The Alien King’s Pet by Loki Renard
10Consequencelessness
“Stop! Thief!”
Well, that didn’t last long. Katie scurried through the streets of the city, a big batch of Homeworld currency tucked under her arm. She shouldn’t have been so brazen, but she’d gotten away with every theft so far.
She’d gotten cocky. That was her mistake.
It had been thirty days since Alf sprang her from the palace. Thirty days in which the city had been searched and swept enough times to annoy the citizenry into near rebellion. She had not been found, obviously.
But she was about to get fucking caught by the guards who were flying way fucking faster than she could run, overtaking her with gusty beats of their wings.
It was fucking hard to run in the suit. The filtration could keep up with normal breathing, but it didn’t work for running. She was gasping for air that just wasn’t there, dropping a trail of stolen money behind her as she headed for the overbuilt area of the city where the poor lived, and where the soldiers would be forced to land to catch her.
That was the plan, anyway, but she didn’t think she was going to get a chance to execute it. They were gaining too fast, and she was about to fucking pass out…
“Come here.”
A hand reached out and dragged her into the shadows, yanking her off her feet and against the hard body of a Homelander who shut a big heavy door behind her.
“You!”
It wasn’t Dominax. Thank fuck, it wasn’t Dominax. It was the Homelander skater boy, the one with the light eyes and dark hair who liked her sense of humor.
“You’re trouble,” he said, pressing a finger to her lips as the guards rushed by outside the door. “I’ve been watching you.”
“What do you mean, you’ve been watching me?”
“I mean the first day we met, you were sitting out in the open with an armful of stolen food, shoe cleaner, and a dildo. That sort of thing gets a guy’s attention.”
She blushed, remembering how little she’d known in those first days of freedom. Turned out she had accidentally stolen a sex toy. Oh, well. It had been good to trade with later. Got her a new set of clothes underneath her suit, and began her savings.
There was really no need to be stealing anymore. She’d even found a place to stay. Wasn’t an apartment, was more of a pod. Just a small space with a door, big enough to lie down in.
“Didn’t mean to get your attention. Didn’t mean to get anybody’s attention. Trying to do the opposite.”
“That’s why you’re running through the city with stolen money falling out of your pockets?”
She guessed she liked stealing. Being a criminal on an alien world came with a sense of consequencelessness. Was that a word? In her head, it was.
“Nope. That’s not why.”
“Why is it then?”
On Earth, she would have been afraid of what could happen if she was caught. Here, she didn’t care. She hadn’t spent a lifetime being primed to respect the laws and culture of these aliens. She had human values, city values, and survival values.
“I don’t know. I guess it’s fun.”
“Is it fun? Or are you trying to get caught?”
She didn’t even know this guy's name.
“Who are you, exactly.”
“My name’s Darma.”
Darma. A pretty chill name for a pretty chill guy. She felt that pull again. Not quite attraction. More like familiarity.
“Okay, but who are you? Why did you just save me?”
“Like I said, you got my attention.”
“Yeah. That’s what you said. But we met weeks ago. It’s weird if you’ve been following me. Really fucking weird.”
“You’re so suspicious,” he laughed. “Which is funny, because you’re the criminal. Still in that same suit, too.”
“I like it.”
“Uh huh. Tell me who I’ve saved,” he said. “I need to know who you are. I need to know what you are.”
“Or what?”
“Or I turn you into the authorities,” he smiled cheerfully.
“I would really feel a whole lot better if I didn’t tell you any of that,” she said. “What about the money? Take that, no questions asked.”
“Nope. I want answers to my questions. Not money.”
“So you’re rich then. Rich enough for this money to mean nothing to you.”
“You’re figuring me out,” he smiled. “How about you give me the chance to figure you out.”
“There’s no point hitting on me. I’m taken. Double taken on this planet.”
“I am not hitting on you. I just think you’re interesting. Besides. I have a guy.”
“Oh, you have a guy.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. Okay. Cool. Cool.”
“So. Who are you?”
“Well, now I have no idea why you would care?”
“Not everything is about trying to fuck someone,” he said bluntly. “I notice something weird, I follow it up. You’re weird. Even in a city this size. You stand out.”
“I hope not.”
“Why? Are you trying to hide? Because running around in a bright pink suit, stealing from shops in broad lava-light is not a good way to hide.”
“I guess that’s a good point,” she admitted. “Thanks for helping me out there.”
“I was being selfish,” he admitted. “I’ve been looking for an opportunity to speak to you since we met. I know you’re not from here. You’re something completely different. There are rumors in the royal court about a beast from a very foreign planet being kept by the king.”
“Do you know Dominax? Are you from the palace…”
She was worried. This big Homelander seemed to have his own agenda, and she had no idea what it was. He’d saved her from the guards, but that didn’t mean he was going to keep helping her.
“I have a place in the royal household, as do many thousands of others,” he said. “So I hear rumors. Some, like this one, interest me especially. I’ve always liked strange things — and you are a very strange thing.”
“Are you going to turn me in?”
“Not at the moment,” he said, rather irritatingly.
“So what do you want from me? If it’s not sex, and it’s not money, what, then?”
“Let’s hang out.”
“What? Why?”
“I think you’re the human Dominax is missing. If you are, then you’re something even the king of Homeworld can’t have. I like that. And you obviously don’t want to be at the palace anyway, so maybe we can help each other out.”
“I still don’t see how I’m helping you.”
“You’re making me slightly less bored,” he shrugged.
“Uh huh.”
She was getting rich kid vibes from this guy. Someone who had everything and therefore wasn’t entertained by anything. That did not inspire a whole lot of trust as far as she was concerned.
“Okay, well, thanks, I guess. I need to get out of here.”
“Hey. No. Come on. You owe me more than that. Tell me who you are, where you came from.”
“You want to hear my life story?”
“You don’t seem to realize how interesting you are. This city sees a lot of aliens, but none like you. None Dominax is hunting down relentlessly.”
“Is he? It doesn’t feel relentless. It feels like…” she didn’t know what it felt like. She was thinking that Dominax had probably forgotten about her now, or assumed something had happened to her. Like the time her cat had gotten out when she was just a kid, and was never seen or heard from again. She’d looked, but then her mother had insisted they go home before the birds following them caught up to them. So that was that.
She looked up and realized Darma was still looking at her with that fascinated expression on his face.
“What does it feel like?”
“Feels like he forgot about me.”
“Oh, he hasn’t forgotten about you. He just can’t rip up the entire city without causing chaos.”
Well, that was nice, or maybe not. It was nice to be wanted. Every woman wanted to be pursued. Well, some women did. What the fuck did she know about every woman. Anyway. It was romantic. But it was also fucking terrifying.
“You know Dominax?”
“You could say that. Like I said, I live up at the palace.”
“Wow, you do. Huh.” She was trying to work out how to get away from this guy as quickly as possible. He reminded her far too much of Dominax.
“Don’t worry. I’m not like them. I am not like him. I’m a friend.”
“No, you’re not. You’re a stranger, and I’m a fugitive.”
“I’m the closest thing you have to a friend here. I knew what you were the first time we met, and I didn’t turn you in. And you know I know who you are now, and I’m still saving your ass.”
“Who am I, then?”
“You are the king’s pet,” he smiled. “You’re the human who got away. You’re the girl with a bounty on her head. If Dominax knew about the pink suit, you’d be snatched up in seconds.”
“That’s not who I am. That’s not even a part of who I am. That’s what Dominax defined me as, and it’s how he justified ripping me from everything I ever knew, and it’s why I’m here…”
“Okay. You’re not the king’s pet. You’re the human fugitive who is on the verge of being caught and dragged back to him any moment now. And you’re so arrogant you don’t think you need help. You plan to thieve your way to freedom, and tell everyone else to… what’s that human phrase? Oh. Right. Get fucked.”
“How do you know that phrase?”
“Because I, like you, am curious. I want to go to Earth. I want to see the world where the Homelanders don’t have wings. I want to see everything the universe has to offer. I was on the ship Dominax took to your world.”
Every time he spoke, he accidentally revealed more about himself than he wanted to. It was almost amusing.
“Okay. Fine. You don’t seem like a complete asshole. And thank you, for helping me escape the guards. But I know you want something. And it’s not just hanging out with the cool Earth chick.”
“Does it matter what I want, as long as you get what you want?”
She pushed her head out the door. There was no one there. Not a single soldier.
“Okay. I’m going to head out. Thanks for the help.”
“Katie…”
She was gone, dashing into the street. She had a place not that far from this little nook, and she was not interested in making friends with anybody who helped Dominax abduct her.
This entire encounter had taught her one thing: she was too visible, and she had to get further away if she wasn’t going to be recaptured. Or she had to get better at being a fugitive.