Protected

  “Well, I wish you luck.” Shekk was looking bored again. He nodded at me.

  “It was lovely to meet you, my dear. I’m certain you and your partner here will be very happy together.”

  “Um, thank you,” I said.

  It was clear he was being sarcastic about the somewhat nebulous relationship between myself and Grav, but I couldn’t find it in myself to be upset. In fact, I mostly just wanted to go. The scratches I’d gotten from Purrah’s kit were itching and stinging more all the time, and I really wanted to see if Grav had any kind of disinfectant or ointment on his ship that I could use to sooth the irritating pain.

  “Farewell, my child.” Magda drew me forward and gave me a kiss on the forehead. Drawing back, she squeezed my shoulders and smiled. “Remember,” she murmured. “Tell him.”

  “All right.” I nodded and tried to smile back. But the itching pain from the kit’s little claws was getting more and more distracting. My cleavage was in pain too—in several very delicate places since he’d gotten me with all six of his paws. “Thank you for the yarex and…and everything else,” I said.

  “Think nothing of it. May the Goddess watch over you both.” She smiled at me and Grav and made a sweeping bow.

  I bobbed an awkward little curtsy in return and Grav simply nodded his head. Then he took my hand and led me out of the bar.

  Chapter Ten

  “What do you mean, she is gone?”

  The last of the Assimilated, he who had been Count Doloroso, paced angrily back and forth in front of Char’noth, foremost of the Commercians’ Alien Mate Index project. The former Count was now wearing an Earthling body and as such, had acquired a new name, which continually slipped his mind. He had been Doloroso for many solar years—it was difficult to get used to having another identity.

  His new body was one of a wealthy and prominent male who held undue influence over millions on the small, blue planet. But it appeared he still had no influence over the Commercians, no matter how much credit he offered them.

  “Indeed, yes—gone. Gone these several solar days,” Char’noth said blandly.

  “You told me the girl was not for sale—neither she nor the other La-ti-zal,” Doloroso snarled, poking an accusing finger at Char’noth.

  “And so she is not.” Char’noth clicked the long talons of several of his hands together, a habit he had when irritated or distressed. “The one female is still protected and thus unavailable—the other left of her own volition.”

  “Left? How could she leave?” the former Count demanded. “Who did she leave with?”

  “A Braxian male.” Char’noth’s blue, wormy body shuddered in fear. “I trust you know how very aggressive they can be. He came from the one who bought her contract in order to be certain she was well protected and to see that our end of the deal was being honored. Naturally I have no wish to give him reason to doubt me. I value the health of my spine far too much for that.” He wriggled his long, snaky back as though in illustration of his point.

  “But I need a La-ti-zal from Earth!” Doloroso exploded. “I must have one!”

  “We have identified a few others we think may be La-ti-zals but we cannot be absolutely certain. At least, none of them shine so brightly as the ones you were originally interested in,” Char’noth said. “I am sorry they are unavailable but I have no wish to give the Braxian cause to come back and break my spine.”

  “Where did they go?” Dolorso demanded, exasperated. “Can you at least give me that much information? I will pay for it—pay well.”

  “Ah, well as to that, I made no deal involving their privacy.” Char’noth rubbed several of his hands together. “The Braxian was using our signal to boost his own so I may have the course coordinates that he put in his hopper. I can sell them to you for…shall we say, oh, twenty-thousand credits?”

  “Twenty thousand?” The former Count glared at him in disbelief. “Are you serious? I have already paid you twice that for this ridiculous body you sold me!”

  He gestured at himself and a floppy bunch of yellowish hair fell into his eyes with the motion. Irritated, he pushed it back into place. When he had first acquired this body, the hair had seemed frozen in place, adhering neatly in an elaborate swoop over the forehead. Now, however, it had come loose and refused to do anything but hang in his eyes.

  “You asked for a wealthy and influential male when you came,” Char’noth replied coolly. “That is what we sold you.”

  “Yes, but there are serious problems with this body,” the former Count snarled. “The skin is orange—and after considerable study, I have determined this is not a natural pigmentation color for Earthlings. Also, the face is sagging.”

  In fact, all of the skin was sagging. It was as though the body was already breaking down, even though he had only been downloaded into it for a matter of days. And the voice was raspy and strident. None of these were qualities the Count had wanted in his new vessel—especially one he had paid so much to own.

  “The sagging is merely the effect of human aging. I did not know you wished to inhabit the body or I might have recommended a slightly younger one,” Char’noth said. “You should have said as much when you bought the body—as you know, all contracts are final.”

  “Unless a serious flaw is found—and I have found one,” the Count said. He pointed at the crotch of the gray trousers he wore. They were part of the body’s original clothing and accoutrement which he had paid extra to acquire. “It is a failing which is most troubling—the phallus of this body is incapable of growing erect! Therefore it is defective.”

  It was a serious failing—one that that would impact his strategy once he finally got his hands on a La-ti-zal. How could he impregnate an Earthling La-ti-zal female with his genetically mutated seed and start a whole new race of organic Assimilated if his new body’s equipment was incapable of doing the job?

  “You misunderstand the usage of this body,” Char’noth said, his stalk-like eyes wiggling. “When males of the Earth species grow older, they require medicinal assistance to reach a state of engorgement sufficient for sexual intercourse.”

  “Medicinal assistance? What does that mean?” Doloroso demanded. “Truly, Char’noth, I grow weary of your constant excuses. Your blatant lying is an irritant.”

  “I am not making excuses, nor am I telling untruths,” The Commercian’s claws clacked angrily. “As you would know if you had taken the time to study the accoutrements that you paid for along with the body itself.”

  “What accoutrements? Do you mean these ridiculous clothes?” Doloroso nodded down at the gray silk suit and white blouse-like shirt he wore. There was also a strip of colorful fabric and a stiffer leather strap with a buckle which Char’noth had explained were supposed to go round his new body’s neck and waist respectively.

  Doloroso had threaded the colorful fabric, called a “tie” in Earth language, through the loops on the gray trousers but he disliked the feeling of the longer, leather strap, called a “belt,” around his neck. The buckle chafed his throat and yet he had been told this was the correct configuration and so he endured it.

  The outfit was not nearly so comfortable or dramatic as the clothing that had fit on his former body. He missed his long, black cape most of all. But he wanted to appear as the powerful and influential male this body had formerly belonged to when he finally got his hands on a La-ti-zal. In order to do that, he had to dress in the Earth male’s clothes and try to affect his mannerisms.

  Last time, when the Earth La-ti-zal, Zoe had slipped through his fingers, she had shown a marked lack of respect and fear of him. That, of course, had been in his former body. In this body, he was certain he could intimidate any Earth female—which was why he had paid so much to get a powerful and highly recognizable male to inhabit.

  But what good was any of it if the phallus didn’t work?

  “Char’noth—” he began but the small blue alien held up several hands to stop him.


  “Look in the pockets of your over-garment,” the foremost Commercian told him. “There you will find a small vial of tiny blue pills. Through much study of Earth society and customs, I have learned that before a male engages in mating he must take these pills. This will enable him to achieve an erection of the phallus.”

  “Are you certain?” Doloroso fumbled in his jacket pocket and came out with a small vial of pills, just as the Commercian had said. There was a label on it printed with some strange Earth language—the only word he could recognize was his new name. Well, the name of his new body, anyway.

  “Those are the pills,” Char’noth said, nodding. “But you must not take them until coitus is imminent. Otherwise the effect is wasted.”

  “You’re certain about that?” Doloroso demanded. “I shouldn’t take your word for it—I should force you to refund my credit or at the very least, get me a better body to inhabit.”

  “Negative.” Char’noth’s mandibles clicked angrily. “I am already in trouble with my direct supervisors for abducting that body in the first place. Apparently the male it belonged to was competing for a very important elected position. The Earthlings are uncertain where he has gone and it troubles them. I cannot take another prominent male at this time or they may suspect extraterrestrial involvement.”

  “They miss this male, do they?” Doloroso looked down at himself, thinking that perhaps the body was not quite such a bad buy after all. If it was immediately recognizable to everyone on the planet, there was little doubt it would inspire fear and awe in an Earth La-ti-zal—if he could ever get his hands on one, that was.

  “Some miss him,” Char’noth said neutrally. “But many more seem extremely relieved he is gone. At any rate, the Earth is in an uproar because I allowed you to talk me into taking him.”

  “Well…” Doloroso’s new chest swelled. He liked the idea of an entire planet being in an uproar because of his actions. It reminded him of the War of Assimilation. He looked again at the small vial of pills in his hand. “And you’re certain these will do the job?”

  “Beyond a doubt,” Char’noth assured him. “Now come—I will give you the information on the Braxian’s course and perhaps you can trail him to wherever it is he took the La-ti-zal. Although I would not recommend trying to remove her from his custody—he seems extremely protective of her.”

  “Yes, well…we shall see about that.” Doloroso rubbed his orange-tinted hands together. “I’ll just have to pick the right moment.”

  Like a stinging Varainia viper, he would trail the Braxian and his precious cargo and he would wait until the correct time to strike. Patience was a virtue he had cultivated and stealth was a skill he knew well.

  “Soon,” he murmured as the foremost Commercian brought up the coordinates and course of the Braxian’s ship. “Soon my little La-ti-zal, you shall be my bride. And then, when your belly swells with life, the Last Day shall be the First once more.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Grav

  I felt satisfied as we left the Sincon Delta station behind. I had gotten what I needed to infiltrate Gemina from Shekk, though it had come at a steep price. Still, it should do the job. With Leah by my side to do the talking, the inhabitants of the all-female planet wouldn’t have any idea that an “unclean male” had been among them. We’d get the information out of the female who had been tasked with protecting Teeny and be on our way to find my little ward in no time. Then after we found her, I could take Teeny back home to her grandfather and Leah to visit Zoe.

  It was a win-win situation all around. And the best thing, though I wouldn’t admit it to myself, was that it meant more time with Leah.

  Speaking of Leah, though, she was acting strange—kind of nervous and jumpy. Now that I thought about it, she had been that way since we’d left the back room of The Hell Hole.

  I was sitting in the pilot’s chair, plotting a course for Gemina and she was standing right behind me. But instead of standing quietly or leaning against my arm to watch me work, (which I kind of liked even if it was fucking distracting,) she was pacing back and forth behind my chair.

  “Leah?” I looked back at her, frowning. “You all right, darlin’?”

  “Fine.” She rubbed nervously at her chest, which was still covered in the dark green cloak I’d bought her. Part of me was glad she was still wearing it…and part of me wished she would take it off. I couldn’t help myself—I loved the way her lush body curved, even though Leah had told me several times she was considered “too curvy” by the people of her planet. As if there could be any such thing. “Just…I’m fine,” she said again, scratching at the back of one hand.

  “You don’t look fine,” I said, wondering what was going on with her. “You’re as jumpy as a hyl’dy in a gilla pit.”

  She gave a jagged little laugh and rubbed at her chest again.

  “Don’t you mean as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs?”

  “I don’t know what that means but I do know you’re not acting like yourself.” I finished the course and stood up to face her. “C’mon, darlin’—give. What’s going on with you?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted, frowning. “I just feel…strange. Do you have a first-aid kit on your ship?”

  “First-aid?” I frowned at her. “What in the Frozen Hells is that?”

  “You know—bandages, ointment, disinfectant. Sometimes gauze. Stuff like that.” She rubbed the back of her hand again.

  “Why would you need those things? And what’s wrong with your hand?”

  “Nothing. It’s nothing.” She tried to hide it behind her back but I reached for her and held her by the wrist. For a moment Leah kept it hidden, but I looked at her, frowning.

  “Darlin’,” I said softly. “Show me.”

  “All right. But it’s not really a big deal.”

  She let me examine her hand and what I saw made me suck in my breath. Long, red scratches ran the length of her delicate hand and fingers. But it wasn’t the scratches that worried me—it was the slender pink lines radiating out from them—almost like some kind of poison.

  “What are these?” I pointed to the scratches. “What happened to you?”

  “In the Goddess-eye.” She shifted uncomfortably. “Magda had one in the corner. There was a cottage and a forest and everything in there. And a pet—it looked a little like a cat except it had orange and green stripes. Oh, and six legs.”

  My heart started pounding a little harder.

  “A hyl’dy? She had a pet hyl’dy?”

  Leah shrugged and nodded. “I think that’s what she called it. Anyway, it had kittens—kits she called them.”

  My heart, which had been pounding like a fucking hammer, suddenly seemed to stop dead in my chest.

  “Kits?” I said my voice coming out rough and hoarse. “Leah, darlin’, please tell me you didn’t touch them.”

  “Just one.” She shrugged defensively. “He was so little and friendly and cute. He came right up to me begging to the petted. So what?”

  “So what? So hyl’dy kits are damn dangerous, Leah!” I couldn’t help letting the anger and fear for her I felt show in my voice. “Their claws release a neurotoxin that can kill a grown male inside of two solar hours.”

  “Really?” Leah whispered. She looked down at her hand and the pink threads growing from the long, red scratches. “Only…only two hours?”

  “It scratched you, didn’t it?” I demanded. “That’s what happened to your hand.”

  “I…I didn’t know,” she whispered and then she put her unscratched hand to her head. “Oh…Grav, I feel so strange.”

  “That’ll be the fuckin’ neurotoxin leaching its way into your bloodstream,” I said grimly.

  “Oh. That explains why…why I’m so dizzy.” She stumbled and would have fallen if I hadn’t caught her in my arms.

  “Leah?” I said, looking down at her limp form. “Leah!”

  I got no re
sponse.

  I tried to calculate the time it had been since we’d left Sincon. At least a solar hour—maybe more. I thought about going back but the ship had already made the first hop—it would take precious time to get the course reset to go back. Time Leah didn’t have.

  I would have to try to help her myself.

  I looked down doubtfully at her small hand, marked with the dark red scratches and pink lines. I could try healing her myself but she wasn’t really my mate, so my healing ability would be limited. Small wounds and superficial cuts and bruises were easy—poison wasn’t. Especially a fucking neurotoxin.

  Still, I had to try.

  Carrying her to my room, I laid her gently on my sleeping platform. It’s not as luxurious as the hoverbeds in Sarden’s ship, but it’s damn big—it has to be to support a male of my bulk. Leah looked lost in the middle of it, small and fragile and so fuckin’ vulnerable it made my heart fist up in my chest.

  I had to help her—somehow I had to. Saying a silent prayer to the Goddess of Mercy, I knelt on the platform beside her, and took her small hand in mine.

  Then I began to lick, trying to leach the neurotoxin from her bloodstream and praying I wasn’t too late.

  Leah

  I came out of the strange, half-conscious state I’d somehow fallen into because of a warm, wet, ticklish sensation along the back of my hand. I opened my eyes to see Grav leaning over me. He held my scratched hand in one of his much larger ones and was licking me gently from the tips of my fingers all the way up to the palm and back of my hand.

  “Oh!” I gave a little gasp because, despite the pain and faintness I was still feeling, the rough warmth of his tongue seemed to start a fire inside me. A fire that had never completely died down since the last time he had healed me.

  Grav looked up at my sound, his white-on-black eyes worried.

  “How are you feeling, darlin’?”

  “I don’t know. Better, I think—my hand, anyway,” I whispered. It was true—my hand no longer burned and itched. When I looked at it, I saw that the long red scratches the kit had made with its claws were almost faded.