by Liz Paffel
Her voice trailed off, her face going pale. “Brandon found something in the fire. I have the sample in my lab.”
“What is this sample?”
She spun and dug around in the drawer of the simple desk. “I need something to write on.”
“Here.” Tryllin taped on his wrist device and a white square outlined in a glowing green border appeared in the air. “Use your finger like a writing device.”
She uttered an impressed sound and moved closer. Eyeing him warily, she moved closer, edging near him in order to reach the writing space he’d created. He could have angled his body so she didn’t have to lean into him. But he didn’t. The tip of her tongue wet her lips as she positioned herself next to him, her right arm in the air. Her body heat touched him, jacking up his own.
She was nervous. Chaotic energy danced on her skin. Jerking her arms in an upward position, the bulky sleeves of her sweater flopped down her arms, the entire thing hanging in a heavy bunch around her hips. Tossing her hair back a bit, she settled in and reached again for the writing space. Using her first finger of her right hand, she began drawing a square with rippled edges and filled it in with some sort of pattern.
“It’s biologic tissue. Like, from a living organism. The cells in the sample are still alive, meaning the tissue is viable for study.” She stood back and gestured to her drawing. Her expression was expectant, as if she were reading his mind. “You know what it is, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “And we are going to find a way to kill it.”
“It? So, it is… an animal?”
“It is called a degarzee and it emits fire, like your mythical dragons. It can also withstand intense heat and has been known to play in its own destruction much like your house cats play with mice before they kill them. They are from a remote planet that is now destroyed. Little is known about them.”
“I can kill it.” The words rushed out of her mouth. “There are living cells in that sample. I can test it to determine how to stop it biologically.”
He studied her intently for any sign of deception. She’d been so adamant about not helping him with the Nozing until her brother came into play.
“Why would you do that?”
Her brow knitted together. “What do you mean, why? These fires are taking over the city. How many people have died? I can’t hear the news or see the reports. I only hear what your men say outside this cell. I have the ability to save countless lives if we can stop this thing.”
She held his gaze far longer than anyone should dare considering his rank. He allowed it only because he did not want to look away. “You promise to find my brother?”
His gripped her arm. Holding her in place. The pleasant shade of red stained her cheeks, highlighting the little brown dots across her nose. Her nostrils flared slightly, her lips parting just enough to invite him to taste. She’d been so supple and hot beneath his hand when he gave her a taste of punishment yesterday.
“Only when you deliver what I asked for.”
“I’m doing something extra for you. Surely that’s enough for you to start looking now.”
“Are you arguing with me?”
“Damn it, listen to me! I need to get to my lab and collect the sample. Priya has research there, samples, that are important for creating new medications. We can’t let this all burn.”
A passing thought of punishing her for her impudence darted through him. He’d punish her harder, longer.
Tryllin’s body tensed, his cock stirring at the thought of peeling the horrible sweater from her lithe body and bending her over the bed, baring her naked ass for his hand, spreading those plump cheeks for his cock.
Alora shivered as if she read his thoughts, her pupils dilating. “You’re burning me again.” The softness of her voice was slow to register in his mind.
With a start, he released her. He had to redirect his thoughts. Her quick, intelligent mind was working out a mystery the Axxeon had yet to solve. Keeping her focused was in his best interest, especially since the clock was ticking on his plan to erase the Nozing. Things were escalating and he needed the upper hand.
He initiated a map from his wrist comm, pulling it up into the air and flipping through the layout of the city until he found the hospital. It was quiet now, the bystanders gone. The fire raged, having moved midline and consuming more of the building. Enlarging the image, he went infrared and focused in on the lab.
“Show me where your working quarters are.”
She looked awed at the image before her, faltered a little before pointing. “Here. Can you tell if anyone is inside?”
“Yes. It is deserted. The entire wing is deserted.”
“The lab is protected by firewalls. That’s probably why no one has gone in to retrieve the valuables yet. But… this fire will burn right through that, won’t it?”
Their eyes met and he didn’t have to tell her the answer. Her expression fell. “I need to go to my lab. Please. I can collect the sample we’ll find a way to stop this animal. And I’ll create the weapon and you’ll get my brother. Please.”
Her sadness hit him square in the chest, her soft pleading weakening something within him. He could be both King and warrior if he escorted her to her lab. She was offering to do more than what he required of her.
His cock stirred again. She was strong, crafty. She knew how to play this game to survive.
“I will take you and your friend. If you cause any difficulty, I promise, you’ll suffer at my hand.”
The threat didn’t come out ominously as he intended. His voice was dripping with lust. Her eyes widened, her neck flushing just as her face did, and he knew if she were to utter a single word right now, hers would be, too.
Chapter Nine
Tryllin looked badass.
Alora couldn’t stop glancing at him. He was decked out in some type of pure black body armor that fit so bespoke, it appeared to be part of him. The jacket had a protective sleeve around his throat and black plates along the arms and thighs. The chest was crisscrossed with some sort of black metal reinforcement, and the gloves had two ridges each on the back of the hand. He had a quiver strapped to his back with the longest arrows peeking out that she’d ever seen. A deadly looking bow connected just behind his left shoulder.
He strapped on a belt holding various weapons and her heart sank.
Were they going to her lab, or to war?
Quixx met them in the hall, wearing similar attire. He had a headset on with a circular eyepiece over his left eye. “I am ready when you are, my King.”
The tip of a staff peeked over Quixx’s right shoulder. Alora peeked behind him to find two silver staff crossed in holders over his back. Tryllin settled a headset on his head and clipped something behind his ear. She leaned in to watch as a connector from the headset directly attached to an implant at the side of the King’s skull. He caught her staring. She winced while watching him attach it.
“Quixx and I will be able to share our thoughts this way,” he said absently. “Communication without sound.”
“Why all the weapons and things? No one at the lab will bother us. I’ll just pop in and grab the sample and leave.”
“Incorrect,” Quixx said with a partial roll of his eyes. “The enemy is on the ground. No Axxeon is safe while the Nozing are here.”
“Wait, they’re here? On Earth and not up there?” She pointed to the sky. Reaching for Tryllin’s arm, she gripped him. “Do you think my brother is still here on Earth, too?”
He looked to where she touched him. “I do not yet know.”
Quixx strode over to her and placed a small black box next to her temple. She jerked as a blinking red tip touched her flesh.
“Hold still.”
“What is that?”
He pulled the device away, checked something on the screen and gave a nod of approval. She waited for one of the men to answer her. Neither did, so she turned her attention to the King. “What did he just do to me?”
; “Ensuring your tracking device is working properly.”
“I have a tracking device?” What the hell? When had they done that to her, when she’d been sleeping? “It’s inside me? Implanted inside me?”
Tryllin adjusted the belt around his hips, not bothering to look at her. “Yes.”
“When did I give you permission to do that to me?”
His head whipped up, his body going to its full height. “I don’t need your permission.”
Her mouth dropped open, fury making her lips numb and her heart race. Just then, she remembered something. “Oh my God. When he brought me here, he called me a weapon.” Her eyes sliced to Quixx, who went still, his lips pulling into a tight line. “Why did he call me a weapon? Did you put something else inside me?”
Both men ignored her. Her fingers curled into her palms as their silence drummed up panic she couldn’t control. Alien experimentation and all that. What could they have possibly put inside of her… or, taken out?
“Answer me!”
Quixx turned on her. “You will not speak to your King in such a way!” He moved to grab her, but Tryllin grabbed the man’s hand and leveled him with a glare. The standoff lasted a mere second before the warrior bowed his head low.
“The craft is ready, my King.”
Quixx gestured that they head down the hall. Alora’s body felt disjointed and stiff, as if she would fall the moment she tried to move. The hall felt like it was closing in, the walls constricting. Tryllin gestured that his warrior go ahead of them, who, after a cursory glance at her, complied. The sound of his boots on the metal grate floor faded as he turned a corner and disappeared.
He glowered as he looked down at her. Those eyes, those amazing purple eyes, were filled with heat. “The tracker was put in place so that I can find you, no matter where you go. Anywhere on Earth, and beyond inside this galaxy. It lies within your temporal artery and cannot be removed without a special device. If you went digging, you’d never recover it without doing extensive harm.”
Her jaw worked side to side as she struggled to keep her composure. As if her entire life hadn’t been controlled, and now this. Now, the aliens knew her every step, her every breath.
“I want to know what else you did to me.”
His lashes flickered. Was that a flash of… guilt? He scooped a hand around her upper arm. “Now is not the time, little scientist. Let’s retrieve this sample and anything else you need from the lab.”
Obviously, he wasn’t going to tell her anything to ease her discomfort over wondering. It was clear he’d done something to her, put something inside her, yet she wasn’t worth enough to be notified of what had been done to her body. She hated him! Hated these people. The moment she stepped into her lab at University hospital research center, all these terrible feelings of unrest and panic would go away. It was her comfort, her sanctuary and she was eager to immerse herself there, if only for a few moments.
Thinking of the place she loved the most going down in flames nearly undid her.
Tryllin gestured that she should follow Quixx. She did, catching sight of the other Axxeon a few feet ahead when a soft voice sounded behind them.
“Your Majesty.”
Quixx immediately bristled and Alora spun to see Jahtal closing in behind them. She wore a long, cream colored skirt that wrapped three times around her thin hips and a matching shirt which tied around the front of her waist. Both arms were covered in thin strips of black leather that encased her from wrist to elbow.
“Jahtal.” Tryllin acknowledged.
“The scientist’s laboratory is complete. She may begin her work at this time.”
The King smiled as if that were the best possible news. Throwing her a side-eye, he nudged Alora forward toward the Axxeon woman. “Go with Jahtal. See what equipment or tools may be missing that we can retrieve for you from your other lab, along with the sample. You will begin your work immediately.”
Her heart plummeted to her feet. “No, wait. I want to go with you.”
“There has been a change of plans. You will begin working now. There is no time to waste.”
No, he couldn’t do this to her. She needed to get out of these walls, to be somewhere familiar. She needed that sample! “Please, Tryllin.”
He stilled at the sound of his name. Their gazes blended together his expression softened but unreadable. She hadn’t meant to say his name, to make things that personal, but it had just slipped out. The more she thought of him by his title, the better. She needed that distance between them, especially after he’d put his hands on her body, cupping her ass, slipping his fingers between her legs.
She shuddered.
He turned his attention to Jahtal. “Take her to the new lab and have her see what additional equipment or tools she may need that we can gather for her. Put her on the eyeComm at my signal and we’ll get it done.”
Alora was about to protest again when he cut her a sharp look. “Your friend, Priya. She worked with you in your lab?”
She nodded.
“She would know where this sample is?”
“Of course. It’s sample A.109-2.”
He nodded at Jahtal, who gently took her arm and indicated with her head that they should to the opposite way. Alora shook her head but followed without resistance.
“I needed this, asshole.” She called out quietly. “I needed this one thing.” She didn’t care if the men heard her over the thud of her feet on the metallic floor. She’d just about rounded a corner out of view of the men when she heard Tryllin’s voice.
“What is an asshole?”
“I do not know, my King.”
She huffed a laugh despite herself, a tear rolling down her cheek. They went a bit farther before they stopped and Jahtal entered a code on a glass door. It whooshed open. Brilliant lights came on as they stepped inside, the airy, open room aweing her in its size and arrangement.
The space was twice as large as her lab at the university, bright and welcoming, where her other lab was old, gray and outdated. There was a half-wall of greenery, just as in Tryllin’s room. There were stainless steel work counters here, along with rows of drawers for storage, a floor to ceiling refrigeration system, microscopes lined up along one counter, a containment room made completely of clear panels so she could see everything that might be going on in the lab. As if she’d be working with co-workers again, doing something important…
“Is this to your liking?”
“Are you kidding?” Alora burst. “It’s beautiful considering I’m making lethal weapons in here.”
“Very good.” Jahtal stepped farther inside and began fiddling with drawers. “Please go through everything and determine what you need that may be missing. As soon as the King is ready, I will put up the eyeComm so you may view and speak to each other.”
Needing to keep herself busy, and also genuinely curious what kind of supplies aliens would have put in a laboratory meant for human scientists, Alora began to explore. She had to admit, the design of the layout was perfect, almost as if someone had peeked into her mind and pulled out her wish list for the perfect workspace. The selection of chemicals was impressive. Containers, tools, heat sources, all appropriate.
Time passed as she made a few adjustments as she browsed, moving things around a bit, rearranging the chemical bases in alphabetical order. Someone had put a good deal of thought into this lab. Likely, it had been created well before her arrival, though it didn’t look as if it had ever been used. She didn’t know enough about alien biology to know if they studied organic sciences, if they had need for antibiotics or the study of microbes.
Turning to Jahtal, she found the woman spreading her hands wide in front of her, creating a box in the air the way Tryllin had for her to write on. This box was much larger and glimmered with a border of bright red that wavered and danced. The inside of the shape shimmered and rippled, then pulled away much like water being drawn back by the tide. Her lab at the hospital came into view. She dropped the petri
dishes she’d been holding. The image was so clear. Could she step through that sizzling border and… be inside her lab?
“Is that a teleportation portal?”
“No. That technology doesn’t exist.”
“Aliens aren’t supposed to exist either.”
“It’s a view screen only. Nothing can move through it.”
The sound of movement came through the screen. “Oh my God, Alora?”
Priya’s face came into view, Quixx so close behind her that he was like a hulking extension of her petite body. Her expression was wan and scared, her eyes so lifeless. Alora had never seen her friend so dull and devoid of spark.
“What’s wrong?”
Priya’s eyes widened, her hands flying to her throat, wrists bound in the glowing cuffs, as Quixx clipped a thick, silver collar around her neck. She tried to spin, but the Axxeon held her tight.
“Do not fight this, human. It’s for your protection.”
Jahtal kept her left arm bent and steady as the portal projected from the cuff on her wrist. “What is the problem there? Why are you putting the cage on the female?”
“The enemy is here.” He took Priya’s left hand and directed it to the collar. “There is a button here. If you are in danger, depress it and the collar will protect you.” He reached for her cuffs and unfastened them.
Priya rubbed her wrists and sought Alora’s gaze. “Everyone is gone. The lab is completely empty.”
Quixx spun her and gave her a little shake. “No time for talking. Get what we came for.”
Alora watched as the three scoured her lab. Her friend grabbed the sample and placed it in a hard-shelled holder, then handed it to Tryllin, who carefully slipped it into a pocket on the thigh of his pants. Tension was palpable between the three. If she could feel it from here, just how thick was it in the room?
She searched for smoke of other sign of encroaching flame but saw nothing. The sprinkler systems hadn’t yet gone off, a good sign. Tense, she prayed they had enough time.
