The beast rubbed its nose against her side, purring.
“Is she okay?” It’d be nice to know if one of her friends from that prison cell on FiPan made it out.
“The human female Lisa is indeed in optimal health.”
The alien glided close enough it was easy to see it wore some kind of plated armor under its flowing robes.
“And is awaiting the return of her mate.” Its gangly fingers waved in Abalim’s direction.
For the first time, Toni noticed the strange way the creature talked. The words didn’t come out of its razor-thin mouth. Instead, it spoke in her head. Flat and unemotional but layered as though it spoke in a multitude of voices.Well, wasn’t that just eerie as hell?
“Rerqel and his people plan to take over this ship and house the Krystalii on their planet.” Abalim stated.
The firm conviction in his tone told Toni he didn’t doubt a word he said.
Asmodel narrowed his eyes at the alien. “You’re going to take this ship to your planet and somehow take the billions of Krystalii on it to live there?” He glanced at Abalim. “How’s that possible?”
JR14 buzzed off her shoulder until he was in the middle of the group. “Clarification: in accordance with their advanced interdimensional translocation technology”—the bot intoned— “the Xeltrains of Qorath have devised a method to transport the remaining Krystalii through stabilized rift corridors, overlaying their perceived reality onto an artificial construct indistinguishable from their native world. This ensures the Krystalii containment within a controlled dimensional pocket, eliminating their existential threat to this universe while preserving the species inside their cognitive stability.”
“How do you know that, gizmo-bot?” Toni slapped her palms on her hips.
“Fact: my brother, JR15, informed me in extensive detail of his interaction with Abalim and the Xeltrain on Qorath,” JR14 replied in his matter-of-fact tone.
Oh, sure. That made perfect sense.She dropped her hands when the beast licked the back of her neck. “Stop that!” Without thinking, she turned and swatted its nose that was as big as her head.Oh shit. Now she’d done it.
The animal yanked its head back with a sniffle. Its once-gold eyes were now warm mahogany filled with luminescent tears.
How dare the darn thing turn its big, sorrowful puppy-dog cartoon eyes on me? She wasn’t maid of stone, you know.“Oh, I’m sorry,” Toni crooned and rubbed its springy dark-purple nose. It was soft as a dog’s and just as wet. When it didn’t bite her hand off, she wagged her finger at it. “Now, stop licking me and behave.”
The beast dropped onto its belly with a bone-jarring thud, the sheer mass of its body sending a shudder through the floor. Loose shards of crystal and glass skipped away in frantic little hops, and powdery dust puffed upward in gritty clouds. Beneath its bulk, the ground groaned and shifted, a faint tremor rippling outward as if the ship itself recoiled. Its eggplant-colored tongue lolled from its maw, glistening in the dim light, as a slow string of saliva stretched toward the floor before snapping free.
“That is a fine specimen of aUgrotafrom the extinct planet ofNierilia.” Rerqel nodded his enormous head at the creature behind Toni. “I believe I will take it to Qorath as well.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Abalim interjected, standing in the Xeltrain’s line of sight to the beast. “He’s my brother who has adopted this shape. He stays with us.”
The shrug the alien gave made Toni uneasy.
“As you wish.”
“Asmodel,” Abalim turned and addressed his brother. “Let’s get Azazel back to normal so we can join Arakiba aboardElemiand head to the Consortium palace. Are you ready?”
Asmodel nodded with a glance at Toni. “We’re going to need her to do that.” His smile was encouraging. “Think you can help us bring him back?”
Toni narrowed her eyes at the beast, looking down at her from its prone position. Falling into its familiar brown eyes pleading for help, she sighed.
“There’s nothing I’d rather do.”
Helping Azazel shapeshift back to his human form turned out to be easier than Toni thought it’d be. The hardest thing she wrestled with was approaching the menacing, humongous beast with its double-rowed fangs, spiky head, and thick, sharp claws and believing it wasn’t going to attack. Her only solace was the undeniable love and acceptance deep in the beast’s golden-brown eyes.
“Place your hands on him,” advised Abalim.
The sonorous tone in his voice half-hypnotized her, enough to calm her frayed nerves. Without looking away from the rich welcome of Azazel’s eyes, she placed her palms against the side of the creature’s jaw, threading her fingers through several small spikes protruding across his prominent cheekbones. The leathery skin was surprisingly soft, like a well-worn jacket she’d had since her teenage years. The one that made her traditional mother moan every time Toni put it on.
“That’s it.” Abalim stood on her right while Asmodel took his place on her left. “Now, close your eyes and feel him. Indulge in that link between the two of you.”
His voice lowered, making it hard to hear him. But the solid sense of trust between the brothers told her she had no reason to fear they’d let anything happen to her. If this didn’t work, they wouldn’t hesitate to pluck her to safety.
Taking a deep breath, she did as he asked and closed her eyes. Her heart raced in the dark—until Azazel’s presence wrapped around her, steadying everything. While she couldn’t “see” him, she knew he was right there with her.
