Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,13

hypnotic swirls of hyperspace. “All dead before they even started to collapse.”

“It’s not the venom itself, then. Just that you didn’t spray, after all. It was a dry bite.”

“When I withdrew, the fangs were still spraying. It hit the opposite wall. So, no. Never given a less dry bite in my life.”

Grandmother tut-tuts. “It is of course possible that this species is immune. In a way. Not totally, of course. I saw how crazy she was. I’ve never heard of any such thing, but it’s a big universe.”

I rub my face where she hit me. It’s extremely tender and swelling badly. “Or maybe it’s just her.”

“I told you to not even think about that!” Grandmother says sharply. “It’s blasphemous. Let it go. She’s not a mythical being. She’s just an alien. Meanwhile, if you don’t intend to sell her after all, then you still have a problem with the Gurandu and escaping them.”

It’s my turn to groan. “How long until their hunting licence expires?”

“Seven hundred and six days. Then you’ll be safe.”

Too long, too long. “If they don’t get me first.”

“Which they almost certainly will if you don’t get some funds pretty quickly. If they realize you’re in this region of space, they’ll come charging with everything they have. And you should assume that the Bululg told them you’ve been to that Earth planet.”

I bring up the star map on the display. Lots of stars, lots of planets, but not much commerce.

“There just aren’t that many places in this desolate area to make money. Or to sell anything. I may have to steal another female.”

“Or follow your plan to sell this one.”

“No!” I slam my palm on the control console, hard.

“Very well,” Grandmother says after a moment of shocked silence, clearly taken aback. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

The green light on her housing goes out. She’s in a huff.

And I’m puzzled. The force of my rejection of that idea took me by surprise. It was immediate, and it came from deep within. It’s a thought I can’t bear to think on any level.

I must mate with that alien so that whatever weird spell she’s cast on me will be broken.

7

- Averie -

“Mmm, that’s nice,” I purr, still half inside a very sexy dream where a hundred forked tongues are licking me all over.

Stretching comfortably, I open my eyes.

Huh. The light is redder than usual.

“Shit!”

I sit up, suddenly remembering where I am. The poacher. The spaceship.

The bite.

My hand flies to my shoulder, and there is indeed a sore patch.

That snake guy bit me. He freaking bit me!

Okay, I did maybe hit him first with that metal pipe.

But he abducted me, so it’s the least he could expect.

I’ve been abducted. By a poacher.

And this has to be some kind of holding cell.

I wait for the panic to kick in, but it’s not coming. I’m not even tense, just pleasantly relaxed. I’m not tied up, at least.

Rolling off the bed, I get to my feet and find what has to be the bathroom. It has a whole bunch of various fixtures, some of them so weird I don’t even want to know what they do. But I find some almost recognizable items that allow me to relieve some pressure and even clean myself pretty well.

My stomach muscles ache. I seem to recall that I was laughing a lot, but I can’t remember what was so funny. I remember everything up to the bite, but from there on, everything is hazy.

The cabin is bare apart from the bunk, but there’s a complex, undulating pattern of light moving on all the walls. It feels soothing, somehow.

There’s no window.

But there is a door. It has no knob or visible mechanism. I push it, try to slide it aside with my palms, tell it to “open!” in English and Spaceish and even try a hopeless “Open, Sesamy” with predictable results. Looks like this was only designed to be opened from the outside.

I was right. It is a cell.

Except it doesn’t really feel like one. Not that I’ve ever been inside a jail cell in my life, but wouldn’t it be smaller? This feels kind of lived in.

I turn to the bed and kick at its base. Immediately, a large drawer silently shoots out from under it and hits my shin.

There’s enough space for a mattress and linen, like I’ve seen on Earth. But instead it’s full of various alien objects. Someone’s belongings, no doubt.

I have a vague feeling that this is how people on navy ships