AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Bro, all you gotta do is ask.” Qhasheik rolled from under the counter and sat up with an amused smirk. His cherry-red eyes with the horizontal black pupil rolled up and locked gazes with him. He wrapped his arms around his bent knees. “Don’t try to rumble around in my head, it won’t work.” He grunted and stood. “And don’t bother drinking my blood. Jelena complains it’s nasty and doesn’t satisfy her in the least.”
Zamush folded his arms over his chest with a tight smile. “How do you know that’s what I meant to do?”
“Ha!” Qhasheik snorted. His extra limb put the slim device he clutched on the counter he’d been under. His focus never strayed from Zamush. “The minute I saw you, I could tell you were just like her.” The deep purple of his skin reflected the low light of the ship when he cocked his head. “Hmm, interesting. Except, where she has an icy vibration, you’re more like a furnace.”
Zamush didn’t answer.
Qhasheik’s smile widened. “Ah, a man of few words. Good to know.” He gestured to the mess on the console behind him. “Look, I’m under a tight crunch, so spill what you want from me.”
“I’ll not be a prisoner under any circumstances. However, I want to be a part of rescuing Sychar.”
The alien male shrugged.
What a curiously human thing for him to do.
“I don’t have a problem with that. It’s Abiditan and Katsuki you have to convince, not me.” He grabbed an oblong cylinder with his hand. Without looking, he pushed something on the bottom until the blinking green light became steady. “So, are you telling me you’d willingly exchange yourself for Sychar?” He looked Zamush up and down. “You don’t strike me as the martyr type.”
Zamush smiled and made sure the length of his fangs showed. “You’re right about that. While you can dangle me at Murduk all you want, it doesn’t mean I’d let it go any further.”
Qhasheik threw his head back with a deep laugh. His open mouth showcased a double row of upper and lower fangs. “Yeah, I think I’m gonna like you, bro. I’ll back you up if you help me with Jelena. Lately she’s been obsessed with Sychar, and it’s taking an unhealthy turn. She’s convinced herself the man will fall in love with her at first sight. Can you imagine anything that asinine happening?”
Of course Zamush could. That’s what happened to him when he first met the delectable Jelena. Having a rival didn’t bother him one bit. Nothing worthwhile was ever easy. He uncrossed his arms and let the male talk.
The guy twirled the oblong cylinder between his fingers. “She’s like a daughter to me, and I’d hate to see her hurt.” He narrowed an eye at Zamush and gestured with the tool. “And I think you’re just the man to make her think twice about her poor choices. Besides–” He shrugged. ”–I’d also need you to help me keep the others from taking themselves too seriously. Having you in the mix will keep everyone on their toes. What we’re gonna do may be next to impossible, but hey, no reason we can’t keep things interesting at the same time.”
The tension crimping the back of Zamush’s neck loosened. This guy reminded him of his brother Pete. “Agreed. Are you opposed to me having a conversation with your other two companions?”
“Hell, no.” Qhasheik dropped to the floor and poked his horn-rimmed head under the black hole of the console with the blinking cylinder clutched in one hand. “As a matter of fact, you’ll find Katsuki in one of the cargo bays organizing the supplies.” The male’s voice was muffled under the machinery as he gave directions. “I don’t suppose I could talk you into giving her the compulsion to bark like a dog whenever I say, ‘Good girl, Lassie’?”
Zamush clasped his hands behind his back with a snort. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Ha! Listen, when you’re done with those two, come back here. I could use some help.”
Zamush headed for the door. “Sure. I’ll be right back.” That same red streak zipped by his head, too fast for him to tell what it was. He turned to ask Qhasheik if he saw it, but the male was buried under the console, cussing up a streak.
Well… hell. He’d better keep his eyes open and his senses alert. No telling what that was.
It didn’t take long for Zamush to reach the cargo bay in the lower portion of the ship. On the way, he discovered what the red streak was. It turned out to be some kind of lizard. That is, if a lizard was bright apple red, had six legs, four pink eyes, and ears like a bat.
The strange creature followed him onto the ship’s elevator.
Qhasheik assured him neither Katsuki nor Abiditan would be in that part of the vessel, so why not make life easier and use the damn thing? Katsuki should be in the lower cargo bay, and on the other side of the ship, Abiditan worked on a project in the kitchen galley.
Leaving the elevator, he and his new friend entered a corridor leading to the cargo bay. The hallway was round and wider than the other parts of the ship he’d been on.
Down the middle of the passageway, a bright light spilled through an open door.
Making sure his footsteps were silent, he crept to the edge and peeked in. With detached interest, he observed how Katsuki’s rich-chocolate, shoulder-length hair complemented the brilliant-yellow color of her skin tone. She still had on the same indigo suit from earlier that made him think of a character out of a steampunk novel. Her back was to him, checking whatever was in the coffin-shaped open bin. She swiped and tapped something on the screen and the lid closed.
The container lifted and floated to the top of a similar crate nestled against the back wall.
By the time she turned her attention to another box, he was behind her. Without a word, he swung her around, catching her pupilless teal eyes in his gaze.
Her gasp was cut short.
Whenever he captured someone in enthrallment, he’d gently probe their minds to ensure he didn’t overwhelm them. He didn’t have to worry about this one. Her mind was strong. He nudged a little more force into the compulsion until she was under his control.
To make his bite as painless as possible, he infused a sense of pleasure into her as his mouth dropped to the beating pulse at the cool skin on her neck. His fangs lengthened. With one quick stab, he pierced her delicate skin.
