Page 93 of Defying the Relic Hunter

He strode over to us. “How much chocolate are you packing?”

“Enough,” I said.

“Were all those trips to the candy store necessary?” Quinn demanded.

Xenia and I said in unison, “They were.”

A brilliant golden light popped into existence. We all took two steps back and shielded our eyes.

Out of a spinning vortex slithered a living nightmare also known as a Gorum. Raj had a long, white tubular body and two eyestalks with bright yellow orbs. Around his head were wormy growths that never ceased twisting with a peculiar life of their own.

Yikes! I had been expecting a small snail-like creature, but Raj was as big as a horse.

Her hand on the butt of her laser pistol, Xenia kept a wary eye on the Gorum.

Uncle Saul stepped forward.“Raj, it’s been too long.”

A deep voice sounded in my head.“Far too long. We appreciate your assistance in capturing Ceti.”

Oh ick. The way his orbs rolled about was downright creepy.

Raj’s eyestalks rotated towards me.“And you are?”

I looked behind me. Was he talking to me?

“This is Kizzy, my mate,”Ethan said, his hand clamped painfully on my shoulder.

Wincing, I gave a slight curtsy.“It’s an honor to meet you, your highness.”

“Just Raj. You’re not a Jones, are you?”

“No, before I was adopted into the Jones clan, I was a Dragos.”

“Ah, the band of thieves. You should make an interesting addition to the Jones clan,”Raj stated.

He had no idea.

Bolts of green lightning crackled wildly around the parking lot. An instant later, a swirling orange glow transformed into a roiling funnel cloud. It spat Adan out. His tentacles acting like feet, he ambled over to Raj.

The growths around Raj’s neck lengthened and stretched toward Adan.

I edged closer to Ethan. “Please tell me they aren’t getting ready to fight.”

“No, this is their version of a handshake,” Ethan replied as their tentacles met.

Adan’s tentacle twisted around Raj’s.“Qa’a will honor the Proxima treaty.”

“Bebo acknowledges your claim on Gliese 710 and will honor the Proxima treaty,” Raj stated.

Adan bobbed his body.“Ceti has been tracked to these mountains.”

“Excellent.”Raj released his tentacles and turned to Uncle Saul.“Let the hunt begin.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

The hunt for the gold started way back in 1539 when Conquistador Francisco Coronado tramped across the southwest for four years searching for Cibola, the fabled seven cities of gold. What he and the other treasure hunters didn’t realize was there were no seven cities of gold. There were seven caverns of gold.

Aztlan, the Aztec’s legendry homeland, was located beneath the Superstition Mountains. All I had to do was find the way in.

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