He is seven feet tall at least, and his teeth are sharp, in a different way than Freak’s. His eyes are green, and they are set high on his head. He has three thick fingers on each hand with long yellow claws. Any one of them could rend me from nape to navel.
“You have the attention of a Psyon,” he says. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Right place, right time? He was bored? He wanted a pet?” I don’t actually know the answer to the question he is asking. Or maybe I do; maybe he was in a state when he escaped from the torture these things were putting him through where he needed something to save, and I was it.
“Hm,” he says. “She looks familiar. Why does she look familiar?”
“They all look the same to me, your highness,” the rogue says.
The Lizard King is thoughtful. He puts a claw to the end of his protruding chin and taps it for a moment.
“I think we will hear from the Psyon soon.”
“You captured him and tortured him with experiments. What did you think would happen? Did you think he’d just let that go? They don’t let anything go. They wield power over space and time.”
“Some limited power that we are eroding by the day,” the Lizard King says. “The Psyons have their strengths, but nothing that cannot be discovered through science. Soon enough we’ll be able to step into that precious realm world of theirs and then it will all be over.”
“I don’t know why you’d bother. It’s boring there. Feels like being trapped inside an hourglass.”
“You’ve been there!” He laughs. “She’s been there!” he declares to the rogue. “Two minutes of conversation with the little sponge and she’s telling us it is definitely possible for a creature of a human nature to be in their realm…”
“With permission, and not for long,” I say, thinking I am helping.
“We’ve got to ask more questions,” he says. “Are you hungry? I imagine you are. Humans like to eat every four hours or so when they’re awake. Little and often. Like hatchlings even when they’re full grown.”
CHAPTER 8
Freak
It takes me too long to realize that my pet has been taken. Sixty seconds. Far, far too long. We are covered in blood and scales. The bridge is awash in blood, and my pet does not respond to my call. The tracking collar is dead. So much for that.
I go back to find her, leaving bloody footsteps in my wake, and find her absent. I know instantly what they’ve done. The three they sent down were sacrifices. I bet their weapons wouldn’t have fired even if they’d had time to fire them.
My pet has been taken, and the DC ship is hanging at what they consider to be a safe distance, just inside hailing range.
I run to the bridge and smash the intercom with my bloodied fist.
“Give her back!” My voice is rough with rage and fury.
A laugh comes over the speakers.
“I don’t think I will. Does she like ice cream?”
“She loves ice cream,” I reply immediately, on autopilot.
“I might give her some when we are done using her.”
The response fills me with rage.
“Give her back. Now, and I will merely kill you,” I snarl.
“You won’t be erasing any more of our ships from existence, will you? You don’t know which one your precious human pet is on,” the DC sneers. “Don’t worry, we will take good care of her. Might even teach her a few new tricks…”
“If you so much as lay a finger on her,” I growl. “I will remove your entire fucking species from the fossil record. It will be as if not a single one of your kind ever drew breath.”
“Steady on,” Aric mutters.
I know what his problem is. We are not supposed to threaten anyone with the worst of our powers. It’s illegal to do so, and moreover, it is frowned upon by Alara. In this moment, I do not care.
