Page 38 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas
“Does that robot body make Elf extra-strong?” She asked Xane, without much hope for good news. Why was there never any good news in space?
“Yes, but that hardly matters, in a fight. His venomous bite will kill an enemy much faster than his unbreakable metal grip.”
Xane was pretending to be her slave again, with the chains loosely attached to his wrists. That was his idea, as well. He thought it would help them blend in better, because apparently, “Only a fool would think a Lythion and a Rtaharion are walking around town together, without one of them being forced.”
Whatever.
Sadie sighed in aggravation. “Remind me why we need to deal with this Elf guy, again.”
“He is overseer of the blue salt mines.”
“I thought that octopus-man was overseer of the mines.”
Xane flashed her a slight frown. “Who?”
“The guy who wanted to buy you from me, back at the auction. With the tentacles.”
“Vice-Corporal Siganthum-Rycen Lonel Lonel?”
Sadie blinked at that moniker. “Sure. Him.”
“No, The Vice-Corporal owns the mine, so he does not work in the pits. Elf is the overseer down there. He has control of the slaves. He is the one who locks them in chains andensures they work.” Xane paused. “He is the one with the key. You see it hanging from his middle neck.”
“Right.” Sadie wrinkled her nose, spotting the glint of a silver chain around the middle snake-throat. “To stage a jailbreak, we need those chains unlocked. Which means, we need to steal that key from Elf.” She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “How are we going to do that?”
“I’m going to kill him.” Xane nodded, like that highly detailed plan was the height of strategic brilliance.
Sadie’s eyebrows compressed. “In like… a fight?”
“Yes.”
“What about his unbreakable grip and all the venom?”
“I will try to avoid those.”
“That’s a terrible idea!”
“Avoiding them is a very wise idea, since…”
She cut him off. “Fightinghim is a terrible idea. He’s a frigging robot snake! He’ll slaughter you.”
Xane looked insulted. “I am a Rtaharion. We are all excellent fighters.”
“You’re also my husband and I don’t feature being an intergalactic widow!”
He blinked, his head tilting.
Sadie cleared her throat. “Maybe-husband.” She muttered, correcting herself.
“Definitely-husband.” Xane said, but he stopped advocating for his kamikaze mission.
“Okay, let’s take a step back.” Sadie urged, eager to change the subject. “Elf isn’t expecting anyone to be plotting a prison break, here at the holiday market thingy.”
“It’s a casino, not a market. That’s why it has all those gaudybanmarseverywhere.” He gestured to the sparkly garlands, which were the first part of alien décor that Sadie liked. They were very festive.
She looked around the festooned booths. They were all open on one side and filled with shoppers. “If this is a casino, why are so many people selling pots?”
“Because it’s acasino.” He repeated. “Everyone is playing pots-and-jars. Do they not have games-of-chance in the Milky Way?”
