Page 33 of Courting Mayhem

Papi Sten scrabbled backwards and drew his laser pistol.

“Don’t shoot it. It’s sentient!”

“I don’t care if it is the Queen Mother. Rui trees will eat anything in their path,” Papi Sten countered.

The baby tree crawled over to Canute and wrapped its tentacles around him.

“Just like I said.”

I snorted. “The little guy isn’t eating him, it’s protecting him.”

“I’ll be damned. It is,” Derek said.

“That creature is not coming aboard our ship,” Papi Sten stated firmly and tried to yank the baby off Canute.

The Rui’s feeder roots latched onto Papi Sten’s hand and wouldn’t let go.

With a growl of pain, Papi Sten yanked out his knife.

“Wait! It’s just a baby. Let me talk to it first.”

“A baby that is sucking my insides out,” Papi Sten bellowed.

I gingerly patted a branch. “It’s okay. No one is going to hurt your daddy, but you’ve got to let my daddy go.”

The branches shook wildly, and a distinctnoformed in my mind.

Stubborn little bugger.“Let go. Now!” I commanded in my best mean mother voice.

The wing-like hum sounded in my head again.“Don’t cry. I won’t let anything happen to your daddy or you.” The little sapling suddenly wrapped it tentacles and feeder roots around me. Ballock’s balls.

“We are running out of time,” Derek warned. “Since the tree is attached to Mayhem, she’ll teleport us back to the ship. Sten, you beam the Askole up.”

Papi Sten’s eyes widened. “Teleport?”

“I’ll fill you in later. Let’s get out of here,” I said.

Papi Sten scowled. “That tree misbehaves again, and I’m turning it into kindling.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Papi.”

A glittering blue light engulfed my father and Canute.

The sapling’s branches shook violently.

“Easy. Baby. Easy. Be a good sapling and I’ll take you to your daddy.”

“You ready?” Derek placed his hand on my shoulder.

I nodded and concentrated. There was a flash of black and we were in sick bay. I did a little happy dance. “Goddess, I love teleporting!”

Derek grinned.

The sapling bit me.

“Ouch!” I smacked at the feeder root. “Bad baby. No bite.”

The humming started up again. I could feel her fear. Huh? The sapling was a girl. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

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