“Why didn’t you give me all my memories back when you could?” Jake asked.
“If you want to know that, you’ll need to agree to a bargain.” Vanthex looked at Jake when he said it.
“A bargain?” Diesel said. “What kind of bargain?”
“In exchange for the return of all of Jake Jones’s memories, including our initial encounter, along with my gift to you of the unique mechanism that I’ve used to extract those memories, I demand two things.”
Diesel nodded at him to continue.
“First, I wish to be released and sent back to my own planet, where I vow never to violate this planet’s atmosphere ever again.”
Diesel’s eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up on that score, but what’s your second demand?”
“Second, I demand that this dusty twinkling coating be removed from my person. It’s humiliating! I am a warrior from a long line of warriors stretching back more than a millennium. We are a predator species. And now my flesh twinkles like colored stars in the sky. It is not to be borne.”
“Too bad,” Beryl said. “The dusty twinkling coating is permanent, and I wouldn’t give you the antidote even if I had it, which I don’t.”
She heard the door open behind her and turned to see Jett walk in.
“What are you doing here?” Beryl asked.
Jett shrugged. “I got a call to come in and talk about the sticky glitter bomb we created, along with our possible antidote.”
“The antidote!” Vanthex shouted. “I knew it. I want it now!”
Diesel said, “Slow your roll, Vanthex. We have not agreed to your bargain.”
“But you will. Because not only do I have the rest of Jake’s memories, I know a secret that I discovered quite by accident.”
“What secret?” Jake asked.
“If I tell you, I lose my bargaining chip. Foolish man.”
“Then give us a hint.”
Vanthex pointed to Ian. “This man is not who he pretends to be.”
Ian chortled. “That is not a secret, given my line of work.” He and Jake smirked at each other and shook their heads.
“You are not the biological heir to the Montero birthright,” Vanthex said angrily. He promptly said something in an unfamiliar language that Beryl guessed was a swear word of some kind for giving away part of his bargaining chip.
Ian moved closer to the cell and said in a low, tight voice, “How can you possibly know that name?”
“I took a sample from you and ran it through my apparatus right before that obscene action was taken against my person. Clearly, there are many things that you do not know about yourself, but I do. And I will tell you, if my demands are met.” Vanthex sat back down on the bench in his cell, armscrossed, lips pressed tight to let them know he was no longer feeling cooperative or chatty.
Beryl watched as Ian processed what Vanthex had told him. She didn’t really understand what was going on, but Jake looked stunned. Must be some secret.
Diesel said, “Let’s adjourn to my office and have a conversation, shall we?”
Everyone filed out of the brig, leaving Mr. Sparkly Pants pouting in his jail cell.
Beryl thought,Good riddance! I hope you twinkle in shame for the rest of your days.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ian was not someone who was easily surprised. Ever. Vanthex had managed to shock him to his core. He did not understand the mechanics of how Vanthex’s apparatus worked. If it was able to extract an organic sample from him so easily and identify Obsidian Montero’s hidden surname in mere seconds…well, that was a huge problem.
Ian had never felt so utterly exposed and vulnerable. He didn’t like it.
