“Nice.” Maggie looks at me. “Now he thinks you’re a complete twat.”
“Is that a good thing?”
A smile quirks the corner of her mouth. “Oh yeah, Driok. It’s great.”
“Then I am a complete twat.” I give her another fang-filled grin. “And the overseer will give me what I want.”
“Lord Driok.” On a platform above us, the overseer appears.
Another large bulbous Madar, he’s wearing a set of flowing robes made from the finest Zio silk.
“It looks like you have recently come into some credits, overseer.” I place the pulsar rifle on my shoulder and shift out my wings and tail, both of which have no hesitation.
With a gulp, I fill my accelerant sacs too.
“What I have and haven’t got are no business of yours, Sarkarnii,” he says.
“I beg to differ.” I launch myself into the air and land on the platform next to him in a single beat of my wings. “Because you have something which belongs to me, and I want it.”
The Madar rubs his three hands together, his small, dark eyes looking everywhere but at me.
“You were…not supposed to make it this far, Lord Driok,” he responds.
“What do you mean?” I growl. “Do you have the grav-coils or not?”
“I…I…” he gibbers, walking backwards until he reaches the wall behind him and can go no further.
“Do you?”
“I’m sorry, Driok. Ilikethe Sarkarnii. What you have done for this galaxy has made a real difference, but…”
“But?”
“They have more credits and they don’t ask nicely,” he says with a weak, lopsided movement of his lipless mouth, his four eyes blinking at me.
The fifth eye is gone.
“What did you do?” I snarl.
“I’m sorry, my lord.” He sidesteps away from me and is swallowed by a personal portal I see too late.
“Maggie!” I’m in the air, dropping back to where she is waiting for me.
“What’s going on, Driok?”
“We’ve been double-crossed,” I growl. “The overseer sold us out.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nev it!” I turn back to the door which is closing and slam my hand through the remaining gap.
I can’t hold it.
“Driok!” Maggie yells at me. “Stop, you’ll lose your hand.”
“Better than being stuck in here,” I snarl, redoubling my efforts to hold the door.
Maggie grabs hold of me, her touch sending strange spikes of emotion into my veins. “Stop, Driok. I want you whole.”
