“Fertilized, you say? So there’s extra meat in there? Truly, that will be a fine treat to lay before my Sire!”
He scooped the newly laid egg up in his hands and held it up over his head like a prize. But just as quickly, his expression changed from triumph to pain.
“Ow! Fucking hot!” he gasped and dropped the egg, which plummeted towards the ground.
The Orniths shrieked in a chorus of horror but before the egg could hit the floor, the big Kindred—moving with lightning speed—scooped it out of mid-air and deposited it safely back into the laying nest it had come from.
Zerlix was blowing on his scaly palms, which had turned from dirty yellow to dull red, presumably from the contact with the red-hot egg. He glared at Bobbi as though it was her fault he had burned himself.
“Look what you made me do, you little bitch,” he growled. “What’s a mammalian doing with a bunch of avians anyway?”
“That’s none of your business,” Bobbi snapped. “Why don’t you just pay for the eggs you took and get out of here? You’re not wanted in our village.”
“Oh, so it’s our village, huh? You must really like these fucking birds,” Zerlix spat. His slitted eyes raked over Bobbi’s bare breasts and the short grass skirt she wore. “You don’t look anything like them, though. Fucking Orniths are ugly as the first sin but you’re a pretty tasty little package, aren’t you?” He was leering at her now, his forked tongue flickering out as though he wanted to taste her.
The thought turned Bobbi’s stomach. She took a step back from him, covering her breasts with her arms, though she kept her head high.
“I’m a Xeno-Cultural Anthropologist, here on a research gathering mission and I’m affiliated with the Kindred of the Mother Ship,” she said, hoping the words might put some fear into the big, scaly bastard. “They come to check on us regularly and they’re always armed,” she added.
“They’re not here now, though—are they, girly?” Zerlix smirked at her. “You know, I might just take you in lieu of that twelfth egg. I bet you’re almost as tasty. I can fuck you and then eat you when I get tired of wearing out your tight little pussy with my spike. Or maybe I’ll fuck you and eat you at the same time. I just love the taste of mammalian flesh.”
His forked tongue flickered out and he made a snatch at her.
Bobbi jumped away, trying to avoid his stubby, claw-tipped fingers. She stumbled and fell backwards but instead of hitting the floor, she fetched up against something warm and solid that was right behind her. Two big hands—human-looking hands, not a lizard’s claws, she saw—came down on her shoulders and held her in place.
“Not another step forward, Zerlix,” the big Kindred behind her rumbled. “You can’t have her—I formally Claim this female as my own.”
5
Zerlix’s slitted yellow-green eyes narrowed as he glared up at the big Kindred.
“You can’t Claim her!” he protested. “I already Claimed her! I was reaching for her—wasn’t I?”
“You didn’t say the words, though, boss,” one of the other lizard men pointed out. “You gotta say the words.”
“He’s right,” chimed in another one. “Besides, Dragon never Claims females. You got so many back home you don’t know what to do with ‘em all.”
“Shut up, you fucking idiots!” Zerlix roared. He pointed a black-clawed finger at the big Kindred, who still had Bobbi firmly by the shoulders. “She ought to be mine, Dragon—I saw her first!”
“You didn’t Claim her though—I did.” The Kindred’s deep voice was mild but Bobbi could feel his huge hands tightening on her shoulders possessively. “Don’t make me fight you for her, Zerlix,” he added in a lower tone. “You know I’ll win and that will only bring down your status in the Clan.”
“You fucker!” Zerlix snarled, his forked tongue lashing. “You’ll be sorry for this—I swear you will. I’ll have that little mammalian bitch one way or another!”
“You can’t touch her,” Dragon said calmly. “She’s mine and she’s coming home with me.”
These last words seemed to break the paralysis that had fallen over Bobbi the moment she’d felt the Kindred’s big hands close on her shoulders.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, attempting to shake off his grip—with absolutely no success. “Hey, I’m not going home with either one of you! I’m not for sale—you can’t just ‘claim’ me and drag me away.”
“Too late—I already did. Come on now—we’re going.” Dragon had her by the arm and he was dragging her out of the laying hut. The Orniths were all clucking in alarm but none of them dared to come after her—not that Bobbi blamed them.
“Hey, let me go! I said I’m not going with you!” she exclaimed. Twisting in his grip, she attempted to kick him in the balls.
But Dragon was too fast for her. Moving with the same lightning speed she’d seen when he had caught Therena’s egg, he stepped out of range of her kick and slipped an arm around her waist. Then, before Bobbi could voice another word of protest, he swung her up and draped her over his shoulder. Clamping a heavy arm over her thighs, he began to walk.
Bobbi found herself face down with her long red mane swaying from side to side with every step the big Kindred took. Craning her neck and pushing her hair out of the way, she could see the Orniths pouring out of the laying house to watch her go. Therena was in the front and she was plucking at her own feathers again and wailing in a high, despairing voice.
Her friend’s gesture of hopelessness and grief made Bobbi feel cold inside. Obviously, the Orniths had written her off as lost. They didn’t have any weapons and couldn’t stop the big Kindred from taking her. They couldn’t do anything but tell the Kindred of the Mother Ship what had happened when they finally came to check on her—which wouldn’t be for another solar month at least!
Anything can happen in a month, Bobbi thought, despairing. I can’t let him take me—I have to get loose!
Screaming like a wild-woman, she began beating on the broad back and struggling as hard as she could—even though she didn’t relish the fall from his shoulder to the hard ground—which would be at least six feet.
Dragon’s response was to clamp down harder on her thighs and growl,
“Hold still, little one. You’re coming with me whether you like it or not—and you only have yourself to blame for it!”
“What? What are you talking about? How is it my fault that you’re basically kidnapping me?” Bobbi demanded.
But she got no answer. And before she could ask again, Dragon was walking up a metal ramp and bringing her inside a large black spaceship. The rest of the lizard men—including the still simmering Zerlix—trooped inside after him, some of them carrying the eggs which were nestled inside a padded box.
As Bobbi watched with horror, the spaceship’s thick metal door clanged shut and a strange, bluish-purple light clicked on overhead. It reminded her of being in a club when they turned on the black lights so that everything white glowed. It made the yellow scales that were on some of the lizard men seem to glow and flow in strange patterns and her own skin—which was always pretty pale—glowed like a beacon in the strange light.