CHAPTER 7
Despite his shredded hands—damn the tiny little fucker had sharp teeth—Grayson didn’t feel too much pain. Might have been because, despite her assertion they wouldn’t meet again, Leila accompanied him down the tower steps.
“Can’t believe you grew an alien,” he stated.
“Not exactly. More like it grew itself. When I left it in the aquarium last night it was grape-sized and still just a blob. Once it got loose, it went after everything flesh-based in the lab.”
“Which is super bad news because that likely means the aliens we killed in the arena didn’t die and regenerated.”
She nodded. “There was definitely enough bodies and blood all over for them to use as fuel, assuming they could propel themselves. But even if those couldn’t, any hunks of tissue that might have been expelled have the potential to become new aliens.
They’re apparently capable of seeking out the protein needed to heal and grow. ”
Grayson uttered a low whistle. “Which is bad.”
“Very.”
“Won’t be a problem for long. You heard Aquarius upstairs. He’s gonna tell the boys to torch the bodies from now on.”
“Which should work, but just in case, I will run some tests to ensure incineration doesn’t cause other types of issues.”
“Toxic smoke?”
“That, and I do wonder if the ash will retain its ability to regenerate. It seems unlikely, and yet, at the same time, this species is defying usual norms.”
“Gonna barbecue the bugger that bit me?”
“Goodness no,” Leila exclaimed. “I am keeping it for observation. I want to catalogue its rate of growth and whether it shows signs of intelligence. We know nothing about the aliens other than they’re violent.
That said, I will excise some tissue from it so I might conduct further tests.
I already have an incineration container that feeds into a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, which can measure the organic compounds of the smoke produced.
I might also run it through a diffraction x-ray… ”
She spoke quite animatedly about the science, of which Grayson understood nothing, but he did enjoy her passion. The exuberance in her face, the way her hands gestured. Everything about her intrigued.
When she paused for a breath, he said, “Let me know when you’re going to slice off some samples and I’ll give you a hand.”
“Doing what?” She sounded genuinely confused.
“Holding it so it doesn’t eat your face.”
She laughed, a tinkling sound he enjoyed too much. “Oh, I won’t attempt anything while it’s awake. I’ll gas it and make sure it’s asleep first.”
“What if our drugs don’t work or it wakes quicker than expected?”
His query had her chewing her lower lip. “I’ll dose it ahead of time and see how long it takes for it to recover.”
“Which will set you back with your experiment if it takes hours.”
“You sound awfully eager to stick your hand near that thing’s mouth again. I’m surprised.” She glanced at his ripped hands.
“Better me than you.”
“Why?”
Her simple question had him casting about for a reply. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“Because I’m a woman.”
“Because I like you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” The truth, and yet she stiffened as if he’d said something wrong.
“You barely know me.”
“Not sure why that matters.”
“I don’t need a man doing things for me.” A terse reply.
“I’m not touching any of your science stuff.
That’s your domain. I’m just offering muscle backup.
You don’t know what this thing is capable of.
What if it fakes being asleep? What if it sleeps three hours the first time you dose it, but when you do it the second time and open its cage, it’s developed an immunity and wakes up within five minutes?
” He couldn’t have said why he argued so hard.
She sighed. “I hate to admit it, but you make some good points. Very well. You may assist me for the extraction part, but that’s it.”
“Okay.”
The descent didn’t take as long as expected, and they entered the Stardust Room with its array of jars.
She immediately headed to one and pulled it down.
“How do you know that’s the right one?” he asked as he sat on the bed in the middle of the room.
She pointed to the slight etching on the glass. “Your symbol.”
“Oh.” Now he felt dumb because even he would have recognized the parallel lines with the little half circle on top as the sigil for Libra.
“Hands out,” she ordered.
He obeyed but grimaced as she shook the fine dirt over the gouges. “I still can’t believe this cures.”
“Think of it more as speeding up the healing process. This powder is imbued with the power of your Astraeus. As its Avatar, you already have a connection, making it easy for it to give your body a boost.”
“For someone who says she doesn’t have anything to do with the warriors, you know a lot.”
“Blame my curiosity. When I first arrived, I wanted to know everything. How Tower worked. The link between the Astraeus and the Zodiac warriors.”
“And you did that without interacting with them?”
“The library is well stocked with all the information I need.”
His lips quirked. “Seems like it might have been faster just to ask someone.”
“People’s observations are usually clouded by emotion. I wanted a more scientific base.”
He turned his hands over, noticing the hot and cold burn, but, unlike the previous day, he didn’t pass out. “I take it you’ve studied this dust.”
“Yes. I’ve taken small samples from each jar to see what makes it special.”
“And?”
“Nothing. Not a single test I ran showed it as anything more than dirt.”
“Guess there isn’t a test for magic.”
“Not yet,” she muttered. “Now that you’re in the healing phase, I should return to my lab and ensure the subject hasn’t managed another escape.”
“I’m surprised Tower didn’t warn you before you entered the lab and confronted it.”
“Me, too. I have to wonder if Tower, like the Astraeus, has a blind spot where these aliens are concerned.”
His brow crinkled. “I don’t understand. How could it not see it?”
“You weren’t here for the asteroid incident.”
“The one recently in the news?”
She nodded. “Usually the Astraeus, via their avatars, destroy them well before they’re a threat to Earth, but somehow they couldn’t detect this asteroid, which, as it turns out, was because it was, in actuality, an alien ship.
Anyhow, they couldn’t act against it until the warriors recreated some ancient device.
We were very lucky it worked, or we wouldn’t likely be talking right now. ”
“Can this device help Tower? That is, assuming it can’t see these creatures.”
“Maybe.” She frowned. “The Antikythera mechanism was originally designed for mapping constellations and planets, so I’m not sure how we could adapt it.”
“How would you find out if Tower can see them or not?”
“By asking.” She tilted her face. “Tower, did you know about the alien loose in my lab?”
The lights in the room flicked on and off twice.
“Tower says no, which answers the question. I’ll have to let the Zodiac leader know. Tower’s inability to detect these creatures will hamper its ability to protect the inhabitants.”
A loud rumbling had Grayson’s mouth rounding in embarrassment. “Is it normal for healing to make me so hungry?”
“Yes. Your body is working to repair at a rapid rate, depleting your stores. If you feel well enough, you should head to the dining room for sustenance.”
“Will you join me?” It slipped out, and she couldn’t hide her surprise.
“I really should get back to my lab.” She paused before adding, “When you’ve completed your repast, you may join me, assuming you still want to aid.”
“I’ll be there,” he promised.
They set out together for the stairs, but at the dining level where he halted, she kept going. He watched longer than was likely polite. In his defense, nice ass.
He entered the dining area to find the minotaur present, reading the paper and sipping from a dainty, if oversized, teacup.
“Hello, Asterion.” Grayson offered a greeting before heading to the niche, where a hot roast beef sandwich with extra pickles awaited. Sweet.
“Good day. I see you’ve already managed to injure yourself again.”
“Yeah. An alien got loose in Leila’s lab.”
Seems a man with a bull’s head could manage to look surprised. Fascinating.
Grayson grabbed the plate from the niche and sat across from Asterion, who put aside his paper.
“An alien, here? I hadn’t heard we’d captured any.”
“Not captured. Grown. Leila was playing around with a chunk she recovered from my jersey. Apparently, giving it meat proteins allowed it to grow.”
“And this ‘chunk’ became a recognizable alien?” Asterion didn’t call him a liar but rather leaned forward with interest.
“Yeah. It wasn’t as big as the ones I fought, but definitely the same ugly bastard. Was about the size of a hamster after it got through eating everything it could in Leila’s lab.”
“That type of rapid growth from such a small sample and in such a short time frame is concerning.”
“Exactly what Leila and Aquarius said. They’re supposed to warn Aries and the others so they can start burning the bodies and the area around in case of flying hunks of flesh.”
“Fire is a good plan.” Asterion nodded. “Many cultures incinerate their dead to prevent them from rising again.”
“Leila’s going to run a test by burning a sample of it to make sure it doesn’t release anything toxic. I’m gonna give her a hand getting a flesh sample from the bugger after I’m done lunch.”
“Leila’s allowing you to help her?” Asterion didn’t hide his surprise.
“Yeah. It’s way too dangerous for her to tackle alone.”
“Would you mind if I joined you? After all, two sets of hands might be better than one.”
“Sure, assuming Leila doesn’t mind.”
“She and I are friends.” Asterion scoffed. “Besides, I wish to see this creature for myself.”