“Oh!” she gasped and jumped back from the tank. “Who…what…?”
“He is a prisoner because of crimes he committed back in our own ‘verse,” Roarn said gravely. “Though we do have other Piscine Monstrum aboard the ship—most of them live in the lake and river-ways that flow through the Dark Forest, which we just passed through a moment ago.”
“Piscine Monstrum?” Christine asked, as the walls of the merman Monstrum’s holding cell slowly became opaque again.
“Yes, as I said, my people are many and varied.” Rarev nodded. “Can you imagine the humans’ reaction if we let them know that one of their females might be called to be the mate of a Piscine warrior? Or a Drake Warrior, for that matter,” he added.
“Does that mean…a Monstrum who turns into a dragon type creature?” Christine asked, as they continued walking down the long hallway. “Because I think the regular Kindred already have warriors something like that.”
“With a few notable exceptions, we Monstrum do not generally ‘turn into’ anything,” Rarev told her. “We are what we are. A Drake Monstrum has the characteristics of the legendary animal you humans call a ‘dragon.’ He has burning eyes, scales cover his body, and he is able to summon the Fire Breath when he needs to—especially if he feels that his female is in danger.”
“That sounds…really frightening,” Christine admitted. At least with the Feline Monstrum, they were a bit like big cats. She didn’t mind that Roarn was covered in fur—in fact, she rather liked it. But she couldn’t imagine a broad Kindred chest covered in scales instead. And the part about “burning eyes” and “Fire Breath” didn’t sound too welcoming either.
“You can see why the Monstrum choose to keep some of their members a secret,” Emilia said to her. “The human press would go crazy if they knew there were not just animal-like Monstrum, but also what most people would consider actual ‘monsters’ who might want to call a bride from Earth. Though of course, all of them are sentient,” she added quickly. “And they’re not really monsters—they’re just different.”
“I love you for being able to see past my ‘differences’, my l’eeja,” Roarn growled softly, looking into his mate’s eyes.
Emilia blushed and smiled at him.
“Your differences are what make you so very attractive, my darling,” she murmured. “When have I ever met a human male who could give me the kind of attention you do?”
“Attention I swear I will pay to you this very night for hours on end,” Roarn murmured, looping an arm around her waist and pulling her close.
“A-hem.” Christine cleared her throat, hoping the two of them hadn’t forgotten she was there and what they were supposed to be doing. “Will we get to where you’re keeping Roarn soon?” she asked, when the amorous couple at last pulled apart.
“His cell is at the very end of the holding area,” Roarn told her. He glanced at the glowing chronometer on his wrist. “Come—the Time Lock will be disengaging soon and we cannot miss it.” He frowned and glanced around. “I asked Commander Baird to attend too—I wonder if he has gotten there before us.” He began striding quickly, pulling Emilia along with him.
“What’s a Time Lock?” Christine asked, hurrying to keep up.
“A special kind of precaution we take only for our most dangerous prisoners,” the Monstrum commander explained. “It makes the holding cell possible to open only once a day—or once a week or once a year or however we choose to set it. That means there is absolutely no possibility of escape, either from a guard’s negligence or a prisoner’s cunning, because we know the exact moment the cell door can be opened and we have guards armed and ready at that time.”
“What about Roarn?” Christine asked. “What is his, uh, Time Lock set for?”
Rarev frowned.
“For Roarn, I believe we had his lock set to open once every solar week. So if we miss this chance, we won’t be able to send him on his way to Tiberius Four for another solar week.”
“But you won’t send him if he comes back to himself, will you?” Christine asked anxiously. “Because he didn’t do anything wrong—he was defending me when he killed Mike Fenster!”
“If he can speak for himself and he confirms that he was defending you and not just marauding while in the grip of the Fury, it will certainly change the situation. But he must be able to defend himself and prove that the Fury no longer controls him,” Rarev said, giving her a stern look. “We cannot allow a dangerous warrior who is out of his mind to stay aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship.”
“I understand,” Christine said, nodding her head rapidly. “He can speak just fine when I’m with him—you’ll see.”
“I certainly hope so,” Rarev said, but there was a skepticism in his tone that Christine didn’t like.