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“As I said, we saved you from the ones who are responsible.”
“Sure you did. And I’m just supposed to believe that?”
Frustration burrowed into the base of his skull. “If you cooperate, we can help you get back to Earth.” He regretted the statement immediately, but if it garnered her cooperation, he could deal with the fallout later.
A short silence followed, and he thought he’d gotten through to her, but then the mortal turned even more sarcastic. “Oh, yeah? You’ll help me? Pah-leez. You want me to cooperate with my own vivisection, maybe? When you have me sliced open, I can point to my organs and explain what they do. Does that sound about right?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “We just want to talk with you. Find out how you came to be on this ship.”
“Talking requires the participation of two parties, instead of being barked at, cursed at, and threatened, like I have been.”
Orik glared over his shoulder at the two guards, who both flushed with guilt.
“She was stabbing at us,” Garrison defended, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck. Kellvin merely nodded in abject solidarity.
The woman countered, “I told you not to touch my things.”
Orik sighed, growing weary of this. “Look, woman, we can return you to Earth, but we’ll need you to come out of there first.” He reached out to remove a piece of the metal blockade. “So I’m going to—”
A thin, sharp object jutted out through a crack to slice his knuckle.
He reared back. “Ouch!”
“You don’t hear too good, do you?” she snapped.
Both guards were quick to jump on her violent reaction. “See?”
His cut was already beginning to heal when the woman’s voice shot at him, strict and fierce. “Touch it again and you’ll lose a finger.”
Orik felt the anger rise in his throat, hot and heavy. “That is the second time you’ve threatened me. I doona recommend going for a third.”
“Eat a donkey dick.”
He gazed in bewilderment at the gnarled barricade. It had taken him the better part of a decade to climb through the ranks and earn his position as head of the guard and gain the respect of his peers and subordinates. Even with his close ties to the crown, it hadn’t come easy. In fact, he would argue those close ties had made things more difficult for him in the long run. An orphaned waif adopted by the king? A dirt-poor stray with no royal blood elevated to near princehood? Still, he’d had to claw and scrape for every crumb of respect. And this female was undermining him in front of his men like it was her Gods-given right.
One hand curled into a fist at his side, and he pointed the other to where she likely stood opposite him. “You canna stay in there forever. Understand me, woman. You’ll be coming out of there today whether you like it or no’.”
“And understandme. I don’t give up and I don’t give in. I won’t be some alien’s science project without a fight. And I can stay in here for months if I want. I found all the goodies. Pantry’s full. And I’m locked and loaded, buddy.”
Locked and what?“Last chance to make this amicable. You can either be our guest or our prisoner. Choose wisely.”
A metallic sound drew his gaze down. Several small spheres rolled out from under the wall of debris.What the…?
He heard the sound of her boots scurrying away just as one of the guards hollered, “Shield your eyes!” But the warning came too late. Loud, bright flashes blinded Orik, followed by a sour scent that made him retch and his eyes burn like they’d been splashed with acid. Desperate for clean air, the three clambered out of the ship, gagging and hacking and rubbing their tear-stained eyes.
“I’ll kill her!” Garrison grated through labored gasps.
“What the hellwasthat?” Orik heaved, still unable to see clearly.
Kellvin answered, “Flash bombs of some kind coupled with an irritant that makes it hard to see and breathe for a time. We believe it’s a Kayadon weapon. She’s found a stash of them in there. We thought she ran out.”
She’d been bombarding his men with these?
Though she had run after rolling out her weapons, that ship was small and she couldn’t go very far. She might be feeling the effects herself unless she’d secured herself in a room…which meant she wouldn’t be near the barricade to defend it.
But he didn’t dare reenter the ship yet. Not until the cloying musk had dissipated somewhat.
Meanwhile, he continued to wheeze as he struggled to drag air into his lungs. “She’s a hellion,” he rasped, coughing repeatedly. Through each hack and sputter, he caught the low snickers of the other guards standing by. He got the distinct impression that they’d been curious to see how he’d fared with the tenacious female. Apparently, they found his failure amusing. And that grated his hide.
