Page 53 of Interlude

I crawl down the bed and join them on the seats we used last night. Outside the glass, I see Zeydan’s murder puppies all on alert. Their ears and tails are up, and their eyes are on the dark forest.

“Yeah, why didn’t you wake me? I definitely overslept. I bet the harvesters returned. We need to meet them at the next field.”

Zeydan shakes his head. “They can’t without me, otherwise they will die. They don’t come down until I send them the okay,” he reminds me, and I feel a rush of panic for Brannock and Xavier.

“Shit, we better get going then.” I look around for the little dress I wore in my other form. I can’t return naked.

Zeydan puts up a hand. “Don’t worry about the harvesters now. Lila, we have another problem. There is a ship in the atmosphere other than the circus’s and the harvesters’ ships.”

“Do you know who it is?” I ask, and he frowns.

“It has a Madovian energy signature.”

I gasp and shudder. That isn’t good. “Do you think the Syndicate sent them? How would they know we were trying to rescue Grandma?”

“I’m guessing that’s why they are there. There is no other reason for them to be in orbit.” Zeydan sounds unconcerned, but I’m starting to panic.

“But how would they know we are here?”

“We weren’t very quiet about what we were doing. They could have found out any number of ways,” Tirrian suggests. “Will the flora and fauna attack them?”

Zeydan nods decisively. “Yes, but Madovians are fairly hardy creatures, much like dragons. Their skin is resilient. If I was expecting any creature to have a chance on my planet, it would be them.”

“I don’t know. Laser beams do a fairly good job of killing them.” I remember what the one we killed on the circus ship looked like after the gun did its job.

“Why don’t we just teleport the stasis box straight back to the ship?” I ask, and Tirrian and Zeydan shake their heads.

“They need specific coordinates to be able to beam it aboard, which means one of us has to be touching it,” Tirrian explains

“Okay, so we teleport directly to it, slap our hands on it, and then we’re back on the ship.” I’m grasping for ideas at the moment, but I seem to be the only one.

Zeydan shoots me down once more. “The surrounding forest is too dense to teleport in. We’re going to have to walk until we get to the clearing the box is in, which is in the very middle of the forest. There was a funny forcefield on it too, which may not allow for teleportation.”

“We’re definitely going to need Ghosie,” Tirrian grumbles, not sounding thrilled with the idea. While he was welcoming and thankful he saved me, Tirrian is still wary of his intentions, especially after Brannock’s bombshell.

“For fuck’s sake, do either of you have suggestions instead of just shooting mine down? What about shooting the Mordovian ship out of the sky? The circus ship has weapons!”

Tirrian grimaces, and I know I’m not going to like what he says. “It’s cloaked, and they have to be able to see it to shoot it down.”

I feel a wave of dejection before a burst of confidence. “Right then, I guess we’re going to have to fight. Tirrian and I can shift into dragon form and burn them all.”

Zeydan winces and shakes his head. “You’ll set the whole forest on fire, and it’s too dense for you to land.”

“But we can make our dragons smaller,” I argue, remembering what Tirrian told me.

“Not that small.” Tirrian shoots another idea down.

“Agh!” I scream, and the murder puppies yip and run inside to see what the problem is. They surround me, whining and pawing at my legs. I reach down and give them little scratches. “It’s okay. I’m just frustrated,” I tell them.

“We’re going to have to call in reinforcements. Can you protect more of us from the creatures?” Tirrian asks, and Zeydan finally gives a positive answer.

“Yes, as long as we don’t drift too far apart, but it isn’t the actual creatures that’s the problem in the death forest, it’s the trees themselves.”

“Was the green circle of magic yesterday your limit?” I ask him, standing up, and he gives me a decisive nod.

“It was about a hundred feet in diameter. Plenty of space for a few others.”

“I don’t know this feet measurement, but I think it’s time to invite some of the others to the party.” Tirrian lifts a piece of cloth that was under his arm on the chair. I’m surprised to see it’s the dress I was looking for, and the communicator that was in the hem is now ripped out.

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