Page 71 of The Alien Reindeer's Bounty
One breath at a time.
She gasped for air, but the blackness receded. Counting silently, she listened to the ambient noise of the room. Machines with blinking lights crowded the room. Symbols scrolled by quickly on a large screen, presumably in Karl’s alien language. Oddly, the language didn’t feel too far out of her grasp.
Karl followed her gaze. “Oh, that’s interesting. I take it you’ve understood every word I’ve said?”
“Yes?” Clearly, the man was unstable, what with the kidnapping and drugging and sneaking into her house to do who knows what. Given how often she woke up feeling as if someone had been watching her, probably watching her sleep. Not wanting to make him upset, she had no idea what he wanted to hear. She’d tell him any fable, any lie with a smile on her face, if it kept her and Ruby breathing. She’d figure out a way out of this tube, find Ruby and then escape.
“The old sagas went on and on about the psychic connection between bond mates, but no one had seen it in generations. I assumed it was a myth or exaggeration, but here you are, speaking Reilendeer. You have an atrocious accent, of course,” Karl said, rambling. He cocked his head to one side. “Given that you’re not hyperventilating about the antlers, my nephew must have told you who we are.”
“He did. You’re an alien.”
“Then you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that this is my ship. We are no longer on Earth.”
She sagged, her shoulders knocking into the glass enclosure. Escaping just got a bit more difficult. No problem. These things had escape pods, right? They always did in the movies. Not that she could fly or read the escape pod’s instructions.
One problem at a time.
“I can see you thinking. Your aura fluctuates. What have you decided? Are you going to comply with me only enough to plot as escape attempt? Banking on Mads to rescue you? Rest assured, escape or rescue is not an option, so try to relax.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
He turned his attention to a handheld tablet and frowned. “You are correct. Your heart rate is far too accelerated. Now, breathe deep.” He punched in a command and a hiss of odorless gas filled the chamber. “You’ll remain conscious while you and I chat.”
She held her breath until her chest burned from the effort. Finally, she gasped and coughed, pulling the gas deeper into her lungs. “I don’t want to chat.”
“I’m not particularly fond of conversation, either, but I need to see your brain do all those weird human brain things, so our options are talking or opening up your skull. You are my most valuable specimen, but I am willing to sacrifice you if I must.” He leaned forward on the stool, body coiled like a spring about to jab her in the face.
Karl chuckled lightly, as if he heard that thought. Reilendeer couldn’t read minds. Mads told her so.
“The gas has loosened your tongue. Wonderful. And no, our species is not able to read minds,” he said.
“Your idea of wonderful sucks. Oh shit, why did I say that? That’ll make you upset and you look like you get stabby when you’re upset. Why can’t I stop talking?” Seriously, why? If she had enough room to clamp her hands over her mouth, she’d do just that.
“The expected language areas of your brain are lighting up. Rather disappointing, honestly. Learn a language psychically and the same old boring bits of gray matter are used.”
“Sound pretty interesting to me. I’m still not sure how I learned to speak Reilendeer,” she said. She could tell that the words coming out of her mouth were wrong, somehow, but she couldn’t stop herself from speaking. She still thought in English, at least.
“I would suspect that you are not, actually,” he said.
Irritation flared. Karl didn’t have to read her mind when he dosed her with the gas that made her say any darn thought in her head.
“Interesting. I wish I had a pre-bond brain scan to compare with the readings now. Alas. You proved difficult enough to collect a simple genetic sample from. Nothing short of abduction was going to get you in my lab.” A twisted grin spread across his face, all sharp teeth and empty eyes. “But you are bonded, that is beyond a doubt. The change is fascinating and happened rather quickly. I suspect my nephew contributed a rather large deposit of genetic material.”
That grin again. Odessa shivered.
Karl held up the tablet in front of her and flicked through several images before settling on a chart filled with numbers. “The genetic markers here and here are no longer strictly human.”
“I’m human. Plain old human.” She couldn’t sprout antlers or shapeshift.
“Your body disagrees. However, your brain remains disappointingly human. I know you’ve bonded. I see the evidence, I hear the evidence, but nothing in this scan is helpful. Where I would expect to find activity, I see nothing. Not a blip or a single neuron firing.” He threw the tablet to the ground. “So how are you doing it, hmm? How is that simian brain of yours doing all this work but not transforming? Can you see auras yet? Can your eyes shift to detect the necessary light spectra? Perhaps you are pregnant, and the language ability is not you but the connection to the embryo?”
His questions came at her rapid-fire. She didn’t know the answers to any of them. Before she could respond, a panel on the chamber slid open. He held out a hand.
She glanced toward the alcove with the sleeping figure of Ruby.
“Come along. I’ve learned all I can from this contraption.” He grabbed her by the wrist and yanked. She stumbled forward, her legs suddenly having the consistency of jelly. “Do not attempt to run. You simply cannot until the gas wears off. Now, one foot in front of the other.”
With little regard to her shaky steps, he pulled her forward and out of the room.
