His skin was so dark it gleamed with purple highlights. His shoulder-length black hair, a mass of corkscrew curls, rested on his massive, muscular shoulders.
“Ignore them,” said the man next to the blond. His Native American features were near perfect, a symmetrical creation that was beyond handsome. He gave the other man an admonishing glare before focusing on her and putting his hand over his heart. “I’m Asmodel.” He thumbed the blond man next to him. “That’s Arakiba, and over there,” he nodded to the dark giant across from him, “Is Abalim.” He stretched his hand to her. “Can I help you up?” His eyes, an astounding mixture of chestnut-brown and leaf-green with a starburst of gold flecks, gave her an open and friendly look, w
hich helped calm Toni’s frayed nerves.
She scrunched her nose. “Yes, thank you.” She took his hand and sat up, then frowned as she glanced around. “What happened? And where’s Bae…lon?” Her eyes widened when she noticed the huge creature over Asmodel’s shoulder.
It was some kind of monster. A humongous beast standing on four legs, heaving and snorting as its breath scissored in and out, creating a plume of smoke with each exhale.
Its fierce gold eyes stared right at her.
“What’s that?” she whispered, tightening her hold on Asmodel’s hand.
The creature’s eyes focused on their clasped hands and lowered its head with a rumbling whine.
“What’s it doing?”
Arakiba chuckled and separated her hand from Asmodel’s. “He knows who his momma is.”
She gave Asmodel an awkward glance before staring back at the beast with a huff. “What in the hell does that mean?”
“It means—” Asmodel frowned at Arakiba. “—underneath all that fierce exterior is our brother, Azazel.”
Toni stood and faced him. “Brother?” She kept half an eye on the creature. The thing looked like a cross between a panther and a mythical dragon. And it whined. Its serpentine tail wagged behind it, moving so hard it was easy to believe the darn thing’s butt would fly off any second now.
“And you’re telling me that’s… Azazel?” She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “That can’t be… how… what?” Too many questions. Not enough words.
“Listen.” Abalim took her shoulders in a comforting grip and looked her in the eyes. “I know this is a lot to take in. But I assure you Baelon is gone.”
Arakiba snorted and crossed his muscular arms over his firm chest.
“But I’m guessing you’ve been around a lot of psychic activity lately,” Abalim continued, ignoring Arakiba. “So, it shouldn’t surprise you that Azazel is a strong one. True?”
Toni peered closer at the beast. “I guess so.” She swung her attention to Abalim. “Hey, since you claim he’s your brother, are you psychics, too?” Crossing her arms, she took in the other two. “All of you?”
Asmodel nodded. “Yes, we are.”
“Okay, so does that mean you can all turn—”
“I’m sorry, but there isn’t time to answer all your questions.” Abalim interrupted. “We’re aboard an out-of-control galactic spaceship from another dimension that we have to get a handle on.”
“Organic units.”
Toni breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the mechanical tone of JR14 loud enough for all to hear as he buzzed to settle on Toni’s shoulder. For the first time, she noticed the clear helmet over her head was gone. The air was breathable, but a sharp ozone scent made her crinkle her nose.
Do not worry about the air, Sensos whispered to her.It is perfectly fine to breathe it.
“Multiple Krystalii entities aboard this vessel exhibit erratic and destructive behaviors due to the demise of Lord Baelon and the Nexus Core, which now pose an imminent threat to us,” JR14 intoned. “Recommendation: immediate neutralization is the most efficient course of action to prevent catastrophic system failure.”
“Yes, we’ll have to…”
Before Abalim could finish, a horrible realization occurred to Toni. “Oh my God… Elemi!” She rushed to the pile of shredded glass and crystals where she’d last seen the sexbot get buried. “Elemi? Are you there? Answer me!” She dropped to her knees, intending to pluck pieces of the sharp objects off the android.
“Elemi?” Arakiba's anxious voice followed close behind her. “She’s under all this?”
When Toni nodded, he put his hand on her shoulder. “Stand back. I’ve got this.”
Glancing up at him, she noticed the determined expression stamped on his face.
