Sought(36)
Wincing, Kat lifted the green convo-pillar to her ear. Oh God, I really don’t want to do this! The tiny hairs tickled horribly as the little creature crawled in her ear canal and she had to curl her hands into fists to keep herself from yanking it out again. It was hard to overcome the instinctive response to scream and freak out at the feeling of something living going where it very clearly didn’t belong. But she squeezed her eyes shut and reminded herself grimly of the benefits of having it there. She’d be able to understand everyone around her now and avoid any more disastrous mistakes like the one that had led her to eat an entire bowl of bonding fruit. And she could apologize in person to Deep and Lock’s mother, who had been looking at her sadly ever since Lock had explained to her that they weren’t really a threesome after all. And—
“Okay, it’s in. You can open your eyes.” Piper sounded like she was laughing. “I know it takes some getting used to but believe me, in a minute or two you won’t even know it’s there.”
Kat wasn’t sure about that, but at least the little creature wasn’t moving around any more. It seemed to have found a comfortable position and was staying still. Instead of the feeling of having a hairy bug in her ear, Kat felt more like someone had plugged it with a piece of cotton. “It makes it kind of hard to hear on one side,” she said uncertainly.
“No it doesn’t,” Piper said confidently. “You think so because of the way it feels but actually the convo-pillar conveys sound as naturally as your own eardrum does.”
“You’re right.” Kat nodded. “My ear feels like it’s plugged up, but actually I can still hear just as well on that side.”
“Of course you can.” Piper hooked her arm through Kat’s. “Come on—let’s go try it out.”
Kat frowned, suddenly worried. “Uh, I’m not sure how Deep and Lock are going to feel about this.”
“Please, honey.” Piper made a shooing gesture. “What they don’t know won’t hurt ‘em. Here—we’ll go out the back way.” She tugged Kat toward the opposite end of the large room where there was a small door.
“We’re just going to leave without telling them?” Even though she’d been longing to go off on her own, Kat was still reluctant.
“Of course. Aren’t we bad?” Piper giggled and tugged at her arm. “Come on, it’ll be an adventure. And don’t worry—we’ll get back to your boys before you know it.”
“Well…okay.” Though she still had some doubts, Kat allowed herself to be led out the much smaller, back exit from the ladies room.
She just hoped the convo-pillar worked. If she had to wear a live insect in her ear, it had damn well better be worth it.
Chapter Eleven
“Are these the only thing you guys eat or are they just prison food?” Lauren lifted one of the cardboard pop tarts questioningly after the tall man with the red-on-black eyes slid it across to her. “I mean, not that I’m not grateful,” she went on hurriedly. “Because I am. I was just wondering.”
He had been heading for the door to the cell they were keeping her in, but he turned back with obvious reluctance. “Nutra-wafers are specially formulated to provide all the protein, vitamins, and nutrition a warrior needs in a single work cycle. They should keep you in good health until the AllFather is ready for you.”
Lauren cringed at the mention of his father but she was determined not to let fear shut her down. Her jailor was the only person she ever saw—her only hope of escape. She had to form a connection with him.
“I was just wondering if you guys had any kind of junk food,” she said, trying to smile. “You know, Cheetos, Doritos, cupcakes?”
He frowned. “What are those? What is ‘junk food?’”
Lauren sat forward and wrapped his cloak more securely around herself. “It’s food you eat just for fun. It’s usually not good for you but it tastes really good.”
He shook his head. “We have nothing like that. What would be the point?”
“Pleasure is the point,” Lauren said, looking up at him. “For instance, I own a cupcake bakery called The Sweet Spot back on Earth. Nobody who comes in my shop actually needs one of my delicious cupcakes but they buy them for pleasure.”
“I still don’t understand. Why should one take pleasure in eating?” He was still just standing there, staring down at her. Lauren wished he would sit down. If she could just get him to stay with her a little while she might have a chance of connecting with him.