The executive half turned on her stool. 'I have heard about Ayurvedic massage, but I have never tried. Because I know nothing about it and would not know where to start.'
'I know all about it,' Jena assured her. She hopped off her stool, still holding her current drink. 'Come on. I guarantee the experience will relax you completely.'
'Hokay. It will be something to tell my friends back home.'
As they walked toward the stairway, Jena frowned suddenly. '
'No problem, no problem,' her new acquaintance assured her. 'I have mine with me.' She smiled graciously. 'I am on full expense account. Time to make use of some of it.'
'Thanks,' Jena said simply. 'That's good of you.'
The big male was hungry, but he was also confused, and uncertain. Days ago, he had made an easy kill south of the area he was now prowling. Liking the taste of the strange meat and hoping for more of the same, he had intended to return as soon as his stomach demanded refilling. But on his initial approach to the place he had sensed and heard unusual noises. Advancing with great caution through the cloud-heavy night, he had espied something unnatural moving through the brush not far from where he had made the kill. The creature patrolling the edge of the jungle marched on eight legs. It had only a single eye, curiously dead, that scanned its surroundings from the end of a thin neck. There was no visible mouth to worry about, certainly no teeth, but the tiger was wary nonetheless. The cylindrical, armored body emitted a steady hum so subtle that many animals would have been hard-pressed to detect it. Not the tiger. It sounded more like a buzzing, flying thing than anything else, but there was no evidence of wings. Most peculiar of all, the smell that emanated from it was a faint, thick stink the likes of which the tiger had not encountered before. Then there was the matter of the internal light that was visible for just an instant when one of the creature's rear legs flexed.
Anything never encountered before was to be regarded with great suspicion. Given the creature's much smaller size, younger, bolder males and females might have decided to attack first, taste second, and evaluate later. Not the big male. He had not reached his present mature age and size from acting impetuously. From his hiding place in the thick underbrush, he pierced the night with vision six times sharper than that of a human as he watched the strange being trundle down its chosen path. It made no move either to enter the jungle proper or drift toward the well-kept dwellings beyond. The single-mindedness of purpose it exhibited was impressive.
Silently, the tiger tracked it for a while longer. Once, he shifted his place of concealment to follow the thing, maintaining the distance between them. To see a quarter ton of tiger moving in absolute silence through the jungle on footpads big enough to completely blot out a man's face is something to remember-or to terrify, depending on the thrust of the cat's movements and one's proximity to it. The eight-legged creature did not react to being stalked. Nor did it pause to drink, or to browse, or to try and catch something to eat.
Suspicious, the big male retreated, backing up until he was well out of sight of the odd being and then turning to retreat into deeper, darker jungle. He did not trust what he did not know, especially the eerie smell. Hungry as he was, the big cat would look elsewhere for tonight's twenty kilos of meat. He would have been even more wary had he been able to read and understand the markings on the creature's side, one of which said in both subdued English and Sanskrit script:
Only one attendant was on duty in the facility. Jena studiously examined the three-dimensional artwork on the wall while her new executive friend checked them in. In response to the attendant's query as to whether they required a live masseuse, the Frenchwoman replied in the negative, without turning her head to face the attendant. When she and May entered their assigned cubicle, Jena was confident that the bored employee had not managed so much as a glimpse of her face. As befitted a hotel of this class, the subterranean room was intimate and welcoming. Responding to her room flasher, a soothing male voice husked as they passed through an open portal into the sanctum, 'Welcome, Mai-ling Xinzhou and guest.' Jena tensed slightly. But as hoped, since she was clearly with the Chinese executive and already inside the hotel grounds, the facility's subsidiary security system did not feel compelled to ask her for additional identification.
There were four private grottos and no human attendants. That was the nice thing about exclusive places like the hotel, Jena reflected. Management respected the privacy of its guests above all else. Even better, none of the other cubicles were presently occupied.
'Preferences?' inquired Mai-ling. 'Please remember that I am new to this.' Jena noted that not everything the executive said rang true. But then, she had already figured as much. The mix of anticipation and mild excitement in the other woman's voice was unmistakable.
'It doesn't matter.' Jena touched the 'Open' button on the nearest cubicle. 'I'm sure they're all identical. Private and soundproofed.'
With a soft whoosh of air, a door decorated with Ayurvedic symbols drew aside to reveal a small room. Virtuals of forest scenery-lush trees and rippling springs, blossoming flowers, lullabying songbirds - immediately added depth and dimension to the surroundings. Over head, a curved ceiling was filled with fluffy white clouds backlit by gentle sunshine. The musical equivalent of falling water, the trembling tones of a sitar filled the chamber in concert with the dulcet crooning of the oboe-like shehnai. Standing between two raised, padded platforms, the delighted Mai-ling smiled like a schoolgirl who had just unexpectedly been presented with a new dress. 'I am relaxed already, and I believe we have not even started, yes?'
Nodding, Jena reached for the tab under her left arm that would disengage her outfit. 'Get undressed and lie down on one of the tables. I'll take the other one.'
As the visiting businesswoman complied, Jena carefully folded and set her own attire aside. By the time both women were completely naked, their cubicle had pumped enough perfume into the room for it to smell like an ancient harem. The carefully compiled blend of fragrances scented their nude bodies with droplets of warm mist.
A bit awkwardly, Mai-ling climbed onto one platform and lay down on her stomach. 'Like this?'
Reclining supplely on the other platform, Jena gestured approvingly. 'Stretch your arms out in front of you. Like this.' While demon strating, she began to search impatiently for an activation control. It was not necessary. The room was simply taking its time, allowing them to get comfortable before treatment commenced.
Now a different male voice greeted them. 'Welcome, guests, to the ashtahvaidyan Ayurvedic experience. Please lie back and relax while your specific composition and body types are scanned in preparation for the receiving of treatment. Be so kind as to keep your eyes closed until the brief period of preparation is complete.'
Both women shut their eyes as a laser spent half a minute scanning each of them from head to toe. When that process was complete, the inner portions of both platforms sank less than a centimeter into their receptacles, except for the dense foam pillowlike portions that sup ported their heads.
'Please relax while your beds are filled with a light application of the appropriate massage oil,' the voice told them. Jena felt the familiar warm glow of precisely blended liquid filling the basin in which she lay. Moments later they were instructed to turn over onto their backs, then back onto their stomachs once again.
Giggling drifted across to her from the other table. 'I feel like duck in a wok,' the delighted executive told her new friend. 'I warn you -if I see vegetables being added, I am going to get out!'
Jena made herself smile. 'Just relax. Let the oil penetrate your skin.'
'The special blend that has been prepared for you,' the room voice murmured, 'contains a typical Ayurvedic mix of sesame oil, extract of sweet flag, round zedory, beech, nightshade, Uraria lagopoids, deodar pine, fennel, sandalwood oil, eaglewood, valerian, costus, cardamom, musk root, country mallow, and winter cherry. It is designed to relax and invigorate your specific body types.'
'Definitely sounds like it would go good with duck,' Mai-ling commented, but this time without laughing. She was beginning to loosen up as the lightly warmed oils penetrated and soothed her skin.
'Ayurveda is one of the oldest systems of medicine in the world,' the comforting voice assured her. 'It is designed to work on both the physical and mental levels.'
'I do not know yet about the physical,' the executive sighed, 'but mentally I am definitely starting to unwind.'
'Just let go,' the voice urged her, 'while I work on your marmas.' A soft thrumming filled the room, not loud enough to drown out the soothing music.
'My what?' Through her rising torpor, the naked businesswoman managed to sound slightly alarmed.
