Page 47 of Alien's Luck
“Shapeshift. You already shift to stone.”
“Any Khargal can do that. I can change small details, like color.” He held up a hand to demonstrate. The purple lusterdrained away back to that dull gray, then grew flush with red, then gold, then faded to beige that nearly resembled her own complexion, and then back to purple. “Some are very skilled and alter their facial features, even hide their crown and wings, but my talents are modest in comparison.”
She didn’t know about that. Changing color like a chameleon seemed pretty impressive. Now, she was curious. “If you can look like anything, why do you always look like… you? Don’t you want to change it up?”
His wings flexed, which seemed for all the world like he shrugged a shoulder. “This was my mother’s favorite color.” He looked down, turning his face slightly as if embarrassed.
Huh. That was unexpectedly sweet.
Carla stepped closer. She reached for his chin, turning him back to examine his features carefully.
She could see it now. Ari had always been himself, but now he was somehow more himself.
“It suits you. I like it,” she said.
“I cannot hold the shift when I sleep. I did not mean to alarm you.”
“Thank you, but I need to apologize for reacting badly. I should have recognized you.”
“No, do not apologize. You reacted exactly as you should to a stranger in your bed.” He reached for her, pulling her to stand between his legs. His wings came forward, wrapping around them as his arms wrapped around her. “Are you hungry, or can I entice you back to bed?”
Back to bed it was.
Day six.The invitation finally arrived, just like Ari said it would.
They pored over satellite images, finalizing their plan. Carla had grown to appreciate how he saw all the moving pieces in a complicated system. For the last two years, she hadn’t planned for more than a few days in the future. It was hard to think long -term when you scrambled for your next meal.
Her smash-and-grab method worked, but it was messy. The further they delved into the island’s defenses, the more she appreciated Ari’s strategic mind. As much as his methods frustrated her, she had to trust the process.
She had no other choice.
CHAPTER 14
CARLA
That was a zombie. An actual human zombie carrying her luggage. A zombie bellhop. The little red hat with gold braiding pushed the horrific into the absurd. How could she take any of this seriously when the zombie wore a bellhop hat, complete with chin strap?
The zombie—he—was a lot less gory than Hollywood led Carla to expect. No severed torso dragging themselves slowly across the ground, innards dragging in the dirt. No visible bite marks or wounds either, which made sense since Ari claimed the zombification was due to a fungus and not a virus.
From the front, he was just a dude with a sallow complexion, shuffling like he had a hangover, lugging a suitcase. Cloudy white eyes were the only clue that something wasn’t right. Then he turned around, revealing vivid green algae covering the back of his shaved skull. The growth trailed down his neck, disappeared under his shirt collar, and presumably continued down his spine.
Carla stared at the man, both horrified and fascinated.
Horrified because the algae growth made it that much easier to picture Poppy with her scales plucked from her head and covered in algae.
Fascinated because the zombie was human. Encountering a fellow human wasn’t so strange, although the ones she met were more often kept as pets than independent people. Humans were uncommon, not unicorns. But humans were valuable, both women and men. Wasting such a resource by turning them into a zombie was either a gross display of wealth or a pointed warning that anyone, no matter how valuable or useful, could fall into disfavor.
Either way, it spoke volumes about their host.
“Do not stare. It is impolite,” Ari said in a quiet tone, standing close. He had his wings tucked tight against his back, hidden from view, and didn’t look like himself. It was almost as surreal as a zombie porter.
“I think staring at him is the point.”
The zombie shuffled along the dock, one foot dragging slightly with each step. She couldn’t look away.
“Wear this,” the non-zombie said, handing Carla a flower with pink berries clustered close to the stem and long yellow petals that fanned out like tail feathers. The speaker, a Nakkoni, wore a crisp white suit with wide lapels over a white shirt, which looked far too heavy for the warm climate and gave Fantasy Island vibes. He had his own flower clipped to his lapel. “The pollen repels the infected.”
What was even happening? The entire situation was surreal. Ari’s ship docked at Tavat’s villain lair island, which was sadly lacking both volcanoes and skulls. It was just a boring tropical paradise, lush with greenery and undisturbed beaches. Yawn.
