Page 53 of Alien in the Attic

“I know. Thank you. Can we go meet them?”

“Of course,” Arccoo said, wiping crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

They reached the platform a few minutes later, just as the transport was docking. Steam hissed, and the door yawned open. Sofia came skipping out with her arms raised. She and Carmen squealed as they hugged and hopped in a little circle. An outsider witnessing the spectacle might have thought they had been away from each other for years as opposed to weeks.

“I have so much to tell you,” Sofia said. She went from squeezing Carmen to standing on her toes to give Arccoo a quick peck on the cheek. “We saw the most incredible things. Did you know the Thryals have their own pyramids? Well, they’re not triangles, they’re these mound things covered in moss, but they are hundreds of thousands of years old and haunted as shit.”

A Thryal man Arccoo did not recognize stepped out of the transport. He appeared stockier than the prince, with wide, young eyes that seemed to be taking in his surroundings with something approaching awe. Visiting the capital for the first time sometimes had that effect on people.

The man nodded in the prince’s direction and began walking over.

“Oh,” Carmen said. “You have a friend?”

“That’s right,” Sofia declared. She motioned for the man to walk faster.

Once he reached them, he bowed to Arccoo and Carmen. “My lords.”

“You don’t have to bow to these goons,” Sofia said. “Well, sis, I’d like you to meet my new friend. We met outside of the marsh catacombs. Turns out he’s as into the spooky stuff as I am. He’s been a fountain of information for a curious tourist like me. Say hi to Zaraq.”

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