Alien Exodus

  I woke up because Lukan was standing just inside the closed door, speaking to us in dulcet tones.

  “Too much lorphch, Klon,” he chided quietly, “shame on you.”

  “They have a week to sweat the poison out,” Klon rumbled.

  “Ladies,” Lukan said, “you’re going to practice in the arena today. Get up and get moving. You’ve got to get the dimensions of the arena into your muscle memories and expand your routines to fill the space.”

  From behind Klon, I heard Buster sigh and, in a strangled way, groan, “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

  I sat up and my breathing was arrested by the stiff agony in my lower back. Pillows moved on the floor. Cherish and Ravish made tentative movements in front of me. The rumble of Klon’s laughter echoed through his chest into my back.

  I turned to watch him laugh at us.

  The spall had apparently found someplace else to recover.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Really Big Show