Chapter 13

Riordan was in a state when he got back home. Kyle wheeled in, right behind him, and his homie had respectfully kept silence throughout their ride. However, once he was inside, and Tasha couldn’t see him, or anyone else, for that matter, he let himself slide to the floor and buried his face in his hands, letting the tremble in his body take over. Was that all they were? A means to an end? Before coming here, he thought it all to be a done deal, but now, he felt all kinds of things that he couldn’t understand. The Riordan from Earth he had known himself to be all his life wouldn’t have wasted a single tear on a used whore, not because he couldn’t be made to care for others, but because people like that, people like them, he included, had no use for pity. Pity was nothing; it didn’t put food on the table, and it didn’t put a roof over your head.

He hadn’t wanted to trouble Tasha, since he was pregnant and all, not with the helplessness he experienced, not with the fury that pushed him to lash out. Fuck, there wasn’t an object he could grab and throw at the wall just so that he could get it out of his system while shouting obscenities. No, he hadn’t exactly been a whore before, but he had done all kinds of things for money in order to survive. This stop on Xeno ... it was supposed to be a stop, and nothing else. Get preggo, deliver the egg, and then get back on Earth, pockets full of cash.

Besides his incredible overlook of knowing that humans got addicted to seth and other details, he had been quite the arrogant fucker to believe that things would be that simple. When were they simple? He should’ve known better. Now, the sight of that abandoned bearer in his bath of seth didn’t want to leave his mind. He felt drawn to it, despite the horror he felt inside at the implications of what that meant. Xana talked big about wanting him to stay, even beyond that, and have another egg, and another, and another ... Fuck, he was fucked either way.

He pushed away angry tears, wiping his cheeks hard and rubbing his eyes. “Kyle, you’ve seen nothing, my man.”

“I understand, Master Rio. Since when until when?”

Of course, the bot needed some coordinates. Didn’t that make him lame? Seeking the friendship of a piece of machinery? It was all in his head, after all. Xana was right. If he ordered Kyle to punish Riordan, he’d do so in a heartbeat. Only that he had no heartbeat. He, it. He shook his head. Now, he was thinking all kinds of stupid shit. Kyle had saved him on more than one occasion, and he had pledged his loyalty. For a machine, he was a solid pal, and Riordan knew better than to give up on true friends, no matter how strange they were.

He began laughing softly. “Forget I said anything. I mean, of course, you’ve witnessed it all. By the way, do you know what giving birth looks like in this world?”

“Once the egg matures, it begins its descent through the birth canal,” Kyle recited. “The muscles involved dilate to allow the passage.”

Riordan snorted and then gestured with his hands to show the bot what he had truly seen. “Dilate, you say? A bearer’s ass must become this big for that egg to go through. I don’t understand how there’s no rupture, or did I just fail to see it?”

“Damage to the membranes may occur but it is quickly healed by seth,” Kyle explained.

“Fuck me,” Riordan groaned. “That’s not an invitation, by the way.”

Kyle’s lights flickered in sympathy. “Was it such a traumatizing experience?” the bot suddenly asked.

Fuck, he was one clever bot. “Yeah, between you and me, it was. It fucking scared me.” That wasn’t the whole truth, only what he allowed himself to admit. “Don’t let Xana know, if you can. I’m sure he won’t be able to understand. Shit, I have no idea why I load your memory with this kind of stuff. It’s not like you can understand, either. I’m not blaming you or anything.”

Kyle moved by his side and did something to lower his main body, as if he, too, was taking a seat on the floor, just like him earlier. “I am here to serve you and help you.”

“Gosh, Kyle, you’re starting to make me think you have more humanity in you than these Xeno assholes. You know, that Xeno, after that bearer went through all that ordeal, having the egg and going through the fucking breaking of his ass, that guy just grabbed his brat and got out, without one look back.”

“Master Xana would never do the same,” Kyle said serenely.

“So he says. He wants me to carry another egg. Still, I can’t get it out of my head, how that bearer looked. I know, I mean, the guy’s probably a dumb bitch, not necessarily dumber than me,” he quickly added, “but still. I suppose that Xenos like mine are not exactly common, then.”

“Master Xana Lei is remarkable among his peers,” Kyle continued. “He finished his studies--”

“You’ve told me,” Riordan interrupted the bot. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. He says that he has a certain position on bearers, one that’s not shared by many.”

“His Royal Chancellor agrees,” Kyle pointed out.

“You’re quite well informed for a domestic bot, you know,” Riordan remarked.

“I am aware that such things might be of interest to you, Master Rio. I want to serve you to the best of my capabilities.”

Riordan put one arm around what had to count as the bot’s back and rested his head for a moment against the cold metal. Then, he moved away and sniffled. “Can you tell me what’s going to happen with the bearer I’ve just witnessed giving birth? Is that the kind of information you can access without getting in major trouble?”

Kyle appeared to take a moment. Then, he began talking. “His name is Cario Hamen. Owner – Drato Menor.” He paused for another moment. “I don’t see anything about what you asked me. Initially, the bearer was supposed to serve at The Magical Swan until retirement.”

“The Magical Swan? For real? My educated guess is that it must be a brothel.”

“Not quite so. The establishment is kept by an Earthian. It is a place for entertainment, but intercourse is not included on the list of services.”

“Then it’s what? Some kind of host club?”

“Yes, the term is close in meaning,” Kyle agreed.

Riordan shook his head. “Count on Earthians to think up ways to get into profitable business everywhere they go. Wait, do Xenos drink? I mean, alcohol?”

“No.”

“Then what do they do at The Magical Swan?”

“The employees are having their abdomens filled with seth and then execute intricate performances for the delight of those watching.”

Riordan pursed his lips hard. “Fuck these pervy fuckers. It doesn’t exactly sound like a good place for that Cario dude. And you’re saying that he was supposed to go there after delivery? What changed?”

“That, I don’t know. But that entry appears to have been erased recently.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Riordan asked.

“I don’t know,” Kyle said apologetically.

“Don’t fret, my man.” Riordan patted the bot’s shoulder. “I like to think that the guy’s owner changed his mind and that he’s going to keep him around. There’s also the possibility that he wants to get rid of the poor fucker by selling him to the Black Market or whatever.”

“The Black Market?” Kyle asked.

“Don’t act so surprised. Xana threatened me with it the day I put foot in here. I see, so there are things I know and you don’t. The Black Market is for the really kinky stuff. Like the one you mentioned, but The Magical Swan ... that’s all out in the open, right?”

“Yes. There’s no such thing as a Black Market.”

“Xana said--” Riordan began and then frowned. “That fucker. He just wanted to make sure I’d make an obedient bearer. He must have lied to me ... or you just don’t know about such things because you’re not allowed to.”

“You can always ask Master Xana if he lied.”

“As if he’d say even if he did,” Riordan said and snorted. “Now, look, if you can, just keep an eye on this Cario dude. I’d really want to know what happens to him.”

“How would that be of help to you, Master Rio?”

“Are you asking for a friend?” Riordan joked.

“I don’t have any friends except you,” Kyle replied.

“I meant Xana. And it was a joke.”

“I’ll memorize it. I see. It’s because Master Xana cannot be my friend, or I, his.”