Page 11 of Alien's Challenge
Faris adjusted the cording in the hood, fitting it around her face and allowing her to see. She watched him with her strange, round eyes.
This wasn’t warm enough.
He removed his scarf and wound it around her neck. She touched it with her bare fingers.
“Gloves,” he said, patting the coat’s pocket. She mimicked him and withdrew his pair of thermal gloves. “Wear them. The strap adjusts,” he said.
She fumbled with the strap; the gloves far too large for her tiny human hands. He adjusted the straps until the gloves fit well enough not to fall over, annoyed with himself the entire time. This female was a burden, and yet he had to keep her warm. He couldn’t explain the compulsion.
There. Now she was protected from the cold.
Perrigaul laughed. “I dare you to deny that she is adorable.”
She was. His two hearts couldn’t deny it.
He looked away quickly. What was wrong with him? He gave his coat away to a stranger. You didn’t survive on Reazus Prime by giving away anything, let alone a coat when a snowstorm raged outside.
Faris nudged Rand with his boot. Still unconscious. The stunner may have been at a higher setting than necessary, but Rand would wake, eventually. Faris crouched down and stripped the fancy coat from the male. This was Rand’s fault, so Rand could donate his coat.
If Perrigaul thought the indigo blue coat with white fur trim was humorous, he kept it to himself.
“Time to go,” he said. They’d been on the train too long.
He scratched behind his ear.
A scale came loose.
Well,rotza.
Chapter 3
Faris
The fever.
He was too old for this. That a male his age would enter the fever and molt like a juvenile was ludicrous. His last molting had been eight years ago, and even then, he had been too old.
Now he was positively ancient in terms of Nakkoni biology. His quills were turningwhite.
They worked their way back through the train toward their tethered hovercycles. Perrigaul double-checked bindings and locked doors. When the train arrived at its destination, Rand and his guards would be discovered in an embarrassing condition. Normally such pettiness warmed Faris’ hearts, but he had larger concerns.
What was he going to do with the female? With Alice?
Al-iss.
What a charming name. Two syllables with a proper Nakkoni sibilant sound at the end.
Faris scrubbed his hand over his face. He needed air. The coat stank of Rand, which was good. It blocked the female’s scent.
If this was the effect she had on him just by being in the same space, how could he take her to the nearest settlement? Perrigaul could take her to have her chip repaired.
No.
As much as being near her aggravated his fever, the thought of her riding on Perrigaul’s cycle with him pressed close behind her, blocking her from the wind with his bulk…
No. Absolutely not. Faris would pull out his quills before he allowed that to happen.
They finally reached the platform at the back of the train. Cold, crisp air helped to clear his head.
