Indentured (Book 2 of the Dana Halliday series)

ONE MONTH LATER. NOVOCAINE FOR THE SOUL. A DOLLOP OF LOW FENN.

"I can't do this. No more." My voice was a hoarse croak. "Game over, man."

I wasn't speaking to anyone in particular; in fact, I was alone. I emerged from my cottage and dropped to the concrete steps to wait for my coworkers. I hoped it was just Liti. I wasn't sure if seeing Rav wouldn't send me right over the edge of sanity.

It was just the Fenn, thank goodness. Liti wasn't talkative. Flynt wasn't a chatterbox either, but the taphthli ibirran was entirely more serious and sober than he. Of course, I had no idea what she was like under non-kidnapped circumstances. 

At that moment, I didn't care. I just didn't want to have to listen to Rav gripe at me about my inability to fix things with the magic he seemed sure I was hiding. Also, I didn't want his sympathy.

It might provoke me to get into more trouble, and I'd caused myself more than enough of it the day before.

Liti walked toward me, more briskly than usual. She was wearing a baseball cap I'd given her the second day there, a relic from the depths of my rucksack. My vet school's logo was on it. The colors were a bit garish with her blue hair, which she pulled through the back in a little ponytail, but it was ridiculously cute on her. More importantly, it shaded her eyes, and she was able to tuck her antennae underneath it, sort of wrapping them on top of her head like braids. She stopped a few feet away, studying me.

"What?" I sensed more than saw her pointed stare.

"How are you doing? Is your pain under control?"

I made an unexpressive non-sound. I was foggy and blurry from whatever Liti had given me the night before so I could sleep. My body was numb, but I'd still had nightmares. Despite that, I'd woken in a state of dreary apathy.

Liti sighed, took off the cap, and put it in her own bag, letting her antennae free to circle about her head. I supposed she couldn't pick up my emotional aura as well with them covered and immobile.

"Ihi. I'm okey-dokey."

Her nostrils flared. "You haven't showered. You're wearing the same clothes as yesterday." She took a step closer. "I told you I would help you. How can you stand the smell of so much blood?"

I could smell the blood, which meant it was probably nauseating to her. Idly, I wondered if Fenn ibirran had to learn to tolerate the odor, or if they just didn't have as strong an aversion as Flynt.

Really though, I didn't care. "Can't be bothered." I put my head on my bent knees, fighting back shivers.

"Rav's going to complain if we don't meet him soon."

"Fuck him. I'm done."

"Come on. Once he sees you, he'll send you home for the day. He was very concerned about you last night."

We were speaking in a mix of Sturv Standard and English with a dollop of Low Fenn. Low Sturvlish, maybe. I could communicate fairly well now, enough to start teaching Liti some of my own language. She was picking it up disgustingly fast.

"Home." My bland voice somehow made the word sound like a curse. "How long have you been here?"

Her antennae flicked about irritably. "A few minutes."

"How long since Kez took you, Miss Literal-Pants?"

Liti thought about it. "Well, it's hard to say, isn't it? Some of the time I've been here, some of it out there. I suspect it's been at least a year on my world."

"How do you live with this? You've seen more bad things here than I have, right? Like, as bad as...yesterday?" My throat gave a little gulpy shake at the end.