Page 96 of Game on Askole

Sorrow filled me. Did Tihar love me like that? I hoped so, but we had been together for such a short time. It was hard to know if our love was real or an illusion.

Two hours after the ceremonies, the Overlord, Voss, Talree, and Jaylan boarded a warbird and went after Diar. The bad news was, they had left Rho behind to run things while Detja and we girls were meditating. Rats.

I soon learned Detja was a sneaky bitch. She created a crisis on the far side of the planet that required Rho’s attention. The minute his shuttle left, we boarded Yakira’s stealth fighter.

Using a holographic Wulf, we got planetary air command to clear us. When we had passed the last death satellite, I gave Detja the coordinates for Tihar’s location. He was in the rebel stronghold of Sirte, which was located on a frontier planet called Epsilon.

Aunt Tess stared at the map of the stronghold. “Do you think Tihar was captured?”

“No. He spends too much time in a tavern.”

“Maybe he’s undercover,” Kaylee said, bouncing Thor on her knee. Haki, a baby Tabor, was perched on Thor’s head. The little guys had become best buddies during Kaylee’s third trimester.

I blew out a long breath. “I’ve considered the possibility. If he is a spy, we don’t want to blow his cover.”

Bree stroked her cattle prod. “The simple solution is to disguise ourselves, get the lay of the land, and when it’s safe, we zap him.”

“Tihar has to weigh about four hundred pounds. Who is strong enough to teleport him?” Leave it to Aunt Tess to bring up the obvious.

“I am,” Kaylee said. At my doubtful look, she added, “I’ve done it before.”

“Really? That’s gotta be a story.”

“It is.”

Thor clapped his hands.“Kitty.”

My gaze locked on a big, black cat.“That’s no cat; that’s Adan.”

“Adan, show yourself,”Detja commanded.

Adan morphed into his true form. He waved his tentacles around and opened his enormous mouth, exposing his serrated teeth.

Thor squealed in delight.

“Me play with big marble,”Haki cried, scurrying across the floor.

Detja caught him.“No playing with the big marble.”

Adan roared. It was a mixture of howler monkey and dinosaur.

“We’re all properly terrified,”I said with a yawn.

His sticky tongue shot out.

I dodged it.“Not nice.”

His size doubled.“I can eat all of you.”

Not one member of my family flinched, shrieked, screamed, or ran for their lives. That included Musa, KeeKee, and Haki.

Bree triggered her modified cattle prod. A blue electrical current arced dramatically.“If you wanna play, I’m game.”

Adan eyed her warily.

Thor teleported over, grabbed a tentacle, and stuck it in his mouth.

My eyes widened in surprise.“How long has he been doing that?”

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