Page 28 of Game on Askole

The black blur transformed into an elderly Askole wearing a gold tunic and pants made from mesh-like armor. I expected Sariel the High Commander to be bigger. Tihar had a good eight inches on him and outweighed him by fifty pounds. Sariel’s tawny gaze surveyed me intently.

“Hi there. I’m Sarah, and I’ve killed over eight hundred Tai-Kok. Mwah-hah-hah. Want to go antiquing?”I flashed my best demented smile.

Sariel turned to Detja.“Has this female suffered a head injury recently?”

My God, the batshit crazy act was working!

Detja simply said,“She is a Jones.”

The High Commander nodded.“They are fearless and quite unique. It is unfortunate that they are so child-size and weak.”

Say what? Me? Weak?

“The mating dance has begun, Father,”Tihar interjected.

I smothered a gasp as Sariel lowered his mental shields and examined Tihar. Holy crap! Power radiated off Sariel. The High Commander could give the Overlord a run for his money.

“I need a blood sample from the female,”Sariel told Detja.

Detja inclined her head and pulled a knife.

“Whoa! Wait a minute,”I protested.“Can’t we do a simple blood draw?”

“No.”Detja held out her hand.“Give me your arm.”

Well, crap. Running was out, but crazy wasn’t. I bit my finger hard. Damn, that hurt. Once the blood was running down my hand, I held it out to Detja. “Here ya go.”

Without any warning, Sariel scooped me up and stuck my finger in his mouth. His forked tongue slid up and down my finger. I wiggled in his grip. The High Commander was seriously freaking me out.“Tihar? He’s sucking my goddamned finger. I’m not a lollipop.”

“It must be done.”

Sariel suddenly dumped me on the ground.“It is too early to tell if the change has started. I will need another sample in two days.”

“I will see to it,”Detja promised.

The High Commander rattled off something in the Askole native tongue. It sounded like a bunch of guttural grunts and groans and some clucking. Really pissed grunts, groans, and clucking.

Tihar answered him, and zoom! Off they went.

What? Not even a good-bye?

A no-nonsense glint in her eyes, Detja ordered, “Tihar is off-limits. If he approaches you again, you will contact me immediately.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Detja held out her hand.

I took it. Ten seconds later, we appeared on a terrace with my family clustered around tables of food.

“The Overlord and my son have arrived. Stay out of trouble.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She vanished.

Chapter Six

I had to admit, Detja was an excellent hostess.Ifyou followed her rules. It seems Quinn, my dumbass cousin, had gone toe to toe with her and lost. He was used to being the most powerful psychic on Earth. Finding out he wasn’t as strong as he thought had dented his considerable ego.

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