Page 30 of Cops in Space
“Kinda like a really fat snake with fur,” I replied. “In their culture, it’s like saying your mother does it with animals.”
Cynical amusement filled his eyes. “I see. You won’t be saying that again, will you?”
“Nope. It really pisses them off.”
“Good.” Uncle Saul ran the healing wand over my face.
My shoulders sagged as the pain faded away. “Thanks.”
Uncle Ben pushed a cart with a side of elk on it into the room. “Where do you want it?”
Nix jumped on top of the elk and started chowing down.
“Never mind. The kid’s got one hell of an appetite.”
Keeping an eye on Nix, I warned, “A hungry Katanic is a very dangerous creature. It would be a good idea to have boxes of jerky stored in here, just in case one pops in.”
“I’ll put that on my to-do list,” Uncle Ben said.
Gita chased after a scorpion.
“No! No! No!”I quickly stomped on it.“We don’t eat scorpions. They’re poisonous. If they sting you, you get very sick. Stay away from them.”
Gita skittered up to my shoulder.“Kay.”She stroked a leg against my face.“You know? Me bite. You die.”
“What?”I drew on Kaelen knowledge. Shit! If a baby tabor bit you, you were dead before you hit the floor. I shared the information with Uncle Saul and Uncle Ben.
They both stared at Gita in wary disbelief.
“Me hungry,”Gita whined.
Uncle Saul’s gaze focused on the far wall. “I can sense a portal forming.”
“I’ll take Gita out to the garden.”Uncle Ben scooped her off my shoulder and bolted.
“Coward,” I called after him. “And don’t lose her.”
My only response was a door clanging shut.
A brilliant orange glow popped into existence in the corner and spun rapidly. I shielded my eyes as bolts of green lightning crackled wildly around the walls.
“Does it always form like that?” Uncle Saul asked.
“Pretty much. It reminds me of a freakish tornado from one of those disaster movies.”
A vortex formed. Twenty seconds later, Qa’a rolled out pulling Xyler, Jaxor, Dad, Kaelen and Captain Zan behind him.
Surprise. Surprise. Captain Zan was wearing armor this time. What I wanted to know was, what the hell was he doing here?
Taking one look at my face, Kaelen and Dad rushed over to me.“Who beat you?”
“Commander Zot and the Minister of War. They’re both very dead and it’s not as bad as it looks,”I replied.
Kaelen scanned my face.“Your nose was broken, along with a cheekbone and your concussion hasn’t fully healed yet.”He pulled out his healing wand.“If you will continue healing her face, General, I will concentrate on the concussion.”
Uncle Saul nodded but his attention was fixed on Xyler and Jaxor.
I hid a smile. Meeting an Askole for the first time was a bit unnerving.“General Jones I would like to introduce you to Xyler and my son Jaxor.”
