“Nice of you,” I say, picking at the bedding nervously. I don’t want to look at him directly. The animal instinct in me tells me to show signs of submission. His teeth and claws don’t feel ornamental anymore.
“You’re afraid of me,” he says flatly. “You should be.”
That does not make me feel better at all. I look up at him, barely noticing how I’ve backed myself into the corner on the bed. The walls feel cozy and right around me.
“I am a warrior,” he says. “And part of my mission has always been to destroy our enemies. I know you’re probably used to a different kind of battle. Fire being exchanged, casualties being taken on both sides. But that kind of war does not make sense for our kind. We are capable of tampering with the very mesh of reality. This is why we prefer peace, but when war is necessary, we do not take prisoners.”
“Okay.”
“The Baktari are particularly dangerous. They are attempting to destroy peace talks between two solar systems. What I just did will save trillions over the years. I don’t expect you to understand it. But in guarding the best timeline, sometimes actions virtually indistinguishable from evil are necessary.”
“Okay.”
I don’t know what to say to any of that. The guy can literally stop things from existing. Does he really care about my feedback? Has anything I have ever said or done mattered? I feel as though I am cowering before a power so great and so unfathomable there is no way I can comprehend it.
“How did you ever get caught by those aliens that experimented on you if you can do that?”
“I can’t do that. The ship can. It’s a technology. I am limited by my physical form as much as anyone is. I’m not a god, pet.”
“May as well be,” I mutter under my breath.
I don’t know enough about these people to know if he was right to eliminate them. It didn’t feel fair or sporting, but what if they’re super ultra evil? I have never felt more like a pet. I am stuck in a world I don’t entirely understand, watching things happen that don’t make sense to me.
“I care for you,” he says. “I’m going to make sure no harm comes to you. Do you understand?”
“Or you will disappear me,” I say.
“Never,” he promises. “You will never be harmed. Ever.”
The more he says that, the more I think I might be harmed at some point. Funny how that works.
* * *
Freak
She is afraid of me. I can feel her fear between us like a barrier. She couldn’t stop me if I wanted to touch her. She knows how helpless she is when it comes to me, but she never saw me as dangerous before. Or as in command as I was, either. I wonder which of the two was more disturbing to her.
I wonder if I shouldn’t let her sit with it. She can come to terms with my true nature and learn that she will be cared for regardless of how dangerous I may be. Nothing about me has changed, only her perception.
“How many people have you… disappeared?” She asks the question with a good amount of horror hidden in the tremor of the words.
“A great many,” I tell her. “All in service of protecting the best possible outcome. We are working toward peace at all times.”
“Nothing is more peaceful than erasing bad guys,” she says.
“Yes,” I agree, even though I am sure she is being sarcastic. “Nothing.”
She nods. Then she says nothing more. I can feel her thoughts roiling in her skull, but there are too many of them to pick out in this moment, and I do try to give her some privacy in her mind when she is agitated.
* * *
My pet is remarkably well behaved for the next few days, though quieter than I like. We have much to do in the name of Alara and the Psyon Empire. My rage, which felt as though it was dormant in the aftermath of my escape, is flaring.
They came for me.
They captured me.
I will remove every hint of them from every timeline.
