Page 18 of 3013: Hellion

He cleared his throat, then muttered, “Thanks.”

Xian almost instinctively flinched away when she leaned forward, but he was able to stop himself before he moved. He felt himself getting lost in her glowing silver gaze, and when she smiled at him again, he felt like she’d just handed him a gift.

“Where is my compliment?”

“Wh-what?”

Her smile widened as she cocked her head to the side. “Compliment me.”

He didn’t even think before he blurted out, “You are the most gorgeous female I have ever seen. It’s difficult for me to believe you are really my mate.”

She placed a hand on his chest, then began tracing circles over his heart with her finger. “I am yours as you are mine. And now, my family is your family. Besides my parents, brothers, and sister, I also have uncles, aunts, and cousins. You might even know some of them.”

“How would I—Tesera.” His eyes widened. “You are related to Xavier and Galan Tesera?”

Nodding, she said, “They are my cousins. As is their sister Katra, who is mated to Lord Jaden Tor. Jecca and I were just visiting them on Tartarus before we came to this planetoid. Oh, and then there are the people in our kingdom. We count them as extended family as well, especially those who live and work in the palace.”

“I think I need to sit down.”

She laughed again as she patted his arm, then she spun around to fling out some magic in order to save the boys from becoming zombie food. Joining the fight, she instructed the boys to remain silent while they killed the zombies so they wouldn’t draw more to the area.

Once the zombies were taken care of, Xian stepped up the pace as he led the group toward their destination. The arcade was part of the amusement park that was located on a pier. The area was pretty dark except for the illumination coming from the street lamps, but the arcade’s exterior was blazing with colorful neon lights, allowing them to see it from a distance.

When they were standing outside the front entrance, Jaya carefully scanned the building. “I only sense two people inside. Real people, not the holo.”

“They are probably the guys I ran into earlier since I told them to come here.” Xian turned toward the boys and pointed toward the building. “Go on. Head inside.”

“Are you sure we can’t just—”

Before Eddie could finish that thought, Jaya transported him and Cosmo inside the building. She grinned as she slapped her hands together as if she were dusting them off.

“What is that I hear?” she asked. “No questions to answer. No complaints. Just beautiful, blissful silence.”

Amused, Xian chuckled. “Admit it, you enjoyed spending time with the kids. Did you zombie-proof the entrance?”

“Did I—oh, right.” Turning back toward the building, she held up a hand and created a magical barrier that surrounded the entire arcade. It pulsed with light for a moment, then faded. “There. Now only real people will be able to get in.”

“Can you make sure they can’t leave until you let them back out?”

She smiled. “Already done.”

“Good.” Xian sighed. “It’s quiet here, but there are other people in danger on the island right now. Should we go search for them?”

“We could, but now I think we should do the opposite.”

“The opposite? As in let them get eaten by the zombies?” he asked carefully.

She snorted out a laugh. “Of course not. I think we should lure all of the zombies to us so we can get rid of them in one clean sweep.”

“That’s…fucking brilliant.” He grinned. “Let’s do that. Let’s choose a location we can trap them in and draw them to it. That should help keep the zombies from roaming around freely and bothering the other people stuck on this island.”

She beamed a smile back at him. “Exactly. Now, where should we put them?”

“How about right here at the pier? Since the zombies are attracted to sound, we can turn on the music and lights, and the water is a natural barrier so they won’t be able to escape and scatter that way.”

She glanced around and nodded. “This will do. A few years back, Jecca and I set up a trap on a distant planet. The natives there were being hunted by these crazed creatures that looked like giant warthogs. If a person was not immediately killed and eaten, one bite from the beasts would drive that person mad. Normally, we do not like to intervene on primitive planets, but Jecca discovered that the beasts had been infected with a virus caused by alien worms. That was not normal behavior for the inhabitants.”

He was fascinated by the story. “Where did the worms come from?”