Page 39 of Alien in the Depths
“Zaraq didn’t do anything,” Sofia insisted, trying her best to maintain composure despite the pain shooting through herwrist. “And neither did I. This is all a huge misunderstanding! You have to believe me!”
She knew her lies were probably in vain, but she had to try anyway. If she could find some way of getting through to Vexis, even just for a moment, that could be the difference between life and death, between false imprisonment and freedom.
The look on the Rikuan’s face told her he wasn’t buying it, though. His mauve cheeks and nose wrinkled as his purple lips curled up into a snarl. The black eyes that had been so cruel just moments earlier now carried a hint of something else—amusement almost.
“Oh, really?” he spat, though not without humor. “So what, you just show up at my doorstep and lure me out of the house on the same night Zaraq breaks in and robs me? The same Zaraq you have stored in your comm? And I’m supposed to believe that’s a coincidence?”
The mention of the comm set Sofia on edge. Had he noticed it missing from the pod? He hadn’t seemed to realize she’d shoved it down her bra when he was dragging her into the house, but maybe he’d gone back to find it in the interim.
The question made her heart beat faster but she did her best not to show it. Instead, she attempted to steer the conversation in another direction.
“And what do you think he stole?”
Her free hand tugged nervously at the hem of her dress, while the hand Vexis gripped was beginning to turn numb.
When she glanced down, she saw her skin was turning white.
Vexis appeared to notice too and, to her relief, he finally released his grip. The feeling was short-lived, though. As Sofia cradled her hand, Vexis pulled open the black coat he was wearing and grasped at something tucked into his leather belt. Her heart raced to see it was a blaster, and as he pulled it out and held it up to her, Sofia’s blood turned cold.
“I think you know what he stole,” Vexis replied, fingering the shiny black metal of his weapon as if caressing a beloved pet, or perhaps a lover. His eyes glowed as he inspected the blaster, almost with adoration, but then flickered back up to meet her gaze.
“You ever seen a sigma blaster?”
His voice was a low rumble, and Sofia’s breath hitched in her throat as Vexis brought the gun up under her chin. He was close to her now, his face filling her vision until she could see every pore in his mauve skin. This close up, she noticed that his black eyes held a tinge of yellow, and his breath was sour and hot on her skin.
“Uh-uh,” Sofia breathed, not even daring to shake her head. She was frozen still by the cold metal pressed against her skin—something she’d never wanted or expected to feel.
He pushed it harder against her, tilting Sofia’s head back to expose her throat. It was the most vulnerable she had ever felt, and as a woman who was used to taking control over risky situations, this was not only terrifying but deeply uncomfortable. She hated that with the advantage of a gun, Vexis had effectively reduced her to a frightened child.
“See, a sigma blaster is a very special weapon,” Vexis crooned, finally releasing the pressure and instead sliding the blaster gently along her jawline and up toward her earlobe. “They’re hard to come across and expensive. So it’s a real shame Zaraq decided he’d take mine for himself.”
Sofia’s breathing grew shallow as Vexis moved the barrel of the blaster down. He traced the line of her throat, the barrel catching momentarily at her clavicle. At her sides, her hands gripped tightly at the soft black fabric of her hem, as if to anchor her.
“That’s the thing, though. A sigma blaster is a weapon with only one purpose—to kill, efficiently and silently. They’re for professionals,” Vexis continued, keeping the blaster aimed at Sofia’s throat but bringing his dark eyes up to meet hers.
“I’m a professional. And if Zaraq knew that, he would have laid down and taken the rap for his friend’s murder. I guarantee you the cops will go easier on him than I will. But he just couldn’t do that. Could he?”
At this, Vexis dragged the blaster barrel further down Sofia’s chest until the cold metal came to rest in her cleavage.
“Instead, he sent you to distract me so he could get his hands on the murder weapon.”
Sofia tried to breathe again, attempting to ignore the threat that was all too real now. She’d made her choice to fight for Zaraq, and despite the gun, despite Vexis, despite her fear, that wasn’t about to change.
“So you did kill his friend?” she asked, forcing her voice to remain steady. If she was going to die for the truth, she at least wanted to hear it.
Vexis chuckled, and Sofia felt the gun shudder a little against her chest along with his laugh.
“I did what I had to do to get where I am,” he told her, his eyes glinting with malice. “And that means taking out anyone Slik doesn’t like. Turns out traitors are bad for business.”
“So, what, you just shot him? Just like that?” Sofia pressed, feeling emboldened now by the Rikuan’s confession.
She gazed pointedly at him, her green eyes alive with defiance. For a moment, Vexis paused, and then finally he dragged the barrel away, leaving a mark on Sofia’s breasts. She almost shuddered with relief but didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
“If I’d been using a delta blaster, yes, I would have shot him,” he told her, glancing thoughtfully at the delta blaster in his hand. “But like I told you, a sigma blaster is special. It doesn’t shootthrough matter. It disintegrates it. This means when I pressed my blaster against Ryka’s chest like I did to you just now, I didn’t shoot him in the heart. It would be more accurate to say his heart ceased to exist.”
The cruel smile that spread over Vexis’s face sent a cold shiver up Sofia’s spine.
“That’s horrible,” she uttered before she could stop herself. Her comment only seemed to fuel Vexis’s enthusiasm, though.