Hostile Genus: An Epic Military Sci-Fi Series (Invasive Species Book 2) by Ben Stevens

Author:Ben Stevens [Stevens, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2021-03-08T22:00:00+00:00

14

Don Luis took Maya by the arm and hurried her along, back into the palace. His sudden urgency alarmed Maya, and she wondered for a minute whether the vampire lord would be able to restrain himself until tomorrow night, and whether or not she might have just gotten herself in the kind of trouble she didn’t want to be in without her guardians. Maya had put on a spectacular show in convincing Don Luis of her desire to join him, but if he called her bluff before she was ready, she wasn’t sure she would be able to deal with him alone. Sure, she could shape a Strange to open a small window to the other side of the planet, the side where the sun was out and shining, but would he stand idle while she sang her incantation?

“Where are you taking me, my lord?” Maya asked. Her escort stopped abruptly and turned to face her, still cradling her hand in his.

“Please, as I said before, call me Don Luis. Soon you will be my wife. There is no need for such formalities.” He gave her a wide grin. “I am going to show you the source of all this wonder, the Being that made this possible. I want to show you your new god.”

It seemed to Maya that he wasn’t speaking cryptically on purpose, but that he was drunk on the idea of turning and marrying her. He spoke like a poet who had become consumed by his muse. But while the exact meaning of his statement still eluded her, Maya felt that something important was about to happen, so she took a deep breath, bravely calmed her beating heart, and smiled back, knowing that she needed to be paying attention and be on her guard.

“Sounds fascinating. Please, Don Luis, lead on.”

He did just that, guiding her into the very depths of the palace, past dozens of guards both vampiric and human. She feigned giddiness and fascination as they went.

“But first, we need to stop and get something,” he explained, as though she would know any different.

“Whatever you say, good sir.”

He led her down a dead-end hallway, where a ceiling-high ornate wooden cabinet stood towering like a night’s watchman. Floral patterns, first etched, then painted, decorated both doors of the enormous cabinet. Maya decided that although décor in a monster’s castle, it was admittedly beautiful, and was a testament to fine craftsmanship.

“What is this all about?” Maya inquired, trying to sound casual.

“A little protection, just in case,” Don Luis said with a wink. Then, turning, he reached inside the wide opening of his shirt and fished out a thin string of leather, worn like a necklace. He pulled the loop off his head and Maya noticed that a small brass key dangled from it.

“Behold, one of my most prized possessions,” Don Luis said as he used the key to unlock and then open the cabinet doors.

On the other side of the curio’s double doors rested a pistol of a design Maya had never seen before.

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