Chapter 18

Chapter

Eighteen

R ixx stood behind the open door to the bathing chamber and listened without making a sound, without moving a muscle. He had had just enough time to slip into the small room attached to the bedroom but not enough time to close the door without being seen. Now he listened as Myrria tried to convince the old lady who'd unlocked her door that I was nowhere near.

Rixx did not know who the woman was, but he could tell that she held some power over Myrria. He could feel Myrria's distaste for the woman as sharply as he had felt her desire. He could not sense the old woman's emotions, but he could tell from the tone of her voice that she was the kind of creature who enjoyed the pain of others. That did not take empathic powers to know. Her voice was laden with cruelty.

His heart hammered in his chest as he scanned the compact room for an escape but there were no windows, no skylight, not even a hatch to an attic. He was trapped. For a Dothvek raised on the open sands, being confined was akin to torture.

It had been a adjustment to live inside a sky ship, but the bounty hunting ship was sizable enough that he could almost forget that they were moving through space with only the steel hull protecting them from the frigid darkness of space. It had been torment to be held captive by the Zevrians in a small room with a blindfold over his eyes. And it was making his palms sweat to be cornered in the room barely large enough for him to take a step in either direction.

It was not only his fear that made his heart pound. Myrria's fear had spiked as the old woman talked, and now that Zala was engaging the intruder, he could sense both regret and anxiety rising within her. She was planning to do something, something she did not want to do, but what?

Rixx was accustomed to reading the emotions of his fellow Dothveks, but he could also hear their thoughts. With Myrria, he was certain he was picking up her feelings but he could not detect her thoughts, which he found maddening. He knew she was frightened, but he did not know exactly why, which meant he did not know how to help her.

"Are you admitting that there is a man in here?" The woman's voice was loud enough for him to hear clearly. "Are you admitting that your mother is just as much of a whore as the whore she works for? Don't think I don't know where you get your money."

Rixx stiffened as anger flowed through him land he forced himself not to rush out and confront the female. How dare she speak to Myrria like that. It would take the work of a few moments to snap the creature's neck, and he doubted the universe would miss her.

As rage pummeled him and he despised himself for not rushing to Myrria's defense, Zala's voice was high and clear. "My father isn't going to be happy to hear you call my mother names like that."

He went rigid. Her father? What did Zala mean? From what Myrria had said, her husband had been gone for years. She had not said as much, but it was clear that Myrria did not believe he was returning.

"Your father?" The old woman sounded as shocked as he was.

"The male voice you heard is my father." Zala said, her voice brimming with confidence. "He's finally come home."

Rixx did not move for several seconds after Zala made her declaration. Was he supposed to play the part of Zala's father? Wouldn't the woman know he wasn't Myrria's husband?

"I know you never met him," Myrria said, her voice carrying throughout the house. "Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a little longer since he's bathing after his long journey back to us."

"Long journey?" The old words words were spluttered and halting. "He's been gone for years. Everyone said he'd left you and the baby for good."

"I guess everyone was wrong."

Rixx shook himself from the shock of being promoted to the role of Myrria's long-lost husband and Zala's absent father and gazed around the bathing chamber. If he was supposed to be bathing then he had better start making some kind of sound before the old woman walked in on him. He reached for the metal knob in the wall and flicked it on, watching as water burst from the ceiling in spits and spurts.

He did not put it past the nosy woman to try to get a glimpse of him, even if she had never seen the husband before, so Rixx quickly shed his clothing and stepped under the flow of water, sucking in a breath at the bracing coldness. The rushing water made it difficult for him to hear what was being said, although he could hear the faint drone of voices. How long would he need to stand under the flow of water that was not getting any warmer?

After he'd been under the icy shower for what seemed like an eternity, there was a gentle tap at the door. He turned off the water and stood as it dripped off him, suddenly very aware that he was naked.

"You can come out now," Zala said through the gap in the door. Then she giggled and added, "Dad."