Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“Thank you, Master,” she said, ducking her head obsequiously.
“And you,” I added, to my candalla, which had curved around and was pointing in her direction. “Pay attention and help me choose the right sort of bed for little one. She can’t sleep with me every night or you’ll ruin my sheets!”
Reluctantly, my tail retreated and pointed in the direction of the counter where the Naggian merchant was laying out his wares.
Hx’lx first brought out a big pile of round, furred pet beds…but then he brought out another pile of rectangular ones that had pillows attached. A third pile had comfort foam inserts that were supposed to be good for your pet’s spinal support and a fourth pile had special fabric which wouldn’t stain, even if your pet had an accident—something I had no fear of with little one, since she had taken to using the facilities so quickly.
Many people might have been dismayed by the number of beds to choose from, but variety of choice is yet another thing I love about the primitive practice of shopping. It gives one scope for the imagination. No matter which bed little one chose, I would now have every other kind stored in my memory. So if she didn’t like the first one she had chosen, I could simply use the Matter Synthesizer to make another like one of the ones on display for her to try.
I confess, I got very involved in the process of finding just the right pet bed. I had to feel and examine each kind, committing them to memory so I could reproduce them later if I chose to. Hs’lx also had much to tell me of every single kind of available bed—and some he claimed he could order for a future sale, if I chose to ever come back to his stall. He pulled up digital catalogs on his tablet of wares and we discussed the various merits of every one.
Of course, colors and patterns had to be considered as well, which took even more time, but at last I was satisfied. When I had finally found a selection I thought little one might like to choose from, I turned to ask her opinion.
“The pink one with a cloud-fiber cover and the comfort foam core seems the best to me,” I said, as I turned. “But if you would prefer a different—”
I stopped, the words dying in my throat.
A heap of multicolored bimble-stax lay on the counter where little one had been. And when I grabbed for the leash—which I had fastened to my belt—I found it had been cut, severed as neatly as a surgeon might sever a vital artery. But of little one herself, there was no sign.
My pet was gone. She might be anywhere in the wide, dangerous spaceport and wherever she was, she was all alone.
FOURTEEN
ELLI
I waited patiently for my chance to escape—although it wasn’t easy. I was dying to get free of the damn leash and lose myself in the crowd—I was certain it wouldn’t be too hard because F’too’sh Beta was definitely one of the most colorful and strangest places I had ever seen. As I told Sir, it reminded me of a cross between a craft fair and a farmer’s market—well, if everyone manning the stalls was an alien, that was.
Everywhere I looked there were strange people and even stranger products. Sir even bought me a little wand that blew edible, candy bubbles. They changed flavor with every bubble I blew, but I couldn’t name any of the flavors, since they were all based on alien fruits I had never eaten. Still, I enjoyed the sweet treat immensely—it was much tastier than the bland nutritional gel cubes I’d had for breakfast.
I was wondering if I ought to try and get him to buy us lunch here too, before I escaped—there was a merchant with two heads and four arms selling something that looked like purple corndogs across the way—when I saw my chance. It was literally right out in the open—a knife so sharp the guy behind the counter, (who looked a lot like a vampire, by the way)—said it could cut a strand of hair in two. The leash Sir had synthesized for me appeared to be made of some tough, hardy leather, but the way the knife blade gleamed gave me hope that I could sever it without too much trouble.
I bided my time, though. I asked for permission to play with the “shiny toys” on the counter, even though the words almost stuck in my throat. If Sir wanted to treat me like an animal or a child, I would absolutely play the part—anything it took to get away.
And sure enough, he went for it. He even gave me more slack in the leash so I could stand farther away from him—that was when I knew I was going to get away. He trusted me—at least enough to take his eyes off me. And that trust was what would help me slip my leash and find a ride back to Earth.