Indentured (Book 2 of the Dana Halliday series)

THE EYARPIL. NOSEBLEED SECTION. RI'SEL'BA.

The day before had progressed as usual. The most exciting thing was a Pemlo'hban eyarpil, a foxlike creature the size of a cocker spaniel, with a cut tail. I had stitched it, Liti holding the wee screeching beastie in her strong hands so I could sedate it. Rav's lackeys stood in a ring around us, waving their cattle prods at the others, which were unabashedly trying to creep up and nip at us.

It had taken longer than I'd anticipated for it to wake up, and it was after midday before we could turn the little guy loose to rejoin his pack. We exited the enclosure to find Rav speaking with Kez.

Crae Kez had returned a few days earlier, but I hadn't seen him out and around. Today, he was strolling about with Emhallet and another Champion. The cray-Crae was dressed in heavy blue wool despite the blazing sun. Liti and I automatically knelt until he acknowledged us.

"Doctor!" he cried, seeming genuinely tickled to see me. "I see your skills are being put to good use! Rav speaks highly of you."

I aimed a skeptical eye at Rav, who remained mum. "I'm glad to hear that, Crae Kez." I spoke in my new and improved Sturv Standard.

"How are these eyarpil?" Kez inquired, gesturing with his walking stick.

I shrugged. The little carnivores were staring at us with avid interest, like Billie did if I had some particularly tasty food in my hand. "One had a mild injury. It should heal well."

"I was hoping to use them in the arena tonight. Should we leave that one here?"

I concealed a sigh. His tone was teasing, as though he knew how often I'd recommended enforced rest for a canine patient, only to have the owners ignore my advice.

"They're pretty rough on each other anyway." There were fifteen in the enclosure, and I suspected that was overcrowded for them. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Excellent!" Kez turned back to Rav. "We will require all of them."

Rav asked timidly, "All of them? Surely—"

"All of them, idiot." Kez waved his walking stick about, making Polu dive into Rav's shirt. "I have a group of close friends visiting for the holiday. It's time we had some real entertainment."

* * *

Getting a pack of eyarpil into the transport cages was a bit like herding cats. I almost wished Billie were there to help, and wondered how she was doing. At length, the last little varmint was enclosed, and we rolled them to the arena just in time to avoid a delay of the show.

Tonight, the crowd was larger and noisier than I'd yet seen it. The lights were brighter, even though the sun wasn't yet down, and there was raucous music playing over the speakers. The stands were packed full, I saw.

"Is it a special occasion or something?" I asked Rav, gazing in awe from the holding area as we rolled the cages toward the gate.

"It's the Week of Kolqor's Arrow. It used to be quite a pious time. Now it's just an excuse to misbehave."

I smiled a little, although something about the air of the crowd made my hackles rise. "We have holidays like that on Earth." I nibbled on a nutrient bar and offered a bit to Polu. The longdog stretched from Rav's shoulder and accepted it, surprisingly delicate.

I heard Liti singing softly behind me, and turned. She was rubbing her wrist along the back of the wooden bench on which she was leaning. As I watched, she touched the inside of her wrist to the skin behind her ear and then rubbed it on the bench again.

This was a scent-marking behavior, mostly unconscious. I'd seen Flynt do it once, while we were waiting for the ambulance in Tadscas, and he'd been a bit embarrassed when he realized what he was doing. It was a sign of anxious frustration, like an Earther chewing fingernails.