t try to cover up.”

“Iyanna,” Dra’vik growled. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do,” she said decisively. “We’re on their planet and we’ll play by their rules. And as long as no other man touches me or tries…” She swallowed hard. “What those guards tried, I can handle it.”

“You’re sure?” Dra’vik asked in a low voice. “I don’t want you doing anything you don’t feel comfortable with.”

“I’m sure.” Iyanna nodded and he saw the determination in her large, lovely eyes.

Once more he felt admiration for her—he knew that human females were reluctant to expose their bodies, probably because they had no scales or fur or feathers to hide their extreme nakedness. But Iyanna had courage beyond measure and she was willing to break her own taboos in order to save the Monstrum Mother Ship.

“All right,” he said simply. “But if you change your mind—”

“I won’t,” she interrupted.

Dra’vik nodded.

“Well, then!” Minister Ostensio clapped his plump hands together. “It seems that’s all settled. I’ll have a hover car sent round to collect the two of you for the banquet around eight tonight. That should give you plenty of time to get over to The Grand Lix’Dorios—the hotel where I’ve had my servants reserve a suite of rooms for you. You can rest and relax until the car comes.”

“Where’s the hotel and how do we get there?” Dra’vik asked, frowning.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Here you are.”

Minister Ostensio dug in an inner pocket of his voluminous robes and produced a kind of folded packet. He handed this to Dra’vik who unfolded it to find a map of the city and a laser key—the kind where a press of the single black button would activate a unique lighting pattern the lock would recognize. The key had a flat, golden tag attached to it with the number 2777 stamped on it.