Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,35

now, however, he was looking around furtively while he made his silent escape.

Where was he sneaking off to?

The male still smelled of the bog water and bits of sediment that clung to him. At some distance from the camp, he stopped and ducked behind a tree. Veral climbed into the tree to give him a better vantage point as he watched his target dig into his bag and pull out a long narrow pipe and a folded white cloth. Sitting down at the base of the tree, the male set the cloth on his thigh and unfolded it review a pinch of tangwal gum.

Veral tilted his head. Tangwal gum was an expensive—and highly addictive—drug and aphrodisiac. It was known to be difficult to obtain except by those who knew the right contacts. It explained why the male had crept away under darkness. The smoke had a distinctive spicy scent and, if one didn’t smoke it regularly and build up a resistance to its side effects, would stimulate an intense sexual arousal.

A plume of smoke rose in the air, and Veral wrinkled his nose at the overbearing stench. This was the perfect opportunity to catch the Blaithari unaware. His muscles tightened, preparing to drop on the male…

“Status report,” Kaylar broke through, interrupting Veral as their private frequency opened in his mind.

Catching himself, he snarled silently as the branch beneath him creaked, making his target jump to his feet and scurry away from the tree. The male’s uncertain eyes flicked around; his pipe clenched firmly in his mouth. Veral stilled among the foliage, glad for its thickness that obscured him as he watched and waited for the male to let down his guard again.

“Stable. We arrived planetside. As expected, the captain, lacking a suitable ship to land in these conditions, had me pilot my own ship down to transport his crew.”

“That is fortuitous. It will make the situation easier. Disable transmissions between the landing team and the pirate vessel, kill the pirates, disable pirate ship, escape. This will be so easy it will be like a vacation. What is your plan?

“We are taking the scenic route.”

“Repeat?”

Veral chuffed to himself. He had already began integrating some of his mate’s more peculiar and colorful phrases.

“Something my mate says that refers to intentionally taking a longer route.”

“That is nonsensical. What does the view have to do with plotting a route?”

“I believe it originally refers to taking routes designed for pleasure rather than expediency.”

“Your humans are an absurd species,” Kaylar scoffed.

Veral could not argue that absurdity was a big part of human culture from what he had gleaned.

“Regardless, going the longer route over the region’s hazardous terrain has been successful in delaying the pirates.”

“Casualties?”

“Only the four males who fed the local wildlife.”

“I am beginning to question whether or not we had the same warrior training, cousin.”

Veral bared his teeth at the open mockery in his cousin’s transmission. His vibrissae whipping around him, he moved through the branches, sliding back toward the opening above the Blaithari who had settled once more against the tree. The pungent smell of the tangwal gum still hung in the air, but it was joined by the overpowering scent of male musk that offended his scent receptors. Glaring down in disgust, he curled his lip at the pirate eagerly stroking himself.

The male began to grunt, his thighs quivering, and Veral’s muscles coiled, his vibrissae sliding through the air as they vibrated. The mate at least had the opportunity to enjoy one last pleasure, though Veral saw more than he ever wanted to of a Blaithari’s genitals.

Dropping down to the pirate’s side, Veral landed in a crouch and slammed back the thick horn jutting out from just above his elbow into his target’s neck. Thick streams of ejaculation splattered on the twitching thighs just barely within Veral’s line of vision. Though the sounds of the nearby nocturnal creatures went silent, the wet, gurgling sound that followed was quiet as the pirate choked on his own blood as he exsanguinated.

Veral yanked his arm forward as he stood, the slurp of the flesh detaching from the horn preceding the soft thump of the body as it fell to the ground. Turning, he glanced at it dispassionately before propping one foot on the side of the corpse and kicking it into the dark, wet soil. He lingered at the edge of the treacherous earth only long enough to watch as the remains slowly sank. Only when it was completely obscured from sight did he turn away