Tigg, feeling my eyes on him, smiled and looked at my hand resting on my belly. “You’ll begin to grow quickly, my love,” he said.
“You don’t say.” I’d already surpassed the size of a pregnant Earth woman in her first trimester.
“We will have to return to Treox about two weeks before you are due to give birth,” he reminded me.
“Yes. Then hide out in the jungle and stock up on jineg bugs.” They were hard-shelled little crawlers resembling Earth’s cockroaches. “Is there shelter?” Perhaps we’d stay with his brothers?
“I will build us something,” he assured me.
A hut made from trees and bushes I guessed. Fantastic. The piss-hole we were in now would sure seem like the Ritz then.
Tigg saw my frown. “Don’t worry, it’ll be all right.”
“As long as we’re together it will be.”
The months passed easily. I grew larger each day while Tigg toiled away in the vast gardens around the inn, coming home late in the day, muscles rippling and sweaty. The weather was comfortable; the cool breezes from the lake made the dingy room we shared smell sweet and welcoming. Each night we spent eating dinner on the balcony, and then locked in each other’s arms in our narrow bed. In the third month of my pregnancy I became too large to accommodate Tigg’s enormous cocks, so we sweetly kissed and caressed each other instead. Tigg didn’t seem to mind the lack of physical sex. He was ever attentive to my incessant mood swings and crazy cravings. Despite my earlier suspicions of King Ranox, we only heard from him once when a messenger arrived to make sure we were settled in. Other than that, we were left to mingle with the many guests visiting from other worlds, or the large staff employed at the inn. Aelon grew used to Tigg’s presence and even began to send up delicacies from the kitchen to me now and again thinking I may enjoy them. Life was calm, predictable and unbelievably happy.
Two days before we were set to leave, everything went to shit.
We’d made it known around the inn that we were leaving at the end of the week. Everyone said how sad they’d be to see us go, and even Aelon was melancholy. Tigg reported for duty in the morning as usual and I settled down with my big belly onto a recliner on the balcony. Frantic knocking made me jump up and waddle quickly to the door.
“What?” I demanded, opening it up in a panic.
It was one of the porters I’d seen around. He looked extremely agitated, his gaze darting from my eyes to my belly and back up again. “I don’t know how to tell you this,” he began.
“Tell me what?” Oh no! Oh no! My frantic mind screamed in warning. All of my old fears resurfaced. Clay had found us and had attacked Tigg in the lobby. King Ranox had figured out who my father was and wanted us thrown in the dungeon as traitors. They’d discovered I was half Earthling…
“Tigg’s been arrested and taken to Malenea for questioning,” the porter blurted.
Bloody hell! “What? Why?”
“I don’t know. The king’s soldiers just arrived and whisked him away. I’m sorry.” Having delivered his news he turned on his heels and practically ran back down the hallway. I followed after him, not caring I was in my bare feet.
When I reached the front desk Aelon was standing there wringing his hands. “Aelon, please, tell me what happened. Why did the soldiers take Tigg?”
He studied me a moment before he replied. “I don’t know, Minka. Oh, the scandal of it all! They arrested him and dragged him out in front of the guests. We’ll never live this down.”
“Screw the guests! Did they say anything? Like why they took him away?”
He shrugged. “They’re the king’s soldiers. They don’t have to have a reason to do anything. What’re you going to do?” His look was calculated for a split second, and then replaced with sympathy.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I have to go to him, see what this is all about. I’m sure it’s just a stupid mistake.”
He came around the desk and patted my shoulder. “Oh course it is, my dear. And you’re right. You should go to him. Do you have transportation?”
I thought for a moment, my mind whirling around at light speed. “Yes. We came here in Tigg’s craft.” We hadn’t used it since we’d arrive.
“Can you maneuver it?”
“I think so.” I’d watched Tigg, and it didn’t seem too different from Clay’s many small crafts that I’d driven on Earth. I looked down at my feet, suddenly noticing I was standing there half-dressed and barefoot. “I have to change.”
Aelon nodded his head in agreement. “I’m sorry this happened. I was actually becoming quite fond of you both.”
He sounded sincere, which made me feel teary again, for the thousandth time this month. Not trusting myself to speak, I merely nodded and then took off for my room.
Several minutes later I was in Tigg’s ship and ready for take-off. Aelon had walked me out, carrying a bag I’d haphazardly thrown together. Once I had Tigg back, we’d not chance returning to the hotel. We’d get the hell out of here for good. The possessions we’d accumulated over the month didn’t amount to anything of value or sentiment. The bag contained all that I wished to return to Treox with, which was mostly clothes I could fit into, and a few items for Tigg. When we were deep in the jungles on his home planet, he’d probably just wear a loincloth like most of his kind did who didn’t enter the domes.
The ship lifted off and I zoomed away from Eithur and headed in the direction of Malenea. If I hurried I could make it there in under an hour. On the way here we’d set a leisurely pace so we could make love. My thighs tingled, my nipples hardened, and I felt my center heat up in excitement as I recalled the last time we’d been on this ship. I never imagined the next time I was aboard I’d be alone and rushing off to rescue Tigg from the dungeons of Malenea.
Or had I?
Hadn’t that fear or one similar badgered me when we’d arrived on Ventillia? Sure I’d pushed my niggling thoughts aside and then buried them deep as the carefree months wore on. Now they returned with a vengeance. King Ranox had seemed to be a nice enough guy, but looks were deceiving. So were deeds. Despite all his smiles and kindness I’d still had doubts about him. Seems I was correct. It wasn’t purely coincidence that he’d chosen this moment to arrest Tigg. I’d bet money it was all part of his master plan. What he wanted from us I wasn’t sure. Less than an hour later, as Malenea’s small crafts darted out to escort me into the kingdom, I knew I would soon find out.
Chapter 15
I stood before King Ranox, my hands clenched into fists. Ushered inside, I had immediately demanded an audience with the king and it had been granted. The object of my wrath lounged in his chair, which was placed in a position of power upon the raised dais. He looked down on me with a mixture of pleasure and contemplation.
“Minka, how nice to see you again. What brings you to Malenea?” he asked.
“You know damn well,” I snapped. An audible gasp echoed around the room at my tone. Screw formality, I was pissed.
“Ah, yes. This unpleasant business with Tigg. Please understand I was given no choice.”
“Bullshit! You’re the king, you always have a choice.”
He raised an eyebrow at my belligerent manner but he was smart enough to refrain from scolding me. “In this case, I’m afraid my hands are tied.”
“In what case? Why’d you bring him here?”
The king narrowed his eyes. “How long have you known Tigg?”
“A few months.” I shrugged. “Why?”
“Well, it seems that a few months ago—probably just before you met him—he was involved in interstellar espionage.”
I snorted unladylike. “Tigg? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“It’s quite true I’m afraid. I assure you. We were presented with unquestionable proof.”
“Proof from whom?” So help me, if Clay had set him up heads would roll.
“A representative from the government of Banar visited me a short time ago.”
I’d heard of Pla
net Banar. A godless planet, ripe with miscreants of every questionable vocation imaginable.
“Due to the extradition agreement we have with Banar, I have no choice but to comply with their demands to hand Tigg over to them.”
Hand Tigg over to them? Dear God, that’d be a worse fate for him than rotting in Malenea’s dungeons. “You have to know it’s a lie. You’ve met Tigg, he’d never involve himself in something like espionage. He worked in the factories on Treox, just as I did.”
A little annoying voice gnawed at the corner of my mind. How well do you really know Tigg? He’d been pretty anxious to flee Treox. I put my hand to my head and demanded the voice to stop it. I knew Tigg. He wasn’t what they said.
The king held up his hands. “As I’ve said, my hands are tied.”
There was a slight commotion and the king and I turned our attention to the back of the room. “Ah, here he is now.”
Two guards held Tigg by his arms. He wasn’t struggling, but I could tell the restraint irritated him. When he looked ahead and saw me our eyes met and locked. Oh no! Why did you come? his expression spoke to me.
I had to come! I conveyed back to him.
The guards brought him up beside me to stand before the king. “The traitor, your highness,” one of them said.
“Piss off!” I grasped Tigg’s hand in mine. We stood before King Ranox, united.
The guards backed away and the king looked down on us with masked annoyance. “This entire business offends me. For Malenea to be caught harboring a fugitive does not bode well for our relations with Banar.” He steepled his hands beneath his chin in deliberation.
“Banar?” questioned Tigg.
“Has he not been told of the crimes he’s accused of?” I demanded.
“Not yet.” The king went on to fill Tigg in on what he’d relayed to me. All the while Tigg stood stone faced and stock-still.
“Do you have anything to say?” the king asked.
“I’m not guilty,” Tigg said simply.
“I’d like to believe you, yet I’m afraid I’ve been presented with indisputable proof. However…”
We both leaned in closer.
The king smiled. “Perhaps there may be a way to wiggle out of this mess.”
Here it comes.
“I have had it brought to my attention that you have something that would mean a great deal to me. So much so, that I may be willing to look the other way if you should happen to…escape custody…before I could hand you over to Banar Authority.”
“And what would that be?” Tigg asked.
The king looked at me. “You know what I want.”
The cure! No doubt he’d known about it all along. He’d probably bullshitted the entire affair about Banar Authority and those ridiculous charges. But what the hell could we do? To hand over the cure could mean a resurrection of the war between Ventillia and Earth. With its natural defense against the Ventillians ineffectual, Earth would be crippled irreparably.
We only had the one vial. Even if we agreed to the king’s terms, would it satisfy him? No doubt sensing the battle waging inside me, Tigg squeezed my hand in comfort. When I looked up at him he smiled.
“We will give you what you want,” Tigg said to the king.
“What? No!” I said.
The king leaned forward pinning me with his stare. “Best to listen to him, Minka. Banar is not known to be lenient to traitors.”
“He’s not,” I insisted.
“It’s okay,” Tigg said to me. The look in his eyes begged me to trust him. “Minka will get what you ask for.”
“No. I’ll only agree if you let Tigg go too,” I bargained.
“Tigg will go. You will remain,” King Ranox said, staring at me.
“No way,” Tigg argued. “She will be the one to go.”
“It will be as I say. Minka is in no condition to be flying off on her own.” He was right unfortunately. “Don’t worry. She will remain as my guest until you return. And then you will both be free to leave.”
What if he doesn’t return? that annoying little voice asked me. He will! I silently yelled back.
“You may see Minka settled in her room before you leave. I trust you will be back no later than a day or two?”
As long as Clay wasn’t waiting for him. That was my worst fear. If Tigg ran into Clay on Zenet, Clay wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.
Guards escorted Tigg and me up to the room we’d shared before. They waited outside the closed door, anxious to see me settled and send Tigg off to do their King’s evil bidding. Tigg led me over to the bed and as soon as we sat down he pulled me into his arms.
“I’m so sorry, Minka,” he whispered in my ear.
“It’s not your fault. You were set up.”
He sighed deeply. “I’m afraid there may be more to it than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember I told you about my brother? The one who borrowed my ship?”
“Yes.”
“I think the charges the king speaks of may be real. I think they may be about my brother.”
“Your brother is a spy?” I hissed quietly as I could.
Tigg shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. In the months leading up to when we left he was acting strangely. I fear what he may have been mixed up in. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d involved himself in dangerous games.”
“This isn’t a game! If what you say is true then he may be the reason for the revival of war—’cause that’s what could happen if the king gets his grubby hands on the cure.”
“I know and I’m sorry. I had no idea Teneg had involved himself this deeply. But at the same time, I cannot betray him.”
I shook my head at the dilemma. I’d never had siblings, but I knew I would take any steps to protect my parents if they were alive.
“There is only one vial of the cure,” Tigg reminded me. “The chances of them duplicating it are slim. At best only one or two men could use it to infiltrate themselves on Earth. That shouldn’t cause much harm.”
“Despite how primitive it appears, Ventillia is pretty advanced. If they’re able to reproduce the cure, who knows what damage it could cause.”
“The chances of that happening are slim,” Tigg said.
“Why?”
He looked at me pointedly. “They’re missing the main ingredient.”
“Me.” Now it was my turn to sigh.
Chapter 16
Tigg kissed me lingeringly before he finally left. I was terrified for him, and warned him to watch out for Clay and his thugs, despite his assurances he could handle himself. About an hour later I was struck by terrible wracking pain in my belly. My screams brought the guard posted outside my door bursting into the room. He eyed me with fear and suspicion.
“What ails you?” he demanded.
“Fuck if I know, asshole!” Wow did it hurt. The pain had brought me to my knees and the guard carefully assisted me to my feet and over to the bed to lie down. I saw the look of doubt on his face. “It’s not some grand ruse you dolt, I’m in labor.”
Seeing me settled, the guard rushed to the door and began yelling. Moments later the hall echoed with sounds of pounding feet and my room filled up with half a dozen people. All of them were men.
King Ranox, alerted to the emergency, soon entered the room and stood at the bed eyeing me. “The baby?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said abruptly, seized by another pain. Oh my God! I was going to give birth—early—and Tigg was gone.
“It’s early,” the king said, voicing my concerns.
“Stress,” I ground out. Damn them to hell if anything happened to my child.
A man was ushered into my room and by his long white coat—similar to something I’d seen on Earth—I guessed him to be a physician. My thoughts were confirmed when he introduced himself as such. He felt my belly and whispered something to the king.
“Clear the room,” the king instructed. Everyone left except the king, the physician, a
nd a young man I assumed was his assistant. The king turned away discreetly while I was relieved of my pants and tucked under a blanket.
“I don’t want you to start pushing yet,” the physician said as he got into place at the foot of the bed and lifted up the blanket. “Bend your knees and slide down a bit.” I did as he instructed. Another pain assailed me and I cried out in agony.
“Yell if it helps,” the assistant said.
“Gee, thanks,” I returned sarcastically.
I screamed and swore and sweated for nearly two hours before I finally felt the child slip free. The king remained the entire time, pacing and worrying as if he were the expectant father.
“It’s over,” the physician said. He got to his feet holding a bundle, his face a tired but victorious mask.
The stillness of the swaddling in his arms disturbed me. I’d laid back after the ordeal was over, but now I sat up in alarm. “What’s wrong with the baby?” I demanded, my voice tinged in fear. “Why doesn’t it cry?”
The physician handed the bundle into my outstretched arms and smiled indulgently. “Silly girl,” he cajoled. “It won’t cry for another month or so yet.”
I pulled back the blanket carefully, so afraid of what I may see, and almost dropped the bundle so great was my shock.
“Did you not know?” he asked.
“I’d no idea,” I admitted. In my hands I did not hold the child I was so anxiously expecting. Instead, I held a greenish colored egg about the size of a football. It was warm to the touch and despite its sturdy appearance I’d have sworn I felt movement. Intricate designs in darker green were etched over the shell forming a swirling pattern that glimmered and shined as it caught the light. It was quite beautiful actually. I trailed my fingers over the smooth surface and was stunned to discover the ‘bump bump’ vibration of a tiny heartbeat.
Creature Worlds: Solar Slick Page 7