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The driver Saint-Cyr had sent for him led Khyff to a shiny black hoversine the length of a ruckball field. "Mr. Saint-Cyr thought you might appreciate coffee, sir." The android opened the door. "There's a fresh pot, plus cream and sweetener in the center console. The mugs are spill proof."

"Thank you." After Khyff slid inside, the door shut.

Sounds of the city cut off, and the plush seat cradled him. He didn't realize the car was moving until the scenery changed outside.

He touched nothing. He dared not relax. Not until this was over. Khyff drew in a shallow breath. No. Nothing was over until his brother paid what he owed.

The coffee smelled like the real thing, but who knew what might be in it? Locked inside a hoversine, drugged and helpless, and not expected back for a full day, Khyff could be taken anywhere and anything done to him, with no one the wiser.

No, he would sit here with his hands folded in his lap, and not move. If anyone tried anything, at least he'd have his wits about him.

The endless drive up and down streets soon had him lost. He'd been nowhere in this city, but he'd been in fancy cars like this back on Tarth. There, anytime anyone sent for him in one of these, he'd come back exhausted or flogged. Or both.

Rich people treated him worse than poor people, every time.

Saint-Cyr was rich. What if Saint-Cyr met with him instead of Senth? What if Saint-Cyr found the knife? What if he reported him? Any one of those things could land Khyff back in prison.

The Harbinger had a well-won reputation for ruthlessness. Each person Khyff had talked to had told him different things, but they all had one piece of advice in common when it came to Luc Saint-Cyr.

Don't screw with the Man.

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Khyff is ready to bolt #SciFi #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Ready to bolt

As usual, Khyff's master hadn't allowed him to eat until he'd met his quota. First up: shower, clean clothes, food. Not necessarily in that order. He kept a few stale crackers hidden in his room for emergencies. He'd satisfied his last client, and was unscheduled the rest of the day. Or at least the next six hours. Khyff made a bolt for freedom.

"So you're an Antonello."

The way the client said it drew Khyff's attention. This particular client was one of the less odious. He didn't grab or cling, he was--thankfully--clean, and he tipped well. Still, the guy was paying for sex and Khyff had no choice. Being a pleasure slave meant you serviced the clients sent to you, or you suffered for it. In Khyff's case, refusing meant risking prison.

He would never go back there, no matter what they made him do here.

Khyff clenched his teeth and pasted on a smile. "Pardon?"

"Your last name." The guy continued getting dressed, seemingly in no hurry. "It's Antonello, right?"

"Why?"

"I never noticed before. It's right here on my receipt." He picked up his mobile and turned the screen toward Khyff. "I mean I've been here what... five times now?" He poked at the screen. "Whoa! Seven. Huh. I should have a free visit after three more."

Khyff choked back a retort. His master was giving away free visits with him? It would take hundreds of client visits to earn enough in his Freedom Savings Account so Khyff could buy himself. If his master was giving him away, it would take forever.

Khyff jerked open the door, determined once more to bolt and run.

"You don't look like the other one."

Half a step into the hall, Khyff's heart stuttered. He made a slow pivot. "Other one?"

"The other Antonello. You look different."

The world went silent. Khyff came inside, shut the door and leaned against it. "So I'm sure I heard right. You know another Antonello."

"Yeah. I saw the name, and figured you had to be related. Antonello's not common. Not on Kelthia. I'm guessing you don't have much family here."

Good guess. More than three quarters of the world's population was black-skinned. Khyff had blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin.

Could this be a link to his missing mother? Did the client know her? Khyff fought the hope that rose within him. It had been how many years? No, he would not allow himself to hope. When you hoped, people could hurt you more.

Please review Bro, a #SciFi short by Kayelle Allen #Netgalley #MFRWhooks

Message Deleted

A buzz at Senth's wrist alerted him to a message. He withdrew his mobile and set the device to read-only mode, rather than bring it up on holovid.

The message required a password, which told Senth who had sent it. His Sen'dai--guild master--and father, Luc Saint-Cyr.

The Guild didn't accept non-humans, unless they were enslaved to a human member. No one could rise past level ten, unless related to a human member. Guild-arranged marriages and adoptions happened regularly. To keep the Guild happy, Saint-Cyr was Senth's lord and master and his adoptive father.

Could his Sen'dai send a note the way anyone else would? Of course not. No, the Man had to do it with mystery and ceremony.

Folks in this town never referred to Saint-Cyr by name. You could hear the capital letters when they called him the Man, or referred to him as the Harbinger. His father was the crime lord all the other crime lords wanted to be when they grew up.

"Ooh, big scary Man." He thumbed off the device. "Please let this be a job and not him thinking I screwed up." Senth ducked into a coffee shop and made his father's handsign to the worker behind the counter, then slipped into a back room to access the password function in private. That he had no idea what the password might be did not deter him. It took seconds to break in.

"This is prolly some test to see how fast I can break these suckers." He opened the message, and then brought the device to his ear.

"A worker at the Guild says he's met a man who claims you're family. Come home and we'll discuss it. Now." The message ended.

Senth jerked the device from his ear. "No way I heard that right." He pressed play and brought it to his ear.

"The idBot messaging system regrets that your message has been deleted. Would you like to access another message at this time?"

"No, I wouldn't like to access another message. I want to hear this message." He poked at the screen. None of the usual options showed. After several fruitless minutes, he resorted to asking for help. "IdBot, how do I replay the message?"

"Message has been deleted."

"I know that, you stupid machine. Undelete it."

"IdBot is unable to comply."

Senth swore under his breath. "Why?"

"Message was delivered as hear-once-and-delete. Would you like to access another message at this time?"

"No, I wouldn't, idiotBot. Thank you not very much." Senth turned off the device and put it in his pocket. "Why is Dad sending me encrypted hear-once messages? What in the worlds is going on?"

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Please review Bro! This story is a prequel and I would love people to hear about it. Thank you so much! Use Netgalley or Amazon to review. :)