Page 34 of Veras
“You thinkyoucan whisper to the winds?” Inkonexo’s toxic emotions battered me as he invaded my mind with the delicacy of a precision laser. Searing me from the outside in.
“Y-yes. But I don’t have enough Oro in my system for them to truly hear me.”
“Fascinating?” His grin turned evil.
“But I have some demands.” I squared my shoulders. “You will not hurt Veras.”
“He’s already half dead.”
“Well, you better make sure he isn’t any more dead, or we don’t have a deal.” I looked at Inkonexo’s tattoo, and my theory felt right. “Besides, you’ll need him to open the portal, right?”
“Who-whoare you to make demands?” the supreme interrupted. “Which-whichportal?”
I ignored the supreme, understanding who the real power was, and continued, “I know you can’t access it anymore.” I gestured toward the dull gray marking on his shoulder. “But Veras can. He needs to stay alive. I’ll quiet the Guardians, and then you can access the entrance.”
“Entrance-trance? She knows what lies within?” The supreme spluttered. “You-yousaid no one knew but you.” The supreme chirped, his feathers snapping open and shut.
“Silence! I will hear her. Go on,” Inkonexo said.
“If I see one hair on his head further damaged, I won’t open my mouth. You can ask him.” I pointed to the supreme. “I didn’t say a word for…” I struggled to remember the alien word for years, “sanos, and I won’t say a word to the Guardians if you hurt him.”
“How do I know you won’t turn them against me?”
A giggle burst forth which bordered on full-blown hysteria, but I prayed they didn’t know that. “You thinkIcan control the Guardians that much?”
The supreme squawked, and soon all the Aavvee guards chirped alongside him. “My-mypet? Control-trolthose winds? I think not.”
“If you can’t control them, why should I bother to help you?” He raised a hand to motion for the guards.
“Wait! All I need to do is distract them until Veras opens the portal. With you next to him.” I let my worry bleed through, which wasn’t hard because it already seeped through every pore of my body. “I’ve never done this before, but I know I can get their attention.”
“And then what,Pet?”
“Then I go home. There’s a portal back to my planet. And you let Veras go. Whatever you want beyond the Guardians’protection has nothing to do with him.” I focused on home and everything I missed, desperately trying to keep him off my plans for world domination.
“You would leave him?” Inkonexo asked.
“I want to go home!”
“I sense so many plots brewing in your mind. You only reveal part of the truth.” He sighed. “I could rape your mind, rip it into pieces, but I sense it would break you. If that happens, you’d be of no use to me.” He snapped his fingers. “Because of that, I agree.”
“Truena.” Veras opened bleary eyes. When he looked at me and felt my shame, he roared, “What have you done?”
I betrayed you.I let all my anger at him for ignoring me, the shame and worry—every negative feeling I possessed—swim on the surface of my mind, shouting at him as loud as I could. “Why wouldn’t you believe in me? Trust me?”
Because Inkonexo still held my arm, he felt every nuance. He blinked and threw his head back, belting out a textbook evil villain, maniacal laugh.
Unfortunately, it did the trick, inspiring terror within me. But Veras, he wilted. Lost all steam and turned away. Cutting me off from his thoughts. But right before, I felt such intense pain, it made me gasp. I would have stumbled, but Inkonexo’s firm hold kept me up.
The supreme looked around, understanding and greed creeping over his features, his feathers snapping up and down. “Yes-yes. What does she need?”
“Glrtsstlllloroggg.Lots of it.”
CHAPTER 15
“Highly-lyunusual.” TheSupreme squawked in front of me. “Giving-inga pet myGlrtsstlllloroggg? It is unheard of!”
Strapped in a chair with my arms, legs, and head weighted down, I ignored the idiot alien.A mi no me importa nada,didn’t care at all, about making the Aavvee supreme feel better.
