Page 10 of The Price of Peace
While I ruminated, I nearly missed what he said next.
“In fact,” Xyrox continued, “I think this planet was one of Jökull’s experimental campuses before it shifted its orbit and froze over. I recognized the name. According to my sources, there are hidden labs and living quarters here. Maybe we can find something useful.”
That got my attention. “Why didn’t you tell me this before!” Normally, I wouldn’t want to traipse around an ice planet with no supplies, but we had little choice. “Labs? Equipment and housing? Really? Then what are we doing sitting around in this tiny, freezing cave? We need to search. Possibly the only people who know we’re here are the goons looking for me, there’s notmuch food or heat in the emergency pack, and we’ve already wasted a night.”
A disconcerting feeling of warmth settled over me when Xyrox gave me a very large, white smile. “Then let’s get to it, Agent Veylora. After you.” He stood and gathered the blankets I’d pinned to the walls for insulation. When he uncovered the skinny opening to the cave at the back of the cave
Shooting him a tight smile, I squeezed through the opening. When the frigid air hit my cheeks like a slap, I willed myself to step forward and prayed for the best.
8
PEACE
It didn’t take long, in the bright morning light, to find the tunnel that descended into the dark, with little more than my light stick to illuminate the way.
The obsidian walls were smooth, as was the floor. After several minutes in the tight space, it opened above a larger corridor. We silently dropped into the hallway, cracking a thin layer of ice that covered the floor. Several more minutes in, a faded line appeared. I kicked the ice away with my boot to get a closer look.
“What exactly did you say they used this planet for?” I asked, simply to break up the silence that was starting to creep me out in the black void.
Xyrox hesitated to answer a beat too long, and I regretted asking. Maybe I didn’t want to know. Scratch that. I likely didn’t want to know, but it was too late to back out now.
He cleared his throat. “From what I could tell from the paperwork I found, they were doing experiments, mostly on females, to breed them with Pleiadian males. The arrogant fekksmanaged to make themselves live almost forever but in doing so messed up their ability to reproduce. They haven’t had any babies in centuries, and they’re slowly going extinct.” Xyrox huffed out a very unhumorous sounding laugh. “Ironic, huh?”
“But you think I’m Pleiadian. And I was only born twenty-five years ago. How does that circle square?” I glanced over my shoulder, only to see him shrug.
“Don’t know. Maybe you’re not. I’m just saying you favor the race with your eye color. It’s pretty distinctive.”
I frowned. Xyrox made the Pleiadians sound terrible. I didn’t want to be part of a race who trafficked in women and children, forced breeding, experimented on people they captured, and were arrogant. So I decided he was wrong, either about my heritage or perhaps about them.
“C’mon, let’s keep going. I’m hungry, and I have a feeling there’s a lot of area to cover in this place.” Placing his hand on my lower back, Xyrox propelled me forward, suddenly in the lead. He took my pack and slung it over his substantial shoulder.
I should’ve been all kinds of pissed off with his cavalier attitude, but, the funny thing was, I didn’t hate it. That surprised me, because I’d never been good at following. I consoled myself that it must be the view of his perfect ass, but there was that giant puffy coat, so no.Shut up, Peace!
“Me, too. Starving.” I pretended to take charge again by pointing my light down the hallway in front of us.
We walked in silence for a while when the tunnel began to illuminate itself. At first, I thought it was an optical illusion from my light reflecting off crystals that appeared embedded in the walls at irregular intervals. But when I flicked off my stick, the glow in the tunnel remained.
Xyrox held up a fist and stopped walking just like I’d seen Zame do when we were on a hike. She had once said it was habit from her military days.
“Do you see something?” I asked, keeping my voice in a whisper just in case.
Suddenly, he flicked out a long, forked tongue, and I jolted. I’d seen that scenting maneuver a million times growing up around Rykantosians, yet it always caught me off guard—especially since, aside from that, they looked so much like me—whatever I was.
“People habitation is close. I don’t scent anyone here, or anyone who has been here recently.” His tongue flicked out again.
At that very moment, my stomach rumbled loudly.Oh, that’s badass, Peace. Real badass.I tried to ignore the smile I could tell Xyrox was fighting.
“Let’s see if we can find some food. Those protein bars I ate while you were chasing me are long gone,” he said.
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed. I also hoped there might be some beds left, and—if we were lucky—blankets, because I didn’t expect there to be a working heat source. The bits of ice in the tunnels didn’t bode well for the place having working power and ongoing heat, but I would take whatever I could get.
As we hiked, it felt like we were slowly gaining altitude. Eventually, Xyrox stopped in front of a heavy-looking metal door with a hatch wheel in the center. Xyrox placed his large hands on either side of the wheel and took a deep breath, ready to crank it.
“Whoa, whoa, there, buddy!” Grabbing his shoulder, I tugged on him to face me, but he was immovable. He paused, however, and cocked his head to listen to me. “What if it’s booby trapped or something? We could blow ourselves up.”
He flicked that long, forked, very dexterous tongue, and I felt my clit pulse between my thighs.Goddess protect me!
“No explosives,” he said. “It just smells old, musty, and quarters where people used to live. It’s safe.” With that, he heaved the wheel and pushed.
