Chapter 34
“You must be mistaken,” a bulbous-eyed male said, his words melding together like one long word.
“I assure you I am not!” Mir’ Ahn said, pointing his finger in the face of the male he was speaking to.
The male’s eyes crossed as he tried to focus on Mir’ Ahn’s finger.
“I’ve lived my whole life there! I knew every single room, every single corridor! I even know the secret passages that would give us easy entry into the palace. I’ve got friends on the inside. They’re waiting for my return. And I’ll be triumphant!” he thought about what he’d just said and a sudden thought lit his drug clouded eyes. “It’ll be a triumphant return!”
“If you know all there is to know about the palace, and you have friends on the inside, why did you leave?”
“Because they found me out! I was a fool to trust a complicated operation to a female, and she caused it to fall apart, exposing me and all those who believed in me. I had to run so that I could live to fight another day.”
“How do you have friends on the inside if they were all exposed?” the male asked, rubbing his still crossed aching eyes, though Mir’ Ahn’s finger had been removed long before.
Flustered, Mir’ Ahn raised his voice, his words becoming even more slurred than they’d been yet. “Do not question me! I know of what I speak! Either you’re with me, or you’re against me! Do you join with us or not?”
The male, busy looking at the intricate sticker pads that naturally grew on his amphibian like fingers, turned his attention back to Mir’ Ahn. “I’m not with you! I do not even know you. Even if I did, I will pretend I don’t when the Cruestaci come looking for you. Because come looking for you they will! You don’t betray the Cruestaci people and expect not to be in their sights.”
“No one will come for me. They fear me!”
The sticky green male shooed Mir’ Ahn away and went back to examining his hands.
Mir’ Ahn didn’t bother to get up and move, but he did look around the hookah bar he’d been entrenched in for the last three days. He could barely see two feet in front of his face, not only from the smoke permeating the large, dark room, but from the hookah pipe he near constantly sucked on. He spent a few minutes observing everything within his limited view, then quite clumsily turned in his chair. Leaning on the low, rounded table in front of himself, he focused on the green amphibianesque male sitting at the same table. “I have a proposition for you.”
The male peered at him. “Do I know you?”
“Not you. But you will and you will thank me.”
“I don’t do business with strangers.”
“I’m Mir’ Ahn. I am Steward of the Cruestaci Palace Warriors.”
“That does sound familiar. I think I’ve heard of you.”
“Good. Then let us talk business. I find myself here because I had to make a quick escape from Cruestace. I’m building an army! We’ll return to Cruestace and rule! If you join me, you’ll be at my side! Are you in?”
“Why did you have to make a quick escape?” the green male asked.
“I planned to overthrow the royal family and take over Cruestace myself. A fool female I trusted as an integral part of the plan failed to perform as promised and the whole thing fell apart. I was exposed along with all those who eagerly joined the rebellion. I had to leave in a rush so I’d survive to fight another day.”
“Rebellions are good. I miss rebellions. Are you going to have another one, do you think?” he asked, sitting forward to lean on his forearms and try to focus on Mir’ Ahn.
“I am. I know the entire layout of the royal palace on Cruestace. I know all the secret entrances, and I have friends on the inside. I’m going to return with an army of males who understand what dominance is all about. We’ll kill all the royal family and take the planet for ourselves!”
The male struggled to focus on Mir’ Ahn. His protruding eyes squinted as he tried to see him through the haze of smoke and drugs. “I think, maybe you should hurry. Or at least join forces with the male who was here earlier. I’m fairly certain he was planning the same thing.”
“Are you sure?” Mir’ Ahn demanded. “I might have to kill him, too.”
In the very back of the room, with a black scarf swept around his head and across his face, Rokai sat with his booted feet up on the chair across from him. He shook his head at the ramblings of the two drugged males across the room.
“This is the third time they’ve forgotten they’ve already met and discussed this very same thing,” Elspeth said.
Rokai looked at her and rolled his eyes. “I’m so ready to just kill the bastard and be on about my business.”
“All we need him to do is walk out of the bar, then we can grab him,” Elspeth said.
“It’s not like anyone in here would notice if we grabbed him now, and if they did, they’d forget in ten minutes anyway,” Rokai said.
“True. And it’s not like we need to worry about anyone else he spoke to, they’re as out of their minds as he is.” Elspeth sat there for only a few more minutes before she sat forward. “I have an idea.”
“What? What are you going to do?” he asked, as she stood.
She adjusted the brown and white paisley scarf over her head to reveal her eyes and her nose more clearly, then unbuttoned the long heavy jacket Rokai had made her wear to keep the fact that she was female from any who might see her. “Be ready to meet me in the waste chamber.”
Rokai nodded and watched as she pretended to be as drugged as the patrons in the hookah bar.
Elspeth wandered over by Mir’ Ahn and stumbled, accidentally falling against him. Her breasts pushed into his hands as he irritatedly caught her and shoved her up and away from him.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know what the problem is. I can’t seem to stand very well. It’s just so hot in here,” she said, unbuttoning several of the buttons on the shirt she wore beneath the jacket she’d already unbuttoned. She shoved her hands inside her shirt and began to rub her breasts and cleavage before fanning herself. “Just so hot.”
Mir’ Ahn reached out with both hands and pulled her toward him. “Let me see what’s beneath all these clothes. Perhaps I’ll make you my queen when I kill all of the Cruestaci royal family.”
“I’m a lady. I will not let you undress me in public like this!” she said, feigning outrage. “Let’s go in the waste chamber!”
“I want to come!” the amphibian male declared.
Elspeth ignored him, and grabbed Mir’ Ahn by the hand, leading him toward the waste chamber. She rolled her eyes at Rokai as she approached him, while Mir’ Ahn did his unsteady best to reach around and fondle her breasts. She yanked open the door to the waste chamber and stepped inside, pulling Mir’ Ahn in behind her.
Rokai opened the door and started to follow them into the waste chamber, but the amphibian male had managed to make his way to the waste chamber as well, intent on joining the party.
“What do you want?” Rokai demanded.
“I want some of that female! She’s a little manly, but I don’t mind, she still has all the right parts.”
“You can’t!”
“Why not? She offered!”
“She offered him!”
“Then why are you going?”
Rokai stopped and canted his head, his face turned toward the ceiling. “Did you hear that? You’re a lucky bastard!” Rokai declared.
“What?” the male asked.
“They just announced it! You’re the patron of the day. You get a free hookah filled with your flavor of choice! ”
“They said that?” he asked.
“They did!”
“You know? I thought I heard something about that, but I didn’t realize I’d won. I have to go get my hookah!”
“You’d better hurry, they only gave you five minutes to collect your prize!”
“I’m going!” he said, his words gurgling out behind him as he swayed his way to the bar.
Rokai shook his head in disgust, then opened the door and stepped inside the waste chamber.
“What took you so long?” Elspeth asked.
Rokai laughed. Mir’ Ahn was pressed against the wall, passionately kissing it.
“Don’t laugh. He thinks he’s kissing me.”
Mir’ Ahn pushed away from the wall, his head teetering like it was in danger of falling off his shoulders. “You don’t kiss very well,” he complained.
Rokai stepped in front of him and slammed Mir’ Ahn’s back against the wall. “Hello, Mir’ Ahn.”
Mir’ Ahn blinked his eyes, doing his best to focus. “Who…”
“Look well, Mir’ Ahn. Do you recognize me? Rokai ahl Tel Mo’ Kok. Brother to Sire Zha Quin Tha Tel Mo’ Kok. Uncle to Sire Zha Quin Alexandrus Tel Mo’ Kok.”
Despite Mir’ Ahn’s drugged state, he seemed to be realizing the danger he was in. “I have done nothing wrong,” he slurred out.
“You attacked my family. You thought to kill a youngling. Kill his parents and take over the Cruestaci populace and rule them yourself. And you left your sister behind to be prosecuted for your crimes when your plan failed.”
“I did no such thing! I was just going to make them do what I want because they didn’t want him killed,” Mir’ Ahn said, patting Rokai on the shoulder. “Sister doesn’t count. She always liked being a servant. Humiliating, really.” He looked critically at Rokai. “You should thank me. They never liked you very much either. Oh! Maybe we could join forces! You can’t be the Sovereign, though. That’s my job. ”
Rokai didn’t even bother to answer. The claws on the tips of his fingers extended and he punched Mir’ Ahn’s chest so hard his fingers sank into his flesh. Rokai withdrew his fist hand, pieces of torn flesh stuck to his claws, and blood staining his entire hand and struck him again, this time going even deeper.
Mir’ Ahn sucked in a struggling breath, his eyes wide and terrified.
“Do not ever make the mistake of threatening my people again. Do not ever leave a female behind to accept the blame for your own behavior. I thought that perhaps I’d take you back to face my brother, Sovereign Zha Quin for justice, but no, you deserve this more. Do you want to know what I’m going to do?”
Mir’ Ahn continued to struggle to breathe, gasping, as blood streamed from the open wound in his chest.
“Hmm. Seems you’re not so chatty now. I’ll tell you anyway. I’m going to tear out what remains of your chest and take your heart as a gift to my brother on his ascension to the throne.
A high pitched squeak left Mir’ Ahn’s throat as he tried to scream for help.
“First, though, I’m going to remove your head,” Rokai said.
Elspeth handed Rokai a short handled scythe she’d been hiding in her over-sized breeches, and stepped back to try to avoid most of the blood.
“Thank you, Elspeth,” Rokai said formally.
“You’re welcome, Rokai.”
Rokai held the long curved blade up and examined it in the light. “Perfect, don’t you think?” he asked Mir’ Ahn.
Mir’ Ahn’s eyes had begun to clear a little as he focused on the blade and tried to shake his head.
“Funny how pain and fear can clear a clouded mind so quickly, isn’t it?” he asked Mir’ Ahn. “So glad you could be aware to experience it with us.”
Mir’ Ahn opened his mouth, his lips opening and closing like a gasping fish out of water.
Rokai drew back his arm and brought it down toward Mir’ Ahn’s neck .
Elspeth stepped behind Rokai at the last moment to avoid the arterial blood spatter.
Mir’ Ahn’s head hit the floor with a thud and rolled a couple of feet while Rokai hacked his chest a time or two to get to the heart.
“Bag!” Rokai said.
“Here,” Elspeth said, taking a rough, woven rolled up bag out of her jacket pocket and handing it to Rokai.
Rokai shook it out and dropped the heart into it, then grabbed Mir’ Ahn’s head by the horns and dropped it into the bag also. “Glad he’s got short horns. If not, I’d need a larger bag.” Hoisting the bag over his shoulder, he turned and smiled pleasantly at Elspeth. “Ready?”
She looked at him, a semi-horrified expression on her face. “I have to admit that even I’m a little disturbed at that. I had no idea what you planned to use that bag for.”
“I told you how I won over my Ehlealah — bag of heads and hearts? Remember?”
“Dear, gods. I thought you were exaggerating.”
“I never exaggerate. Actually, I’m lying. Yes, I do.”
Someone tried the door, and Elspeth looked at Rokai, covered in blood. “It’s going to be hard to hide that.”
“Most won’t even notice. Let’s just go. I have an Ascension to attend.