Page 5 of Mazorium Buys a Human

It wasn’t only his size that made him intimidating. His muscled body was covered in armor plating, and he had long, quill-like spikes running up the outside of each forearm.

His hands had four digits: an upper thumb, two fingers, and then a lower thumb. That wasn’t surprising; it was common among several species. What wasn’t common were the tips of retractable claws that I could see hiding in his fingers!

I was curious if the light blue-grayish hue was common among Talins because it was a soothing color. Especially when it was paired with his brilliant purple eyes! If he wasn’t my owner, I might have tried flirting with him.

But that was me from a different life, when I had more certainty about what tomorrow would look like.

Now this handsome, purring alien was looming over me and Nadia.

“Nadia is still distressed,” he said to the med tech. He clipped his Ident back on his belt and crossed his arms. His face didn’t move, but I could feel the irritation radiating off him. “Why aren’t you seeing to her?”

“They are both underweight,” the female med tech explained as the male hurried away. “We were discussing the best way to get sustenance into both of them. Your slave wasn’t being well fed, and consequently, the child wasn’t well fed. The adult human, Mika, also has an infection in the abdomen that we need to address. None of it is immediately life threatening, but they could become major issues if we don’t deal with them now.”

“Do it,” he ordered.

“It will require an entire rotation’s stay here,” the med tech warned him.

“Fine,” he said, then turned his purple eyes on me. “They didn’t feed you?”

“They did, but not enough,” I explained.

“I’ll see that you have all the food you need,” he assured me. “I’ve also ordered items that should help make you comfortable on board my ship. We’ll be leaving as soon as the med techs finish caring for you.”

Leaving.

That thought filled me with dread. Once I left this station, there would be no chance of outside help. This was the first time I’d set eyes on a Talin, which meant his homeworld was probablyfar away. Even if Drew or El came looking for me, they’d never be able to afford traveling much farther than this station.

“I know you’re probably intimidated, but please try to remain calm. I’ll be a good owner,” he said.

What did that even mean?

He’d corrected the med tech when she called me a slave. He said I was a pet. But what was the difference? Would I be doing tricks instead of a job?

Oh dear god, was I a sex slave now? What about Nadia? Would he use her when she was older?

Acid churned in my empty stomach, and I had to work hard to keep bile from climbing up my throat. This all kept getting worse.

Trying to keep from panicking, I undid Nadia’s swaddling, checked her everclean jumper to see that it was still doing its job, then rewrapped her. I carefully picked her up and cradled her in my arms. The Talin stopped purring and made a sound reminding me of a distant thumping bass drum.

“Her head seems…” he searched for a word. “Floppy. Is that part of being underfed?”

That drum sound must be one of curiosity. I should ask the med tech if there was any information on Talins in the station's unibase.

I almost laughed. “It’s normal. Human newborns can’t support their own heads.”

He made another sound that was similar to wheels slowly bumping over uneven ground before speaking. “That’s an evolutionary disadvantage. Poor thing.”

Aw, that wheel bumping sound must have been sympathy or pity. Look at me, learning to read my new owner’s emotions already! From the trip to the med bay, I knew what anger sounded like. I’d much rather have all the different rumbles coming out of his chest instead.

He leaned in a little closer and spoke directly to Nadia. “Don’t worry, your dam will support your big head for you and keep you from accidentally injuring yourself.”

He waited, as if expecting her to respond. When all Nadia did was keep making unhappy sounds, he turned his attention to me and made the wheels-bumping-over-uneven-ground sound again. It was his way of asking without saying the words.

“Um, she can’t talk yet,” I explained. “She was only born five days ago.”

“She’s that old and can’t talk? No wonder she’s distressed and making such sounds; she can’t make any of you understand what’s wrong.” He sounded so appalled and sincere that I found myself smiling.

“I guess so,” I agreed.