steps, Yuri cranks something that’s akin to a generator, and a soft glow lights the space. Then the manhole above us, which serves as both an entrance and an exit, closes.
I’m not claustrophobic, but it’s starting to feel small in here.
“She will need to lie down here,” Yuri says in her no-nonsense tone. Does she even have another kind? “Since the female is small, this should not take as much time as I originally thought. However, the price doesn’t change.” She gives Korix a pointed look, and only after he nods does she pat the empty bed, her gaze swinging to me. “Come here.”
I slide my gaze to Korix’s, and he stares at me, looking deep into my eyes for a moment. I believe he knows what he’s doing, but this entire situation is unnerving. Maybe he can smell my fear or see it in my eyes because he takes my hand.
“No harm will come to you,” he says, his voice low enough for only me to hear. “If there were another way to do this, I would.”
“It’s fine. I’m just…” I shake my head. “Never mind. Let’s get this over with.”
He grabs me when I turn to go, halting my steps and bringing my attention back to him. “We will talk after this, you and I, but for now, relax as best you can.”
I give him a half smile only to remember the bottom portion of my face is covered. So I wink at him instead. Much to my surprise, he does it back, and my insides somersault.
He gently tugs on my wrist and leads me over to where Yuri fiddles with the dials on a machine that has several tubes sprouting from it. At the end of each hose is a small silver disc about the size of a US quarter, and although this shouldn’t be overly dangerous, I’m unable to stop the roiling of my stomach.
I lie down and keep my gaze locked on Korix’s, waiting for any sign that something’s not as it should be. He folds his arms and watches Yuri with an intensity I would consider almost threatening. She either doesn’t care or doesn’t notice, and the ever-present hum of the equipment grows louder when she presses a button.
“I will need to place the leads on her arms and legs,” Yuri says, grabbing the tubes. She meets Korix’s stare, and I’m not sure who is more austere. Maybe they’re equal, seeing as they are both criminals who’ve developed that hardened look in their eyes. “The female will need to be still, and there will be some light-headedness, but that is the extent of the risks if the process isn’t rushed.”
So far, so good.
Korix nods. “That is agreeable.”
“Payment is required up front,” Yuri says.
The exchange of credits happens quickly, and I wish my procedure would be just as fast.
“Very good,” she says. Yuri brings her silver gaze to me, and I swallow deep. “I’m going to disinfect your skin first.”
She doesn’t wait for me to acknowledge her and begins rolling up the long sleeves of my shirt, followed by my pant legs. After that she wets a cloth with a bright-blue liquid and rubs it along my exposed extremities. My skin prickles at the contact, but the hair on the back of my neck rises as soon as she places the metal flush to the inside of my elbow. I grit my teeth when Yuri pinches the edge of the disc and something needle-like punctures me.
Even though I hid my grimace of pain the first time, I’m not able to for the last one. Korix stiffens beside me, and his tail lightly thumps the tiled flooring. His show of concern for me makes my heart soften, and I do my best to ignore it.
Turning my head, I watch in fascination as the machine pulls the blood from my body and transfers it through the tubing to collect it inside a glass cylinder. From there my blood seeps into a different chamber that’s the size of a large perfume bottle, and once it’s full, there’s a metal sheath that covers it just before the machine produces a low rumble.
“What’s that?” I ask, jerking my chin at the device in Korix’s hands.
He lifts his gaze from the screen, and his forehead creases. I’ve been so curious about everything that I didn’t even see him pull that gadget from his trench coat. His frown deepens, and he shakes his head once. That’s when I remember I’m not supposed