Chapter Twenty-Four

FIVE MINUTES EARLIER

A dense violet fog cloaked Thiago's ship. The sound of mellow beats playing in the background made him unconsciously turn his head from side to side. The sweet warmth of the Pasquin ale toasted his body from the inside out. The mild spasms of muscle pain that were always present in a bounty hunter's body had decided to take a temporary vacation. He felt like a billionaire tycoon lounging around at a secret hideaway.

The capture of Katakee was still a recent success in everyone's mind. All three of them had followed the plan to near perfection. It was one of those rare moments teamwork had worked for Thiago. He couldn't remember the last time he had allowed himself to relax this freely. There was always something else that needed to be taken care of or a project he could work on to get ahead.

Not at this moment. Right now, his only concern was pouring himself another shot of ale which he hoped would lull him to sleep.

The couch squeaked under Thiago as he shifted in his seat. He kept the heels of his boots hooked on the edge of the coffee table as he rested his palms flat on his stomach. As his drooping head nodded sideways, his eyelids began to close.

"Thiago."

His head snapped upright. He was dazed and blinking sleepily as his head slowly turned to his left. Ardela reclined on his couch like an Egyptian queen sitting on a chaise lounge throne. In the silence, he had nearly forgotten her presence.

Ardela delicately draped one leg over the other. Purple wisps of smoke drifted from her lips in the shape of little hearts. She offered the blunt to Thiago between her fingers. The chubby spliff was burning midway through its length. She subtly nudged her prominent cleavage closer together with her arms. The Arkadian marking on her forehead glowed a sensual red.

"No thanks," said Thiago hoarsely. His throat felt prickly and dry from all the dolly grass. Groaning, he reached over clumsily to refill his goblet.

"Hold your horses, Thi-ger. Let me get that for you before you make a mess of yourself."

Ardela intercepted his hand, giving him a quick squeeze on the knee to stop him. She tipped the remnants of an open bottle of ale into his goblet. As she handed the glass to him, her hand lingered on Thiago's leg. Her bedazzled spider-black manicure was so pristine that her nails looked unrealistic. But in Thiago's blissful stupor, he failed to notice. His head tilted back against the back of his couch as he accepted the goblet and swallowed the contents in one go.

"Thanks," he muttered. A loud burp came out of Thiago's mouth. He wriggled his legs away from her prying grasp. As he set his goblet back down on the table, a muted clang sounded from behind the closed bathroom door. He heard a quick reshuffling of objects followed by Eden's cheery voice.

"I'm okay!"

"Did you fall in the toilet again?" Thiago hollered towards the bathroom, one hand lazily cupped around the side of his mouth.

"What do you mean again? I can't get my zipper to close. It's complicated! I'll fix it and be out in a second!"

"Eden's fine. She's a big girl," said Ardela tartly. She swiftly softened, forcing herself to smile. "And a strong one, at that. I have to admit, Thiago, I sincerely admire you for deciding to accept her. It takes a rare man to treat his charity case with such respect and kindness."

"Charity case?" Thiago repeated. His voice grew wary. "That's not a term that has ever crossed my mind."

"What would you call her, then?" Ardela scoffed. She couldn't mask the scorn in her throaty chuckle. Ardela suddenly stopped twirling her hair. The silky strands of bubblegum-pink uncoiled from her fingers. "I assumed you were fucking her because she was available. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine the great Thiago Arris would have feelings at all, much less for a human girl."

"I think I've missed the part where this concerns you," said Thiago firmly. There was an air of finality to his voice. "This conversation is over. Let's move on."

"Oh, Thi-ger. I haven't upset you already, have I? You know what a kidder I am. What has gotten into you?"

"I'm not upset, but I think a change of topic would be beneficial for both of us."

"Let me rephrase things," Ardela drawled. She couldn't let the subject drop as she inched closer and closer to Thiago. He tried to move back, but sidling any further away from her would make him fall off the edge of the couch. "What I meant to say was I think you're an inspiration for what you're doing here with Eden. It's revealing a new aspect of your personality I've never seen before. You have grown so much since we last parted ways."

"Evidently you haven't," Thiago replied coldly. The hair lining his arms stood up straight as a feeling of uneasiness stewed in the pit of his stomach. "Would you mind moving over a little? There's plenty of room on your end of the couch."

"Come on, Thiago," Ardela persisted. She sighed wistfully, her warm breath teasing Thiago's burning earlobes. "All I'm saying is, taking down Katakee was a rush. Didn't it bring back any memories of us and how well we worked together?" She slid her hand around his arm.

"Ardela, you need to let go of me," Thiago warned.

Thiago was quickly sobering up. His temples were pounding like a military drillmaster was screaming in his ears. He attempted to withdraw his arm from Ardela's iron grip, but her fingers only tightened around his wrist. Her nails clawed into his flesh, and she drew him in, smashing her lips against his. The sticky coating of her gilded gloss smeared against his closed mouth.

The timing was terrible, but Thiago heard the clear-cut clicking of the bathroom door as it unlocked. Eden's horrified face appeared in front of him. Thiago's sense of urgency overpowered Ardela's pure Arkadian strength, and he shoved her off onto the floor.

"Eden." Thiago's eyes were starting to water from the mixture of both smoke and the constant throbbing in his head. He staggered to his feet despite being dragged down by the anchor of Ardela's grasp.

The commotion woke up Hercules. The creature's eight legs teetered sloppily underneath him as he scrambled uncertainly to his feet. He didn't know what was happening, but he had gone from slumber to action in a moment. Hercules yapped instinctively in Thiago's defense as he became agitated in his nest tucked away in the corner of the living room.

"Eden, wait!"

When he finally managed to escape from Ardela's pawing hands, Thiago looked up to see the spaceship's front door sealing shut. Hercules' whimpers of confusion filled the now-silent room. The loyal creature trotted towards Thiago, burrowing his head into his brooding master's side. Perhaps sensing the Arkadian woman's contribution to the drama around him, Hercules snarled unpleasantly at Ardela when she rose from the couch behind him.

Thiago stamped on the door pedal and slipped through the doorway with Hercules and Ardela following closely behind him. Veins in his neck bulged in frustration as he paced around the spaceship. He searched all around the ship, but there was no trace of Eden.

"Let her go, Thiago. You know how emotional humans can get. If you give her a little space and some shiny things, Eden will be back to her old self." Ardela reached out to gently take his arm.

"Get out of my sight," Thiago hissed. He pulled himself away from Ardela and vaguely pointed in a random direction.

"Wait a minute, Thi-ger," said Ardela pleadingly. Her nervous laughter faded away when she saw the look of fury brewing in Thiago's eyes. "You don't mean that, do you?"

Without speaking, Thiago reached into his boot and pulled out a concealed laser pistol. He pointed the barrel of the bronze weapon straight at Ardela. Despite his intoxicated state, his outstretched arm remained perfectly still.

"I think I do."

Ardela stared at the muzzle of Thiago's gun before raising her eyes to meet his. She opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but decided against it. Whipping her hair over her shoulder, she lifted her nose into the air and complied. Trying to keep her composure, she marched away to the spaceship as her hips swayed and heels clicked into the night.

Muttering indescribable words filthy enough to make a sailor blush, Thiago threw his weapon onto the ground and returned to his ship.

"What do you know? I went all the way to the other side of the galaxy just to discover that men are still dogs over here."

Eden grumbled under her breath as she marched down the barren badlands of Glop territory. Avian squawks that sounded like a pack of wounded cats pierced through the darkening skies overhead. Glancing up at the vulture-sized, two-headed alien birds circling above her, Eden sped up her pace. She didn't know if they were waiting to eat her, and she didn't want to find out.

A chilly breeze blew past her. In the process of storming out of Thiago's ship in such a heated, mindless rush, she had forgotten to put on her coat and a sensible pair of shoes. She absently reached behind her collar in a futile search for the self-heating button on her jumpsuit, which she wasn't wearing.

Looking down at her outfit only further incited Eden's rage. She wore the designer ensemble Ardela had lent her for their party. The sleeveless halter jumpsuit patterned with pastel sequins looked better than it felt. Shivering, Eden wrapped her arms around herself, aimlessly heading north.

As she walked, she realized something unusual. There were no signs of life around her other than the alien birds patrolling the skies. All she saw was emptiness. There were no peaceful drifters, no Xorxes junkies...not even a single unrecognizable landmark in sight.

Eden's shoulders slunk down in dismay. Images flashed in her mind that she did not want to see. Her upper lip twitched at the thought of Ardela's hands wrapped firmly around Thiago's chin. She saw their lips locked together in the heat of uncontainable passion. She shook her head, flapping a hand in front of her face like she could physically remove the picture etched into her retinas.

The fact that the intimidating pair looked effortlessly beautiful together was an extra slap in the face. Did the aliens belong with each other? They had all the chemistry of a Grecian deity power couple.

It wasn't merely Thiago's inability to keep his hands to himself that bothered her. Eden was mad at Ardela as well. She couldn't help feeling foolish for believing, however briefly, Ardela was her friend. Ardela was the only female she could turn to for advice on this planet.

In hindsight, Ardela had not been subtle about her desires. It was always clear Ardela's lingering feelings for Thiago were more than "former work partners." But even though Eden had never verbalized her relationship with Thiago, Ardela should have respected her boundaries.

As Eden gazed at the never-ending path that stretched in front of her, a wave of rationality came crashing down. It occurred to her that she hadn't given Thiago or Ardela a chance to explain themselves.

Eden thought about the lightheadedness that came as an aftereffect from the dolly grass blunts the trio had consumed. For Eden, she struggled just to get the zipper of her jumpsuit working correctly. Additionally, Thiago and Ardela had both drained three bottles of Pasquin ale in less than two hours.

Being under the influence was no excuse for their actions. But the more Eden thought about it, the gravity of their drunken indiscretion grew less severe. She wasn't thrilled with what happened or ready to forgive, but the notion of leaving everything behind seemed silly. Her brain was racing in circles, making up answers to her questions.

More to the point, where could she run? Earth was a long walk away.

Eden felt like a runaway child with an empty piggy bank and nowhere to go. She would have to make the long trek back home. She spun around indignantly, squinting in the distance. The faint tracks of her walk marked a path back to the campsite. With a sigh, she grudgingly began to retrace her steps.

"Eden!"

Eden looked up. Her ears burned red when she heard Ardela's voice. The Arkadian woman approached from the distance, her lustrous hair swishing in the wind like a shampoo commercial. The sight of Ardela brought Eden's temper rushing back. She cast Ardela a withering look before stomping away from her.

"Is this some more of your charity? Thanks, but no thanks. You didn't need to get me. I'm a big girl. I'll find my way back to the ship by myself."

"Eden, wait. Can you just hear me out?"

"About what? I'm not interested in learning the rules of alien girl code."

She felt a sharp pain in her leg. Eden's mouth went silent as she looked down to see a sharp needle of a syringe dart sticking out of her thigh. She gasped, finding it hard to breathe as she grabbed frantically at her throat. As the last drop of lime-green liquid inside the syringe disappeared, Eden's legs started to buckle under her. She crashed into the ground. Her icy limbs solidified as paralysis gradually took over her body.

Ardela grabbed Eden's cold ankle and started dragging the immobilized human away to her spacecraft.