Chapter 13 #3
It was like he was excited for Vareo to one day best him, and think enough steps ahead to outsmart his master. They weren't the same species, so Lord Zorn couldn't be his genetic spawn maker, but there was a twisted fondness there that I couldn't deny.
"Fuck you!" Vareo lashed out, and his fangs were on full display, while an eerie blue glow emanated from the young shol.
Lord Zorn's eyes widened with awed excitement. I stared at the youth, and my second lids slid over my eyes to watch the way his energy grew. Shocked and horrified, I watched as the blueish heat was being sucked along a current—rushing towards Lord Zorn in waves. My eyes retracted back to normal. With his arms extended wide, Zorn’s maniacal laughter filled the air.
Instinctively, I took a step back. The longer he was in contact with the energy coming off of Vareo’s fury, the more the cracks in his loh were healing.
I couldn't believe what I was witnessing, but I suspected that Vareo was the reason Lord Zorn was surviving my poison and the overload of radiation from Hazel.
Did he know what he was doing? The anger appeared much too raw to be that of a male who was trying to help heal someone.
This was why Lord Zorn kept the youth so close. It had to be.
The male was fast as they clashed together. Vareo rushed Lord Zorn, fangs and claws out with a battle roar echoing the shuttle bay.
Lord Zorn's laughter haunted me as I tried to keep up with them. My species was not that fast. We utilized our oils and spray to disable our prey, slow them down, and knock them out.
I thought of spraying Lord Zorn to help the shol warrior, but I'd only hurt both of them. There wasn't a way to use my spray and only harm one. Or was there?
I quickly removed my borrowed uniform shirt and wrapped it around my head like a hat, closing up any gaps that I could. My scales lifted and sprayed the fabric, soaking in.
There was little time that the poison would be most potent before it would neutralize in the air without a host. Unwrapping the shirt, I re-wrapped it, using the arms to tie it around my tail. My barbs extended from my tail to secure it further.
Lord Zorn didn't even view me as a threat in this battle, merely an observer in his fight with his son. It was just a game he was enjoying torturing Vareo with before he would return me to captivity, and resume his task of burning down his slaves.
Vareo had his claws dug deep into the estreld's gut while laughter reminded the youth that for every injury done to Lord Zorn, his own strange heat was healing him.
They were both distracted with themselves to notice me come up behind.
Vareo was glaring into his master's eyes.
Lord Zorn was chiding with an amused tongue cluck.
Neither of their exceptional hearing would hear my approach among their own loud heartbeats and raging tempers.
I slowed my own blood to less than what most species would deem alive.
"Why?" Vareo demanded.
"We can't afford to risk the spread of the virus, you know this. The birds know of the risks, and the consequences of not following protocol when returning to the ship."
"No," Vareo gritted back. "You can wait. There's a cure."
"My poor son, it isn't just about saving them from their mistakes.
You know this. They've grown complacent.
That's why good birds are already dead. You think they should live after being responsible for ignoring my rules?
For putting the entire crew at risk? They failed and the rest of the birds will learn how costly disobedience is. "
Vareo saw me hovering with my tail slowly readying to strike. A slow smile lifted his lips and his eyes turned black as he allowed his anger to simmer enough for his blue, glowing runes along his arms to fade.
"Whoever was responsible is likely dead already. What you're doing is murder, not justice, and not even revenge. You, Lord, are no longer a bird of Zorn. You've flown too high to be one of us anymore," Vareo said with venom, and gave me a nod.
I wrapped my tail around the Lord's throat and shoved the shirt at his mouth to let the poison soak in. Vareo growled as he lunged his weight into his claws to dig farther into Lord Zorn's gut.
Voices over the intercom chanted from what I assumed were birds from across the ship. "One of us. One of us."
Blood dribbled from Lord Zorn's loh as his body shook and convulsed. We both stood there until the last twitch faded from his cooling body.
"Perhaps this time, we should make sure he doesn't pray for more blessings from the goddess," I suggested.
Vareo forced a chuckle. "I hear the incinerator is great for unwanted viruses."
I found myself releasing the tension in my shoulders with a laugh before I redirected back to the mission, "If you have access to this ship's command, it would be quicker to connect with my ship and have them bring it here."
Vareo nodded, an uncomfortably tight line replaced his smile. He tapped his comm and commanded, "Genbi, connect with the lizard's ship."
"One of us," the intercom continued to chant.
Genbi's voice was heard from Vareo's personal comm, "As you command, the voice of one will be honored."
"Fuck off," Vareo snapped, but there was a small smile barely imperceptible.
The sooner we got this infected sector injected with the Ganpan-fal, the sooner I'd know whether it worked, and ask my treasure if she'd join me in retrieving Belder, and deciding where our final payload of the nanobots would best be distributed.