Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
“Does that make me an Om-Nom?” he teased, flashing her a proud smirk.
She nudged him harder. They chuckled together as he threw an arm around her waist and laid his forehead against her head.
After their laughter subsided, there was only cold tension in the air.
Xexis let out a wounded sigh. “Xnasis believes I am sloppy and under prepared to be Kannatch. That I do not take this seriously. I believe he thinks I am weak.”
Aphrodite shifted, pressing her forehead to him. “You’re not weak.”
“But I did allow Fqa to die in my care.”
“Allow?” She scoffed. “You didn’t allow that, I was the one who told Reevar how to kill him.”
Xexis shook his head, his shoulders slumping more. “That is not what I mean, my mate. I’ve seen the reports. Fqa was dead, unresponsive before he lashed out. The reason he escaped was they were pulling him from the tube, trying to bring him back, when he attacked.”
Aphrodite froze, staring down into Xexis’ lap. He was dead when he changed. She slipped back inch by inch until the two stared at each other. Then, she glanced at Buddy, “Scan me for infection.”
Buddy chirped and ran her and Xexis through his orange beam. She watched her data pad with held breath.
No infection detected. Slightly lower levels of iron, but Xexis and Aphrodite are not filled with pest.
Aphrodite scowled, crossing her arms. “So, then it’s not a disease or actual infection, it’s not a virus or able to be spread by blood. What infected Max, the Council woman, and Fqa? And why was it only after they were dead did they take control?”
Text appeared on the screen, and she stared at it in abject horror.
Pest resides within them.
“The pest is a creature? A thing?” She looked up to Buddy.
He bounced up and down, tentacles flopping.
She glared at the nearest wall, thinking it through out loud.
“It's feeding off them, we know that, because the lifeforms are always deteriorating when they're infected. And their skulls, they’re always brittle. It must be feeding off their calcium, but…Fqa was alive when he was infected. The creature must not be able to take control while they’re alive. Xexis!”
She ripped to face him. He sat up straight, eyes wide. She panted, “When Fqa reached out for help, what did he say exactly? How did he know he was sick?”
Xexis cocked his head. “I will have to look at the log when we return home. It has everything plus the records we have when we arrived.”
“Perfect!” Aphrodite beamed, a surge of warmth and motivation pulsing through her.
“I bet we can figure out more about them from Fqa. Because Max, and unfortunately, probably the Council woman were already dead when the pests took over. They didn’t have to fight for control.
Because despite the knife to the head, Max’s body and brain were still mostly intact.
If the pest can reanimate the dead, likely they can work around a split skull.
Damn, I wish they hadn’t blown their brains out, we probably could have found the pests in their heads. ”
If the pests didn’t die from the blast, they would have found another host. Pests survive even after the host is gone by finding a new host.
She knew that Buddy was trying to console her, but it didn’t make her feel better. They need to find a new host? She looked at Xexis, “Can you get an urgent message to Xnasis, tell him the pests in their skulls may try to find a new host, a different dead host?”
Xexis was in the middle of calling his brother when Vivian stepped up to the doorway.
The clear curtains were spread, and she smiled.
Aphrodite’s tension melted away at the familiar, soothing sounds of Vivian’s pumps across the metal floors.
She strutted to Aphrodite and instantly threw her arms around her.
Aphrodite sprung up into her embrace and pulled her close.
Vivian exhaled heavily into her shoulder, but there was a smile in her voice.
“Your guy is just fine, don’t worry. I patched him up. He’s safe.”
Aphrodite squeezed Vivian with all her might, fingers burrowing into her sides. “Thank you! Vivian…” She trembled as the wave of anxiety and fear washed away and her body was filled with relief. Goose bumps broke out across all her skin. “Thank you.”
Vivian broke away, cupping Aphrodite’s face sweetly. “He’s got a little bit before the anesthesia wears off, but if you want to come sit by him while you wait, it’s safe to do that now.”
Aphrodite nodded, searching for Xexis. He was still on his data pad call with Xnasis.
His brother didn’t look happy but there was something else.
She could see it from over Xexis’ shoulder as he instructed Xnasis with everything Aphrodite said, speaking half in Vrozian and half in English.
Xnasis was observing Xexis with wonder. There was fury, and disgust as he barked things to his assistants, but…
wonder returned to his eyes as he looked back to Xexis on screen.
“Thank you, Xexis, we will take your discovery into consideration when handling the others.”
“Have,” Aphrodite opened her mouth then stopped, covering it with her hands. Both brothers turned to her expectantly. She blushed awkwardly shuffling up behind Xexis, “Max and the Council woman, they didn’t get back up, did they?”
“No.” Xnasis seemed displeased.
“Oh, that’s good.” She slithered out of view and followed Vivian into the medical bay. Trying not to take it personally, she headed directly for Reevar’s side. She watched his face, smooth and resting with his pincers flopped against his mouth.
“So, uh,” Vivian laughed nervously from across the bed. “Which one?”
“Which one what?” Aphrodite sputtered to life.
“Are you like mated to both? Or like, just this one or that one? I just, I heard the Vroz take the whole mate thing seriously. And, well, I think I saw some sort of news article? I don’t watch a lot of television as of late, so I’m not sure whose uh…
wait.” Vivian’s eyes fell to Aphrodite’s clothes as if noticing them for the first time.
Then she snapped her attention to Xexis and her eyebrows shot up. “Wait, no way.”
“It’s kinda a complicated story,” Aphrodite wheezed.
“You’re a space princess now, gears!” Vivian tossed her hands up above her head. “Tell me everything. My patient’s not going to wake for at least an hour. So, you’ve got an hour to tell me how you ended up mated to one of the princes of the Vroskrowz!”
Aphrodite groaned, “So…there was this…fucking haunted ship…”