Page 3 of Cops in Space
“You are now a member of the Katanic Kupgaj sect. Any who attack you will face my wrath,”Qa’a stated.
I blinked in surprise. A gold and black tribal tattoo appeared around my right arm. Shit! Another tattoo. Dad was going to have a meltdown. I smiled brightly. “I will wear it with pride.”
“My son stays with me,”Xylar bellowed.
I hollered back,“Which is where he belongs. I amnothis mother.”
“Jaxor has bonded with you. For him to survive, he needs to be close to you for the next year,”Xylar countered.
On our private link, I asked Kaelen,“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
Oh yippee! How was I to fight crime with a baby? Even if he did have armor-plated skin and sharp teeth, chasing down bad guys was no place for a baby.
“You have two choices, Xylar,”Qa’a stated.“You can sever your ties with the child and return to your duties as commander of the Lafaree battle fleet or become one of my enforcers.”
Xylar tentacles stood out from his head.“Become an enforcer? My battle fleet has destroyed nine Tai-Kok ships in the last year.”
“Woo-hoo,”I taunted.“In the last six months, I blew up a shitload of Tai-Kok ships without firing a single laser cannon.”
“That is impossible,”Xylar snarled.
Uncle Zarek shot me an irritated glare,“She speaks the truth.”
Jaxor began to wail and his little arms reached for me.
“Give me my baby. You’re scaring him, and he’s still hungry. Have your medic bring us more milk,”I barked. Well, hell, my maternal instinct had just kicked in big time and the need to hold Jaxor was overwhelming. Damn, the kid was mine and if anyone tried to take him from me, there would be hell to pay. I couldn’t wait to tell Dad he now had a grandson.
The expression on Kaelen’s face was a mixture of resignation and amusement.“You heard her Xylar. Your son is hungry.”
Xylar reluctantly gave me Jaxor. I cuddled him against my chest and rubbed the bottle’s nipple against his lower lip.“Open up, yummy milk.”
Jaxor latched on and sucked down the milk like he hadn’t eaten in a month.
“That’s it. Drink it all. You need to grow up to be big and strong like your daddy. We have lots of monsters to kill.”
The image of an Askole warrior with a nasty scar across his left cheek formed in my mind.“Kill.”The word seemed to echo through my mind. Whoa! I looked into Jaxor’s intelligent yellow eyes and suddenly knew the warrior’s name was Mokok. The traitorous bastard had given Jaxor’s mom to the Tai-Kok.“We will find and kill him.”
Kaelen stepped in front of me.“The birth mark is complete, and their link is unbreakable. Jaxor is now Lexi’s son.Sever your bond with him.You have my word that I will raise Jaxor as my own.”
“Never!I refuse to give up my son.” Xylar bellowed.“I will resign as commander of the Lafaree battle fleet.”
A sigh escaped me. Well, hell. Things just got interesting.
Qa’a transformed into the aged, pale-faced male. Once again three creepy snakelike tentacles hovered above his wispy black, hooded cloak.“Extend your right arm and I will mark you as mine.”
“Is that necessary?”Xylar demanded.
Qa’a’s smile was downright terrifying.“My people find your kind very tasty. My mark will keep you from being eaten.”
With his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword, Xylar stared at him for a long moment.
“Do it for your son,”I snapped.
Giving me the evil eye, Xylar reluctantly held out his arm and never flinched when Qa’a’s tentacles crawled over his arm. A bright gold tattoo formed on his black armored-plated skin.
“The marks proclaim you belong to the Kupgaj sect,” Qa’a stated and turned his attention to Kaelen.“I need to mark you also, Battle Commander.”
