don’t care about me. If you did, you would have ignored my protests, swept me off my feet, and carried me off. Or is that flew me away? Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Fact is you left without really any fight. Some warrior you are.”
“Take that back. I am the fiercest warrior you will ever know.”
“Says the guy who didn’t even try to force me to go with him.”
“A mistake. One I intended to fix. I’ll have you know I came back.”
“Too late, which means your change of heart does me little good now.”
“Do you truly wish you’d come with me?” He asked her so seriously.
For a moment she thought of telling him no. But, given she was about to die, what could it hurt to give him the truth? “Yeah, I wish I’d said yes. But like Grandma always said, wishes don’t grow on trees. Apples do, and if I don’t stop mooning about what I can’t have, she’ll throw a bushel of them at me.”
Not exactly the warmest sentiment, but it made Vile grin. “I think I would have liked your grandmother.”
Oddly enough, Jilly would have wagered Grandma would have liked him, too.
“Since we both made mistakes, let us start over. What will it take to convince you that I truly do care about you?”
“What do you think?” She glanced around her, sticking her tongue out at Snaggle Tooth, who seemed utterly stymied by their verbal byplay.
“Very well, my barbarian. Fazird, despite the stain on my reputation, and the tears my mother will cry at my capitulation, I agree to surrender the XiiX to you in exchange for the human. Unharmed.”
“You do?”
He did?
They all seemed surprised. Even Vile. “It is to the shame of my family that I admit a certain affection for the barbarian. Probably a disease I picked up during my time planet-side, one I can’t seem to rid myself of. Nonetheless, my need for her is potent. Possibly terminal and most definitely emasculating. I shall require many deaths to make up for this weakness lest it tarnish my reputation.”
Not exactly the most romantic declaration, but it was a start.
Things moved quickly after that. In no time at all, she was standing in some kind of pressurized airlock, Snaggle Tooth holding her upper arm in a tight grip, which had her on tiptoe, given his short arms but extreme height.
His piggy crew—which weren’t as adorable as the Muppets’ Pigs in Space version—had their guns aimed, half on her, half on the door.
Click. Hiss. Whirr .
The silence was broken only by the machine sounds as a docking tube was sent from Vile’s ship to Snaggle’s, or so they explained when she asked how they planned to make the trade, given she wasn’t exactly sure they had a spacesuit in her size.
The door slid open, and there was Vile. More handsome than ever, wearing an open-necked white shirt, tight-fitting black breeches, and dark boots that went almost to his knees.
He appeared rakish and completely at ease. The jerk. And here she was dirty and still wearing the same rags.
He held up the coveted disk, which glinted benignly. All this trouble over a stupid ornament that had hung on her Christmas tree for years.
The grip around her upper arm tightened. “How do I know it’s the real thing?” Snaggle asked.
Vile rolled his eyes. “Oh please. Don’t tell me your detection unit hasn’t already scanned it for authenticity.” His expression hardened. “Now release my woman.”
My woman. How she liked the sound of that.
With a flick of his wrist, Vile sent the artifact spinning in the air.
Thrust from Snaggle Tooth, Jilly stumbled…right into her purple dude’s arms. He hugged her to him, and she hugged him back.
“The treasure is mine,” crowed her lizard captor. “Disengage the ships.”
“Double crossing bastard.” Vile only barely managed to get them in the passageway before the door slid shut.
“Why that two timing, jerk!” she huffed.
“Hate him later. Now we must run before we are sucked into space.”
Excuse me?
No time for
“Take that back. I am the fiercest warrior you will ever know.”
“Says the guy who didn’t even try to force me to go with him.”
“A mistake. One I intended to fix. I’ll have you know I came back.”
“Too late, which means your change of heart does me little good now.”
“Do you truly wish you’d come with me?” He asked her so seriously.
For a moment she thought of telling him no. But, given she was about to die, what could it hurt to give him the truth? “Yeah, I wish I’d said yes. But like Grandma always said, wishes don’t grow on trees. Apples do, and if I don’t stop mooning about what I can’t have, she’ll throw a bushel of them at me.”
Not exactly the warmest sentiment, but it made Vile grin. “I think I would have liked your grandmother.”
Oddly enough, Jilly would have wagered Grandma would have liked him, too.
“Since we both made mistakes, let us start over. What will it take to convince you that I truly do care about you?”
“What do you think?” She glanced around her, sticking her tongue out at Snaggle Tooth, who seemed utterly stymied by their verbal byplay.
“Very well, my barbarian. Fazird, despite the stain on my reputation, and the tears my mother will cry at my capitulation, I agree to surrender the XiiX to you in exchange for the human. Unharmed.”
“You do?”
He did?
They all seemed surprised. Even Vile. “It is to the shame of my family that I admit a certain affection for the barbarian. Probably a disease I picked up during my time planet-side, one I can’t seem to rid myself of. Nonetheless, my need for her is potent. Possibly terminal and most definitely emasculating. I shall require many deaths to make up for this weakness lest it tarnish my reputation.”
Not exactly the most romantic declaration, but it was a start.
Things moved quickly after that. In no time at all, she was standing in some kind of pressurized airlock, Snaggle Tooth holding her upper arm in a tight grip, which had her on tiptoe, given his short arms but extreme height.
His piggy crew—which weren’t as adorable as the Muppets’ Pigs in Space version—had their guns aimed, half on her, half on the door.
Click. Hiss. Whirr .
The silence was broken only by the machine sounds as a docking tube was sent from Vile’s ship to Snaggle’s, or so they explained when she asked how they planned to make the trade, given she wasn’t exactly sure they had a spacesuit in her size.
The door slid open, and there was Vile. More handsome than ever, wearing an open-necked white shirt, tight-fitting black breeches, and dark boots that went almost to his knees.
He appeared rakish and completely at ease. The jerk. And here she was dirty and still wearing the same rags.
He held up the coveted disk, which glinted benignly. All this trouble over a stupid ornament that had hung on her Christmas tree for years.
The grip around her upper arm tightened. “How do I know it’s the real thing?” Snaggle asked.
Vile rolled his eyes. “Oh please. Don’t tell me your detection unit hasn’t already scanned it for authenticity.” His expression hardened. “Now release my woman.”
My woman. How she liked the sound of that.
With a flick of his wrist, Vile sent the artifact spinning in the air.
Thrust from Snaggle Tooth, Jilly stumbled…right into her purple dude’s arms. He hugged her to him, and she hugged him back.
“The treasure is mine,” crowed her lizard captor. “Disengage the ships.”
“Double crossing bastard.” Vile only barely managed to get them in the passageway before the door slid shut.
“Why that two timing, jerk!” she huffed.
“Hate him later. Now we must run before we are sucked into space.”
Excuse me?
No time for
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