Dena crushed the pill between her fingers and used a spoon to mush it into the canned dog food. “Mix it up like this for Butch once a month so he gets his medicine, okay?”

“Thank you, Doc.” Mrs. Harrison smiled. “Since George died, I haven't been able to get Butch to take it. My George had a special way with animals. Like you do.”

“Call me Dena. And bring Butch in during the summer for his annual checkup.” She placed the laced food in the plastic bowl before the two hundred pound Rottweiler who gobbled up the food in seconds.

“What do I owe you?” Mrs. Harrison dug into her purse.

“No, it's fine.” Crap, she had to come up with a reason or Mrs. Harrison would pay her out of her social security money. Her husband had been good with animals, but not finances. “Actually, George overpaid so you have a credit on file.”

“Oh, dear me,” she clipped her purse closed, “he did?”

“Yup. So don't hesitate to bring Butch in, okay?”

The old woman squeezed her hand. “Thank you. My sister Vivian has a grandson about your age. He lives north of New Orleans and he's studying law.” She winked. “But I think you two would be a good match. I can introduce you.”

“That's okay, Mrs. Harrison.” She pulled her hand away. “I have enough men in my life for now.” Two ex-husbands, but hey, who’s counting?

“Well, let me know if you change your mind. My great nephew is good-looking. A bit on the thin side, but that's nothing a wife and home-cooked meals can't fix.”

“Thanks for coming by, Mrs. Harrison.” Dena opened the door and waved bye to the old woman and her dog. She knuckled her back and flipped the plastic sign over to closed. Good thing about working out of her home, she didn't have to commute.

Her office connected to her house on the side. Originally it was a parlor with several sunroom windows that Dena converted.

She sat at her desk and pulled out the small jar that held the poison spear fragment that she'd dug out of Kohl when he visited here from his alien planet.

Gesh, if anyone knew that she believed in dragons and aliens they'd lock her up in the looney bin. She still had a hard time grasping it herself and she'd seen Kohl shift from a dragon to a man.

Dena shook the jar and the metal piece rattled against the glass. And for some reason, Kohl's blood hadn't dried out yet from when she had removed the weapon from his side weeks ago. By now, the blood should have dried. Yet, there were still several drops inside as if she'd just placed everything inside. Was it Kohl's blood causing the phenomenon of looking fresh or the other alien poison? The fragment itself was half the size of her palm.

Curiosity tickling up her spine, she pulled her microscope closer to her, then put on latex gloves. What would it hurt to take a peek? She was a vet and a scientist and might be able to figure out how to help Kohl and his people against their enemy.

She screwed off the lid. The metallic scent hit her nostrils. Damn, the blood still smelled fresh even. Digging in a drawer, she removed a set of tongs and placed the broken spear piece onto the glass lens, then peeked through the viewer.

The blood cells were in a clear pulsing liquid. What the hell? She turned the dial to amplify everything. Yup, the metal piece itself was vibrating. Not enough for her to see without a microscope...or was it moving so fast that she couldn't detect it until now. And why?

The fragment was a cross between obsidian and a black metal she couldn't identify. Or what if it was alive somehow? Like a parasite or virus?

She shifted in her chair, turning the dial as high as it would go. Part of the glass had slid off the viewer. She pushed it back in place when one of the spear’s edges cut into her finger through the glove.

“Son of a bitch!” she yelped and jumped back. The shard dug in deeper and she spun out of her chair to the sink. She ripped off her glove, hoping the plastic would help remove the shard when she did so.

But the splinter pressed in deeper. Her whole hand throbbed. Shit, shit, shit. This is just like those damn Alien movies.

She fumbled for the antiseptic and doused her finger. Her blood fizzled on her finger while she groped for the tweezers. Using her uninjured hand, she tried to pluck the metal out. Pain radiated up her arm and she gritted her teeth. Her hand shook so hard she couldn't keep it still.

No alien germ thing was going to get one over on her! She took out her scalpel and sliced into the wound. A cry of pain escaped her lips. Her whole hand ached and burned. Blood dripped down her arm. This rate, she'd be cutting through muscle then bone if she didn't get the stupid piece out of her finger.

Grounding her teeth, she plunged the scalpel deep into the wound and yanked up. Her gasping scream echoed through her house. Nausea rolled through her and tears spilled down her face. The splinter the size of a half of a toothpick rolled over to the bookshelf.

Dena dashed to the sink and poured the antiseptic again on her finger. The searing pain stole her breath. She had a hunk of flesh missing. At least I won't breed some alien creature that claws its way out of my stomach. She shivered and wrapped her finger in bandages to stop the bleeding. Weariness tugged at her as she plopped down in her desk chair. She couldn't leave the pieces of this alien weapon out in the open. Not after seeing what a tiny sliver could do.

Her eyelids grew heavy as she used tongs to pick up the shard on the floor. She placed it in a clean jar, then pushed off the parts on the microscope slide back into their original jar. After she sealed them both, she placed them on the top shelf next to her medical almanacs.

She wiped her forehead and stifled a yawn. Tomorrow she'd finish cleaning up. For now, she just wanted to crawl into bed with some painkillers. Her finger and hand and hell, her whole damn arm ached.

Too bad Kohl's planet didn't have cell phones or she'd call him up and cuss him out for not telling her how dangerous his enemies’ weapons were.