Page 14 of Alien's Challenge
Faris scrubbed his hand over his face. He needed to shove a fistful of snow up his nose to block her scent. Like an insidious raider, the fever wormed its way past his defenses. Alice was not his female and she was not pretty. Probably. She was too soft and had no scales to speak of, and his fingers brushed against that soft skin when he helped dress her on the train and...
Fine, she was a pretty human, but it did not matter.
“The ferry will be here soon,” he said.
He signaled with the cycle’s lights again. This time, he got a reply. Within minutes, they were safely across the gorge and Falsespire sheltered them from the storm.
Narrow lanes wound through the small village. It was easy enough to traverse on foot, but he wanted to keep the cycle nearby if he needed a quick escape. The snowstorm kept people inside, leaving the lanes empty. Only the hardiest people were out tonight.
He stopped at a food stall decorated with crude paintings of what it served. He didn’t particularly care what it sold as long as it was hot. Apparently, Alice felt the same. She pointed to the painted dishes and made a gesture for eating, then drinking.
“Did Rand feed you?”
She made a face, then stuck out a pink tongue.
Faris recoiled. Short and wide, her tongue was so strange. Smooth. Deviant.
“I will feed you whatever you like, but put that away,” he said.
She responded, knowing he couldn’t understand her, and he liked how she insisted on being part of the conversation.
“All is safe for humans. If it is to your liking, I cannot say,” he said.
The stall sold savory pies with various fillings, some of which might have been the meat it claimed to be, and a single variety of a sweet fruit pie. He ordered two of each. What Alice did not like, he consumed. The fever burning in him required fuel.
A small overhang from a nearby building sheltered them while they ate. Faris watched Alice sniff the pie, then take a bite. She scrunched up her nose and spat it out.
“No? Try this one.” He handed her another.
She gave him a wary look but took a small nibble at the corner. It was so strange watching someone without fangs eat. She swallowed then flashed him her flat, blunt teeth. It made him inexplicably pleased knowing he caused that smile.
Once they consumed the last of the pies, he took her to the kind of shop that didn’t hang a sign over the door. The best places—or, in this context, the worst places—were found by word of mouth or if you knew what to look for.
The front operated as an all-hours gaming club. Allegedly, they served food, but no one ate the food if they valued their health. Nothing out of the ordinary there. The back had a rotating stock of goods, usually the kind that fell off the back of a cargo ship.
“Before we enter, take this,” he said, removing a blade from his boot.
Alice looked at the blade with uncertainty.
He explained, “It is more important to be seen as capable of defending yourself than being able to use it properly. If you must use it, aim for the gut. Like this.” He demonstrated. “Never overhand. It is too easy to be blocked or disarmed. Do not aim for the upper torso. Too many bones. Do you understand?”
He held out the blade to her, handle first.
She took the blade. The light spilling through the windows hit her eye, and for a moment he wondered if she planned to stab him. He did not know her and had given her a weapon.
How exciting.Humans were so capricious.
Instead of stabbing him, she nodded and mimicked the move he showed her.
“Keep it close,” he said. She tucked it into the belt of the coat and followed him inside.
Cold air rushed in as they entered, and the room fell silent. Faris grabbed the end of the scarf and tugged.
Alice took a stumbling step, shouting her inscrutable angry words, and swatted at his hand.
He leaned down to speak, keeping his voice low. “If you are not attached to me, someone will take you.”
Her eyes were furious, and his tail twitched at the possibility that she would stab him now. She grabbed his hand. She jerked it up, as if to show him, barked something rude—he had no doubt her words were rude—and rolled her eyes.
