Page 39 of Courting Mayhem

The Rodan lab was located inside a fish processing ship. It was anchored off a ring-shaped atoll. Dead Rui trees littered the white sand beach.

I studied the shuttle’s viewscreen. “Damn, it’s the Viaqua. I guess the reports of it going down in a storm are highly exaggerated.”

“So, it would seem,”Derek replied, before turning his attention to the Askole.“Did you find any survivors Baelish?”

“All I found were half-humanoid, half-Katanic creatures. I destroyed them,” Baelish answered.

“Katanic!” I exclaimed. “How did the Rodan get their hands on a Katanic shapeshifter and aren’t they very difficult to kill?”

“An excellent question and they are almost impossible to kill,”Poppa Jacob growled.

Baelish puffed up with macho pride. “I am Askole. Killing shapeshifters is not difficult.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Ninety percent of Mallox’s creatures die within the first week. We can assume they were dying when you found them,” Papi Sten said.

Baelish engaged his armor. Black metal flowed seamlessly over his large body and a horned helmet formed on his head. “To argue over how they died is a waste of time. We must find Ina.”

“Is Ina your mate?”Call me curious.

“My sister.”

Poppa Jacob interposed, “How was she captured?”

“They attacked our outpost on Hriya.”

Ballock’s balls. They wouldn’t take just one captive. How many more Askole females did Mallox have to experiment on.“Does Sariel know about this?”

“No. I do not answer to him,”Baelish snarled.

His amber eyes cold with menace, Derek snapped, “Withholding this information puts all of us at risk. I’ve informed the Overlord.”

“Only the weak need a master,” Baelish shot back.

“Your convictions may have cost Ina her life. I hope you can live with that.” I doubled checked my weapons and engaged my armor.Snikt. Schlik.Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik.Within seconds the armor covered me up to my neck. I grabbed my helmet.“Let’s go find her.”

Poppa Jacob landed the shuttle on the beach. “The island is swarming with blood fleas. Irradiating now.”

The sand came alive with thousands of bright red fleas. When they stopped jumping, Poppa Jacob announced, “The blood fleas have been exterminated.”

Papi Sten scanned the ship. “Lifeforms detected on the lower decks.”

“Askole or Katanic?”Derek queried.

Papi Sten’s fingers danced across the console.“Both. The area is shielded, and I can’t get a fix on how many.”

“Destroyed them all, huh Baelish?”I interjected.

Baelish snarled,“I do not answer to you.”

“And let’s not forget, you’re the reason Ina is in Mallox’s murderous hands,”I shot back.

“That is a lie.”

“Your failure to notify Sariel or the Overlord of the Rodan actions led to the attack on your outpost,”Derek snapped.“I informed Zarek of the situation. He promptly contacted the Katanic Supreme Leader and discovered their breeding sanctuary had been attacked. Two very pregnant females were taken. One was Zosia, the Supreme Leader’s consort.”

“It is not my duty to guard all the females in the galaxy,”Baelish growled.

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