Chapter 9: Chapter 9

ISABELLE

Izzy turned wide eyes to the man lying on her lounge room floor, his face frozen into an angry mask, and his wrist bent into an unnatural angle.

~Mikhlas broke his wrist,~ then what he said registered on her as her savior pulled a wicked-looking blade out of the floor and took a menacing step toward the defenseless man.

“Wait!”

Mikhlas turned to her, his handsome face set and eyes red with anger.

She opened her mouth and, in that moment, caught sight of a green-skinned monster with bloody teeth holding onto her cabin wall with a set of wicked talons.

She flinched and raised a shaking hand as the creature turned horrific yellow cat-like eyes on her. The thing stayed still, unblinking like a scaleless lizard. “What the hell is that?” she blurted.

Mikhlas turned an unconcerned expression toward it. “That is Specialist Iry. She is part of my crew,” he said, gesturing at the small and deadly-looking thing.

It let go of the wall and landed gracefully, and she noticed the black clothing it wore, the same as Mikhlas, but different to accommodate a strange physiology.

~He did say there were other types of aliens aboard his ship. She? It’s a girl? ~“Right,” she said, drawing out the word. “Iry. What is she?”

Iry stood straight and bowed to her, holding her arms behind her back before straightening.

“Dakira Isabelle, it’s an honor to be in your presence. I am a Night Seer. My role in the crew is weapons specialist and tactics. May I assist you to stand?” she said.

She stepped forward, holding out a taloned hand with spikes covering it.

Izzy didn’t mean to get such a fright, but she flinched, and Iry stopped.

“Forgive me, my queen,” Iry said and dropped her head. “I did not mean to frighten you.”

~She looks ashamed of herself. Oh no, I did that. Come on, Iz, they can’t all look like big men with gorgeous eyes.~

Izzy felt bad now. Yet red human blood still dripped from Iry’s mouth. Izzy swallowed all that and smiled.

“No. I’m the one who should apologize,” she said, getting to her feet.

She felt better standing up. At her full and unimpressive height Iry was still a few inches shorter than her. “Thank you for saving me. I’m just…I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

“I understand. I will return to the ship,” Iry said.

“No…No, you don’t have to do that. But if you wouldn’t mind getting rid of the blood on your face?” Izzy said.

Iry’s tongue flicked out and she licked her lips. Her tongue was long and split in the middle like a snake. Izzy’s stomach turned at the sight.

Izzy steeled herself, and once Iry cleaned her face and swallowed the blood, she stepped forward and held out her hand.

Iry smiled, and with an audible sound the spikes in her hands retracted as she reached out and clasped Izzy’s hand. It felt very cool, a much lower temperature than a human being, yet not cold.

“I did not know you could do that, Specialist,” Mikhlas said, frowning at Iry’s hands.

“I live on a ship with my species’ only natural predator, Captain. My spikes are an involuntary response to danger. I cannot withdraw them when in the presence of Miran.”

“How long does the paralyzing agent last?” Mikhlas asked when Iry let go of her hand.

“Um, a dose that size, Captain, I’m not sure, but…”

“Yes, Iry?”

“He is only paralyzed,” she said, pointing to the smaller man with the broken wrist, then turning her finger to the other man, she continued, “but I bit him. He will not live.”

“What?” Izzy said.

“Night Seers are very poisonous,” Mikhlas said, nodding his head and turning back to the prone man.

“You have to save him!” Izzy said.

“I agree,” Amy said, getting to her feet. Izzy turned, ~How is she standing?~

“Amy? You’re okay?” Izzy asked, hearing the shock in her own voice.

“Yeah, thanks to this guy,” she said, looking at Silian. He smiled at her and nodded.

“How?” she asked.

“We carry an emergency supply of nanites in case we are hurt and cannot get back to the ship,” Silian explained. “It is what we used to heal you and now Amy.”

Izzy just nodded. She would process that later.

“Enough delay, I need to carry out the execution,” Mikhlas said.

“What? No, you can’t kill him,” Izzy said. “And you need to stop that one from dying.”

“I have no choice, Dakira—”

“Yes, you do. I am begging you not to kill him.”

“It’s not how we do things here, Mikhlas,” Amy said, and Izzy felt grateful for her support. “We don’t just kill people.”

“I have to, it is my duty. And it will be a mercy to do it now before the paralysis wears off.”

“No, Mikhlas, you can’t! Please!”

“I must!” he roared. He spun and bent down, picking up the man by the throat with one hand and held him off the ground.

In shock, Izzy saw Amy pull her gun, but this time Silian had the drop on her. With one swift move, he grasped the weapon and his nanites morphed around the barrel.

“Shit!” Amy said.

Izzy took a step forward to try and physically stop him. She managed to get her hand into the crook of his elbow as he pulled back the blade.

From her angle, she saw the blade change and twist, becoming a deadly screw with razor-sharp shining edges. Izzy’s hand didn’t even slow him down as his powerful arm drove the blade into the chest, right above the heart.

The strange blade didn’t cut—it tore through the man, punching a hole as big as her fist, and blood gushed out as fast arterial spray.

“No!” she screamed as hot blood splashed across her face.

Mikhlas withdrew the blade, still holding the corpse in one hand for a moment before dropping it to the floor. “Take it away, Prime,” he said, and the corpse blinked out, leaving a pool of blood behind.