Page 12 of Defiance
Imani put her hand on my bicep, reeling me back into the conversation while she still had time. She spoke quickly, feeling the tick of an invisible clock chasing us.
“A human on Guei’s home turf would be irresistible. She’ll try something somehow. We just don’t knowwhat.Novak says that you’re the best fit, and I agree.”
“Oh sure, twenty years working in aquaculture really prepares you for the spotlight.”
A cold sweat trickled down my neck at the same time an absurd laugh bubbled up my throat. Me, going on a mission? I was just an ichthyologist with a few silver hairs in my eyebrows and a mean bicep flex from hauling nets. I wasn’t James Bond.
“What if I said you can do research while you’re there? Forget about the whole bait thing and just enjoy. Let Novak worry about the details.”
I squinted at her skeptically. “And how am I supposed to forget about the bait thing exactly?”
Apparently this question was a trap, because Imani gave me a smug shrug. No one had ever looked more like Catwoman playing with her prey. “Did you know that hjarna spawn breed? Or that their sight is like shrimp?”
I gasped, falling right into her claws. “Shut up, what?! Do they see circularly polarized light?Feck,that’s incredible.”
Imani nodded her chin at my delighted hand-clapping. “See? You don’t need to act, Charlie. Your enthusiasm is the perfect cover. And if somethingdoeshappen, Novak will be there to keep you safe.”
Delusion was a hell of a drug. I’d spent most of my career working with mollusks, crustaceans, and salmonids. I wasn’t thinking about the danger at all anymore. Instead, I was wondering what Piaoguo’s oceans smelled like and blinking back tears at the idea of getting on a boat again.
“I’ll do it.”
Imani held up her hand. “There are some caveats.”
I nodded, bracing myself for the costs. I’d pay almost any price to put myself in danger for a chance to talk toa sentient pachydermous crustacean on their homeworld.Or were they crustaceous pachyderms? Nevermind the fact that said species orchestrated the abduction and sale of over a thousand humans, I was going to ask the real questions.
So, do your eyeballs hurt if I poke them? And how about that crest on your head… Do you think it’s hot? Do you even have the concept of hotness?
Imani cleared her throat, soldiering on while I stared with slightly manic intent at the tree behind her.
“Novak will need to memorize your scent.”
“Sure. Okay,” I said immediately. Letting someone who thought I smelled get a whiff of myeau de riverwas awkward but didn’t hold a candle to the opportunity ahead of me.
“Are you seeing anyone?”
That pulled me out of my daydreams with a record-player scratch.
“Uh, no. Why?”
“Advenan bites are venomous but they leave a sort of marker. Novak could track you anywhere. Underwater, off-world, hopping from ship to ship. Anywhere, Charlie.” She creased her brow, squeezing my shoulder. “Vin said Novak won’t bring it up, but that you should know it’s on the table. We want you to come home safe.”
Venom. Generally speaking, that wasn’t a good thing to inject into your body. Neurotoxins, hemotoxins, cytotoxins… I could accept sniffing, giving him my clothes, or even bottling my pee and sweat if I needed to, but this gave me pause.
“I don’t know enough about advenans to say if I’m okay with that,” I admitted hesitantly. “What’s their venom used for?”
“Sex.”
My vision shook, pulse skyrocketing into my ears. “You want me to—”
Imani cut off my words just as our holotabs began to vibrate and glow. She grabbed my arm in a rush as my stomach flipped and my ears burned.
“Yes. Don’t mention any of this anywhere to anyone. Don’t write it down, don’t do a search. No records,” she blurted in a rush.
I didn’t get the chance to process her words as my eyes, tongue, and vocal cords spasmed and our bionics restarted. My fingers and throat twitched, my tongue rolled over itself, and my eyes reflexively dilated and contracted until I staggered sideways into a fern.
“Ach, that was awful,” I said, stretching my jaw, a flash of heat springing back into my belly.
“Vin’s did the same thing yesterday,” she said, rubbing her thumb with a grimace. “Seems that some of our bionics need serviced. Maybe it’s an update.”
