Zy's Novel Post Three - Day 1

Day One of NaNoWriMo. 441 words.

Zy jerked her hand back. “No, no, no, no. This won’t work. I can’t have a servant.”

“I must serve. You are the only one to serve, Mistress.” His tone sound just like Zy’s Algrebra teacher had sounded when the class just wasn’t getting it: slow, patient, and obviously think I’m dealing with a moron.

“My name is Zy.”

“Yes, Mistress Zy.”

She slumped against the wall. “I’m pretty sure IGA has regulations that we can’t have servants. They have to have regulations, we investigate slavers.” She took a deep breath. “Mylte is your name?”

“Yes, Mistress.” Mylte’s black eyes never left her face.

“And most agents have to worry about their witness disappearing on them.” She pushed off the wall. “Okay, the first thing that needs to be done is to examine the remains. Let’s get outside.”

The sunlight hurt her eyes, but she only brought her hand up to turn off the flashlight. The sun hovered in the crevice of the valley. “What anti-saucer defenses are active?”

“Nothing is active. The coculas took the guns when they ran, Mistress.”

“Don’t let the threat of a demon stop the looting.” Zy opened the communication channel with Sara again. “Update, Sara. Cobaine is dead. Apparently the headquarters is deactivated, but the landing strip is big enough. Bring the saucer up to the source of the signal on a cautious route.”

“Acknowledged, Agent Zy.”

Zy sat down on the doorstep. She looked back up at Mylte, who stared back impassively. “Can I have my gun back?”

It emerged from his robe. “My apologies, Mistress.”

“Don’t worry about it. What,” she paused and started over again. “I’m not trying to be rude, really, but what species are you?”

“We call ourselves the Ones Who Hide With Color. Master had a different name for his records.”

The Ones Who Hide With Color; sometimes the nanobots translators translated too well. But then he said things that were untranslatable. “Are you speaking two different languages?”

“I learned Master’s. His employees could not understand me.”

“That makes sense.” She pulled off the flashlight band and rubbed her forehead. Her desire to do anything sank through her butt to the stone. “So there’s no way to avoid this betah thing if you don’t serve?”

“I could end the Mylte cycle. I’m not prepared to do that.”

She stared up at the grey statue. “End the cycle? Kill yourself?”

“The act would restore the honor I have tarnished, but I would rather restore the honor by serving.”

Zy stared at the ground. She didn’t want him around because she would be responsible, but if she didn’t let him serve she would be responsible for his death.