“Was it male or female?”
“They are neither.” Kellin turned to face her. “Or more accurately, they are both at once. Just refer to them as Yarnit and you will be fine.”
Taymar caught the wall as the ship bucked again. “What did it want?”
“What did Yarnit want,” he corrected. “Yarnit wanted to know if I had everything the Shreet came for. We cannot remain in battle with the Regal much longer. Even with two ships, she outmatches us.”
His statement had a hint of pride to it, and maybe regret. “What did you tell i…Yarnit?”
Kellin nodded at her. “That you were here. We could go.”
Taymar frowned. All of this just to get her on board a Shreet ship? Again? It seemed a bit much. She didn’t have a chance to voice her skepticism, because Kellin was pushing his way into the crowded corridor.
As they worked their way down the winding passage, catching themselves against the wall now and again, Taymar drank in the strangeness with a mixture of fear and exhilaration. The skinbraids ranged in height similar to the people of the Regal. Maybe they tended to be a little shorter. Or Maybe looking at them in comparison to the giant Kellin just made them seem that way. Their skin color varied considerably, though. They came in muted shades of tan, rusty orange, pale yellow and a strange light blue that looked a little dirty. But, regardless of their skin color, they all displayed braids that melted into white fleshy skin growing against their heads eventually breaking away and ending in varying lengths of silky white braided hair. Some braids were thicker than others, but they all dangled like living ropes from the strange creatures’ heads. Their eyes were as enormous as she remembered them from her last visit to one of their ships, but not as dark. Their noses were flat and ended in nostril slits that parted as they breathed, but it somehow seemed normal on their angular faces.
With help from a passing Shreet, Kellin made it through the maze of passages to the Shreet version of the nav-deck. By the time he swiped open the door, the ship had stopped bumping and swerving. Like the rest of the ship, the nav-deck was smaller than that of the Regal. The viewer was a holo that shot up from a raised table in the center of the room. It showed stars and a red dot falling away at an impressive rate. Probably the Regal.
Leaning over the holographic dome was a woman who, from the back, looked surprisingly like Lakir, Nevvis’s last girlfriend. Until she turned around. The Shreet was taller than Taymar, but not by much. Her skinbraid started off golden blond, but quickly turned into the same white fleshy rope that merged into hair around her shoulders.
The woman addressed Kellin with a smile in the same chirpy language he had used earlier, again referring to him as Kellindii. This time, however, it was Kellin who bowed. His reply was in Universal. “ZakiRoe, I present Taymar. Again. This time, I think we will be able to keep her.”
The woman grinned. “I shall try to do better, Kellindii, seeing as how you went to such trouble to get her here.” Her accent was extreme. She chirped her words in a short clipped cadence, but at least Taymar could make them out.
“What do you mean by again?” Taymar asked.
The woman shrugged. “I had you once, but it seems you were more than we anticipated and the dii who flew the mission did not heed our informer’s warning. You stole our ship.”
Taymar narrowed her eyes and shifted to find a better-balanced position. “You stole people.”
“We didn’t intend to steal anyone. Just offer them an alternative. We were not prepared for the…passion of your people.” The woman glanced at Kellin, a thin clear eyelid sliding over her huge dark eyes. “You are the real reason we went to Drani at all.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Taymar looked the woman over, pausing a little too long on her amazing ankle claw. “Other than repairing ships, I don’t know how I am all that much good on a space ship.”
“Ah, but you are wrong.” ZakiRoe stepped over and offered Taymar her arm. “If you will indulge us, I will take you to our station as you call it. You have someone waiting there who has been very anxious for your arrival. And then you can decide for yourself just how valuable you are.”
Taymar glanced from the strange woman to Kellin and then to the extended arm. Taking a deep breath, she reached forward and they clasped wrists. “Okay. Let’s see your space station.” Beside her, Kellin smiled. Taymar sucked in a long breath. Whatever was about to happen, at least it was going to be her choice this time.
About the Author
Melonie is a Las Vegas native, which makes her a born and bred desert rat. She spent her childhood riding horses, hunting lizards, camping, fishing and getting lost in books. Somewhere in there she managed to earn a couple of college degrees and land a job where she gets paid to be entertained by the antics of teenagers. She still spends her free-time chasing things in the woods and among the sage, but now she’s usually lugging a backpack, pointing a camera and trying to keep track of her dogs.
Author’s Notes
Thank you for reading Shield of Drani. I hope you loved it! Word of mouth is the best advertising an author can hope for, so if you did enjoy your time with Taymar and Nevvis, please take a moment to leave a positive review with the seller.
Also, if you would like to follow Taymar’s adventure, be sure to watch for the second book in the Drani series, Dagger of Drani. You can find out more information by visiting my website at meloniepurcell.com. There, you will find blurbs from upcoming books in the Drani series, sample chapters and information about my other exciting series. You can sneak through the site ninja-style or drop in and chat.
Shield of Drani (World of Drani Book 1) Page 31