“It’ll hatch in a month or so, then you’ll know if you’ve born a son or a daughter.”
Hatch? “Wha…What am I supposed to do? Sit on it?” Why the hell hadn’t Tigg warned me?
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “Just keep it warm and as close to you as possible. Your heartbeat will sooth it.”
“Oh. Okay,” I said, wrapping the egg snugly and pulling it up against my chest.
“A nest is usually made up and the egg can be placed in it when the parents are not able to hold it.”
“A nest?” I was gonna strangle Tigg when I saw him.
The physician watched my face and must have noticed the annoyance at my ignorance. “He may not have been sure,” he told me.
“Who?”
“The father. After all, you are Ventillian. He probably wasn’t certain that you’d birth an egg. You might not have.”
“It’s true,” the king chimed in. “You could have had a live birth. One never knows how these things will turn out with mixed species and all…” I gave him a look that silenced him.
“He could have been here with me if you hadn’t sent him away!” I snapped.
The king looked at the physician and his assistant. “Thank you, you may go,” he dismissed them. The physician said he’d return later to check on me and they left the room. The king and I were alone—with my egg. I wrapped my arms around it protectively.
“I’m granting you and Tigg the opportunity to escape,” he reminded me.
“At great cost.”
He smiled benignly. “All that should matter to you now is your little family and keeping them safe.” The threat was clear.
“As soon as Tigg returns we’re out of here.”
“Of course. As soon as I have what I want you are free to leave. You have my word.” He looked at me a moment and then turned and left the room. My attention returned to my bundle of joy. I peeled back the blanket once more and traced my fingers lovingly across the shell.
“Hello, sweetheart,” I whispered. “Mommy loves you.” And I did. Fiercely. The king could take the blasted cure—for all the good it would do him—and Tigg and I and the baby would leave and never return.
Nestling back against the pillows, the egg secure in my arms, I drifted off to sleep with that comforting thought in my mind. I spent the rest of the day and also the evening in bed. Food had been brought to me and the physician had returned and assured me my egg was healthy and strong. The next morning after breakfast I rose with some discomfort and dressed in a short pretty dress the king had found and sent to me. With the egg in my arms, I informed the guard outside my door that I would like to go downstairs to the great hall. When Tigg returned he would be brought there, no doubt, and I wanted to be ready to meet him. I smiled as I walked slowly down the hall holding my egg, the guard leading the way. Tigg would be surprised to see I’d had the baby. Perversely, I hoped he would feel terrible for not being here for the birth. So what if it wasn’t his fault? Served him right for not warning me about the egg.
I took a seat at a table and waited. The room was practically empty with the exception of some servants who were cleaning up after the morning meal. It wouldn’t be long now. Soon Tigg would arrive and then we’d leave. I held my egg close to my heart and rocked it a little. Mothering an egg was actually quite enchanting. I got to take pleasure in the joy of holding my child without any of the fussing and dirty diapers that accompanied a baby. Soon enough I’d be feeding the little one jineg bugs in the hot jungles of Treox.
Chapter 17
There was a great ruckus by the doors of the great hall and soon I saw King Ranox appear with some of his soldiers. He nodded as he passed by me and took his seat upon the raised dais. Since he was here I assumed Tigg would soon be arriving. I tucked the blanket securely around my egg and rested it on my lap. Finally, Tigg was ushered into the room with two guards on either side of him. He smiled at me as he walked by and then a look of alarm registered on his face. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned back.
“Minka?” he gasped, looking at the bundle I held.
“We have a bouncing baby…egg,” I told him. His eyes opened wide as I got to my feet and strolled over to him. I put the egg into his outstretched arms and he pulled back the blanket with wonder.
“I wasn’t sure,” he told me.
Instead of giving him heck as I’d planned, I winked at him. “Guess we’ll have to wait awhile to see if it’s a boy or girl.”
“It’s early,” he said, looking at me with concern.
I shrugged. “The birth went well.”
Holding the egg securely with one arm, he reached to pull me to him with the other. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you too.”
The king cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt the family reunion, but if we could get on with this,” he encouraged.
“Did you get it?” I asked Tigg. “No problems?”
“No, none,” he replied.
We walked up together to stand before King Ranox. Tigg reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out the precious vial. Doctor Jeneva had assured us that he could make more of the cure, but I hoped fervently that the scientists on Ventillia couldn’t reproduce it using this small sample from us. As Tigg had said though, they were lacking the main ingredient, which was my blood. I wasn’t about to offer up that little tidbit to King Ranox.
One of the soldiers took the vial from Tigg and handed it up to the king who eyed it with speculation. “Is this all?” he demanded.
“I swear to you that is all we have,” Tigg answered honestly.
“Hmm, it’ll have to do then,” the king said. He looked at the bundle in Tigg’s arms and smiled suddenly. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Tigg said with fatherly pride.
“I’m very sorry about this, if there’d been any other way…” the king went on.
“Other than blackmailing us, you mean?” I supplied.
“Oh, I don’t just mean about the cure,” the king said. He nodded to the guards and two of them rushed up to grab me by the arms.
“What the hell…” I gasped.
“Get your hands off of her!” demanded Tigg. “We’ve given you what you asked for.”
“You promised us we could leave,” I reminded him.
“Yes. I did promise you could leave. You and Tigg, but not your child.”
“What the hell?” I snarled. The guard beside me pulled out a nasty looking little gun and aimed it at my head.
“Move and she gets it,” the guard said to Tigg.
“Hand over the egg,” a guard beside Tigg said to him. I could see Tigg’s grip on it tighten.
“Tigg?” I cried. Even if I had to die, I didn’t want him to put our child into the hands of that filthy guard.
“Give up the egg,” King Ranox urged Tigg. “You can always have another.”
“You son of a bitch,” snapped Tigg. He looked at me full of regret and slowly passed the egg into the guard’s hands.
“What are you going to do with our baby?” I screamed at the king.
“Why, give it to me, my dear Minka,” came an answer from behind me. My head snapped around in the direction of the voice. “Clay?” I gasped. It was him—my worst nightmare. He strutted forward—in one of the most vicious kingdoms in the universe—without a care in the world. Was he mad? What was he doing here? Didn’t the fool realize he was in mortal danger? When he stopped beside me I could see the gleam in his eye. His gaze traveled the length of my body making me involuntarily shudder. He reached out a finger and stroked it down the side of my cheek. I pulled my head away in disgust. Even after all this time he still had the power to make me cringe.
When Tigg would have rushed forward the two guards grabbed his arms and pulled out their weapons aiming them at him.
“I’ll kill her if you move,” threatened the guard holding the gun to my head.
Tigg stilled his movements, his gaze darting from me to Clay. “Ke
ep away from her,” he said to Clay.
Clay walked up to stand before the king. “You have my payment as agreed upon?” he asked.
“I do,” the king said. He nodded at the guard holding my egg and the man came forward and put it into Clay’s hands.
Tigg and I both struggled fiercely. The king looked at me with mild compassion. “If it weren’t for him we never would have learned about the cure,” he said indicating Clay.
“You’d betray your own planet?” I demanded. “How could you?”
Clay looked down at the egg adoringly. “For this,” he said simply. He thanked the king and then turned to leave. “Goodbye, Minka.”
“Wait!” I begged him. “Take me instead. The baby can’t be of any use to you for years.”
“Actually, Lizord young grow quite quickly,” Clay assured me. “And since it will be my child, it will obey me unquestioningly. Let’s just hope it possesses your talent or you’ll be correct, it won’t be of any use to me.”
“I will hunt you down to the ends of the galaxy,” Tigg yelled. “There will be no peace,” he promised. The look on Tigg’s face was frightening. He meant what he said. Little beads of sweat broke out on Clay’s face. He laughed a little but nobody bought it. He was afraid. He began to walk quickly from the room, my screams following his every step.
Once he was gone I turned my wrath upon the king. “Betrayer! Liar!” I began, until the king’s growl cut me off.
“One more word from you and your mate will die,” he threatened. Guns were still aimed at Tigg and I.
“How did he know about the baby?” I cried. “It wasn’t even due for two more weeks.”
The king shrugged. “Remember the little bottle of refreshment you were so kindly offered after Tigg left?”
We put the pieces together quickly. “It wasn’t just a coincidence she went into labor right after I left, was it?” Tigg said.
“Son of a…” I started again.
“Enough!” the king bellowed. “Be glad I’m allowing you to leave with your heads still intact. Go now, before I change my mind.”
With a wave of his hand, the king beckoned us to be taken from the hall. We were brought out to Tigg’s craft and the sack containing our meager possessions was thrust into my hands. The guards practically pushed us on board. Tigg went to the controls and started the ship.
“Minka, sit down. If we hurry, maybe we can catch Clay,” he said anxiously.
I took my seat and strapped on my seatbelt. It was a long shot but maybe Tigg was right. Besides, we needed to leave before the king changed his mind. Ventillian ships escorted us until we breached the atmosphere and zoomed off into space. Tigg tried to spot Clay on his radar but his ship had disappeared into thin air. The look on Tigg’s face told me it was over.
“I can’t believe he took my baby.” My hands clenched into fists so tight that my nails almost punctured my skin. I began to cry. To have held my child in my arms, only to have it be ripped away so cruelly, was unbearable.
“He will have to return to Treox,” Tigg said.
“What?”
“When the child hatches. It is Lizord and must eat only the jineg bugs from the jungles of Treox.”
“Oh God! What if Clay starves it? What if he doesn’t know?”
“He will know. He’s resourceful.” It wasn’t a compliment.
“Yes. He’ll want to protect his little investment,” I snapped. “Oh, Tigg! We will be there waiting when he returns. We’ll get our baby back.” We had to succeed. To fail would be unthinkable.
Tigg programmed in the coordinates for Planet Treox. Soon we would be there and we could set up in the jungle and wait for the return of our precious child.
“How long will we wait?” I asked.
“As long as it takes.”
Chapter 18
Tigg landed the ship in the same place we had originally found it. How long ago it all seemed now, those months when we’d left Treox and headed out for Earth to try and clear my name. Instead, we’d stumbled upon the cure, opening an even bigger can of worms. If it hadn’t been for the cure, none of this would have happened. Clay wouldn’t have had a juicy tidbit to dangle before King Ranox, and my baby would not have been bartered. We left the craft and Tigg covered it up with brush to hide it from sight. It was early evening and soon the land would be dark.
“Do you want to go home?” Tigg asked.
“Home?” I asked. Oh, my rinky-dink apartment under the dome. I’d almost forgotten about it.
“You said you hated the jungle,” he reminded me.
“I could have endured it…” I said. For the baby, I didn’t add.
“He may not return with the child for a month. We have time.”
I brushed a tear off my cheek fiercely. “And we’ll be waiting.”
Tigg pulled me against his chest and held me tight. “Tomorrow I’ll find my brothers and put out the word. Every Lizord in every jungle on this planet will know by day’s end to watch for Clay.”
“You’re so sure he’ll return.”
“I’m positive.”
The resolution in his voice sustained me. Soon, my baby would be back in my arms where he or she belonged. Tigg let go of me long enough to throw the bag over his shoulder, then he picked me up and began to run. We headed for the dome. Soon we arrived and joined the line-up heading inside. When we made it back to my apartment I tried the door and remembered it’d be unlocked. Clay had been the last one here. Had he really expected Tigg and me to return in three days’ time with the menite? Or had he known we would run? I frowned as I walked inside, Tigg right behind me. He shut the door and slid the bolt into place since Clay and his goons had broken the lock. No. Even Clay couldn’t have foreseen the future. He had no way of knowing I was carrying Tigg’s child. He’d probably tracked us to my old house on Earth. If he’d seen those papers we’d left lying around he’d no doubt figured out the same thing we had about there being a cure.
“Can the jineg bugs survive anywhere else?” I asked suddenly. “What’s to stop Clay from sending his men here to trap a bunch and leave with them?”
“They would not survive away from Treox. Clay will know this, or will soon figure it out.”
I smacked my fist into my other palm. “Then we’ll get him.”
Tigg looked at me, his eyes blazing. “Then I will kill him.”
“Good.” I wanted Clay dead. Bloodlust—it must be the maternal part of me rearing its feral head.
We were both exhausted. My bed, dingy as it was, was almost inviting. Wrapped in Tigg’s arms I fell into a fitful sleep filled with nightmares of a baby crying for its mother. When I awoke in the morning it was with resolve. Tigg had promised me something yesterday. Something he wasn’t going to get the chance to do. He’d promised me he was going to kill Clay. But he wasn’t. I was.
Tigg was already pulling on his clothes, oblivious to the deadly thoughts coursing through my mind. He was immersed in the need to do something productive. “There’s nothing to eat, I’m sorry,” he said distractedly.
I wasn’t really hungry anyway. “I have some money stashed. I’ll pick up some stuff.” I didn’t ask to go with him. I’d only slow him down.
He came over and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I have a small place inside the dome I share with a couple of guys. I’ll stop there on the way back and grab my stuff. Your place is bigger.” I didn’t disagree. We wouldn’t be here long. Soon, we’d be hunkered down in the jungle. Tigg left and I got dressed. My small emergency stash of money was where I’d left it. I took some and headed out to buy a few supplies. We’d probably only stay under the dome for a few days to a week, so I didn’t need much.
There was a market set up under the dome. Natives of Treox and others from different planets had food, clothes, exotic trinkets and additional stuff set up in little stalls that sat in rows. Crowds of people were milling about, more so than usual, which made me think it was probably a weekend. I’d los
t track of time. While I looked at food from different vendors I distractedly thought about my job. Both Tigg and I had been AWOL for some time now so I guess they figured out we wouldn’t be returning. I couldn’t bring myself to be upset about money and the cost of survival. I’d paid my rent up several months in advance with the nice little bonus I’d lifted off Clay when I’d left town. It’d been my due, I’d figured at the time, considering all the riches I’d helped him obtain. We only really needed cash for food, until we got into the jungle that is, then I guess we’d just live off the land. That thought made me pause. Tigg could eat anything, but most of the native food here had made me sick in the past. I’d mostly preferred to buy the imported stuff from Earth. The food at the stall before me was from Earth. There was an assortment of freeze-dried, packaged, smoked and canned things that’d keep for months. I could stock up on these and have at least one small luxury while I sweated it out in the jungle. Later, after Clay was dead and we had our baby, I’d come back and stock up some more. Tigg had said the baby had to live off the jineg bugs for several months. We’d remain until then. Afterward, perhaps we could live on Zenet. Tigg liked it there.
“Excuse me,” the man beside me said to the lady at the stall. “Do you have any eggs?”
“Eggs?” the lady asked quizzically.
“Yes. Green eggs,” he emphasized while staring directly at me.
My eyes widened in amazement. I had a few items in my hands and was looking at the other stuff.
“Green eggs? I’ve never heard of such a thing,” the lady said.
“Oh, surely they’re not that uncommon?” he directed his reply more toward me than her.
The mention of green eggs conjured up a picture of my baby. I put the items I held back down onto the table. Even now, my child was probably in the greedy, grubby hands of Clay. The thought brought quick tears to my eyes. Leaving the stall, I dashed away, forcing myself to concentrate on my direction; it being so easy to get turned around in this place.
Creature Worlds: Solar Slick Page 8
