Page 73 of Guardian's Heart

I grabbed hold of one end and pulled it away from him, contemplating if I should empty a dish of water over him to wake him, but again, Uncle Boon came to mind.

Just let him thrash it out, honey, Daddy had said when I asked him what to do while Uncle Boon was trashing the trailer, turning furniture upside down, and throwing glasses against the wall.

"Zaarek!" I yelled, starting to become frightened despite myself.

His eyes popped open, and for one scary moment, he didn't seem to see me at all, or if he did, he didn't seem to recognize me.

"Nova?" he finally asked groggily.

With a cry of relief, I threw myself forward onto the bed and right at him.

"You scared me. You were thrashing around and must have had a nightmare."

He shook his head as if to clear it; his eyes were still a bit unfocused.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"What were you dreaming of?"

"I…" He looked even more confused. "Something was chasing me… I don't remember what, but I knew it would kill me if it got to me."

"Some kind of monster?"

He shook his head. "I don't remember, but the funny thing… I was running through a forest, similar to the one on Morrakbarr. But the sun and moons were different. There were three moons, one was purple and…" Again he shook his head, and I handed him the blanket, so he could wipe the sweat from his face. "The sun was bright red, I remember that."

"Come, let's get you washed up," I suggested, just as a chirping sound came from his comm. I inspected him.

He motioned for me to go hide in the bathroom, something we had done before when his minder called. I left the door a crack open to hear what they were saying.

"What?" Zaarek barked into the comm.

A man appeared in the middle of the bedroom. Intellectually, I realized that Possedion was only a holograph, but he looked so real as he paced our bedroom; it was uncanny.

"I don’t know what possessed you to have a holostreamer shout out your mission to the universe, but I am supposed to congratulate you from the four conglomerates. So here it is: Congratulations."

Despite his words, a shiver ran down my spine, increasing in intensity with Zaarek's stiffening form. This wasn't good.

"Well, thank you, Possedion, that is the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Zaarek returned. The blanket was thankfully pulled all the way up to his chest, hiding his mating marks, while he leaned back in a seemingly relaxed manner, but I knew him well enough by now: he was coiled for a fight.

"Don’t thank me. I don't know what you're up to yet, but I will find out. This little stunt of yours might have brought in more customers, but I doubted that was your intent."

The figure in the middle of the room linked his hands behind his back and paced in a circle. Giving me plenty of opportunity to study him from all sides.

I didn't know anything about galactical customs, wardrobe, or values thereof, but I imagined the glittering jewel-like adornments sewn into his gown must have cost a pretty penny. So must have the oversized gem studded ring he wore on top of his large head. It looked like a crown, but something told me it wasn't more than a simple fashion statement.

His clothes reminded me of a long dress, gathered in the middle of his torso by an also gem-studded belt, echoing the design of hiscrown; it gathered the cloths, making it impossible to assess his shape.

But by his spindly hands and long limbs, I would have said he was on the rather slim side. Enough so that I was fairly certain Nock could have taken him out.

His oversized head sat precariously on a way too thin-looking neck, which must have been made from steel to keep it up. Slanted, darker green eyes took over most of his face, and three dark points made me assume to be his nostrils while his mouth sat underneath it, formed in a liplessO. His entire form would remind me more of a benign species were it not for the dead, unsympathetic, cold-heartedness pouring out of his pores, perceivable even though he was only a hologram.

"One of your brethren has gone off-grid, and I'll be damned if this happens again on my watch." He stopped his pacing, staring directly at Zaarek. "Whatever you're up to, you will abort it immediately and return to your primary mission, which is rescuing humans in case you have forgotten."

"Or?" Zaarek hissed with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

No, no, keep it together. I tried to will him stay calm.

"Or else you will find out what happens to Space Guardians who disobey us."

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