“It’s gross. It has the consistency of a rotten marshmallow.”
“I don’t know what that is.” He surrendered to the urge to laugh. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. Drink up, Captain.”
Jennifer stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed harder. She was truly adorable. Then a pang of regret hit him hard. This might be the last time he was able to tease her like this.
Jennifer took another drink, swallowing it but making a show of gagging afterwards.
Ontarii chastised her. “Come on, Captain. If you’re going to be an ambassador for Earthlings, making first contact with alien species, you’re going to have to do a lot of things you don’t like, the least of which is trying new foods.”
“I hope none of them taste like this. It’s like fish guts.” She took another draw on her straw and choked the substance down. At last she finished the concoction and then tossed the empty sac out of her cell and onto the chamber floor. “Yuck!”
The dragonflies still flitted here and there, their wings creating a whirring noise that was strangely soothing. Ontarii watched them, appreciating in that moment the skill the Hareema had at imitating other life forms. It was a fantastic skill, one that made them a formidable foe.
Suddenly one of the dragonflies veered off its path and hovered next to his cage. It looked in every direction, then pressed itself against the bars of his cell. One moment the overlarge dragonfly was there, the next second there was nothing.
Ontarii stood there stunned. Where had the creature gone? As far as Zantharian intelligence knew, the Hareema did not have the ability to vanish into thin air, nor become invisible.
The other dragonflies didn’t seem to notice. Before long they all made their way out of the chamber. Silence reigned as the prisoners enjoyed their meals. Ontarii’s eyes were glued to the spot where the Hareema had disappeared.
It seemed like an hour had passed, but perhaps it was only a few minutes. Ontarii’s senses were on high alert, which made time pass more slowly. Suddenly, as he watched, a shape grew out of the bars of the cage. Low down, next to the floor, a tiny creature appeared.
It emitted a few squeaks and crawled close to Ontarii. He wondered if he should crush it before it touched him. Then he realized the squeaks were actually words.
“Pick me up, but don’t let anyone see!”
Ontarii had to steel himself so that he showed no reaction. Should he trust this creature? It was obviously a Hareema. Why should he humor it?
Deciding that he had nothing to lose, Ontarii bent swiftly and scooped the thing up, closing it in his palm and bringing his hand casually up to his mouth. He made to blow into it, as if he were merely trying to heat up his hands.
The creature looked like a white puff of fur. It had tiny hands, tiny feet and a stubby white tail. It also had a little face that looked almost humanoid. It opened its mouth and started to talk.
“Major Ontarii, please listen carefully to what I say.”
Ontarii almost dropped the thing in surprise. Watching the mouth speak words he could understand in its creepy semi-humanoid face was jarring. Besides, this thing had to be a Hareema agent. The likelihood was that nothing good would come from the conversation.
He remembered the haunted look Drake had had in his cell. The Minister of Defense had thought that Ontarii was a Hareema trick. Not to mention that the enemy had taken the shape of the Supreme Regent of Zanthar and his mate when they’d taken Ontarii and Jennifer prisoner. This had to be some sort of ruse designed to aid in his downfall.
However, he was already locked in the cell, on his way to a painful death from the frenzy. The Hareema need do nothing but wait and watch. What would be the point of sending an agent to fuck with him? Maybe it was worth the risk to talk to it.
“What do you want, Hareema bastard? And remember, I could crush you with the clenching of my fist.”
The little mouth smiled, and Ontarii felt a wave of revulsion wash over him. “I know. I chose this shape purposefully. I have made myself vulnerable to you. You could squeeze the life from me easily, and I would do nothing to fight you. It is my hope to gain your trust.”
Ontarii barked out a quiet laugh. “Trust? A Hareema? You must have me mistaken for a fool.”
“I expected that reaction, but please, listen. We haven’t much time.”
“What are you doing down there?” Jennifer’s voice came down from the cell above him. She was peering at him curiously.
“Just stretching,” he said, extending his arm and pulling it back, angling it over his head so he looked to be stretching it while he held the white puffball close to his mouth.
“Tell me why I should trust you,” he whispered to the creature in his hand.
“Because, although I am Hareema, I am not a member of the C&C Party. I’m part of a secret alliance that is fighting the High Council’s evil expansionist plans.”
“C&C Party?”
The organization of the Hareema government had long puzzled the Zantharians. Because they were unable to get near the Hareema home world, and because the risk of taking Hareema prisoners was too great due to their ability to escape, virtually nothing was known about their enemy’s power structure.
