“Is that what we’re lookin’ for?” V’rex nodded at the drawing in her lap.
“Yes—listen to this.” Penny read from the notes on the print-out, which were written in an ancient, flowing hand.
“The Eye twill fit in the palm of a female’s hand. Yet tis heavier than it would appear and seems to drag upon the one who wears it. It is very beautiful, being painted with gold and stained with all manner of precious lazuli oils. Yet it carries with it a feeling of dread and he who wears it will feel a shadow on his soul which may not be lifted until the Eye of Ten’gu is removed.”
“The one who wears it?” V’rex asked, frowning. “Is it a piece of jewelry or something?”
“I don’t know.” Penny shook her head. “It doesn’t say. Sounds like it could be. And all that talk about a feeling of dread and a shadow on your soul…” She shivered. “Let’s just get it and get out of here as fast as possible.”
“Uh, that may be a problem, sweetheart,” V’rex remarked.
“What? Why?” Penny looked up to see that they had come to the end of the long, twisty gorge they’d been flying through. There, on the side of a vast mountain rising like a monolith into the gray sky of the frozen planet, she saw an immense crack which had been carved into the shape of a doorway. But resting on the canyon floor was a small army of alien spaceships.
“It looks like we’ve got company,” V’rex growled. “I’m afraid somebody beat us here.”
Ninety-Seven
“Who do you think is here?” Penny asked, staring at the ships as V’rex found an empty spot to park his own ship in.
“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the Fox’ens,” V’rex remarked. “See the markings on the sides of the ships? They’re all the same—all from the same tribe.”
“Commander Sylvan and Kat did tell me that they were worried about them coming up here to the Northern continent now that they’re spreading across Yown Beta,” Penny said. She nibbled her bottom lip worriedly. “Do you think they’ll be a problem?”
“I don’t know,” V’rex admitted. “I’ve only dealt with them a few times. Never had problems before but then, the stakes were never so high. They’re a very proud people and they value barter and contests of will over any kind of currency.”
“Sounds like a fascinating culture,” Penny said. “I just wish I was here to study them instead of trying to get an artifact out of a mountain they have clearly already claimed.”
“Chances are they haven’t been here long,” V’rex said. “Probably don’t even know where the Eye is hidden. You have the clues on your map, right?”
Penny nodded.
“It’s supposed to be in the deepest, darkest place in the mountain. Although I’m not sure how we’ll tell which spot is the deepest and the darkest in there. Mount Ra’gar is huge.” She motioned at the vast gray peak in front of them. “Also, I’m not sure how well I’m going to survive the cold out there. Kat had made me a warm-suit to wear that was supposed to keep me insulated but I lost it when the NeverBreeders captured me.”
“You won’t need to worry about the cold—not unless we’re here for over a week or so,” V’rex told her.
“What? Why not?” Penny asked.
“Because my lust-honey is still in your system.” He looked away as he spoke, busying himself with the ship’s controls and not meeting her eyes. “It will keep you warm enough—it works as a kind of biological antifreeze. Of course if we end up staying here for an extended length of time…”
“Then…you’d have to sting me again?” Penny asked in a small voice. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings but the idea of going through that fiery agony again was too much.
“No.” V’rex’s face hardened. “Then we’d have to go before you froze. I cannot sting you again under any circumstances—we are Foresworn, remember?”
“How could I forget?” Penny tried not to let the bitterness slip into her tone but it was hard not to. She still felt blindsided by the sudden way the big Hybrid had broken things off with her.
Although at least he’s willing to come along and help me with my mission, she reminded herself. That’s something, at least.
“You should be fine,” V’rex said, ignoring her comment. “I’ve stung you three times in the past two days. That’s enough lust-honey in your system to keep you from freezing for quite a while.”
“Okay…thanks,” Penny said numbly, not sure what else to say.
“Of course, we’ll still replicate you a fur body suit,” V’rex said casually. “One for me too. It will help us keep warm and fit in with the Fox’ens.”
“A fur bodysuit?” Penny asked, raising her eyebrows.
“The Fox’ens have a natural fur coat,” V’rex explained. “And they tend to get along better with people who emulate them. They consider it a form of flattery when ‘hairless ones’ as they sometimes call us, dress to look like them.” He frowned. “Might have the replicator whip a couple of fur hats for us, too. Couldn’t hurt.”
Penny shook her head as he finished locking the controls and went to the back of the ship, where the replicator was located. A fur body suit and a fur hat? Was she going to an archeology dig or to a Furry convention?
“Guess I’ll find out,” she muttered to herself and followed the big Hybrid.
Ninety-Eight
“There—now we look like people the Fox’ens will want to barter with.” V nodded in approval as he looked at himself in the 3-D viewer. He was wearing a tight-fitting bodysuit made of sleek, white fur that went all the way to his wrists and ankles. He had on a pair of warm fur boots as well, in the same color, and a white fur hat with fake fur ears that pointed straight up to mimic polite attention in the Fox’en society.
“Are you sure about this?” Penelope looked down at herself uncertainly. She was wearing an exact duplicate of V’s outfit except hers was made of sleek black fur instead of white. V thought the perky little fur ears at the top of her hat made her look fucking adorable.
“Sure, I’m sure,” he said. “Told you, I’ve had dealings with them before.”
“But I feel like I’m going to a Furry Convention!” she protested.
“A what?” V frowned at her.
“Oh, it’s a thing on Earth. A bunch of people who like to dress up like animals and get together and hang out together.” Her voice dropped. “And sometimes have sex, I’m pretty sure.”
“They have sex while dressed as animals?” V shook his head. “Sometimes I think I’ll never understand humans.”
“Well, we’re not all into that,” Penelope protested. “But still, I just feel…weird in this getup.” She nodded at herself in the viewer.
“Better get used to it,” V advised. “Do you want to be able to get in there and get the Eye or not?”
“Of course, I do!” she said.
“Then you’ll wear the outfit.” V frowned. “Now what have I got I can bring with me to barter with?” He snapped his fingers. “Of course! I got some bars of rare Silka spice the last time I hit a slave ship.”
“A what?” Penelope frowned.
“I like to harass the Kindred but it’s the slavers who are my main targets,” V explained. “I set the poor bastards they kidnapped free, set the slavers themselves adrift, and take whatever pretty items they’ve collected along the way as payment for my good deed.”
Going to the safe in the wall of the room—which happened to be his home office—he pressed his hand to the print identifier. The door hummed as it read his print then clicked open to reveal a small fortune in precious gems, rare currency, and luxury items. He chose a few things to put into a furry black pouch, including the carved wooden box of Silka spice sticks.
Opening the box, he looked to make certain the six delicate sticks were unbroken. They lay in narrow grooves on a bright orange velvet cushion, which made their indigo blue coloring even more intense.
“What is that stuff?” Penelope asked, coming forward to look at the open box curiously. She sniff
ed cautiously. “Smells like a combination of cinnamon, cardamom, and curry powder.”
“Silka spice is one of the rarest substances in the known universe,” V told her. “It’s said to give true visions of future or accurate answers to any question you ask before you take it. Of course, some people complain that the answers they’ve received are obscure and hard to understand, but that hasn’t tarnished the Silka’s reputation any. Just one of these sticks could buy my entire ship,” he added, closing the lid of the box carefully.
“Wow—they’re that expensive?” Penelope’s big brown eyes opened wide. “Are you sure you want to use them to barter with the Fox’ens?”
“Oh, I expect the Kindred to pay me back,” V’rex said, frowning. “Your Commander Sylvan seems like an honorable male and I’m sure they have the means.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any lack of money on the Mother Ship,” Penelope admitted. “I know everyone there gets paid really well—Sylvan’s wife, Sophie, is a teacher and she makes as much as he does for being Head of the High Council.”
“So Commander Sylvan is already mated?” V liked the Kindred leader better immediately. Though he himself had Foresworn the curvy little female, he still didn’t enjoy the idea of her going back to the Mother Ship and getting Claimed by some other male.
Sylvan had seemed very protective of Penelope, but now V saw it was just because he was responsible for her wellbeing, not because he had any other designs on her—which was a relief.
“Oh yes—for years now. They have the most adorable twins—a girl and a boy,” Penelope assured him.
“They sound like a gorgeous little family,” V said dryly. “Here, you’ll need some things to barter with, too.”
He gave Penelope a white fur pouch that matched his black one which he had filled with a few expensive little trinkets.
“Oh, and wear this,” he added. Reaching into the safe, he brought out a truly magnificent necklace made of beaten gold disks and rare rainbow-hued konga shells. He fastened it around Penelope’s neck where it rested like a shimmering jewel against the black fur of her suit.
“It’s beautiful!” She touched it reverently. “Is this worth as much as your ship, too?”
“At least twice as much, I’d estimate,” V’rex said, eyeing the treasure, which he’d lifted off a slave ship bound for the Badras Sector.
“But why are you having me wear it?” Penelope looked at him with wide eyes. “You don’t expect me to trade it for something, do you?”
“Not unless it’s absolutely necessary,” V told her. “But it shows our status and importance. A Fox’en male decks his female in wealth to raise his standing in the community. When they see us coming with you wearing that, we should get in to see the Chieftain with no problem.”
“So you don’t think we can just slip in and slip out again?” she asked doubtfully.
V shook his head.
“Nope, afraid not, sweetheart. We’ll have to go in as a mated pair, pretending we want to barter and then hope we can sneak off to look for the Eye when nobody’s looking. That’s a much better bet than trying to slip in undetected. The Fox’ens have an excellent sense of smell—they’d know we were there before we got two steps.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “You said we’ll go in as a mated pair—so we’re pretending to be a couple again?”
“I’m afraid so,” V said dryly. “Does that bother you?”
“No,” She shook her head and looked up at him from under her long eyelashes in a way that made his heart pound. “I…I don’t mind. After all, we have plenty of practice, don’t we?”
“We certainly do,” V agreed. Their gazes locked and for a moment he had to fight with himself not to gather her into his arms and taste her sweet mouth.
No, I can’t—we are Foresworn, he reminded himself fiercely. But for a long moment, he struggled with himself.
At last V was able to tear his eyes away from her lush lips. He cleared his throat.
“Are you all ready to go, sweetheart?”
“I think so.” Penelope looked down at the white fur pouch he had given her to wear. “What’s in this, anyway?”
“Just a few little ornaments and trinkets you might find useful if you have to barter,” V told her. He patted his own black fur pouch and nodded at her. “C’mon—let’s go see if we can barter our way inside the secret city under Ra’gar.”
He just hoped they could get inside and get the Eye before the Fox’ens were any wiser.
Ninety-Nine
There were guards standing just inside the huge crack which led into the mountain. The crack only went about a fourth of the way up the vast, craggy rock face and yet it was still as tall as a skyscraper, Penny thought.
The two Fox’ens looked, as Kat had described them, a lot like Arctic Foxes—though they were considerably larger, both standing over two meters in height. Their huge, fluffy ears added an additional foot, which made them almost as tall as V’rex.
They wore no clothing but they really didn’t need it because they each had a thick, furry pelt. The guard on the right had gray fur and the one on the left was brown all over with small white patches. When they saw V’rex and Penny approaching, they both snapped to attention and looked down their long, furry muzzles with alert warning in their large, liquid eyes.
“Greetings, worthy guardsmen of the Fox’ens of the Kin’kee Tribe,” V’rex said, nodding his head at them in a genial way.
Penny glanced up at him sharply. Had he said the kinky tribe? Was that really their name? But the big Hybrid was still speaking.
“We are but simple travelers, here to barter with your chieftain for the right to look upon the hidden city within,” he was telling the guards. “Would you consent to let us through?”
“I do not know…” The guard with gray fur spoke in a barking/growling kind of voice. “Many have wished to see the hidden city beneath Ra’gar but it is our tribe, the Kin’kee Tribe, who have claimed it for a home.”
“True. Yes, very true.” V’rex nodded wisely.
He appeared to think for a moment and then pulled two small, round balls that smelled very strongly of some kind of meat out of his black fur pouch.
“Tell me,” he said, offering one of the balls to the gray guard. “Have you ever sucked upon the balls of the Pon’quill people? They are tender and succulent in the extreme—they’re flavor is said to be unequalled anywhere in the known universe.”
“No, I have not had the pleasure of sucking these balls,” the gray guard admitted and Penny had to stifle a giggle. He took the offered meat ball with a long-fingered hand tipped in black claws and popped it in his mouth. His large eyes opened wide. “But this is exquisite!”
“I thought that as a member of the Kin’kee Tribe, you would enjoy sucking these special balls. Perhaps the flavor is tasty enough to buy passage inside your marvelous city?” V’rex asked politely, offering the other ball to the guard with brown spotted fur.
“Yes—yes, I believe that is a fair trade,” the second guard agreed, after also putting a ball in his mouth. “In fact, I will take you to Chieftain Swift Tail myself.” He stepped to one side and made a bow. “Enter, visitors. How may I announce you?”
“Please say that the Merchant V’rex and his lovely lady Penelope are here to pay our deepest respects to your fine chieftain and his own beautiful lady,” V’rex said politely.
“With pleasure.” The brown-furred guard nodded and preceded them into the vast cavern carved in the rock.
“Thank you.” V’rex nodded again to the remaining guard as they passed. “Remember to suck slowly—the greatest pleasure can be found in the balls only when you roll them in your mouth in a leisurely way.”
“I thank you.” The guard nodded. “Enjoy your stay in our fair city.”
He nodded at Penny as well, who nodded back while still trying not to giggle. But her amusement over V’rex’s words was soon overcome by wonder as she looked around the vast cavern they were entering.<
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The crack which made up the doorway extended into the entryway which meant that a huge, craggy ceiling rose high above them. It was so immense Penny felt like an ant crawling beneath it.
Soon enough, though, the ceiling got lower so that it was only a few stories above them and they came to an inner entry into what must be the hidden city itself.
Penny wasn’t exactly sure if the ancient Kindred had lived here at one time or if it had already been abandoned when they chose it as a resting place for the Eye of Ten’gu, but it certainly wasn’t abandoned now.
As the guard let them in, they walked down a busy main street with crowds of Fox’en people going about their business. Their coats came in all colors and lengths but it was easy to tell the males from the females because all of the female Fox’ens were wearing jewelry.
Many had bright, ostentatious necklaces on while others had their tall, furry ears pierced with large gold and silver hoops. Some even wore sparkling golden chains tied to their furry tails.
The guard led them through what seemed to be a market district with rows of stalls on either side. All kinds of things were being sold from ropes of fat sausages tied with red string, to tail and ear jewelry, to little decorative pink and purple and yellow pots with blue puffs of smoke emanating from them.
“Scents! Get the finest mating scents here!” a Fox’en merchant was chanting as he waved a lovely little cut-glass bottle of what appeared to be perfume.
“Oh, what kinds of scents?” Penny asked, stopping short. “I love perfume!”
“I don’t know if you’ll like this kind.” V’rex had an amused look on his face but he signaled the guard and they stopped so Penny could talk to the scent merchant.
“What kinds of perfumes do you sell?” she asked him, eyeing the colorful little glass bottles which were lined up behind him on a table in rows.
“Ah, my lady!” The merchant, who had grizzled grayish black fur and a long muzzle, bowed low. “What kind do I not have? For I travel through all of Yown Beta, gathering only the finest anal gland seepage to add to my vast collection.”
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