Chapter 16

AVA

The smell of foreign spices and foods fills the air of the market. Clothes in colors I don’t even have names for flutter in the breeze as I wander up and down the aisles.

I close my eyes and listen to the chatter of the crowd around me, feeling at home in a weird way. There is something so universal about a marketplace, about shopping. I guess it would sound the same on any planet.

I keep wandering, the two soldiers following dutifully behind me at a comfortable distance.

Even though Koza told me I could buy anything, I’d been honest when I said I didn’t want to. I keep a good distance from the stalls, happy to simply walk. Being outdoors is enough for now.

That is, until I spot another human woman with a slim collar around her neck, organizing wares on the countertop of a large stall covered with a brilliant-red canopy.

I’m already moving in her direction when I spot the items she carefully handles.

~Books! Books in English!~

The bold titles I can read from halfway down the aisle cause me to give out a very unflattering squeal of excitement.

A glowing box over the half-dozen books illuminates as the woman finishes arranging them. I stumble to a stop in front of her counter of items.

“Hi! How much for the books?” I practically shout at her.

She turns toward me with a calm, customer-service smile before her face transforms into shock as she registers the sight of my human face.

“Oh! Wow! Hi!” She grins enthusiastically, a real smile this time as she looks me over. Her eyes linger briefly on the collar around my neck.

“The books, right,” she says, after staring at my face for just a little too long. “They are ten thousand imperial credits.”

I wrinkle my nose, looking down at the colorful covers under the display. “Is that, like, a lot?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“Oh, yeah, they’re stupid expensive,” comes her blunt reply. “The protective forcefield didn’t tip you off?”

I sigh in disappointment. “You’re right, dumb question. I was just hoping… I only have ~Alice in Wonderland~, and I’ve pretty much memorized it at this point.”

I give the books another longing look as the woman behind the counter studies me with a bemused smile.

“Tell you what…,” she says, breaking me out of my staring contest with the faded cover of ~Little Women~.

She looks around, probably trying to locate my two tag-along soldiers. They are several stalls back, eating something on a stick that looks suspiciously like a charred green squirrel.

Seemingly satisfied they are far enough away, she presses her palm onto a panel at the base of the display and the glow of the forcefield disappears with a soft beep.

“Bring me your copy of ~Alice~ to read, and you can borrow this one and bring it back when you’re done.” I stare at her in shock as she picks up the copy of ~Little Women~, holding it out to me.

“You won’t, like…get in trouble?” I ask with concern, my eyes dropping to the collar around her neck.

She waves her empty hand in the air, dismissing my concerns. “Oh, not at all. Taryk, that’s my…owner,” she explains, tripping over the last word. “He actually gets them for me, and we sell them when I get tired of them.”

The soft smile on her face as she gives the books a fond glance tells me there is way more to the story.

I blink at her, processing, before reaching out and hesitantly plucking the book from her hand. “That’s nice of him,” I say slowly, watching her cheeks turn pink at my words.

“Yeah. Yep. He’s cool.”

I bite my lip, fighting a grin as her face turns even more red.

She lets out a huge huff of air, glancing around to make sure there was still no one near before leaning forward and dropping her voice.

“Okay, he doesn’t own me. I mean he does, technically, but only because it keeps me safe and it’s illegal to get married.”

“I see,” I murmur, keeping my tone casual as I thumb through the book, giving her a moment to recover from her obvious embarrassment.

“Is it the same? For you and the general?” she asks, her tone still low and conspiratorial.

“Oh! No!” I hurry to answer, my volume louder than it should be. I clear my throat, dropping back down to barely above a whisper. “It’s not like that at all. I mean, he’s nice, and doesn’t treat me like a slave, but he basically ignores me. I was sort of forced on him…so we’re making the best of it.”

I leave out the part where he ate me out in the elevator, and I came all over his fingers. There’s oversharing, and then there’s ~oversharing~.

She hums thoughtfully, nodding to herself as she does.

“That makes sense. Everyone around here was shocked to learn he was bringing home a slave. He’s never said so publicly, but we all thought he was against the practice.”

My thoughts drift to the other market girls, and I hope they found themselves in as lucky of a position as I have fallen into. Sexual frustrations aside, I’m glad to be here with Koza and not with someone more in line with the High Commander’s way of thinking.

A small part of me wonders if Koza would be pissed if I used his money to buy the same sort of freedom I have for Kiri. If slaves could even buy other slaves.

~That would definitely push my luck.~

“Would you like to stay for lunch?” she asks me, abruptly breaking me out of my thoughts. “I’ve learned how to duplicate a pretty respectable cheeseburger with ingredients from the market.”

I am not even ashamed when my eyes literally fill with tears at the thought.

“That…,” I choke out, sniffing back the emotion, “would be so amazing. You have no idea. My first meal here was literally, like, balloons of soup.”

My new best friend’s name is Hannah, which is one of the many things I learn in the hour we visit in her tent behind the market stall. I scarf down three perfectly respectable cheeseburger replacements while she does most of the talking.

My lunch visits to Hannah become a daily occurrence, and in just the two months that have flown by, I can honestly say she is like a sister to me. I guess bonding over shared alien kidnapping experiences can really bring two girls together.

She keeps letting me borrow her books, and I bring her sketches in return, since I only had the one book to lend her.

One day, as we’re laughing over her latest story of some of her and Taryk’s experiences in other markets that I always beg her for, she leans in close and whispers, “Ava, I have something I need to tell you. Something important.”

My stomach drops, thinking she’s about to tell me she and Taryk are leaving for another planet, or that I’ve been too clingy and she needs space. I force a smile and nod, gripping the edge of the table.

“Okay,” I whisper back, already dreading whatever she’s about to say.

She hesitates for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Ava, Taryk and I are part of the Multics. Have you heard of it?”

I shake my head hesitantly. It very vaguely rings a bell, but I can’t place where I’ve heard that word before. I really hope she isn’t trying to recruit me into some strange religious cult.

~Oh god, has this whole friendship been a ruse?~

“Well,” she continues, rubbing the back of her neck before releasing the clasp of her collar, dropping the metal to her lap as I blink at her stupidly.

“Like I told you when we met, Taryk and I, we’re in love. But as a slave, I am considered only property, the only way I can be with him is as a possession. The Multic, it’s a group that opposes the current rule. The goal is to oust the High Commander.” She bites her lip as she finishes, her eyes wide with the unspoken concern that her trust in me is warranted.

Now I remember the conversation I overheard between Koza and Zynett on the trip here, and where I heard the term before.

“Good, fuck that guy,” I tell her, my tone sharp. “I am not a fan.”

She huffs out a breathy laugh, her shoulders relaxing now that her secret is out.

“We’re not big players or anything, just messengers,” she explains. “We pass things between members, information mostly. Traveling between the markets makes us good for that job. I’ve been given a new assignment, and if you’re willing, I really need your help.”