I DONT KNOW WHAT THEY KNOW BUT IT IS NOT GOOD, I tapped.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO, she tapped.
TELL STARI SOMETHING IS UP. TAKE THEM FROM THEIR CELL AND SEARCH THEM
THEY ALREADY TOOK THEIR TRACKING DEVICES
But still, that nagging sensation wouldn’t go away. Something was going on with these creatures.
GET STARI TO CHECK THEM AGAIN. IF I AM RIGHT WE ARE ALL IN BIG DANGER
By the light of the Creator, I hoped I was wrong…
Once again, I was alone in my room, pacing back and forth. If there was a carpet, I would have worn a hole in it long ago.
I was relieved Maddy had found it in her heart to forgive me. She hadn’t flown out and attacked me the way I deserved. She showed a lot of restraint and control, willing to listen to my side of the story before coming to a decision.
The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew I could never follow through with my plan to avoid her for the rest of my life—even if it was better for her not to see me ever again. She meant too much to me, and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she felt the same way about me.
We were joined, inseparable.
For now and all time.
Maddy left ten minutes ago and I had no idea if the Yayora would listen to her or not. It wasn’t like she had a lot to go on. All she had was my suspicions that the Changeling siblings were up to something. I’d dealt with Changelings often enough to know when they planned something underhanded.
There was no doubt in my mind they were expecting something to happen.
The only question was, what?
I glanced at them every few minutes. They returned to lounging in their cell as they had before and seemed completely unconcerned with how frantic I was while pacing.
I had a bad feeling and it wasn’t going away.
“Will you sit down?” Klang said. “You’re making me dizzy.”
He was talking to me. I ignored him and kept on pacing.
I was making him feel sick?
Trang paused from exercising and turned to me.
“Hey, asshole,” she said. “My brother’s talking to you.”
Existing in a cell next to these two was like living in hell. There was always something they were annoyed with—most often each other. Thirty minutes couldn’t pass before one picked a fight with the other.
I ignored Trang too.
“You know, that girl of yours sure is a looker,” Trang said. “Don’t you think, little brother?”
He got up and sensed the game afoot. He joined his sister at the cell wall closest to me. They leaned against it. They looked at me the way a pair of lion cubs spied a grub they would tease… until they grew bored and killed the unfortunate creature.
The trick was to not let them get under your skin.
It wasn’t always easy.
I continued my pacing. There was no good in confronting them. They wouldn’t stop. They considered any rise they got out of me as a victory. It encouraged them to keep on badgering me.
“I imagine she’ll look pretty good when she’s underneath me,” Klang said.
Okay, so that was getting a little too close to the bone. My eyes hardened and my muscles tensed.
“I think you’re onto something there,” Trang said. “I think that got a reaction out of him. I wonder if we can get a little more…”
“I’m not sure we can,” Klang said. “But I’m sure I can get more out of her than he ever could. I watched their late-night session. Pretty tame by my standards. When I get into a girl, I really get into her. I like to bring a knife to the bedroom.”
“To cut her clothes off?” Trang said. “That sounds hot.”
“And slice them up when they don’t do as they’re told,” Klang said. “Sometimes they can be so selfish. If you want something, you’ve got to make them do it.”
My jaw clenched as I made another turn to pace back across my cell. I couldn’t help but glare at them as I passed.
Don’t let them get to you, I told myself.
But how could I not when they were talking about my one and only soulmate?
“And when you’re done with her, give her to me,” Trang said. “I like to use what’s left before I slit their throats and toss them on the fire.”
Unable to bear it any longer, I turned and jabbed a finger at them. I didn’t know what I was going to say but I knew it would be cutting.
The siblings waited expectantly. They’d gone fishing and were about to catch a whale.
The door at the end swung open with a creak, cutting me off. All thoughts of what I was going to say died on my lips.
Stari marched into the room. A line of soldiers followed and formed two regimented lines.
The Changeling siblings lost interest in me and focused on this new distraction.
“And what do you think you’re doing?” Trang said.
“Looks like they’re about to perform a show to me,” Klang said.
Stari stepped forward armed with the security pass required to unlock their cell door.
The siblings stepped back and warmed up, preparing to have a showdown with the soldiers.
“Looks like we’re about to become part of the show too, dear sister,” Klang said.
They shared a grin and squared off against the soldiers, cracking their necks left and right to limber up.
Stari didn’t step forward. Instead, she nodded to the other soldiers. Two stepped forward from the back armed with large rifles.
“Hey now, wait a minute,” Trang said. “That’s not fair—”
The weapons ejected a round of invisible projectiles. Only a faint outline was visible as they arched and slammed into the floor at the siblings’ feet.
The shockwaves threw them against the hard surface of the tiled back wall. They struggled to their feet and wobbled unsteadily.
“Again,” Stari said.
The soldiers fired another volley. This time, they were knocked off
