Page 8 of Abalim

Shivers ran rampant as Lisa’s vision blurred in and out. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she muttered as they helped her sit on something hard. Must be one of the cots against the wall.

“It’s okay.” Izzy’s soft voice pierced through the fog. “I’m sure you’ve been through a lot. Listen to my voice and let me guide you.” She used a soothing tone with nonsensical words that didn’t have to be understood for them to be effective.

Lisa swallowed with a dry throat. Her face heated. Well, wasn’t she the poster girl for a badass warrior woman? How embarrassing. Here she wrote about fearless women, and at the first hint of trouble she fell apart like a simpering sot from a Gothic novel.

“Here, drink this.” Toni held out a small, clear metal cup. “It’s just water.”

“Yeah, nothing fancy here at Chez de Slammer.” Morgan humphed. “Wait till you taste the cuisine. It’s to die for.”

Chapter Two

Sittingintheconferenceroom on the hidden moon city of Azadi, Abalim rubbed his temple with absentminded diligence. After enduring a week-long voyage in space from Hiigar back to Earth in the small scuttle jumper the Akurns provided, he ended up with a stifling case of claustrophobia. And now that he was “home”, he sat in an underground city on the moon instead of being under the wide-open skies of Earth he yearned for. Which didn’t help the suffocating sensation squeezing his chest.

He glanced up, taking in the soft orange glow of the conference room with its glass dome and lattice decorations outside, as if the person who designed the place wanted to give it a sense of openness. Too bad they failed. Nothing replaced the blue sky he craved.

“So, it's settled then.” The Federation Chancellor, D’zia E’etu, announced with a silent pound of his fist on the table.

Since the image was a hologram, no sound accompanied the act.

Abalim forced his attention back to the discussion.

“The four of you will go to FiPan and see what you can find out about those missing women. If you need any further assistance, don’t hesitate to ask.” He sat back with a wave. He and the other holograms from Zerin disappeared.

Abalim glanced from his eldest brother Adapa to the others sitting at the round table. How Adapa and Inanna kept the Akurns who ran the city of Azadi out of this discussion was a mystery. But the only ones in the room were him and his four brothers along with Queen Inanna. Nary a human in sight.

Even Adapa and Inanna’s five sons were missing. How interesting.

He squirmed as Adapa stared at him with his mouth fixed in a stern line.Dammit.He never could keep anything from his older brother. Just before he landed, Abalim decided he’d rather discuss with his family the other threat headed their way before telling the entire galaxy about the incoming Krystalii from another dimension.

“Doesn’t anyone else find it weird that only four women are missing?” Asmodel’s distinctive hazel eyes, with their mixture of browns, greens, and a starburst of gold crinkled at the corners, twinkled in their depths with mirth that matched his smirk. “And there just so happens to be four of us with nothing better to do?”

“Well—” his sister-in-law, Queen Inanna, sat back and touched her fingertips together. “—we don’t know for sure they’re the only ones missing. We have to wait until the Zerins check with each and every human who boarded their ship to verify they’re all accounted for.”

“I thought theStarChancewasn’t the only ship that participated in the Exchange. Are they the only ones who seem to have encountered that particular problem?” Arakiba observed.

“Damned careless, if you ask me.” Adapa muttered. “When they first approached us about offering human woman to join the Exchange, we shouldn’t have assumed they had everything under control.”

“I don’t know”—the reserved one of the group, Azazel, spoke in a soft tone—“no matter how diligent anyone thinks they are, those who wish to benefit themselves, even at the cost of others, are prevalent everywhere. No matter how much you trust those working with you.” The pointed tips of his ears darkened as he spoke. The man didn’t like to be the center of attention, even if it was only the six of them. “I’m sure they had no idea about the betrayal as it happened.”

“Since it was under the Prince of Zerin’s watch, I’m sure they took every precaution they could to ensure the women’s safety.” Inanna offered. “Or he would’ve taken immediate action.”

“I’m sure the deceased Chancellor U’unk took advantage of the prince being under exile to install his operatives to disrupt the prince’s bid to get back into his father’s good graces.” Abalim shrugged. “That’s how bad guys work.”

The image of the Krystalii he’d met on Hiigar popped into his head. He rubbed his temple and looked down at the table. Maybe he shouldn’t bring it up in front of the others. If he got Adapa alone, they could discuss…

“Knock it off, Abalim.” Adapa’s voice held little humor. “Just tell us what’s got your panties twisted into a knot.”

Abalim frowned. It was hard to understand Adapa sometimes. The slang the man picked up in this new century baffled the hell out of him. A lot. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He glowered at his brother sitting across from him. I need to speak to you alone.He told him telepathically on a private stream the others couldn’t access.

Oh, please.That wasn’t Adapa. Abalim’s startled gaze swung to Arakiba.You only thought we couldn’t hear you. Dumbass.

What he said.Asmodel said as he and Azazel nodded with identical smirks on their annoying mugs.

Well, fruk.Abalim tugged on his earlobe.

“Iknowyou people aren’t talking without including me in the conversation.” Inanna’s delicate blonde eyebrows rose over her bright-turquoise eyes. She crossed her arms under her bountiful breasts and frowned.

“They are.” Adapa gave them all up. Wuss. “Not me, my dove.” He scooted his chair closer to her and put his arms around her slender shoulders. “I would never do that.”

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