Page 25 of Fractured Souls

But if she didn’t cooperate, Zharek could end up dead.

Please. I beg you. My people are traumatized. Our civilization is shattered. You are not my enemy, Alexis. I have no reason to deceive you.

The Tharian’s emotions hit Alexis in the chest like an exploding bullet, almost bringing her to her knees.

No, Anuk definitely wasn’t lying. Her desperation was real.

But first, they needed to be on the same page.

It was her body. Therefore, her rules. “First you give my hand back, Tharian,” she demanded, not caring that she was going against Tarak’s orders. If for whatever reason she couldn’t communicate with the thing inside her head, she’d just speak what was on her mind. “Turn my skin back to normal, let go of Zharek’s hand, and drop the death-threat. Then I’ll convey your request to the boss.”

Without warning, Alexis’s grip around Zharek’s hand tightened, and a chill spread through her right arm. Zharek’s silver face turned a shade paler. He gasped, his features going taut with pain.

Make no mistake, human. I can kill him with a thought.

Zharek’s amber eyes widened. “If only you’d come to me twelve cycles ago, Anuk Pranaka-teh. I was really in the mood for a touch of death back then.”

What dark humor. The medic was definitely crazy.

“Kill him and you make an enemy of me,” Tarak said softly, the intent in his voice sending a cold ripple down her spine. “For you, Anuk Pranaka-teh, that path leads nowhere. I would advise you to exercise restraint. If we are going to play this game, remember that I know exactly where your people are, and some Tharians still have their physical bodies. As the humans say, tit for tat. Do you really want to threaten what is mine, Tharian?”

You wouldn’t dare. Anuk became enraged, her hatred burning white-hot through Alexis’s consciousness.

In many ways, that hatred reminded Alexis of her own feelings towards Kordolians.

Not these Kordolians, though.

Especially not Nythian.

“Tarak.” Alexis was surprised at how calm she sounded. “If Anuk releases Zharek, would you at least consider her request?”

“Perhaps,” he said enigmatically, and his reaction wasn’t what one might expect from a brutal alien warlord.

Let go, Anuk. She tried to form the words in her mind, but she was met with fierce resistance. Why didn’t it work? Pressure built behind her eyes. Her vision dimmed, and suddenly she was gasping for air.

The Tharian was enraged.

Suddenly, Alexis understood.

Anuk was unstable right now… she could snap at any moment.

I can send you insane, human. I can tear your fragile mind apart. If they—if you—deny me this, I will have no more reason to live. I do not know what I will do, Alexis Carter. I do not know…

Alexis knew all about this state of mind. She’d dealt with enough desperate criminals to know that the situation could end very badly. The alien in her head was desperate and volatile and quite possibly suicidal, and if Anuk didn’t get what she wanted, it was all going to go to shit.

Tell him what I want.

The pressure became nearly unbearable. She clutched the sides of her head and cried out.

Images flashed through her mind. For the first time in her life, she saw Tharians—hundreds of them. How alien they looked—much more so than the Kordolians.

Tall, slender, and blue-skinned, they stared back at her with big glowing green eyes. Their heads were large and hairless, their necks long, giving them an erudite appearance.

The white fire hit.

Hundreds, no, thousands of Tharians screamed, their skin blistering and puckering, their flesh melting off their bones, bodies turned to ash in the blink of an eye.

The images sent her into a fresh hell.

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