in the tower,” BoKama reported. “But VELMA must be blocking transmissions because the former Queen is howling and cursing the Goddesses. Black Wing reports a clear perimeter, so far.”
“Thank you for the report,” Naraxthel said over comms. “We travel to Ikthe.”
“Hivelt has an errand,” Hivelt said. “I’ll arrive later.”
“BoKama—I beg your pardon—Ikthekama Scabmal, we wish you felicitations on your new title,” I said. “Ikshe and Ikthe are in powerful hands.”
“It may be temporary,” she said. “I explained to the Enclave that I was complicit in hiding many of the Ikma’s crimes. While I was subjected to her abuse, I allowed fear to govern my actions. The Enclave is just, and I will submit to their decision.”
“Very well,” I said. “I hope they take into account your aid these last months, without which, we may have perished.”
“You ikthekal and your mates inspired me,” she said. “The Enclave and I are discussing how best to introduce the Theraxl to the humans’ existence. We desire to bestow titles and lands upon them for services rendered to our people.”
Speechless, I couldn’t think of a reply.
“Our mates will refuse such trappings,” Hivelt said. “But we will use our persuasive powers to convince them.”
The Bo—Ikthekama Scabmal—chuckled.
“I trust you can be very persuasive,” she said. “The WarGuard has arrived. They will break the door and take the Ikma to the dungeons. Give your mates my blessings. Perhaps the former Queen has opened a door for me to approach this IGMC faction with diplomatic offers of my own.”
“Keep us apprised,” Naraxthel said and signed off.
“How do you think our mates have fared?” Natheka asked.
“I suspect they will have killed and dressed a rokhura for the evening meal and baked bread from the grain they planted and harvested this morning,” Raxkarax said to our laughter.
“Perhaps they single-handedly found all of the landquake faults and pushed them back together,” I said.
“I would not doubt it, if they had,” Natheka said. “But what of the Ikthekama’s generous offer?”
“Never could I have imagined such a thing,” Naraxthel said. “I had hoped to visit of a season.”
“First we must assure their safety from IGMC,” Raxkarax said. “Only then will I entertain hopes for a future that holds a modicum of peace.”
“A fair stance,” I said. “With our ships and our company intact, we may very well take on the universe. Let IGMC throw the first strike. We will return it tenfold.”
Finding suitable places to land our ships required separating and spreading out across many landscapes. Taking into account recent quakes added another challenge. It was approaching the first sun’s set by the time Naraxthel and I walked the trail leading to Pattee’s glade.
Pausing at the shallow pit’s edge, we studied the impaled alien with interest. Its black garb sported an insignia resembling a curved blade and an animal skull. I reached in to feel for a pulse at its neck, but it was quite cold.
Farther along the trail, a human lay dead, his posture a rictus of writhing pain. Naraxthel grunted and pointed to the smear of blue venom.
“They may not have had time to dress rokhura meat,” I observed.
“It is just as well we brought fresh sister-bread,” Naraxthel agreed. We followed the trail with caution and sidestepped a tripwire leading to a suspended ball of spikes.
“Unless I am wrong, I believe that to be Pattee’s handiwork,” I said.
“Hivelt must be very proud of his mate,” Naraxthel said with a nod.
Our women sat around the fire pit laughing and talking, and my heart swelled to see beautiful CeCe among her friends, whole and very much alive. When she saw me, she leaped to her feet and ran into my outstretched arms, and I spun her until she was breathless.
“Take off your helmet,” she demanded.
We kissed, and my love refreshed anew; every day she drew breath was precious to me.
“The new Ikthekama Scabmal sends her love,” I said as we joined the group. Movement caught my eye and I spied Raxkarax and Natheka arriving from the north forest. A still, pale face glowed from behind them, and I broke away from CeCe to peer closer at it.
“Ah,” I said. “Fine work on that one.”
“Thanks,” said Joan, blushing as Raxkarax wrapped an arm about her shoulder. “I wanted to get the point just right so it would punch through bone and penetrate the tree.”
“I am sorry we missed your exploits,” Natheka said, drawing Amity into his hug. “The former Queen was cast down, the BoKama was appointed her temporary title, we relinquished the ore and the Waters, and then ran for our lives under threat of attack. It was a dull gathering with speeches that ran far too long,” he said and stared pointedly at Naraxthel.
“Wait, running for your life?” Amity said. “What happened?”
As Natheka told his tale, a scrabbling noise emitted from the other side of the fire. Startled, I realized another human and another alien sat back-to-back, bound by rope around their chests, wrists, and ankles.
Diablo lay nearby with a long bone held between his front paws as he tongued and gnawed on it, his ferocious teeth leaving long drag marks with a high-pitched screeching sound.
While the prisoners’ mouths were not gagged, they made no sound, their eyes fixated on Diablo.
“What bone is that one?” I asked, and Pattee spoke up.
“That’s a human femur from an adult male, I believe,” she said.
The human prisoner retched and moaned, and the alien prisoner eked out a chain of clicking noises.
“We’re not sure what to do with them,” Esra said. “Judging by their uniform insignia, they came by IGMC’s orders, but no one has tried to contact them. VELMA found their ship and hacked its comms. IGMC must have cut them loose because VELMA couldn’t trace it back to the Lucidity or any of the others.”
“They were just as expendable as the rest of us,” Joan said with a frown. “Do you suppose the entire upper echelons of IGMC feel that way, or is it just the co-directors and their select cadre?”
“An interesting question, but I’m not sure how much I care,” CeCe said. She grabbed my hand and looked at me. “I found my place in the world, and IGMC is no longer a part of it.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” the human male said.
“It speaks!” Natheka said.
“The name’s Frank,” he said and spat on the ground next to him. “If I wasn’t seeing this with my own fucking eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. Have you women lost your god damn minds? Are you fucking these green aliens?”
Cocking my head, I waited to see what would ensue.
“Diablo, come here, baby,” Amity said and made kissy noises while patting her leg. Diablo had grown while we were in the undermountain passage. When he trotted up to her, his head came up to her waist. She scratched his head, and he closed his four eyes in bliss.
“You were saying, Frank?” she asked, her voice as sweet as fruit nectar.
“Nothing,” he said and looked away.
“Who’s a good puppy?” Amity asked and used both hands to scratch his snout and chin, and he shivered and trembled at her touch as she showered, mostly undeserved, praise on the senseless animal. “You are. You’re a precious angel, aren’t you? And you smell like roses! And you’re so cute! Mami loves you! Da me besos!” At her command, the pazathel-nax licked her face, and the rest of us averted our eyes in disgust.
“Pattee, I believe Hivelt will arrive shortly,” Naraxthel said. “He said he had an errand.”
“He wanted to bring Afarax a gift,” Pattee said with a smile. “He caught a little snake near the creek before you all left this morning.”
A whipping zing shattered bark from the tree nearby, and Diablo yelped and collapsed.
Amity screamed, and the rest of us drew our weapons and spun, edging together to form a barrier between ourselves and the unarmored others. Amity hefted Diablo with superhuman strength and ran to the pod, disappearing into it where I knew VELMA could treat the animal. The second sun had set, and the tricky dusk made it difficult to discern the shadows.
From behind me I heard Pattee growling. “Who else was here from your party?”
A strangled whimper. “No one else. All dead.” Another, shorter cry. “None!”
“Expect a director,” Pattee said. “Maybe both, but I think only one.”
“It’s Chris,” Esra said on a breath. “I can feel him.”
“We’ve got you,” CeCe said from my side. “You never have to fear him again.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” Esra said, her voice steely in the dying light. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Do it, Esra,” Amity said from inside the hatch. “I’ve stanched the bleeding but if Diablo dies ….”
“VELMA,” Esra said. “Notify whoever is in the trees that your repeating rotator weapon is locked, cocked, and ready to rock.”
“Fuck yeah.” I heard Joan whisper from just behind Raxkarax.
“ESRA!” A male bellow rang from the trees. “Come out! I’m dropping my gun!”
Squinting in the low light, I saw a human male step into the glade. I judged him to be a head and a half taller than Esra, and some three or four stones heavier. He wore a helmet and flight suit that matched all of the women’s, and he walked several steps into the field, holding his gun aloft. When he reached a spot five veltiks from us, he tossed his gun to the side and held his hands up.
“Esra, come out and talk to me,” he said. “On my word, I won’t hurt you.”
Esra shoved between me and Raxkarax and walked three strides toward the male.
“You son of a bitch,” she said. “You shot my friend’s dog.”