Page 31 of Interlude

“If you want to use this little one as a fuck toy, I firmly applaud you. Maybe I’ll have a turn once you’re done. I’m sure the warlock won’t mind. I’ve heard they like to share their harem and feed off the lust it creates, but you can do it back at the ship. I don’t want anything to happen to her if you get bored. She is an asset to this operation, and when she’s back to full power between her and the warlock, we should be able to harvest well above our quota for the season.”

The being’s hand tightens on my shoulder, and I feel the air around us chill significantly. Goosebumps break out over my skin, and a shiver of terror runs down my spine.

“Oh fuck.” Elm backs away, holding his hands up. “I have nothing to do with this. You can do as you please. I have no quarrel with you.” He makes a very smart choice. Too bad the same can’t be said about Oak.

Oak still hasn’t caught on to the danger right in front of him, but Elm backs far enough away so he’s now in the clearing.

“Go,” the being behind me intones, and Elm disappears in a wave of light, transporting to the safety of the ship.

Oak just crosses his arms and raises an impatient eyebrow. “Well, come on then.”

Now it’s just the three of us in the clearing, and I watch with horrified fascination as the green barrier that had been keeping us protected throughout the day starts to shrink, but Oak doesn’t even notice.

He just taps an impatient foot, like he’s dealing with two unruly toddlers. Fuck, can’t he feel that ominous chill that resonates from the male behind me? I’m practically paralyzed with terror, even though I know I am not the focus of his anger.

The green barrier shrinks farther, and the sounds of nature that have been missing all day finally start to reach my ears. Terrifying yips and howls punch the air as the wind kicks up and starts to rustle the halla bushes, causing a few missed fruits to fall off here and there, littering the ground beneath them with orange blobs, because they split on impact.

Oak finally seems to catch on to the fact that he is in danger. He drops his arms and looks around as the barrier continues to shrink. It’s only just surrounding the three of us now, and I can see the flupkups. They are worked up into a frenzy, a mass of writhing, energetic fur with overactive salivary glands and snapping teeth. They sound even scarier than the howls and yips, because they are kind of purring—a sound you expect to come from an overindulged, relaxed house cat. I have no doubt that if the barrier shrinks more, we will be devoured. I step back, feeling the being’s body behind me, but I’m too scared of the furious Furbies to worry about who or what the creature behind me is. He made it pretty obvious that he means me no harm.

Unable to look away, I watch the green barrier shrink. Oak yelps and takes a step toward us. Master Z wraps his arms around my waist, yanking me against him, and takes another step back, shrinking the magic barrier even more. The scents of orange blossom and cedar reach my nose, and I relax again. The fragrance is comforting and slightly arousing, but I’m still alert to the danger occurring directly in front of me.

Oak shrieks as a bright blue flupkup latches onto his wooden arm. He shakes it hard and steps back into the circle of the magic barrier, the flupkup disintegrates on contact. His arm drips with a sappy-looking substance, which I’m assuming is his blood.

“Please don’t,” Oak begs, but I can see in his eyes, he’s resigned to his fate. He shouldn’t have spoken to a more powerful being, one who controls his safety like that. Even the naive Earth girl recognizes the truth in that.

The being gathers me closer to him, his touch gentle in a way I hadn’t expected. I’m still unable to make out any of his features, his arms draped in that blasted cloak, but I feel safe and comfortable, so I don’t struggle.

The barrier winks out of existence in a flash, and the flupkups pounce, Oak disappearing in a swarm of brightly colored fur. His screams are piercing and horrifying, and I feel a tear leak down my cheek as they cut off. I’m not sure he deserved that punishment, but I have come to understand the galaxy doesn’t work like Earth does, and these kinds of reactions and punishments are normal and expected to keep your reputation and power base. I stay quiet and watch until the swarm finishes devouring their meal before disappearing throughout the halla bushes, not paying one lick of attention to either of us.

“I’m sorry you had to witness that,” Master Z murmurs behind me, not really sounding sorry at all.

“I’m sorry he was an idiot who overestimated his worth,” I reply, and I hear him chuckle.

“Come on, let’s get you somewhere more comfortable, and then we can talk.” We dissolve into particles as he teleports us away from the halla field, and I can’t help feeling excited that I might finally get some answers.

Lila

When our bodies reform, we are inside a rustic but stylish log cabin, with stone and timber walls, and a vaulted roof with timber beams. There are a couple of skylights that allow the remaining twilight inside, but the sun is slowly disappearing, and I know night is creeping up on us.

The arm around me drops as I take in the rest of the space. Stretched out in front of me is a large, open room full of plants on just about every surface, including the walls. Down the far end, I see a low to the ground mattress, surrounded by thick curtains that are currently tied back. There are two doors on the right side of the bed, so I’m guessing a bathroom and closet. Off to the right of the room is a small kitchen with a wood stove for cooking and a hand pump for water. I guess there is no power here on this planet. In the middle of the room is another large, sunken area, and this one is filled with plants and a full-sized tree, where one of the branches has grown to be a chair. The ground surrounding it is dark dirt. There’s a small bookcase, also made from one of the branches of the tree with a few books as well as a lantern with a fat candle inside it. To the left is nothing but panels of glass, providing an unobstructed view of the forest I can see outside.

“Are you hungry?” he asks quietly as he steps away from me. I whirl around to face him, but he’s still covered by the cloak. He claims he isn’t deformed, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

“I’m starving actually,” I reply, my stomach making an embarrassingly loud rumble. I slap a hand over it and blush.

“Well, why don’t you show me your real form, little mimic, and maybe I’ll show you mine?”

There’s a stunned silence between us as I process what he just said. Crap, he knows I’m a mimic.

He chuckles. “There is very little I don’t know,” he tells me immodestly. “You are welcome to stay in this form, but you need to submerse yourself in the soil while I find us something to eat.”

He waves a hand, and the soil in the sunken area flows back, revealing a body-sized space, kind of like a shallow grave. My nose wrinkles up.

“If you are worried about your need for sex if you change your mimic form too often, then we can get your mates back here to help you,” he says matter-of-factly.

“Only one of them is my mate,” I mutter, weighing my options.

“Hmm.” He sounds skeptical. “That may only be a technicality. The threads of your soul are already melding with the Aaz’axian. It isn’t as strong as the ones with your warlock. They are unbreakable.”

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