are really men, they are able to reason.”
Ryan simply shook his head in disgust. “So you lured us here to get your hands on a Tygerian? To…hunt him?”
“Yes, in a way. A brilliant idea, wasn’t it? I sent rumors of lost boys to Prince Larz, but so far, he hasn’t come. He sent one of his men the other day—a poor substitute, and I have plans to hunt him as well. He might make good sport. And my lure for King Davos has paid off with his son Mikos showing up. How perfectly delightful. The Bloody Prince is almost as good as Davos.”
“You won’t get away with this. Davos will hunt your ass to the ends of the universe.”
He smiled. “I look forward to that.” He frowned at Ryan and shook his head. “I don’t understand your attitude. My plan is brilliant, and this is all poetic justice in a way. The Tygerians hunted humans. I am half-human, so my blood calls for vengeance. My bearer was Gatifreyan and brought me here when I was a child.” Another far distant scream, and Ryan glanced nervously toward the jungle.
“What plan are you talking about? Hunting Mikos? He’ll kill you!”
“Haven’t I made myself clear? It’s not me he’s going to hunt. It’s you. You’re going to be hunted down by your husband. Only after he’s killed you and suffered for it will I hunt him! He’ll be in such pain when I allow him to transform back and he sees what he’s done. And just in case you do somehow manage to kill him first, I’ll step in and take care of you. It’s a perfect plan.”
“I’m not going to kill my husband. You’re insane.”
“Then you will be dead quite quickly. It’s really up to you, but I must say I’m disappointed. I thought you might have a little fight in you—seeing as how you used to be a soldier.” He sighed. “I suppose being a Tygerian whore has taken its toll on you over the years. Taken away all your fighting spirit.”
“Fuck you.”
“Your anger means nothing to me. I arranged this most carefully, and now you’re interfering with my plan and trying to spoil my fun.”
“You’ll never get away with this.”
“Yes, the prisoners all say that. Tiresome. I think I will ‘get away with it,’ as you say. Afterwards, I’ll notify Davos, who will arrive to find his precious son hunted down and killed. And I will have experienced the ultimate Hunt. I’ll leave here after that, and there will be nothing Davos or anyone else can do about it.”
A loud jangling noise interrupted them, and the commandant looked down distractedly at his communicator. He frowned at whatever he saw. “Pardon me, Consort Ryan. If you don’t mind, we’ll come back to this in a moment. I have a call I need to take, and then we’ll discuss your demise in more detail.”
Ryan snarled at him as he turned his back and held the communicator to his ear. He listened for a moment and then began speaking angrily in Gatifreyan to whoever was on the other end. After yelling into it for a few moments, he turned back to Ryan, his eyes bright with rage.
“It seems we have to delay until I return. The Tygerian I told you about who arrived a few days ago at the penal colony is making trouble. I was aware of him and knew he had to be planted there because of the information I fed to Davos’s son Larz. I’d hoped to lure Larz here as well—but he sent his officer to do his dirty work for him. Now this fool has just taken over an area of the prison to gain my attention and is making outrageous demands, meaning I will have to go deal with him. Perhaps I’ll bring back another Tygerian tiger for you to play with tonight, Consort Ryan. Perhaps he and your husband can fight it out to see who has the honor of tracking you down and killing you.”
“Fuck you.”
“I can see that you’re angry, but my plan is brilliant. I’ll have a wonderful hunt that will end with the death of my enemies—not only Mikos, but you, the human who betrayed the Alliance for a Tygerian beast. Imagine Mikos’s face when he comes back to himself and finds that he’s killed you. I hope you’ll reconsider and try to elude him in the jungle. I’ll even give you a few weapons to help you survive for a day