Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Just great. So much for trying to be brave and make some kind of daring escape. Dios, I can’t even find the bathroom on this ship—how am I supposed to find a way out?
I’d die of starvation before I even found my way back to the cell.
Lupin kept up a cheerful, bouncing commentary as they walked, as though they were strolling through a shopping mall instead of a floating prison.
“Yes, yes, I’ve worked with humanoids of all types,” he said proudly, clasping his hands behind his back. “Aging is such a tedious look, let me tell you. But don’t you worry—I’m going to rejuvenate you, revitalize you, renew you! Why, I can take ten years off you, my dear. Possibly even fifteen—depending on how well your skin responds to the treatment.”
He looked over his shoulder and gave her a critical onceover.
“Your elasticity appears…adequate. So there’s that, at least.”
Noelle had no clue what that meant.
Elastic? What am I, a rubber band?
She kept following him because what else was she supposed to do? The guards marching up and down the corridors all had faces like stone and weapons that looked terrifyingly complicated. Lupin might be weird, but at least he wasn’t pointing a gun at her head.
After what felt like twenty more turns, they reached a small circular door set into the bulkhead. Lupin pressed his palm to the metal center and waited. The metal flashed blue under his hand—like an eerie pulse of bioluminescent fish scales—and a sharp click echoed through the hallway. The door swung open on hidden hinges.
“Come in, come in!” Lupin chirped, waving her forward. “Welcome to my workroom—where I make all the magic happen.”
Noelle stepped inside…and blinked.
She was standing in a spa…a spa that looked like someone with a questionable obsession for stainless steel, industrial equipment, and mad-scientist décor had designed it.
The air was warmer here—humid, and scented faintly with something floral but sharp, like over-steeped jasmine tea mixed with ozone. The lighting was soft, glowing from panels sunk into the walls. Everything around her gleamed with polished metal or smooth white surfaces.
To the left sat a padded, swiveling metal chair—like something out of a futuristic hair salon. Behind it was a towering rack filled with bottles, vials, jars, sprays, brushes, combs, and bizarre silver implements she didn’t recognize. Some looked like ordinary curling or crimping irons. Others resembled tiny torture devices with sharp picks and hooks extending from them.
A soft whirring sound came from a machine near the chair—like an oversized humidifier—emitting fragrant steam that coiled upward in little ghostly tendrils.
But none of that compared to the thing at the far end of the room.
It was a huge, round pool, sunken into the floor and it was filled with water so dark it looked like ink.
No light touched its surface—the glowing wall panels dimmed around it like they were afraid of getting too close. At first glance, it looked bottomless. The water was still as glass, but then a faint ripple passed through it as though something had moved just beneath the surface.
Noelle froze, her heartbeat thudding in her throat. For some reason just looking at the pool gave her a feeling of dread.
“Uh…what’s that?” she asked, pointing at it.
Lupin smiled happily, showing even, tiny white teeth.
“Why that, my dear, is the Rejuvenation Pool. And it’s exactly what you need.” He rubbed his palms together with excitement. “Now hurry and strip off your clothes so we can get you into it.”
Noelle’s breath caught in her throat.
“Strip…” She swallowed. “You want me to get naked?”
“Yes, yes—everything off!” Lupin said impatiently. “Rejuvenation cannot happen with cloth in the way. Do you expect the nanites to work through fabric? Of course not!”
This was getting worse and worse—not only was she expected to get into the ominous black pool, but now he wanted to see her naked too!
Oh hell, no. Absolutely freaking not.
But if she refused, what would happen to her? And even worse, what might happen to Bright and Burn, still locked away in the cell?
Her heart was pounding now in a mix of humiliation, fear, and helplessness.
“I… I don’t even know you,” she managed. “I don’t like to be naked in front of people I don’t know.”
Lupin rolled his bright green eyes dramatically.
“In that case, you’re simply going to hate the auction at the Flesh Bazaar,” he said dryly. “But you needn’t worry about me—I am a eunuch. I couldn’t hurt you even if I wanted to. Which I very much do not. I live for fashion, darling—I’m not here to ogle your body, I just want to make it look better for the buyers. Now, hurry and get undressed!”
He scowled at her and tapped his foot like a crabby teacher waiting for a child to follow instructions.
Noelle stared at him, her nails digging into her palms, and tried to breathe.