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Authors: Juliet Cardin

Tags: #Erotic Romance/Science Fiction

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BOOK: Creature Worlds: Solar Slick
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Chapter 11

We were bid inside by invitation of the king. He led us through the high double doors, introducing himself as King Ranox, Old King Ayon’s son.

“My father died about three months ago,” he explained.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “Though I never had the privilege of meeting him, my father said he was a good man.”

He perked up at the mention of my father. “So your family was from Malenea?”

“Yes, my father was. He met my mother on Zenet. They were both scientists.” I thought it best to refrain from telling him my mother was from Earth.

He raised an eyebrow. “They
were
?”

“Yes, they’re both dead.” I hoped the tone of my voice relayed that I didn’t want to discuss it further.

Being astute, King Ranox nodded delicately and let the matter alone. He led us down a winding stone passageway, a rash of guards following behind at a discrete distance. We passed many doors, all shut tight against our curious eyes until we entered a large room, one that I believe would be called the great hall.

Taking the exalted seat at a long wooden table upon a raised dais, the king bid us to sit with him. No one, besides the half-dozen or so guards and a handful of servants were in the room. It seemed strange, this giant castle, practically empty from what I’d seen so far.

Probably sensing my curiosity, King Ranox waved his hand about the room. “As you can see, we are but a skeleton crew here. We don’t get many guests I’m afraid.”

I smiled politely but refrained from commenting. When the silence dragged on I decided to say something. “Is there a village nearby? One named Eithur? It’s where my father grew up.” Tigg and I would have liked to go there directly, but being new arrivals and therefore viewed with suspicion, our escort brought us directly to the kingdom. I should have figured as much.

The king smiled immediately. “There is a village by that name. Right on the edge of Malenea and Tasure, the second kingdom. I have been there.”

No doubt keeping an eye on future recruits.
“My father said he enjoyed growing up there.” I was being polite. He
had
enjoyed his earlier years, he’d said. But at the age of fifteen he’d been drafted into Malenea’s army. It’d been a terrible dose of reality and brutality for the starry-eyed young man who’d dreamt of peace and uniting the worlds. Both of my parents had shared the same dream. It’d been what had drawn them to each other.

“What was your father’s name?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Oh boy! Me and my big mouth. Please don’t remember him…please don’t remember him.
“Haddon Bain.” My father had served his tenure and—when other Ventillians were making the army their life career—high-tailed it out of here as fast as he could. He’d had grand visions of himself as a scientist and hadn’t been shy about his dreams. Going to university far away on another planet was next on his agenda. Nothing would sway him from his path. His choice wasn’t well received in this military world. He was called a traitor and branded an outcast by some of the men he’d served with. He’d vowed never to return.

And he hadn’t.

“Hmm,” the king pondered. It’d been over twenty-five years since my father had left. Hopefully long enough to be forgotten. “No. I can’t recall the name.”

I kept my relief in check.

Servants began bringing out what I assumed to be the evening meal. The light had been dimming when we arrived, the time here being near evening I assumed. It was hard to keep my days and nights straight, having been on four different planets in the past couple of days. When I had a moment, I’d have to figure out how much time we actually had left before Clay became suspicious. Not that it mattered much, since we weren’t going back.

One of the servants stood before the table with a tray laden with food, which thankfully did not look to be flies. Whatever it was, it appeared more appetizing than the freeze-dried stuff we’d been forced to dine on. Tigg dug in with gusto after a wave of encouragement from the king. I tentatively picked at my own plate, my nervous stomach dampening my appetite. Why was the king being so considerate? I wondered. I knew this place to be a military stronghold, one of the fiercest kingdoms on this planet, and yet the king of Malenea himself was entertaining us. My instincts were telling me that all was not as it appeared to be.

“You said your parents met on Zenet?” the king asked me. “And they were scientists?”

“Yes,” I agreed uneasily.

“Were they working on something specific?” he probed.

Part of me felt he already knew the answer to his question. Damn it! Why had I added that little detail? I seemed to feel the need to jabber on when I was anxious. “They never said.” I met his gaze unflinchingly.

“They’re big on harmony between man and nature on Zenet,” Tigg said, recalling what I’d told him. “They probably worked on stuff like that.”

The king shrugged his shoulders. “I guess we’ll never know.”

“No,” I agreed.

When we finished the meal, the king insisted we stay at the castle. Not wanting to remain, I tried to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but he said there was a curfew on aircraft. It was conveniently too late for us to leave now. We were shown to a single room—the king obviously deciding we were a couple—and bid ‘goodnight’ by a servant.

Tigg went over and sat down on the large bed that dominated the small space. “Is it just me or does this place give you the creeps?”

I went over and sat down beside him. “No, it’s not just you.” His arm came up around my shoulders and he pulled me close against his chest. Like a child I nestled up to him, inhaling his familiar scent and drawing strength from his nearness. “First thing tomorrow, we need to get out of here. We can head for Eithur, the village my dad grew up in. He said it was decent there.”

“Think they have an inn or someplace we can stay?”

“I dunno. Money is a problem though. We don’t have any.”

“I can work. Maybe I can get a job?” Tigg said. I could feel his eyes on me. “You seem extraordinarily concerned.”

“If they find out I’m half-human I’m afraid what they might do,” I whispered.

“Why are you whispering?”

“What if they’re listening? Someone could be shrunk down and hiding in a crack in the floor right now.”

Tigg looked around guardedly. “You think they’d spy on us?” His voice was lowered to a whisper now too.

“I dunno. The king seemed to be unusually accommodating for some reason. I think he’s suspicious of us—or at least of me.”

“Even if you are only half Ventillian, you’re still partially one of them. That should count for something.”

“I suppose,” I agreed. “But, my father was drafted at fifteen into the Malenea army. Once he’d served his mandatory tenure he decided to leave Ventillia altogether. That was practically unheard of, so he was mocked and treated like an outcast. Though the king says he doesn’t recall his name, he could be lying.”

“Why?”

“To lull me into a false sense of security so I may slip up and reveal something.”

“Like what your parents were working on?” Tigg guessed.

“Exactly.”

“I don’t understand.”

I put my lips to his ear. “The cure would mean a great deal to Ventillia. Have you noticed that no one seems to be shifting here?”

“I did notice,” Tigg agreed.

“That’s because they can control it here. Probably lots of other places too. The only place for sure that I know they can’t control it is on Earth.”

“Really? That’s fascinating.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why, but that little glitch is probably what saved Earth from being completely run over by Ventillian’s.”

“I don’t know anything about the war,” Tigg said.

Keeping my voice low and my eyes wary of any signs of movement in the room—tiny though it might be—I told him what I knew. “Ventillia greeted a small ship of humans over twenty years ago unaware they had been on Earth’s radar for some time. Earth had been checking out Ventillia because of its ideal atmosphere for human habitation. They tossed the idea around about colonizing, thinking it was a vacant planet, but the closer they looked, they noticed it was inhabited. The medieval appearance was appealing because they figured the planet was primitive and could be conquered easily. When they got here, however, they saw that they were wrong. Ventillia’s technology rivaled Earth’s, and the Ventillians, though hospitable enough, made it clear they would not welcome an invasion. The humans weren’t aware of the Ventillians’ ability to shift from man to spider. So when the ship returned to Earth, they unknowingly brought along a few castaways. The Ventillians, not trusting of humans, had decided to see what they were up against. While on board they learned the humans planned to return with force and take over Ventillia. The Ventillians didn’t plan on being exposed on their stealth excursion, although, they were unaware of the effects Earth would have on them. They shifted back and forth, unable to control it. But before they were discovered and caught, they did a lot of damage, sabotaging stuff, making it difficult for humans to return to Ventillia. Once the Earth ships were repaired, the first thing they did was return the Ventillian bodies to their home planet. That’s how the war began.”

Tigg remained silent for a moment or two as he digested my story. “Oh,” he finally said. “That explains a lot.”

“So you can see what could happen if the Ventillians discover our little secret?”

“It could start the war all over again,” Tigg theorized.

“Yes. No doubt with devastating consequences for Earth.”

Chapter 12

Tigg and I curled up together under the blankets on the bed. We refrained from making love in the chance that prying eyes may be watching us. Our conversation was kept to whispers in each other’s ears for fear of exposure. Even despite being warm and cozy wrapped in Tigg’s arms, I still couldn’t quite shake the feeling we were being watched.

“Do you think Dr. Jeneva was wise to make the cure?” Tigg asked.

“I dunno. I can see the reason for all the secrecy though. If he and my parents were close then I guess he trusted them enough to know they only wanted the cure for my family.

“Stuff like this sometimes has a way of falling into the wrong hands.”

Though the thought of Earth doing to Ventillia what it’d done to dozens of other planets was alarming, the thought of Ventillia conquering Earth was worse. Ventillians had gained the reputation of being a terrifying foe to any and all that crossed it. Earth didn’t take their threats too seriously, but all the same, they’d learned their lesson—although it’d taken twenty years of war for it to happen.

The melancholic expression on Tigg’s face revealed he was no doubt thinking about Treox. He’d experienced firsthand what can happen to a planet once it’d been conquered and exploited.

“What was Treox like before the people of Earth came?”

He smiled somewhat ruefully. “Those jungles you despise, they were much more vast and abundant. When I was young, they were home. My brothers and I would roam around endlessly. Teneg and I are very close. Zalix and Helix are younger and followed us everywhere. Our father used to take us on expeditions, and when we were old enough he allowed us to be out on our own for days at a time—living off the land. Life was simple, peaceful. Until they came. The masses started arriving with their huge ships and machinery, razing the jungles to make room for the domes. We weren’t given any choice. There weren’t enough of us to rise up and offer resistance. Earth’s superior technology made them an invincible force. My family fled further into the jungle, but things weren’t the same. After my parents sickened and died, I wanted a change. Hearing work was being offered, many Lizords ventured beneath the domes and gained employment. I was one of them. It’s not ideal. I’d much rather things had remained as they were, but such is the way of life.”

People of Earth arrived on Treox about fifteen years ago. In such a short amount of time a huge transformation had taken place. It was easy to imagine Tigg in his youth. He was still so innocent, unsullied, by the reformation going on all around him. He’d adapted, as had much of the inhabitants. It was either that, or perish, I suppose.

“All that Earth covets so much has been stripped away to the point that Treox clings to its very existence. If things don’t change soon, I’m afraid of what will happen.”

Considering it was the very place Tigg expected us to live and raise our child, it concerned me greatly now as well. “Sometimes I wish space travel wasn’t possible. Then everyone would just have to stay on their own planets,” I said.

Tigg kissed the top of my head. “If it were so, then you and I wouldn’t be together now.”

“Hopefully we can live here quietly under the radar until it’s safe to leave and then we never have to worry about them discovering the cure.” I said. It was a relief to think that Ventillians had probably never even considered that there would be a cure for shifting on Earth. All the same, it was good that I’d left the cure on Zenet.

“Let’s get some sleep and we’ll get out of here at first light.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.”

* * * *

In the morning I got dressed in the same clothes since we’d left my knapsack on the ship. I noticed Tigg’s clothes—the work issue pants and shirt from Treox—were getting pretty stiff. We’d have to do something about our destitute situation soon, especially if we were to remain here for months.

BOOK: Creature Worlds: Solar Slick
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