Night Song (The Guild Wars Book 9) Mark Wandrey (christmas read aloud txt) đ
- Author: Mark Wandrey
Book online «Night Song (The Guild Wars Book 9) Mark Wandrey (christmas read aloud txt) đ». Author Mark Wandrey
Different, but with a nagging thread of same she couldnât place. One male, the other female, and somethingâŠBehind her back, her hands tightened around each other, as though she could wrangle the scent with her fingers. There was something right on the edge, the absence like a missing tooth, that she couldnât place or even name. Ripleyâs scent changed ever so slightly, and she knew her sister felt it, too.
For their part, the stranger Zuul stopped short inside the doorway, eyes moving quickly from one of them to the other, stalling longest on Rex.
They seemed surprised, which made no sense to Sonya. Did theseâŠthese aliens think theyâd be weak and underfed, misshapen from growing up on Earth? That Dana and Alan had tolerated them, kept them on chains in a yard, andâŠ
âYou thought weâd be smaller.â Shadowâs voice, serene, interrupted her ratcheting anger.
âYounger,â the female replied, staring at him.
âWe started sending our messages fourteen years ago,â their father interjected, nearly as calm as Shadow.
âThat is not the communication that brought us here.â The light-furred female flicked her ears and stepped forward. âI am Uufek, young ones.â
âAnd I am Teef.â The male looked expectantly at them before his eyes went back to Rex. They both assumed he was their alpha, because he was the biggest, and the fact that it was true galled Sonya enough to make her speak first.
âAre you from our clan, then?â She put all the confidence she could muster into the question, determined to sound as though she knew the important things about her own kind.
âIâŠâ Uufek dropped her muzzle, eyes widening for a moment. âI do not believe so, young one. I am here as a representative of the governing body of Zuul mercenaries, the Kâlak.â
âAh.â Shadow stood and walked across the room to them, brushing Danaâs hand on the way past her. âIâm Shadow. My brothers Rex and Drake, and my sisters Ripley and Sonya.â He paused, perhaps not as sure of himself as he appeared, and Sonya wondered if they would offer their necks, or choose to smell his.
It could be that she and her siblings did that only by instinct, a throwback custom âcivilizedâ Zuul had outgrown, andâ
After a moment, Teef stepped forward and leaned down to exchange scents with the smaller male. Sonya pressed her boot against Ripleyâs, hoping her sister had also observed how wide Teefâs eyes had become, and the quick flicker of his ears.
Did they smell so different to other Zuul?
Teef moved out of Uufekâs way, and the female replicated the gesture. Though she had better control of her ears, her eyes widened as well. Sonya glanced at Ripley, who lifted one shoulder a fraction of a millimeter.
They crossed the room together, Rex and Drake belatedly following.
Teef and Uufek repeated each of the siblingsâ names before turning their necks, reminding themselves of the sound and scent combination of each sibling, maybe. Sonya supposed their Earth names sounded odd to the Zuul. Closer in, the smell of each Zuul solidified into which was which, but still something slipped out of her fingers, an ache she couldnât place. A thing she had known, or knew she should know, but couldnât place. It was like the first time sheâd been in a room with Madelene Gibbs after the womanâs husband had died. Emotions had been hard for Sonya to reconcile for some time, given how good some Humans were at denying or hiding them, and grief had been a new one to her then.
After all the sniffing, she looked back to Dana and Alan, hoping her parents would have some suggestion of what to do next.
âHave a seat if you like. All the chairs are made to accommodate tails.â No humor in her fatherâs tone, and belatedly Sonya realized a contingent of the company remained outside their residence. All very friendly for the moment, but her father had never been stupid.
Sonya and Ripley sat on either side of Shadow on the couch, and Rex remained standing behind his chair. After a small hesitation, Drake joined him, and for once Sonya had no idea what any of her brothers were thinking.
âYou expected us to be younger,â Shadow repeated, as though several minutes hadnât passed.
âWe did. Orphans lost during the recent war.â She sat tentatively in a chair, settling more comfortably as she realized how well it fit her proportions. âThe Kâlak could not remain apart from the broader Mercenary Guild with such conflict, and we have many clans that committed to countless battles.â Uufekâs gesture was too quick for Sonya to catch.
âThe Zuul who was here, a few months ago.â Ripleyâs ears remained attentively pointed toward the strangers. âShe sent a message.â
âSomething like that. I amâŠdisappointed we did not receive your message years ago.â Uufek glanced at Alan, and her tail brushed slowly behind her. âFourteen years ago, you said?â
âYes. As we left Gephard. Again, when we returned to Earth. Several times in the years since.â
âThey are hardly pups, then, but grown Zuul.â Teefâs tone was level, but Sonya had seen his shoulders stiffen at the planetâs name.
âThey are children still, here.â Dana had a command voice as well, sharper than Alanâs, but as always it was her eyes that gave it weight.
Sonya glanced from Zuul to Human and back, hoping Shadow or Ripley would have something insightful to say, or that Rex would do anything but glower. She knew better than to expect Drake to do anything except leap into the fray, if it came to violence.
âIf you arenât our clan, why were you chosen to come and meet with us?â She snapped her mouth closed when she realized sheâd been the one
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