by Frost Kay
She blinked as an alien approached them. She’d never seen another alien of Virgil’s race. The alien blinked its small black beady eyes and shook Sloven’s hand.
“Mr. Black, what a pleasure to see you,” the alien said.
Mr. Black.
Riiiiiiiight, his new façade was all business and entrepreneurship, not conquest and war.
The scientist’s entourage followed suit, and Allie scanned the group and paused when she locked eyes with an emerald green pair that were far too knowing. The female’s slitted pupils contracted as they stared at each other. The alien’s eyes were remarkably feline, but it was the dragon-like scales that fascinated Allie.
How peculiar.
But as soon as the moment started, it ended. The female dropped her eyes and turned her attention to the conversation between the head scientist and Sloven.
“It’s coming along, sir. We’ll be up to full production in a matter of weeks.”
“Excellent. Please escort us through your lab. Allie would like to see your progress.”
Allie kept her expression placid when the king pulled her arm through his and led her into the organized chaos of the lab. Allie feigned polite interest all the while soaking in as many details as she could. But the hardest part was keeping the delight off her face when she spotted the vials of her moonshine several tables away.
If she could smuggle just one vial away, she might just be able to get out of here. It wouldn’t be too hard to create a bomb with something so volatile.
Under the pretense of interest, Allie released Sloven’s arm and studied a blue lump of metal. Vaguely, she heard the scientist explain its properties as she moved on. Annoyance pricked her as the wrinkly scientist kept droning on about sums and products, and her feet began to ache as they took their sweet time.
Hurry up.
But patience was a virtue, and rushing her goal would end in disaster. She only had one shot at this.
As they finally approached the moonshine, Allie hid her smile when she saw just how close to the edge of the table the vials were.
How clumsy of them. Didn’t they know a bumbling, unlucky Human was around?
It would be like taking candy from a baby.
Allie pretended to stumble, and then her bad luck took the driver’s seat. Her eyes widened as she legitimately hurtled into the vials. Glass crashed around her feet and pain bit into her hands. Allie yelped and yanked her hands away from the table covered in crushed vials, but one was already curled in her palm. With sleight of hand, she wedged the intact vial under her waistband.
Rough hands wrapped around her ribcage and lifted her away from the mess, and Allie again locked eyes with the dragon woman. She stiffened as the alien studied her.
Dang it.
She’d been caught. Allie waited for her to call her out or say something. But she didn’t. The female turned away and started to pick up the shards of broken glass.
“Let me see your hands,” Sloven barked.
She held out her scratched-up palms for the upset monster to inspect. A little blood trickled from her skin, but her battle wounds weren’t terrible. All in all, they were worth it.
“Clumsy, stupid Human,” he muttered.
“My mama used to say she couldn’t take me anywhere,” Allie offered.
He tossed an annoyed glance her way. “Don’t think I didn’t see what you were doing.”
She tried not to stiffen. “Excuse me?”
“You’ll not get out of this by hurting yourself.”
Allie tried not to; she really did, but a peal of laughter escaped her. “You think I was trying to hurt myself?” Another laugh seized her, one-part relief, one-part giddy. “The world does not revolve around you. I promise you I wasn’t trying to kill myself.” Another laugh. “Death by tripping.” Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. “Could you imagine?”
The king’s icy expression thawed little by little until a small smile touched his mouth. “Little Human, what am I to do with you?”
“You could let me go?” she offered with a silly smile.
“Never.”
She didn’t doubt it.
Allie sobered and held up her hands as if that was the reason her smile slid from her face. “My hands hurt, Mr. Black.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Sloven was being too nice.
It was almost as if, with the appearance of his new name, his personality had evolved as well. But Allie knew better. He had an angle no matter his name or face. But his game was playing to her advantage. Five days had passed, and he’d left her alone to attend to business more and more often. It had taken a little finagling, but she’d hatched a plan and made friends with his guards.
Sloven was a smart cookie. He didn’t have the same guards stay in his apartment when he was gone but rotated them out. Allie might have been unlucky, but she had the special power of being able to make friends with almost anyone. It was part of being a mixologist. Plus, she loved baking, and the way to any male was through his stomach.
Her big, burly guards were putty in her hands by day four.
“Razor, do you want some cream with your scones?” she called over her shoulder as she opened the fridge unit. What a name. Razor. She rolled her eyes and waited for his response.
“Yes.” A pause. “Thank you.”
She smiled as she pulled the cream and lemon curd out of the fridge. “Coming right up.”
Allie bustled the treats out to the two tatted-up goons who dwarfed the couch they sat on and carefully served each one as daintily as possible. It took a lot of self-control, but she’d managed to play up the poor fragile female part. It also helped that she got gussied up each day.
“So, how was the game last night?” she asked, handing Razor a plate piled full with scones, cream, and lemon curd.
The Kitterran grinned. “I won.”
“I knew you would. The other guy you told me about was clearly cheating.” She handed the other plate to Whiz. “And what about you? Make any progress with that woman?”
The scary looking Kitterran cracked a smile. “I used the line you gave and it worked like a charm.”
“Told ya.” Allie pulled the spoon from the lemon curd and licked it clean. Sweet alien babies, that was good. She leaned back and patted her stomach. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”
“Boss wants us to bring you down to the lab later today.”
Her stomach knotted. Hopefully, she’d be long gone before that happened. “Okay. Well, if he doesn’t need me right now, I’m going to shower.”
Allie left them to their goodies and traipsed down the hall to her own room. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she tried to keep her pace sedate. She gathered some new clothes and entered her bathroom, closing the door behind her. To her knowledge, there weren’t any cameras in the bathroom, but after what she’d experienced with Sloven before, anything was possible.
She turned on the shower, set it so it was just short of scalding, and then sat on the closed toilet lid as the room began to fill with steam. The mirrors and glass fogged in the room, making it impossible for anyone to spy. She pulled the vial out of her bra and held up the moonshine.
Please work. Please.
It had taken a little tampering while baking, but she’d managed to create something that would knock her guards on their butts. Allie unrolled her clothing that hid the comm device she’d stolen off of one of the scientists two days ago, as well as the towel she’d mutilated. Carefully, she tied the strip of towel over her mouth and nose, and then poured shampoo and water all over the floor to create a slippery death trap.
Eyeing her handiwork she stepped behind the door and tried to calm her nerves. But it was useless. There was a million ways her plan could go wrong.
But it was now or never.
She dumped her concoction onto the rest of the towel between her fingers and screamed.
Like a total girl.
It took exactly three second
s for the guards to burst into her bathroom. Both males slid, and she stifled a giggle as their arms pinwheeled like cartoon characters. Allie launched from behind the door and crashed into Razor’s back, who knocked Whiz down. She scrambled forward and slapped the towel over Razor’s face. He inhaled twice and stilled just as Whiz flipped onto his back. She scrambled up his chest as his hands curled around her waist.
“Sorry,” she huffed, slamming the towel over his nose and mouth.
Whiz yanked Allie off of him and tossed her. She flew through the air and crashed against the shower wall. Pain radiated up her spine and the back of her head. She blinked the water out of her eyes and scurried upright as Whiz groaned and sat up. He glared at her and tried to stand but slumped against the floor.
“It’s not personal,” she whispered as his accusatory eyes closed. “Holy bananas. I did it.”
But she didn’t have time to gloat. Time was a-wasting.
Allie knelt and touched the screen on Razor’s wrist comm. “Gotcha,” she muttered. The device scanned her form and then, before her eyes, the guard form disappeared and Allie’s doppelganger replaced him. Damn, Av tech was cool.
One task down, a million to go.
She moved to Whiz and unbuckled his wrist comm and replaced it with the scientist’s filched watch. Allie scanned Whiz’s form and put on his wrist comm, taking the male’s appearance. She dug through her discarded clothing and grinned as she pulled the pasty from the bundle. If only the king knew what she was doing with these. With care she pulled the plastic tab off of the back of the jelly flower and turned over Whiz’s hand, then placed the flower on his palm.
She pinched the edge of the flower and pulled it off his hand. A triumphant smile burst across her face. It worked. The shape of his palm transferred to the sticky side of the flower. Allie cupped the flower in her hand and stood. She eyed the mess and straightened.
Time to go.
Now for the scariest part.
Allie inhaled deeply and stepped from the bathroom with an annoyed expression on her face. The kind a guard would wear if he had to clean up a Human’s mess. With each step toward the door, her heart pounded harder. By the time the entrance scanner was within reach, she thought her heart might explode from her chest.
She placed the pasty on the scanner and held her breath.
It flashed blue. Blue.
The doors slid open and Allie stepped into the elevator.
Almost there, Allie.
28
Sea Monsters and Failed Escape Attempts
It went almost too easy.
Allie was as taut as a bow string when the door of the elevator opened on the main floor of the lab.
Until that very moment, she’d hated the blasted glass elevator, but it did have its perks. No one could sneak up on her. She stepped onto the concrete floor underneath the staircase she’d puked on a few days prior.
She’d learned that no one took the staircase but the boss.
Egotistical jerk.
It made sense that he’d want to lord over everyone who worked for him. It was amazing that none of his employees had figured out who they were really working for.
As casually as possible, she weaved through the organized chaos toward the airships. Even though she was scared as all get out, Allie kept a scowl on her face to keep anyone from approaching her. Whiz really did have a terrifying glower. With each step closer to the ships, her heart picked up its pace. Every second that passed had Allie waiting for the other shoe to drop. She wasn’t this lucky. Something bad was bound to happen.
Her hands shook as she neared the first airship. The beast was gargantuan. There was no way she could escape in that thing. Allie passed six ships when a familiar voice caught her attention.
“We need to have the trade routes secured by the end of the week,” Sloven commanded.
Oh no.
Allie ducked under a sleek-looking airship and sandwiched herself between one of the rear dual wheels. She crouched low and held her breath as Sloven’s voice neared her hiding place.
“It will be difficult,” a Kanji pilot said tightly. “The mercenaries are being difficult.”
She peeked around the wheel and shivered at the menacing expression on the king’s face.
“I don’t care what you have to do to get their compliance. If they won’t be bought, restructure their organization.”
Restructure their organization sounded a lot like kill them all.
The pilot nodded. “It will be done.”
Sloven’s dangerous expression cleared as quickly as it came. “Well, then. Have a safe journey.”
Allie’s eyes rounded as the pilot boarded the ship above her. Her hair whipped around her face as the airship’s engines rumbled to life. Allie squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Stupid, stupid bad luck.
There was no way she would be able to get out of this one. The airship would go, leaving her exposed to Sloven.
She dropped her head onto her knees, trying not to panic. There had to be a way out of this. The boarding ramp was too far away to get to without being noticed. Plus, there was the crew to deal with once she was aboard. Her stolen form wouldn’t hold up to snuff.
The wheels rocked a little as the ship prepared to leave the hangar.
You got this. Come on. Figure out a way.
Allie opened her eyes and stared as the hangar door slowly slid upward. Escape was so close. She could make a run for it, but running was never her forte.
The engine’s whine became a little sharper, and the wheels began to move.
Without another option, Allie wrapped herself around the metal piece connecting the two wheels. She hooked her legs around the other side and pressed her cheek against the cool metal. What in the Sam Hill was she thinking?
“You’re such an idiot,” she whispered as they rolled away. One slip, and she’d become wheel jelly.
Her arms shook as the ship rolled past the hangar door and into the soft light of sunset. She’d made it outside Sloven’s compound. Holy bananas, she’d done it!
Now what?
All she had to do was release her legs and drop to her feet. The airship would move a little farther down the landing strip and she could make a break for the tree line. Or better yet… Allie glanced up and stared at the panels of the ship that had opened for the wheels. She could stow away there.
She yelped as the airship changed directions, lifting into the air. One moment she was on the ground, the next she was thirty feet from falling to her death. Allie laced her fingers tightly together and clamped her thighs against the axle.
Don’t look down. Don’t look down. DON’T LOOK DOWN.
Wind ripped at her clothing as the ship rotated and headed toward the aqua waters. Allie clenched her teeth as the wheels began to lift. Sweat covered her body as the wheels slowly rose to a steep angle. Her body shook and her fingers slipped, but she managed to hold on like a spider monkey.
Only a little bit further and you’re home free.
That would have been true if the airship hadn’t dipped dangerously, tossing Allie to the side. Her mouth popped open in terror as her fingers scraped the metal axle and slid away uselessly. The momentum tore her legs from the ship and Allie flipped through the air.
A terrified scream exploded from her lungs as a sea of blue rushed up to meet her.
This was how she’d die, she was sure.
Her feet slammed into water. Pain ricocheted up her feet, legs, and spine from the impact, and she sank below the surface. Allie clawed at the water, desperate to get free of its suffocating confines. Clumsily, she kicked toward the fading light, her lungs burning. Her head broke the water’s surface and she sucked in air, coughing up water and crying.
Allie dipped below the surface twice before she got ahold of herself.
She didn’t die, but she knew she would if she didn’t get out of the water. Her body was exhausted and who knew what sort of hungry creatures stirred i
n the depths below her.
That’s what spurred her on the most.
The distance back to the shore was deceiving and to keep herself from panicking, Allie started talking—mentally berating herself.
Nice going, Allie Sai. What in the worlds possessed you to attempt such a risky escape, huh? You can’t even run five miles, and you thought you could just cling to a wheel axle like some femme fatale and stow away on a ship?! She slapped at the water. This is what happens when you spend time with kick-ass Locks all the time. You start to think you’re one of them, but you’re not! You’re a southern girl with the worst luck in the history of the galaxy.
She caught a flash of purple scales from her left. No way was she going to become fish food after what she’d just survived. Allie dug deeper and latched onto her anger, using it to propel herself the rest of the way to the shore. When her feet touched sand, she ran from the water and crashed onto the sand.
Against all odds she’d made it.
Her eyes moved back to the waves as a purple spine breached the water and slid silently beneath the surface like it was never there.
Barely. She’d barely made it.
Whatever that was hadn’t attacked her, but it had felt like it was hunting Allie.
She shivered and crawled farther up the beach. Who knew if that thing could climb out of the waves? It would be just her luck to think herself safe, only to be dragged back into the surf.
Allie plopped her soggy butt in the sand and pushed her blonde hair from her face, resignation settling over her. She was too tired to move and there wasn’t anywhere to run. She stared at the sky as the last rays of the sun faded. It wouldn’t be long now. No doubt Sloven knew she was missing by now. With shaking fingers, Allie unlatched the wrist comm and threw it as far as she could.
It disappeared beneath the waves without a sound. One less piece of evidence to condemn her.