Thunderdrop: A Space Merchants Novella by Wendie Nordgren

Author:Wendie Nordgren [Nordgren, Wendie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-16T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

With Neema’s help, getting his baby turtles into the Palace on Parvac went off as smoothly as getting them aboard the Empress had gone. When no one was watching, he took his turtles from the dollhouse, put their uneaten leaves into the waste unit, put the washcloth in the dirty laundry basket, and left his bowl on a tray of used teacups that had been left out on a table. Then, he took them out to the Palace gardens. He carried them to a small shaded pond where other than a few minnows and frogs, the only perceived danger would be the occasional bird. He would have to guard them from birds until they were too big to serve as a meal. Most of the birds of Parvac were not of the loud, colorful, and noisy variety of Thalassa. They were either large, dangerous predators like the falcons or large, beautiful, and aggressive like the swans. At the pond’s edge, he freed the turtles of his silk and watched as they made their way to the water as though by instinct.

“Chirp!” he said proudly.

His turtles were excellent swimmers. He watched as they swam and ate miniscule things in the water that he couldn’t see. Here, they would be safe and happy.

“Is everything proceeding according to plan?” Eli asked.

Thunderdrop was startled. Then, he realized that Eli wasn’t speaking to him. He was relieved he hadn’t been caught. Curious, he strained to hear. He didn’t recognize the voice that answered.

“We will succeed or die. His terror ends.”

Thunderdrop climbed a tree to get a better look, but whoever it was Eli had been speaking to had vanished. Eli had a pained expression on his face, as though he were being slowly eviscerated with a dull knife. The male clasped his hands behind his back and walked away. Thunderdrop returned to guard his turtles.

He spent as much time with his turtles as he dared. The last thing he wanted to do was to draw attention to his activities. Teagan had become engrossed with her studies at the Inquisitors Academy, and her Omnes Videntes seemed equally consumed by something else. It left Thunderdrop free of unwanted scrutiny. Taking advantage of their distractions, for the next few days, he guarded his babies, made certain that they were acclimating to their new environment, and that they were learning to fend for themselves. Above their habitat, he constructed a web which he hoped would discourage birds from drinking at this particular pond.

One day, he sensed anxiety from Teagan, so he left his turtles and went to her, finding her in her sitting room. Worry over something troubled her mind. She had no reason to fear, and he told her so. He filled her mind with images of his fangs, dripping with the powerful venom with which he would fill anyone who threatened her or her offspring. After he had assured himself that she was alright and that no dangers lurked nearby, he left her and returned to the Palace gardens.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.