Wild Rides

Chapter 26 - Custody

I hated Xoxo's messed up, glitchy, broken ship. I could not remember if she told me that she got it on sale or was given it. Either way, whoever had transferred it to her had their own interests in mind and none of hers.

There was no possible way for us to communicate back and forth over the howling of the winds. It sounded like a spaceship was taking off directly on top of us, our eardrums pressurized to painful levels. Even with the shield's stability, the sand beating against the barrier we had been loaned was like pushing against a falling wall. The Troineks took slow, sure steps, planting one foot in front of the other, moving forward bit by bit.

It didn't help that we didn't know where they were taking us, but it was away from the Caldum. If Drago and Locknir hadn't wanted to kill us before, they would after they learned that we had collapsed the tunnel on their men. I was very confident in my abilities, but I highly doubted that any amount of fucking would convince Lockipoo not to kill me if he got his hands on me. They might spare Xoxo until the slothlings could be weaned and Drago was possessive enough that there was a good chance he would keep her if she allowed it.

Xoxo was innocent and kind. Drago would have no trouble convincing her with a bit of courtship. I suspected they had a deeper connection than Xoxo realized, but I was not about to start explaining mating customs to her, partially because I thought she might want to return and investigate them.

We trudged along, heaving the shield forward and planting it into the sand so that we could not be pushed back. It was the slow reach and thump of an inchworm. The Troinek could not move fast either and stayed within what minimal eyesight we had.

Our arms were shaking by the time we reached the hull of their ship. It was ten times Tyrfing's size and nothing short of the most expensive and ostentatious model available. Or rather, the model was probably not available at all. It was a gleaming mercury, shining through the pelting grit, which meant it had advanced cloaking technology. Dark burgundy decals colored the wings, sharp lines and zig-zags drawing the eye to a hell of a lot of firepower.

Those cannons could turn the moon into a dust cloud. The Robah crystals were far enough away that if it was detonated, they would be safe.

We struggled to the small hatch that lowered at our arrival. The ship mostly blocked the wind, but the sand waterfalled off its sleek and rounded top, pouring it heavily onto us. The piles it made prevented the hatch from fully opening so the Troinek had to hop inside and carefully lift us through the crevice.

We had been dirty before the storm and now I was sure that we looked like mud snowmen that had dried. I couldn't tell the color of my own skin or see a bit of Xoxo's pink hair.

"We will take you to a cabin to rest and clean yourselves. Then, we will need to ask you some questions."

"Of course, we are thankful and will help in any way we can," I swore. I'm going to cause a lot more problems for Locknir. Missing crystals will seem like nothing compared to the hot shit coming his way.

They took us to a suite not as lavish as Locknir's, but one that was still better than any seedy motel or sleeping in a tunnel. I wanted a shower more than anything else and forced myself to focus on the tasks at hand. There were things we had to figure out first and we had to make a plan.

As soon as the door was shut I held up a hand to stop Xoxo before she could say anything, pointing at the ceiling. By now she should have picked up that there was always a chance of us being watched or listened to.

Touching a wall, I scanned the room with my tattoos, not a bit surprised to find out that it was being audio-recorded. It was fairly simple to block it in a way that would make them assume that their microphones had malfunctioned, turning our voices to garbled mumbles and only letting through high pitches like squeals or laughter.