Page 92 of Stealing Jia

“Not quite sure. I think Oni used some type of transporter beam on us. Are you hurt?”

“I am a bit light-headed but suffered no physical injury.”

“LeeLee? LooLoo? Are you okay?”

“Their auras have dimmed,”Chiara warned.

Holy Mother! I pulled their little bodies out of my hair. They were both curled in a ball. I instinctively reached out to Trayon. “We need a medic. Fast!”Shock turned to fear and then panic. I couldn’t sense him. There was only a horrible, empty black void where our link should be.

“I cannot feel Father Trayon’s or Cason’s or Pepe’s or Adoz’s minds. What has happened to them?”Chiara wailed.

“I don’t know. The Rodan were still light years away.”Summoning every ounce of my power, I reached out again. “Trayon?”When he failed to respond, a raw and primitive grief overwhelmed me. Had a mad bomber gotten on the ship again? Was Trayon and the others dead?

“He cannot hear you. The walls are shielded,”Oni’s voice came from the glowing blue ball hovering over us.

A shudder of relief shook me. Thank God. Trayon had to be going nuts.“Please, my children are injured. I need to summon a medic.”

The ball landed. The hull cracked open and out stepped a cat-faced humanoid wearing tarnished silver armor. Her golden hair reminded me of a lion’s mane. A long wand appeared in Oni’s hand and she ran it over the twins. “The quantum beam has disrupted their neuron circuits. I will reset them.”

“Thank you.”I watched anxiously as a glowing silver light engulfed them. If anything happened to them, I’d never forgive myself.

Oni ran a gentle hand over the twins.“What are they?”

“They’re Tabors, a race of intelligent, telepathic arachnids.”I touched the first twin.“This is LeeLee and this one is LooLoo. They were stolen from their family by the Rodan, who wanted to use them in their vile experiments. By the grace of God, I was able to rescue them.”

“They harm children?”

“Yes.”I relived the horrible day when the Rodan attacked my town. I hit Oni hard with the screams of the dying, the blood and gore. I made my pain, my horror and rage hers. “To them we are either food or lab rats to be used in their quest to create the perfect soldier. They have no honor.”

Oni bared her fangs. “They must be stopped.”

“I agree. This planet is where they grow Eugleanophyta.”I sent her a mental image of the plant.“Once harvested, it will be used to turn our people into mindless puppets.”

LooLoo’s legs twitched.“Momma Jia?”

“I’m right here, sweetie.”I cuddled her against my face.“How do you feel?”

“Me kay,” LooLoo wiggled until she could look around. “Where here?”

“This is Sakkara, the city of the dead,” Oni announced proudly.

“No see dead.”

A light flared in the darkness, then another and another and another until I could see a walkway lined with towering lion-headed statues that led to an enormous six-tier stone pyramid.

Oni gestured toward the tomb. “The great ones reside within.”

LooLoo hopped up and down on my hand. “Wanna see.”

“Maybe later when LeeLee is feeling better.”

Chiara uncoiled from my neck to get a better look at the tomb. “Is it true Earth has pyramids?”

“We do. Most are in the Middle East and South America.”

Oni seemed fascinated by that fact.“Your people worship Karnak?”

Before I could answer her, LeeLee suddenly complained, “Me hungry.”

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