Page 80 of Sky Song
“By God, do tell!”
“Commander Aeshac obtained my release rights in exchange for infiltrating Meeus as part of the delegation. But he wouldn't just unleash me onto the world.”
“You mean, Simon,” she spat the name out. She was now almost positive they were one and the same.
He shrugged. “It was an easy choice. I took the drug.”
“What were you in prison for?”
“Oh, only my entire previous life.”
“Lyle!”
“There’s a reason I don’t talk about my past.” He stood up, looking tired. “I was in prison for the many crimes I had committed. While in prison, I was a violent inmate and a troublemaker. It’s a miracle they didn’t end me. And Iwantedthem to. I was never going to see the light of day, but you see, I have a weakness for the sky.” He smiled crookedly, like a boy. “The prison was all rock and no windows, and I didn’t want to die before I saw the sky one more time. I was willing to do anything to make it happen.”
“And you found Simon?”
“Commander Aeshac found me. He came to the prison looking for someone with a particular experience.”
“I bet he knows a thing or two about what kind of expertise you can find at a prison,” Cricked mumbled to herself.
“When I heard, I made sure he picked me. It helped that I was the best fit for the job, and he knew it, too. The only problem he had was controlling me, and he solved it with the drug.”
“So, you’re not here on an official Rix trip?”
“Oh, my mission is official, authorized by the elders’ council. Aeshac is the head of security missions, they trust him.”
Cricket snorted. Trust Simon - that was the joke of the year. “And what is your mission?”
Lyle hesitated. “To find out how far that alien genetic research has progressed on Meeus.”
A heartbeat of silence between them stretched into two, three.
“That’s why no one picked you up,” Cricket broke their silence.
“Correct. They won’t come until I contact them, and I will only do that when I find what I came to find.”
Finally, some things were clicking into place.
A movement distracted Cricket - a rabbity face crowned with ridiculous tufts of brown poking from behind the couch.
“Hipper! I forgot all about him. He must be hungry. Have you fed him?”
Lyle recoiled a little. “He’s your animal, not mine.”
“Technically, he’s Mr. Sulys’.”
“That soft, pink-skinned human locked him in a cupboard before leaving for work. I’m afraid I wrecked the handle.”
That Sulys.“Pink skinned? You mean, like me?”
“You’re beautiful and soft and lickable. And he makes me remember lean times of my childhood when I had to eat loadedsperm sacks of Geta lizards. Geta was all the women were able to catch, and naturally, they took the best parts for themselves. It motivated me to get better at hunting like you can’t imagine.”
Cricket gaped at him. “Of all the things about your childhood that you could have shared with me, you chose this one?”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t get much prettier than this. And I did get better at hunting.”
Hipper approached, fearful, on semi-bent legs, and sniffed at Cricket’s pajama flowers. “You’re cuter than you look, aren’t you?” She bent down and carefully picked him up. He didn’t protest but hung limply in her hold, human eyes wide and searching. “Oh, I think you’re cute,” she crooned, ignoring a vaguely disgusted vibe coming off Lyle. “And how about some cheese? Umm. About that cheese. Lyle, what are we going to do about him?” she asked as she headed for the kitchen.
