Alien Chronicles 2 - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester Read Free Book Online Page A

completely unaware of the better life awaiting her in Galard Stables.
    “Oh, thank you,” she whispered.
    Then tears filled her eyes. Flinging herself facedown on the floor, she wept long and hard.
    She wept until all her tears were gone, and she was left empty and somehow comforted. Yet still she lay there with her cheek pressed to the floor. The air grew chilly, but she did not care. Exhaustion pressed her bones into lead. She could not move, did not wish to move. Oh, if only she could stay in here, surrounded by this gift, for a year of days.
    A soft tapping interrupted her thoughts.
    Startled, she jerked up her head, then sat swiftly at the sight of a shadowy figure standing in the doorway. Who was this intruder whom she had not even heard enter?
    “Pardon,” said a soft voice with the unmistakable shrill singsong tones of a Kelth. A very ill-at-ease Kelth. “I brought your grub—uh—your dinner. When you want it served, you tell me.”
    Ampris tried to fluff up the tear-matted fur on her face. “Thank you.”
    “Yeah. I’ll activate the heaters now. Should have been on already. The nights here get cold enough to freeze your—uh, really cold. I just got assigned to your quarters, so things aren’t as ready as they should be. Don’t worry, though. It won’t take me long to get this place whipped into shape.”
    No lamp burned inside the bathing chamber. She could not see the Kelth clearly, yet something about him seemed familiar.
    She rose to her feet, feeling embarrassed by having been caught lying on the floor. “My rooms were locked. How did you get in?”
    The Kelth bowed in the shadows. “I’m your servant, see? The locks ain’t much, more for your protection than—”
    “Protection from whom?” Ampris demanded. “Ylea?”
    The Kelth yipped softly in amusement. “Ylea could come through the wall if she decided to. She’s built like a Mobile Forces Tanker.”
    “I’ve met her,” Ampris said.
    He yipped again. “Yeah, you did. And she sat on you. Got herself whipped for it. Got herself assigned extra laps in the morning. She don’t like you much.”
    Ampris sighed. “I’ll have to make peace—”
    “Don’t go crawling to her!” he said in alarm, handing out advice as though she’d asked for it. “That’s no way to handle her.”
    As a servant, he was impertinent and far too familiar for his position, but at least he talked to her freely. Ampris tilted her head. “For some reason Ylea is threatened by me—”
    He snorted rudely. “Threatened? By what? Her quarters are twice the size of yours. She’s team leader. She gets the top rewards, most of which she strings around her fat neck.”
    Ampris thought about having apartments better even than these. She was too grateful for what she had to feel envious. “So why is she mad at me? Why does she hate me?”
    “Ylea hates everybody. She’s supposed to. She’s a pro gladiator, see? No sweetness and good manners in her. That’s why she’s team leader. It takes fierceness to make it in this business.”
    Ampris snarled ferociously, and the Kelth jumped backward with a yelp.
    Ampris laughed at him, enjoying her joke. She walked past him while he cringed back, staring at her through the shadows. Ampris could smell the faint aroma of meat coming from the sitting room. It was cooked in savory sauce with many spices, not all of which were recognizable. Her stomach rumbled, and her mouth filled with saliva.
    The Kelth followed her at a safe distance, and Ampris laughed to herself again. No one had told her she would have a servant of her own. She felt unreal, almost free, except for the collar around her throat and the locks on the door.
    It had been a long time since she’d last been served. She remembered when she took such luxuries for granted, believing her golden, magical life in the Imperial Palace would go on forever. She had once been the beloved pet of Israi, the sri-Kaa. Now she was afraid to believe in anything good, because