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Her tongue darted across her lips. I knew what she was thinking. The easiest way for them to have done that was if Slek was Iri now too. If that was the case, J'avet would be lucky if I only punched him in the head. He was the one who insisted on Slek and Zarex accompanying him on the mission.
And leaving me out.
That still rankled something fierce. If there was any chance I might have helped, he had robbed me of it. And robbed Slek of his Freytauriness.
Okay, I was being unfair. If Slek was Iri, it wouldn't be because J'avet let it happen. Someone had to go after Danec with him and Slek was an obvious choice.
One thing I knew for sure, if Slek was a host, he would be pissed off about it. He'd made his thoughts on becoming a host very clear. Although, so had Danec, and the last time I saw him, he had silver skin and glazed eyes. He was all Iri, or almost. I knew the real him was still in there somewhere, I was certain of it.
Or at least…he was a month ago. He had to still be in there now. I wouldn't accept he was lost to me forever. Not until I knew for certain.
"If they are Iri, we just have to make sure they don't make it past the front door," Brinley said firmly. "Security is waiting." She nodded ahead.
Sure enough, there in the docking bay stood no less than six security officers, blasters already in their hands.
A woman, who I guessed was their leader, nodded to me and jerked her head toward a screen on the wall. On it, we could all see Chimera's slow but steady approach.
"It should only be a few minutes longer," she said.
"Great," I said, and forced a smile that likely looked like I needed to pee. I was too anxious and scared for a genuine smile. In a few minutes, with any luck, I would have a few smiles to spare.
I glanced around at the security officers. They were all intent on the screen. One or two bounced on their heels. It might be excess adrenaline, but not much happened on the station. This could be the first excitement they'd had in a while.
What did they do in the meantime?I wondered. Folks could only do so many laps of the place, or play so many games of chess.
A person couldn't read too many books, but I hadn't seen any of the officers in the library, so maybe books weren't their jam. Shame, books are the best, amiright?
I startled when, three or four minutes later, the space doors clanged open.
An hour or seven passed—okay, three or four more minutes—and they closed again.
Everything froze.
Time.
My heart.
Everyone's movement.
Every sound.
Beyond the docking bay's doors, something beeped and time started up again.
My heart remained stopped— Oh no, it started again. Now it pounded as the docking bay doors slid open.
The Chimera, big as she was, looked small parked inside Undapan's bay. Her long legs were splayed out to the sides, all three of them.
"There should be four," Brinley remarked. She sounded as concerned as I felt.
"Shit," I muttered. Closer up, Chimera looked like someone shoved a stick in her and held her over an open flame. The scorch marks were more pronounced and looked much worse. Unlike an actual marshmallow, she hadn't melted, but someone had certainly given it a good try.
"Stay a good distance back," the security officer said. She'd clearly heard Brinley and was concerned the ship might topple.
Not wanting to be squashed like an ant today, or indeed any day, I stepped just inside the door and stopped.
I was about to ask what happened next, when Chimera shuddered. A ramp began to lower out of the side of her.
I swallowed and found my mouth dry. I stood on my toes and tried to look inside the ship for the guys. All I saw was darkness. A never ending hole of nothing.
