Page 73 of Stealing Jia

Was there a sarcastic note in Jubal’s voice?I pulled one off my belt and held it up. “Let’s just say I’m self-taught.”

“There were no males to protect you?”

“They were eaten by the Tai-Kok. Besides thermite grenades are easy to use. You simply pull the pin and toss it.”

Every warrior at the table tensed when I threw it at Jubal.

Jubal caught the grenade easily. “How did you get away before the grenade blew?”

“Chiara ported us.”

“Where did you find the Shani? They seldom leave their planet.” Jubal hurled the grenade back at me.

Trayon snatched it out of mid-air.

I held my hand out for the grenade and frowned when he attached it to his weapon’s belt.“I rescued Chiara and several other children from the flesh peddlers on Threll.”

Dad squeezed my knee and said on our private link, “Tossing grenades about the war room is bad manners, young lady.”

“Yes, sir.”

A warrior wearing a bright blue helmet snarled, “Those children included a Rodan spawn.”

“Cason is no longer Rodan,”Trayon shot back testily. His tentacles rose like angry snakes.“He is my son, and you would do well not to forget that Lipas.”

The black plume on Lipas’s shiny helmet swung wildly. “Bah! You let your feeling for the soft skin interfere with your duties as a warrior.”

“He has no aura,”Chiara warned.

“What?” Ignoring the barely polite exchange between Trayon and Lipas, I quickly scanned the nasty man. Every living being had an aura. Why didn’t he? How had the guys missed that? A cold prickling ran up my spine when I sensed a familiar mind directing Lipas’s actions. Mallox! Since the Rodan had limited telepathic powers, he must have been experimenting on himself. I clouded their minds. “What is your plan?”

“My task is to destroy the warriors in this room,”Lipas answered dully.

“Why?”I felt Trayon link with me.

This time Mallox responded,“Once my enemies have been crushed, the Rodan will rule the galaxy and I will take my rightful place as Emperor.”

Dad joined the link and asked,“How are you going to kill everyone?”

“I surgically implanted Peekay, which is an undetectable explosive, into Lipas’s body,”Mallox replied.

Cazzo!

Trayon demanded,“How many replicants do you have on your enemy’s ships?”

“Only Lipas. The others died while seizing the cloaking devices.”

“When is the bomb set to blow?” To me that was the most important question.

There was a growing sense of alarm in Mallox’s fuzzy mind.“Three minutes from now.”

Trayon shot the information to Sariel and the Overlord.

Zarek’s merciless gaze fixed on Lipas.

Lipas blank stare morphed into one of rage. Twenty seconds later a transport beam locked on him and he vanished.

Jubal erupted to his feet. “What is going on?”

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