Page 25 of Crossing Quinn

In other words, I’d better behave. “Was there any sign of my father?”

“He wasn’t at the bolt-hole. I retrieved your mother and followed Dolon’s ship. I’m taking both of you to Tanith.”

“The only place I’m going is back to Qeeturah to look for my father.”

Quinn bared his teeth in a smile. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It was a dangerously predatory one. “You don’t have any choice in the matter, darlin’.”

I returned his smile with a taunting one of my own. “Think again, darlin’. You’re outmatched.”

The warlord laughed. “Am I?”

“Hungry,”Clio whined.

Quinn’s hand dropped to his laser pistol.

“Don’t be a wuss. She’s a baby.”

“That baby is capable of eating me whole.”

“True.” I glanced around and spotted an arm. “How about some yummy arm?”

Jumping off my shoulder, Clio scuttled over to the bloody limb and crammed it in her mouth.

Quinn scanned the area telepathically. “I’m not sensing another Katanic shapeshifter.”

“I think the Tai-Kok ate her mother.”

“I’ll contact Detja. She’ll know how to deal with Clio.”

“Do you have anything for her to eat on your ship?”

Quinn suddenly whirled and threw his rather large knife at a Tai-Kok trying to sneak up on us.

The knife impaled hilt-deep in its third eye. Squawking like a demented duck, the Tai-Kok advanced on us.

His expression one of a roused predator, Quinn drew his sword and with one swing severed its neck.

The head rolled to a stop by my feet, and stinky orange blood oozed out.

“I hate these bloody monsters,” Quinn groused as he cleaned his sword on its uniform.

I chuckled. “What do you know. We have something in common.”

Clio squeaked happily and jumped on the bloody skull.

Quinn quickly retrieved his knife before it vanished into Clio’s maw.

A shuttlecraft landed a short distance away. The doors slid open and security troops swarmed out.

I scooped up Clio. “I think we’ve outstayed our welcome.”

“Ya think?” Quinn wrapped an arm around my waist. There was a fleeting second of blackness, and we were standing on the bridge of his ship. I could grow to like teleporting, a lot. He released me and studied the tracking scanners. “Strap in. It’s gonna be a wild ride.”

I hurriedly took the copilot’s chair and fastened the harness around Clio and me. If we were going to survive, Quinn would need my help to fight our way out of Jandjviles’s airspace. “My father trained me on numerous weapons systems, including Coletti armaments.”

“Do you cook?”

Had he been hit on the head recently? “Cook?”

“If you can cook, you would make the perfect mate.” A smile pulled at Quinn’s mouth as he tapped an icon. It was as if was enjoying an immensely private joke.

Was he messing with me? “No. We had a food processer.”

“Too bad. Weapons systems for your console are coming online.”

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