and Volund moved her away from the
sink, spraying something in the air that helped with the stench.
Regardless, her stomach still protested.
“Here, take this, Venus. It will help with the
sickness.” Jaxxon handed her a round cookie the size of a
quarter.
“I hate those insects. We’re going to have to make
sure the bugs are gone, too.” She shook away the thought of those
things crawling on her.
Volund slipped his arm around her waist and led her
away from the kitchen to the door leading out to the back yard. “We
will make sure all bugs are gone.”
She heard the humor in his words, but said nothing.
If he wanted to tease her she had no problem with it. Bugs were one
of her fears they would have to deal with.
She shrugged. “I would appreciate it.” She glanced
out at the backyard through the now-open door. “I’ve hated insects
since I was small, so yes, a bug-free house would make me a very
happy woman.” Frowning, she gestured outside. “We’re going to have
to extend the wall to out towards the park. I want enough lawn so
our children can play outside without having to worry about Bone
Eaters. If the area is secured enough for the children to play,
maybe we could even build our kids a swing set like the one in the
park.”
In the distance, a loud clap of thunder rumbled over
their quiet surroundings.
“Shit, we’re going to have to go back.” She looked up
at the clouds growing steadily darker. “I don’t want to get caught
in bad weather, especially if it’s an electrical storm. That’s
another thing we’ll have to do. I want this house wired and
grounded for the storms that roll in every once in a while. We have
solar power. There’s also some experimental systems still
operational throughout the city. The city had begun looking into
alternative energy sources before… Well, some harvest electrical
charge from atmospheric energy released before lightening”
“Your scientist wouldn’t have gotten much from
storms. Don’t worry, we have our technology that we are setting up”
Volund said.
She looked up at Jaxxon, who glanced up at the angry
sky.
“If this is an electrical storm rolling in,” she
continued, “I hope Badden and Acwel are in a safe place. Let’s get
back to the bank. We have some decisions to make about security for
this place before we even think of working on the inside of the
house.”
Volund tightened his grip on her. She sighed, knowing
she was once more going to have her DNA scrambled…like the babies
weren’t doing it enough already.
Chapter Six
When Venus and her mates transported into the bank,
the scream of a Bone Eater filled the lower level. She would have
run to them, but Jaxxon held onto her as Volund went into battle
mode. With his Slicer in one hand, Volund pushed the sensor for his
armor, which instantly covered his body, and he carefully proceeded
to the lab.
A bright flash filled the room, and Ino and Badden
appeared. Immediately, Ino joined Tonto, who ran into the lab,
growling, ready to protect Volund.
“Don’t let them hurt her!” Venus screamed and pushed
at Jaxxon, trying to get free. “Let me go. I have to make sure they
don’t hurt her.” She snatched the dart gun from the table, but
Badden pulled it out of her hand.
“I will take care of this, so you better stay put.”
He loaded the gun with one of its tranquilizers.
“Excuse me?” She snarled at the naked warrior. He
ignored her and moved into the lab with Volund. She slid against
Jaxxon, receiving an instant reaction, and then glanced up at him.
“He had no right to snap at me like that! And why the hell is he
stark naked?” She turned to stare at Acwel, who also materialized
nude except for his tool belt with the other pet. He released Ka,
and the animal followed Badden into the laboratory.
Battle ready, Acwel removed his Slicer from his tool
belt and then stood next to Jaxxon. “What is the situation?”
“We just got here a moment before you did when
Learning to Kill: Stories