Free Shackleton's Folly (The Lost Wonder Book 1) by Todd Yunker Page B

toward Electra. He had made hundreds of deals before, and none seemed to be as important as this. It was impossible that he could be so mesmerized by… a very beautiful woman. I must make a deal with a clear head, he thought .
    “Yes, she is. What about our deal?”
    The Mirr stood close behind Electra and licked the salt from her hair with its stock. The lick caused her face veil to fall from her face, revealing her features, from her intense hazel eyes to her full lips. Alec’s gaze was met with extreme distress by hers. Alec got up from his chair and forced himself in between Electra and the Mirr. Electra moved to a secondary position on the other side of Dolk.
    The Mirr looked past Alec, who stood between him and the slave girl, to Dolk. “I will have this slave for a mate.” He tried to push his way past, but Alec stood his ground, ducking the swinging limbs of the Mirr.
    Alec kept a straight face and said over his shoulder to Dolk, “Thanks, but no thanks. It’s just a metal sample to me. Any word about inscription pieces?”
    Dolk looked down at the star chart and turned to the Mirr. “I’ll sell the slave, so I’ll meet you outside. Cash only — so go get your credits. I need to recoup some credits tonight.” They got up from the table. The Mirr slogged back to its table to retrieve a duffle bag from the floor. The duffle bag was opened, the contents strewn across the floor. The Mirr tried to bend over to retrieve its property but found it difficult and time-consuming.
    *
    Electra was devastated. She was to be sold to the Mirr. She wavered for a moment. She put on the face veil again and used the shawl to cover her head and wrapped it around her shoulders. Escape was the only option. She would have to do some research, but this Mirr creature would be long dead before he got a hold of her. Electra focused on the man and how she was going to find him again.
    *
    Alec waited for the girl and indicated that she should go ahead of him. Electra, surprised, hesitated. Alec leaned over to her said softly, “It will be alright — trust me,” and winked at her. Electra felt a flush in her cheeks and then hurried to catch up to Dolk.
    Alec, Dancer, Dolk, and Electra wove their way through tables and patrons across the room to the stairs and up. Alec hesitated, stopping for a moment, and looked down at the crowd being entertained by a sentient centipede’s juggling act. The door banged open at the top of the stairs and brought Alec back to the present. They left the crowd behind. Dancer used his night vision to look for trouble as they reached the street. There was no skimmer traffic, and the spaceport transport gate was closed.
    “Your obsession with artifacts of the Wonders is well known,” Dolk said. “You have the favor of the gods with this star chart.”
    “At best, it’s a metal sample I can license and make some credits off of. At worst… it’s an oddity.” The night’s soft breeze cooled his excitement and allowed him to keep his negotiation persona from cracking. Alec looked past Dolk to Electra. “Where did you pick up the slave girl?”
    Dancer shook his head and glared at Alec. “This is — what? The third creature this year that resembled a human female? Remember what happened the last time? She turned out to be a carnivorous plant.”
    Alec subtly nodded in approval. He had to put a sense of defeat in Dolk before he made his counter offer.
    “I won her from a crewmember of a prospecting ship. Not worth much — entertaining sometimes, annoying the rest,” said Dolk, with a little remorse.
    “What’s her name?” Alec hoped Dolk’s lack of understanding of human physiology would prevail.
    “Call her what you want. I do.”
    Alec’s glare quieted Dancer. “She’s tangible goods,” Alec said to Dancer. Then he said to Dolk, “It may have data I can use. Tell you what: I’ll take the star chart for the 50,000 credits I have burning a hole in my pocket.”
    “Not 50 — maybe