Musette wrinkles her nose. “Of course, we will leave you to it.” The two of them take off without a backward glance.
“Was it something I said?” I ask the guys.
Xavier chuckles. “You said ‘a quick bite.’ I think they thought you and Saxon were going to bury your fangs in one another.”
I giggle and shrug. “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed,” I reply with a wink.
Xavier doesn’t hesitate. He reaches out with both hands, putting one on each of us, and we tumble through space, landing at the base of his bed.
I squeal as the two of them lunge at me and throw me on the bed. I do enjoy a little afternoon delight.
That evening, I’m waiting in the green room of Orion’s Belt. Apparently, the bar only has adult entertainment twice a week, and tonight is the first time it’s been advertised since the ship left Skarr because, well, there are no strippers on board.
Xavier had to tell Sully and Tully the truth, but then he made it so they couldn’t share that truth with the whole ship, which also means he had to return their previous memories. They apologized profusely to me for the previous Madovian, but I assured them not one of us held it against them. After all, she had fake documents that said she was a Filani.
I adjust one of the veils that are wrapped around my body. I have to dance around on stage, removing veil after veil. We discussed what I was going to do when I got down to the last few. I can’t very well put on the same show the last one did—it was horrifying—but apparently I can hypnotize them all to believe they are seeing a Filani. I watched a video of what that actually looks like and practiced earlier on Xavier. If I can fool him, thenI can fool anyone. He claims it worked, and he better not be lying to me. He says he saw large, bouncing boobs, a skinny waist, and an enticing cunt, which is the opposite of the hot mess of a Madovian I’m pretending to be.
The snakes that are my hair writhe in agitation, and the tiny wings at my back flutter with expectation. I pace back and forth, wrestling internally with the monster that wants to basically set fire to the world. I kind of feel sorry for these women. It must be exhausting being them. No wonder they hire themselves out for violence and mayhem. I would too if I constantly felt like a raging hormonal psychopath.
“Are you ready?” Xavier enters the room, and I lunge and hiss at him, and he puts up a quick barrier between us. “Fuck, Lila, calm yourself.”
I smack against the invisible barrier and yelp as my face stings. That has me regaining some sense. I rub my nose slits, and I feel a trickle of blood run down my chin from where my fangs cut into my lip.
“Sorry,” he says, and I wave him off.
“Actually, it helped, thanks,” I tell him, grabbing a tissue and blotting at the damage. “I can think a little clearer now.”
“Well then, you’re welcome. Saxon, Brannock, and Tirrian are in the audience, and I will join them. They are invisible like we were for Silac’s wedding, so you won’t see us, and I’ll be glamoured as a bouncer.”
“That’s good. We don’t want to spook the mole. If they saw the four of you, they would be suspicious since you’re supposed to be happily mated and off the market—not that I care if you want to go see strippers. Everyone likes some pretty entertainment. I know I do.” Susie and I went to see the Magic Mike show back on Earth, and it was extremely entertaining. Who am I to judge the guys if they want to do the same? As long as there is no touching involved, I don’t care.
“Do you suspect anyone in the crowd?” I ask, and he nods.
“A couple of the bridge crew are in to see the show. Any one of them probably could have made it so the alarms didn’t sound or the sensors didn’t pick up a ship hiding in our shadow. We made a list for Link and Silac, and they are going to do a deep dive into their backgrounds—way more than we do for regular employees. We’re going to check accounts and see if any of them have been paid unusual amounts recently.”
“Good thinking. I hope it’s someone getting paid and no one with a grudge against the circus.”
He winces. “I guess we need to look at family members as well. There are many reasons someone could be working for the Syndicate—grudge and payment being just two of them. It could be blackmail as well. Look at Brannock.”
I start to feel annoyed again that someone is betraying us, and the snakes on my head begin to lunge and snap at the air. “Let’s get this over with. I don’t want to spend any more time in this body than necessary.”
He frowns. “Are you going to be okay for the Syndicate meeting?”
I hear his worry, and I nod. “Yes, because there will be an end in sight, and once this is all over, I never have to take this form again. Some of her thoughts make me want to hurl, like how good you would look round and swollen with my eggs, but not as good as you would look nourishing my young, and by that, she means while they are eating you.”
He blanches and steps back. “Ah, yeah, that is disturbing.”
“Make sure I don’t hurt anyone out there,” I say quietly, and he gives me a solemn nod before hurrying out. I follow after him, the four inch heels making me taller and slightly unsteady on my feet.
I stand in the middle of the stage, the lights dimmed, when the music starts up and a spotlight illuminates me. The crowdgasps as I start to undulate sensually, sliding the scarves off my body and twirling them around. I begin with the ones on my arms, then the fabric that hangs over my thighs, and the one wrapped around the back of my body.
I bend and snap, showing them my pert round ass and shaking it for them, all the while letting the hypnotizing magic soak into the people viewing the show. Most of them should be seeing a Filani succubus, but in case our mole has an illusion nullifying pendant, we decided it was best for me to be in the Madovian form. All four of my guys are wearing the same kind of pendant so they wouldn’t be distracted by my performance and could keep an eye on the crowd.
It’s hard for me to see out into it with the spotlight shining directly into my eyes, but when I spin back around and drop to my knees to crawl seductively across the stage, I notice Captain Lester is sitting at one of the small tables near the stage. Behind him are the weapons and security officers. At another table full of jeering, cheering men, I see two of our pilots. Xavier was right, there are a few people we need to look into.
I stand up again, and a hand reaches out to tug at one of the remaining veils. The last two are over my face and the crosscut in my stomach, but a security guard, who I am almost certain is Xavier glamoured, tackles him to the ground, and a brawl breaks out. I take it as my cue to get off the stage. We have our suspects now. We can let Link and Silac do their thing and focus on the raid for Area 51.
As soon as I return to the dressing room, I shed the Madovian form before running to the bathroom and vomiting. Her mind is twisted and sick and not a nice place to be. My own naga form was nothing like that, though she did have the same unhealthy breeding obsession as all of my creatures.
