Page 40 of Asmodel
A hissing female voice interrupted the isolation he enjoyed with Izzy. Glancing up, he watched a female scikvak racing towards them, brandishing a long pole with a spiked ball at its tip.
“Back away from her.” The female growled, facing Asmodel. She waved the weapon between them. “Who are you?”
Asmodel relaxed his stance and forced himself to let Izzy go. He took a step back and put Izzy behind him. “I am Asmodel from Earth.” He placed his hand over his heart with a small bow of respect. “Here to take Izzy back to Earth.”
“It’s okay, Talira.” Izzy moved to stand in front of him. “He’s the one we were going to rescue from the zaltrixan.”
Asmodel grinned. As if he needed her protection. He placed a hand over her shoulder, giving her a slight squeeze.
Talira glanced from him to Izzy. After a few heartbeats, the female warrior took a step back and planted the end of her weapon on the ground.
“I see.” She looked behind her as the sound of rustling feet burst out of the cave opening.
A group of scikvak came through, a conglomeration of civilians and soldiers by the looks of their clothing.
“Stand down, Talira.” An imposing male scikvak rushed to the female and faced her. “Izzy is right. He is the emissary from Earth.”
Talira narrowed her gaze at Asmodel, her ears flattened backward. “As you say, Praetor Vorlok.”
Asmodel took a chance and sent a slight psychic probe her way. What he got back didn’t surprise him. An unyielding sense of right and wrong mixed with the profound need to protect her people. His eyes widened when he got a little tidbit he didn’t expect. Oh, this was the female who Jaltaar, the lead guard from Panterion Prime, was deeply in love with.
“Welcome to Nekojin, man from Earth.” The praetor thumped both arms across his wide chest. “Come, we have much to discuss.” He gestured toward the entrance to the cave, now blocked by a crowd of pardalions watching them.
“Everyone, get back to your business! Let the praetor and our guests through!” Talira waved her arms to shoo the crowd back into the cave. Several of her fellow guards mimicked her and encouraged the group to break up. With murmurs and nervous laughs, the group headed back into the cave village.
Asmodel put his arm around Izzy’s slender shoulders. The praetor couldn’t have been more right. There was a lot to discuss. Glancing at the pouch hanging from the leather thong, he lifted it up to his open palm to let JR13 out.
“Contact your father and give him an update,” he told his spybot. “Be sure you let them know the Krystalii here is female and has a human male she plans to take back to Lord Baelon.”
JR13 shook his bulbous body, and the matte black of his torso contrasted with the shiny silver in the bright sunlight. “Already done, organic man.” The bot snorted. “You’d think this was my first rodeo or something.”
Asmodel had no clue what a rodeo was, but he trusted the droid did what he said.
“Oh, my gosh!” Izzy bent to get a better look at JR13 in his palm. “He’s so cute!”
“My dear woman.” JR13 turned to her and spoke in his snootiest tone. “I am not cute.” He pranced on his six legs to shuffle closer to her. “I am the epitome of masculine handsomeness.”
Asmodel snorted. With an exasperated look at Izzy, he lifted his hand to stare with narrowed eyes at JR13. “Let’s concentrate on what we should do next. Agreed?”
The bot blinked as if he was running more than one program. “Sure, whatever you say. But we can’t do that until you follow the cat-man back inside, now can we?” With that last shot, he scuttled to sit on his favorite perch at Asmodel’s left shoulder.
Izzy chuckled. “You sure have your hands full with that one, don’t you?”
Asmodel put his arm around her shoulders with a slight hug. They walked together behind the pardalions.
He chuckled. “You have no idea.”
Izzy glanced at the tall,holy gosh,seriously swoon-worthy man walking next to her. Even his profile, as he spoke with the praetor, made butterflies dance in her tummy. She admired his sharp jawline with its cleft chin devoid of any facial hair. His deep, fascinating hazel eyes, with their striking blend of chestnut brown and leaf green interlaced with gold flecks, lit up when he smiled. And the way he moved! She yearned to lag a few steps behind, just to admire the effortless grace in his movements, the way his muscles shifted beneath those tight leather pants.
And his hands! So wide and elegant, and his copper-hued skin spoke of strength and artistry, all at the same time. She yearned to reach over and grasp his hand to cover her chilled skin with his. As he spoke with the praetor, his warm, inviting tone drew her in. It took a moment before she tuned in to what he was saying.
“I’m afraid that’s right, Praetor,” Asmodel said. “The female Krystalii now has a human man and is planning on taking him instead of Izzy.” He stopped and faced the scikvak with crossed arms and leaned toward the pardalion elder. “The only reason she hasn’t come here to destroy your village is because she had to go underground to recharge. I’m not sure how long she’ll be out, so we only have a small window of opportunity to act, to get the human before she wakes up. Between her extensive psychic powers and her advanced technological abilities, she won’t need the zaltrixan to help her.” He stood straight. “And if she wakes up at full strength, I’m afraid she’ll be unstoppable.”
The elder tilted his head, and the long fur wisped around his face. “I agree. Come.” He put a paw on Asmodel’s arm and tugged him to the opening of the massive communal cave. “The chancellor of the Federation contacted us earlier and made us aware of your arrival, so we’ve begun plans to infiltrate Panterion Prime.” He grunted. “But now that the Krystalii already has a human, we’d better act quicker than we thought.”
He led them back into the large cave opening and into the interior conference room where Izzy had first arrived.
Asmodel smiled and a single deep dimple peeked out on the side of his luscious lips. When he reached over to cover her hand with his, Izzy caught her breath and gripped his hand back. Her grin had to be as goofy as heck. Not that she cared.