More tentacles sprouted from Qa’a.“Did he say anything to you?”
“No.”
Qa’a glided toward us.“He drained your powers, did he not, Battle Commander.”
“But he didn’t drain mine. Now back off, old man, or I will hurt you.”I growled.
“Enough, Lexi,”Kaelen snapped on our private link.
Eeyore. Eeyore. Eeyore.
What in the hell was that? It almost sounded like a donkey braying. I scanned the area for the source and stiffened in alarm. It was Qa’a and I think he was laughing at me.
“You do not fear me.”One of his tentacles touched my face gently.
I grimaced. His tentacle felt all rubbery and icky.“After porting blindly onto fourteen Tai-Kok ships, it takes a lot to scare me.”
“My mate is utterly fearless,”Kaelen confirmed as Qa’a’s wormy eyebrows rose in surprise.
Qa’a’s face distorted.“Gael brought you to her. Why? My son is not known for his good deeds.”
“To thank me for rescuing him and I think he didn’t want you to know that Ziyn had sold him to the Tai-Kok,” I blurted out.
Qa’a’s tentacles stood straight up, and his power flared, churning the air around us.“She will face the rite, and you will be my witnesses.”
“But we don’t have any actual proof that happened,”I said hurriedly.
Kaelen’s fingers drummed on the hood of the jeep.“If the Tai-Kok battle cruiser is still orbiting the moon, there will be proof in their computer systems.”
“And if Gael ate them all, we could examine the entire ship without a firefight. Plus, Uncle Saul has been wanting to examine their warp engines,”I added.
More tentacles sprouted from Qa’a as he transformed into a squirming black mass with lots of sharklike teeth.“You will be my investigators.”
Yuck. He was seriously freaking me out, but I needed to keep him happy and well fed. I gave Qa’a my Debbie Sunshine smile.“Sure, not a problem. I’m a trained police officer and my father was a detective for over eight years, before he joined the military. He closed all his cases, and he taught me investigative procedures. It’ll take a couple of hours to get to Uncle Ben’s bunker, and we’ll use the portal to get to the ship.”
A brilliant orange glow popped into existence.“My way is faster.”
“Oh, hell. He isn’t…?”
A muscle twitched in Kaelen’s jaw.“He is.”
“Wait! I don’t have a spacesuit!”
“You do not need one,”Qa’a replied.
Kaelen locked his arms around me as we were pulled against Qa’a’s slimy hide. It kinda reminded me of being hugged by an overly friendly squid.
“Teleporting with a Katanic is a unique experience,”Kaelen said dryly.
The light spun faster and faster and faster until it became a vortex.Slurppp!We were sucked inside. It was like going from zero to sixty in five seconds. The horrific, twisting funnel of energy rocketed us across a weird black void.
“Shit!!!” The wind tore at my hair and burned my eyes. My official baseball cap went flying. The smooshing sensation on my face felt like I was pulling G’s. Dad would love this, but to me this was the worst rollercoaster ride ever.
“Prepare to fight,”Kaelen warned.
A hysterical giggle escaped me. Fight? I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand.
The vortex spat us out on the battle cruiser’s bridge. Bolts of lightning danced and pulsed over the walls.
