Page 8 of Xefe
The earther let out another long peal of laughter.
“She appeals to you?” Xefe asked Loxo. His brows rose as he studied the earther suspended in air. She could move her limbs, but her mid-section was held to the wall by an invisible bar.
Loxo took a deep breath, his eyes narrowed. He approached the alert earther with one hand outstretched.
Her brows snapped together, and Xefe could have sworn she seemed annoyed with Loxo. An emotion he’d grown familiarwith. Xefe grabbed Loxo by the shoulders and shoved him away. “Don’t touch her.”
Loxo and Veras’ heads swung toward him in unison.
Xefe didn’t completely understand his reaction, but only a small part of him believed his next words. “She may be contaminated.”
Loxo remained undeterred. “If you weren’t crippled by your devotion to theGlrtsstllllorogggand feeling no emotion, you would savor the sheer smell of these floating earthers. Divine.”
Amusement flared for the briefest time and then faded, as usual, to nothing.Perhaps I am as defective as Loxo but in my own way.In the span of fivetics, he had experienced more stimulation than in the past month.
Xefe felt eyes boring down on him. Across the room, he spied the lead scientist watching. Always watching. The one with the mottled spots dotting his face. His greedy gaze consumed the earther. Xefe had never trusted this sneaky Aavvee, convinced his experiments were cruel and unnecessary. The vicious scientist called himself Tontoh. Xefe called him a spy, for he ran to their supreme with any piece of gossip.
Tontoh stopped in front of the earther as if to block her from Xefe’s view. A wretched smell permeated the air as he opened his mouth, his three tongues inching toward the earther’s soft skin.
Xefe clenched his fists but restrained himself from pushing the Aavvee away. If Tontoh touched her, though, Xefe may not be able to stop himself. Their relationship was tenuous at best. He didn’t want to give the alien any ammunition against him.
The earther emitted a strange sound, a high-pitched scream as powerful as the Aavvee language. Xefe expected fear, but the earther looked far from frightened. She looked determined… and for the briefest second, deadly. She snapped her blunt teeth at Tontoh, and the Aavvee retreated.
“Thisgreeeooowwlllis of no import to you.” Tontoh twirled his tiny hands in agitation before pointing at the earther.
“Greeeooowwlll?” Xefe repeated. Tontoh called her the name of the annoying animals that lived inside the mountains. They were feral, tasty little things. Xefe took a step closer. The earther blinked, her attention slipping away from Tontoh. She sighed and then bared her teeth at him as she laughed softly.
“Step away from her. She is defective.” Tontoh’s shrill tones tested Xefe’s sensitive ears, not that the alien bothered to modulate. The scientist knew the warriors had superior hearing yet never bothered to accommodate them. “She will not last the night. No matter. Come. I need assistance with other earthers. Follow me.”
No one bothered to acknowledge him. Or follow.
“She is not for you!” Tontoh screeched. “Or do I tell my supreme?”
Xefe turned his head slowly and speared the tiny Aavvee with his gaze. “You threaten me?” His voice was deadly and emotionless.
Tontoh’s feathers stood on end—mottled brown and green fluff rose and fell. He opened his mouth. But he didn’t dare utter a sound. Eventually, he stormed away.
Veras shook his head. “You have made a powerful enemy.”
Nothing new.But Xefe was the supreme’s first, his head warrior. Tontoh held no sway over him.
The earther squeaked and stared straight at Xefe. Her unusual eyes trailed down his body. Her gaze roamed his broad shoulders, studying every inch of him—like a long, languid caress.
Xefe’s fists clenched. Without thought, he widened his stance and threw back his shoulders, welcoming her gaze. For a second, his heart raced and then slowed, theGlrtsstllllorogggkicking in—deadening any response.
She spoke to him in gibberish or maybe in her inferior tongue. She motioned him forward. Unable to resist, he leaned in.
Before Xefe could stop her, she cupped his cheek and gazed into his eyes. She whispered nonsense and then, as clear as the night stars, said, “Pretty.” In his language. The guttural dialect lilted off her tongue. She laughed and brushed her delicate fingers along the sharp spikes protruding from my nose.
“She thinks you’re pretty! Did you hear that?” Loxo howled in glee.
Xefe ignored the blabbering fool and focused on the delicate female before him.
She whimpered and held out her hand. It was coated in blood. Another reminder of her weakness. A small brush from his spikes and her skin split open.
Xefe shook his head but stepped closer. Her full lips stuck out in a soft pout. She held out her bleeding hand as if she expected helpfrom him. It must be theGlrtsstllllorogggmaking her so brave. It obviously destroyed her fear response. Unless earthers were so addled, they didn’t know when to be properly terrified. Most aliens quaked in front of him.
Xefe grasped her hand with his gloved one, studying the shallow gashes across her small finger. Only one thumb.Inferior.As he leaned in, her smell rushed his senses, overwhelming him. It penetrated him so deeply that he could taste her from scent alone. Nothing ever felt so tempting. Like spiced heat.
