A pity, if he spoke the truth. Ty’shal had been one of Xalan’s most fearsome warriors in the height of his days.
“Come in,” I said, slipping into English, which had become almost more familiar to me in recent days than my native tongue. “No need to stand in the doorway.” I stepped aside to give Ty’shal room to enter.
We sat on the couch and chatted of recent events, “catching up,” as the humans call it.
Having retired from military service shortly after my father rose to power, Ty’shal had been delighted to learn of Earth and the humans’ welcoming of the Xalanite people. While I schemed to leave Xalan without my father’s notice, Ty’shal received a grand formal departure ball, complete with a bevy of Xalanite women to see to his every …need… before he left the planet. Some of those women even followed him to Earth, gifted by my father as going away presents.
After spending time with Timber, I could no longer condone such treatment of females. Not wishing to offend my guest, I steered the conversation towards less controversial topics in case Timber returned.
Once I had regaled Ty’shal with the course of events since my arrival while leaving out the more sensitive details in regard to my relationship with Timber, the former general sat back with wide-eyed awe.
“Attacked by humans twice in a matter of days and nearly killed in an explosive crash? This planet is more dangerous than I realized!”
Realizing I had possibly said too much, I brushed off his concern with a laugh. “As one of my new convention friends stated, it is ‘the peril of being purple.’ Did you know that our kind is revered by some humans? Yes, there are the members of AXL to deal with, but there are also humans like the convention attendees and Director Hall who show our species the proper respect. It has been my limited experience that they far outnumber the naysayers.”
“Do not forget your Detective Timber. She sounds quite friendly towards Xalanites.” He wiggled his brow ridges. “Perhaps I could make an exception in my personal harem, if you think she'd be so inclined.”
I definitely said too much. I scrambled for the right words to dissuade him when a tinny alarm sounded in his pocket.
“Oh! Speaking of which, it is time to visit my most recent bed warmer. She is currently with litter. Can you imagine? Me—a first time father, at my age!”
“I wish you the best of luck with your new family, Ty’shal.” I followed him to the door, patting him on the back to congratulate him. “May your other females prove just as fertile, and may you live to see their litters bear fruit.” I opened the door for him, standing behind the thick wooden slab while he stepped onto the porch.
Ty’shal turned around with a smile as if to give me a parting embrace just as a wicked black blade pierced his chest from behind.
Hot black blood splashed across my chest in a broad arc. General Ty’shal coughed more of the thick liquid into my face before the blade retracted. He fell to the ground in a twitching pile of limbs, blocking me from closing the door on his attacker.
I barely had time to jump back into the living room. The blade appeared again, this time with a pair of Xalanite hands wielding the shaft of the weapon. His body followed, and he stepped over Ty’shal to point the spear at my right heart.
This Xalanite was unknown to me, and his visage was certainly such that I would have remembered meeting him. His face bore deep scars that highlighted the gaping hole where his left eye had once been. Half of his upper lip curled up in a permanent sneer, exposing hideous, crooked black teeth. His left bicep appeared withered and scarred as well, though it didn't seem to hinder him from being able to maintain his grip on the spear. I wouldn’t get the weapon away from him by force, that much I knew.
“Surrender, Prince N’kal, and you might live long enough to regret leaving our homeworld.”In addition to the severe damage to his scales, his voice suffered from his injuries. It was gruff and harsh, not the usual musical sounds that came fromXalanite throats. It made understanding him difficult despite his fluent Xalanite words.
In that moment, I wished desperately for Timber’s presence … less for emotional comfort than for the accompanying gun she always carried. Xalanite skin was tough, but human firearm projectiles could still pierce it.
“What do you want with me?”I asked, balling my hands into fists.“I have done you no harm.”
He chuckled, but the sound held no mirth.
“I wondered if you knew what you had done. What your choices did. You abandoned your people, your duty, in favor of some weak human pussy. Did you really think that by leaving Xalan you would escape your responsibilities?”
What was he talking about? I had barely left Xalan ten Earth days ago. No native Xalanite outside of my own house should be aware that I was gone, let alone one who was already on Earth. I had timed my escape between scheduled shuttles to this planet. The next one should not have departed from Xalan yet, and when I spoke to Killaria, she made no mention of an unscheduled pursuit vessel launching.
“I have never met you. Again I say that I have done you no harm.”
His grotesque face twisted even further into a vicious snarl.“You and yours have harmed our people in immeasurable numbers. The meeting matters not.”With that, he struck. I barely managed to dodge the tip, which slashed through my shirt. My hip bumped into the kitchen counter, and I realized he had me cornered.
My attacker drew back his weapon in preparation for another strike when the crunch of gravel sounded from the open front door.
Timber was back.
My hearts sunk into the pit of my stomach as I watched the scarred man’s lone eye turn towards the door. His scowl morphed into a wicked grin, and he laughed.
“The human wench returns. Excellent.”He swung his spear around to point at Timber’s only way in.“This shriz tip was meant to pierce your scales, but it should more than suffice for ripping into her frail human skin.”
No! I lunged for his back in the hopes of distracting him before Timber entered, He grunted as I hit his waist with my shoulder, and the force of my attack was enough to alter the trajectory of his thrust. The tip of his weapon lodged in the door frame to Timber’s left as she ran in with her gun drawn. Two loud pops echoed in the cabin. The scarred Xalanite shrieked and fell to the floor, clutching his wounded shoulder. I landed on top of him as my momentum carried me with him. I wrenched his arms behind his back, kneeling on him as Timber had done to me before.
The whole exchange took mere seconds. Timber rushed over to cuff the man with her restraints, but I refused to let him go until she had also bound him with the plastic zip ties. I did not want someone that deadly to get free before any AARO agents could get here to officially apprehend him.
