Page 20 of Abalim

Just before a sense of claustrophobia choked him, Abalim stumbled into a free zone, right in front of a round table on a raised dais. And there in the middle, with her back to the wall and her arms resting on the backrest, was a breathtaking alien female.

Her wide, almond-shaped blazing eyes of emerald were laser focused on him. As he stood at the end of her table, she gave him a knowing smirk.

“I hear you want to go to Qorath.”

The arresting female tapped her finger on the backrest of the round table. “Good thing you showed up when you did. My crew and I were getting ready to leave.” She pulled her hands down and leaned on the opaque table, clutching her fingers together.

Abalim had no idea what to expect when he was told to have this captain take him to Qorath. But as he approached the large table, the sight of the alien female took his breath away. She had an extraordinary lustrous beauty.

Her coral-colored skin glowed in the flickering light of the room, highlighting brilliant-green eyes that sparkled like jewels. She wore tight tan leather pants visible through the clear table, revealing a figure almost too good to be true.

Did she have any special powers, or were all her successes based purely on cunning?

He hesitated, opening his senses to focus on her. While he couldn’t read her mind, he sensed her emotions. The main sentiment coming from her was a calm acceptance mixed with a bit of excitement. Like he was the answer to something she’d searched for.

Saphira smiled as she held onto a delicate chain hanging around her neck that reached to the middle of her bountiful breasts. She looked him up and down before her expression turned thoughtful. “You may prove to be useful.” Her fingers trailed to the end of the long necklace.

It was hard to tell what it was made of. The shimmering metal changed color and density with each of her caresses. The sparkling gem was a thumb-size teardrop with a magenta glow when she passed her fingers over it.

“I am more than happy to take you to Qorath since the Xeltrians have given us permission to do so.” She narrowed her eyes. “The only stipulation for you to come on board is you stay away from the ship’s computers and the restricted areas of the ship. Agreed?” Her full lips pursed as her head tilted. Her direct gaze left no doubt she’d hold him to his agreement.

Hmm,this was too easy. It didn’t take a psychic to know she had some hidden agenda. Either about him or something about Qorath. He didn’t sense any threat from her or from the small creature that brought him to her. Still, it was better to remain cautious.

“Agreed.” Abalim made sure his posture was nonthreatening. “One thing, though.” He tapped his opposite shoulder as a signal to the small bot to show himself. “This is my companion, JR15. He’s a personal drone who has to come with me.” He wasn’t asking for permission.

JR15 scuttled from under the dreadlocks and stood at the end of Abalim’s shoulder. The little guy quivered but kept silent.

Saphira tapped her gleaming fingernail of dark brown on her plump lips. She studied the spider-shaped droid. “I see no reason you cannot bring it. However.” The gaze in her brilliant green eyes narrowed. “It, too, will stay out of our systems. If it is found on any part of the ship without your presence, I will destroy it immediately.” She sat back with one side of her lips curving into a satisfied smirk. “That is, after I’ve drained it of all its data. That clear enough for you?”

Well, there went that idea. It wouldn’t be worth satisfying his curiosity about Saphira and her crew by sending JR15 out to investigate. “Absolutely.”

She gave him another hard look before tilting her head to glance at someone behind him. “Gilipthor, take…” She swung her head back to look at him.“ByIchor’s Holdings!What’s your name, boy?”

Boy? Abalim raised his left eyebrow. Even though he’d been created over seven thousand years ago, his physical appearance was at least on par with the female in front of him. “My name is Abalim.” He gave her a slightly respectful bow of his head. “And I’m from the planet Earth.”

Her nose scrunched as she pushed back a lock of her metallic-gold hair.

He hadn’t seen a pure color like that since he and his brothers were given instructions on how to mine for the mineral in South Africa after they’d been created. Continuing his covert examination, he noticed her hair was short at the sides and the back, but carried a long panel draped over the side of her head that curled around her right breast.

“Okay, Abalim from Earth. Just follow Gilipthor and he’ll get you settled in our ship, theGalactic Serpent.”

“Youse be comin’, Cap’in?” The wiry creature covered his bald head with the hood of his cloak.

Saphira gave a wave of dismissal. “Yes, yes.” From her jacket pocket, she pulled out a small device that fit into the palm of her hand.

The exterior was a smooth and seamless oval, devoid of any visible buttons or switches. Faint patterns of luminescence gracefully flowed across the surface.

It reminded Abalim of the gentle ripples of a tranquil lake.

“I’ve got to check on a couple of things first. Then I’ll be right there.” She glanced up. “Wait until I join you before you introduce him to the crew.” Her full coral lips pursed into a mischievous smirk. “I’m sure they’re going to love him.”

As Abalim followed the quick waddle of the scurrying Gilipthor through the crowd, he sent a mental message to his brother Asmodel to let him know he was leaving. His brother gave him an affirmative, if not distracted, acknowledgment. Looked like little brother was hot on the trail of a clue to where one of the women was. If he needed help, he could either contact their eldest brother on Akurn or have his JR unit do the same. It was quite disconcerting that the five of them would be thousands of parsecs separated from each other. They’d never experienced that great a distance apart from each other before. If he was honest, he couldn’t decide if he was excited or terrified. Probably a bit of both.

“Is the ship far from here?” His footsteps splashed in pockets of dirty puddles as they walked through the decrepit streets of FiPan. The rancid odors streaming from the ground made his nose wrinkle. While he couldn’t imagine himself as fastidious as the modern population of Earth, even back in ancient times when he was a slave, he never had to endure filth like this.

“Non,” the creature replied, looking over his shoulder at Abalim. “Any gear youse need to pick up?”

Abalim gave him a crooked smirk. He never needed to carry anything since he could create whatever he needed with his psychokinesis. The only thing he couldn’t create was his trusty companion, JR15. The only other thing he needed was a sentimental talisman he’d created when he was a child.

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