He rubbed a hand across his face, looking remarkably frustrated.
“Quiet,” he ordered.
His voice wasn’t loud but it carried an unmistakable note of authority. Everyone except Davy went silent. The boy continued to rock, repeating “no, no” over and over.
To her shock, Mganak kneeled down so that he was closer to the boy’s level. “Do not be afraid.” When his words didn’t seem to penetrate, the male looked at Darla. “What does he need?”
“Something to distract him.” The girl shrugged a little helplessly. “He doesn’t have his toys.”
“Hmm.” Mganak frowned, then dug in a pocket of his pants and pulled out a small tool of some kind. Holding it up so that Davy could see it, he opened and closed the parts until he caught Davy’s attention. Then he placed it on his open palm and held it out to Davy.
Davy had stopped rocking, and now he reached out and picked up the tool. He turned it over in his hands, pulling out the various extensions and pushing them back in again, over and over. Relieved that he seemed calmer, Wanda turned back to Mganak. Hopefully, his patience with the boy was a good sign.
“I’m sorry I held the gun on you. I didn’t know if you were another slaver. You’re not, are you?”
“A slaver?” He looked appalled. “Of course not. Who would…” His gaze flicked to Kareena. “Did the Vedeckians take you?”
“Yes. And if you’re not a slaver, how about you give me my gun back?”
“I am not going to let you carry a weapon on my ship. If you accidentally fired it and it penetrated the hull, we could all die.” Ignoring her sudden pallor, he continued, “You will not need it. You are under my protection now.”
Part of her was actually tempted to believe him, but she couldn’t risk the safety of the others.
“That’s very nice of you, but unless you’re going to return us to our planet, we would prefer to be on our way.” Not that they knew where they were going.
He shook his head. “I am not going to send females and children back out into space in a lifeboat that does not even have a working emergency beacon.”
Fudge. It was bad enough that they had been set adrift, but to know that no one was even looking for them was a worse blow. Apparently, they weren’t as valuable to the Vedeckians as she had assumed.
“Then what are you going to do with us?” she asked.
He sighed and rubbed his face again. “I don’t know.”
“If you would simply return us to our planet, then you wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Alicia said coolly, as if the alien was no more than a convenient chauffeur.
To Wanda’s surprise, he tilted his head to one side and actually looked as if he was considering it for a moment. “Where is your planet located?”
“How would I know? Surely you have some kind of…” Alicia waved a dismissive hand. “Star map, or something?”
“I do indeed. But it doesn’t come labeled with any signs indicating which planet is the home of a group of unfortunate females.”
A faint line appeared between Alicia’s perfectly arched brows, and Wanda’s ember of hope was extinguished.
“Is there anyone who might know?” she asked, trying not to sound as desperate as she felt.
A warm band encircled her wrist, and she looked down to find the alien’s tail wrapped around it. For some reason, she found it comforting rather than alarming. She must be going crazy. He didn’t even seem to realize that it had happened until she started to tug her arm away. He looked shocked as he muttered a quick apology, but even then his tail seemed reluctant to release her, skating over her hand with a gentle caress, the textured surface both soothing and tantalizing.
He sighed. “There is a Patrol station on Ayuul. I suppose I could take you that far.”
“Patrol? You mean like the police?” The word apparently didn’t translate, and she tried again. “They represent the law?”
“Yes, that is correct. Although I still cannot guarantee that they will be able to locate your home world, at least they would have more references than I do.” He frowned, then stepped to one side and gestured at the exit. “Can we continue this discussion outside? This space is uncomfortably small.”
He had a point. It had been cramped with the five of them. With the alien’s massive body added to the mix, it seemed to have shrunk even further. She darted a quick look at the others. Alicia nodded, Darla looked scared but shrugged, and even Kareena nodded. That confirmed her decision. If the Vedeckian, who was scared of her own shadow, was willing to leave the lifeboat, it was probably safe.
Alicia led the way with her usual regal air while the children scrambled after her.
“You’re sure about this?” Wanda murmured to Kareena as the Vedeckian passed her.
“No, but the Cire are an honorable race. Unlike my own,” the other female added bitterly.
“I don’t suppose we have much choice anyway.” With a sigh she followed the others out, hoping their situation hadn’t gone from bad to worse.
Chapter Two
As Wanda stepped out of the lifeboat, she was overly aware of Mganak’s body at her back, but she didn’t feel threatened. A shiver of excitement danced down her spine at the sure knowledge that he was watching her. She forced herself to concentrate on the rest of her companions. Davy was still playing with the tool that Mganak had given him but the others were huddled together nervously. Even Alicia looked uncharacteristically anxious but she stood in front of the children in a protective pose.
The lifeboat had been placed in the center of a two-story space. Mesh cages lined the walls on all sides and her heart skipped a beat until she recognized that they were obviously designed to hold cargo. A second level held more of the storage cages behind a catwalk that led around the perimeter of the hold. On the rear wall, she could see two doors behind a set of steps that rose up to the catwalk. The space was rather cluttered and not exactly clean, but it was a welcome change from the depressing sterility of the Vedeckian ship.
“Now what?” Alicia asked, reverting to her normal coolness.
“I assume you would prefer actual bunks?” Mganak asked.
The lifeboat had been equipped with airline type seats that only partially reclined.
Alicia raised a skeptical brow. “In exchange for what?”
Before he could answer, Wanda caught a flash of movement from the rear of the hold, and a dark figure came slinking towards them. “Oh my God. What is that?”
As it drew closer, Wanda could see that it was some type of animal. It moved with the muscular grace of a big cat but had the extended snout and facial structure closer to that of a canine. A crown of flexible spikes covered its head and extended down its back to end in a barbed tail. As it drew closer, she could see that it was covered with fine scales in shades of dark blue with an underlying metallic sheen.
“This is Sagat. He is a rajpar,” Mganak said calmly, smiling at the animal.
“Is he dangerous?”
“Of course. But only to those who wish him harm.”
Sagat yawned, exposing a disturbing number of pointed teeth, then prowled forward. He circled their small group as they all stood frozen until he came to Davy. After contemplating the child thoughtfully, he gave a low, throbbing purr. To her shock, Davy smiled and put his arms around the animal.