“No, I’m going to make you pay, like you promised.” The Kindred spoke mildly enough, but his eyes flashed dangerously. “The reputation of the Crimson Blades Clan demands that you honor your word. You told this trader you’d pay for the eggs. So fucking pay.”
His voice had dropped to a menacing growl that Bobbi could feel in her bones.
“You fucker!” Zerlix suddenly shoved the big Kindred, planting his scaly hands, which seemed to have too many fingers, against the other male’s broad chest and pushing with all his might.
The Kindred—Dragon—took a single step back, which caused his broad back to collide with one of the lizard men who happened to be holding an egg. With a loud curse, he dropped it and the large white egg dropped to the ground and burst open, its brittle shell shattering into several large pieces.
Slimy clear white and a vast purple yoke as big around as a half-flattened beach ball spilled onto the straw-covered floor of the laying hut. The Orniths, who had been mostly silent with fear, began making distressed clucking sounds. The breaking of an egg—even an unfertilized one—was believed to herald terribly bad luck in the near future.
“Now look what you fucking did!” Zerlix’s slitted eyes narrowed as he pointed to the mess on the floor. “I suppose you want me to pay for that one, too, even though you broke it!”
“I want you to pay for all of them—for the honor of our Clan’s name,” the Kindred returned, frowning.
“Whose gonna know if I don’t? Who cares about the honor of the Crimson Blades on this backwater planet?” Zerlix demanded.
“I do.” The Kindred’s voice had dropped to a growl again. He glared down at the other male, their eyes clashing. “Pay up, Big Brother—now.”
For a long moment, the two of them stared at each other, bronze eyes warring with the slitted, yellow-green ones. At last, however, Zerlix looked away.
“Fine—I’ll fucking pay. But only to keep you from telling my Sire,” he snarled. “Gebitz—how many do we have?” he shouted through the doorway to the lizards outside.
“Uh…eleven, boss,” came the reply. “Would have had twelve if we hadn’t broken that one.”
“That one’s on Dragon,” Zerlix snapped. “But I wanted twelve so each member of my Sire’s council can have one at the feast. We need one more.”
“There are no more,” the lizard man by the pit told him. “Sorry, boss—it’s empty.”
“Fuck!” Zerlix stormed. “I said I’d pay for an even dozen and that’s what I fucking want!”
“You got your dozen—you just broke one,” Dragon pointed out. “So pay up and let’s get out of here. You’re right about one thing—it’s too fucking hot.” He opened the leather vest he wore and tugged at the black, short-sleeved shirt under it, which showed his muscular arms.
“No!” Zerlix stormed petulantly. “I said I want a fucking dozen!” His slitted yellow-green eyes flitted around the laying hut and came to stop on Therena’s newly laid egg. “That one!” he exclaimed, crossing over to the laying nest and pointing to it. “Look—it’s even a different color! Bet it’s special—I can give it to my Sire to do him honor.”
The Orniths all around Bobbi began clucking noisily and Therena began bobbing her head in obvious agitation.
“My egg,” she whispered in a low, frantic voice. “Oh, Bobbi—my egg!”
“It’s all right,” Bobbi tried to reassure her, gripping her friend’s hand harder. “I’m sure Jemeena won’t let them take it!”
Indeed, the elder Ornith had moved to position herself between the laying nest and the lizard man named Zerlix.
“You may not take this one—not at any price,” she said sternly, looking up at him. “This one is precious—it is not for sale.”
“Fuck you and your ‘not for sale,’ you old bitch,” Zerlix said rudely. “I want that one for my Sire and I’m fucking well going to take it!”
He reached for the egg and when Jemeena tried to stop him, he shoved the elder Ornith roughly and walked around her as she lay clucking weakly on the straw-strewn floor.
“My egg! He’s going to take it! My special egg!” Therena ducked her head and began plucking the soft, green downy feathers that covered her chest out with her beak. This form of self-harm was a sign of extreme agitation and grief in the Orniths—Bobbi had only seen once before at a funeral when they were burying one of their elders that had been beloved by the whole tribe.
At the sight of her dear friend’s grief, Bobbi’s temper rose like hot lava flowing to the surface. Nothing made her angrier that seeing someone get bullied and she’d had just about enough of these bastards!
Dropping Therena’s hand, she started shoving her way to the front of the pack of Orniths, who let her through with surprised clucking and cooing sounds and a great swiveling of necks to see what was going on.