Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Penny shook her head as he finished locking the controls and went to the back of the ship, where the replicator was located. A fur body suit and a fur hat? Was she going to an archeology dig or to a Furry convention?
“Guess I’ll find out,” she muttered to herself and followed the big Hybrid.
Ninety-Eight
“There—now we look like people the Fox’ens will want to barter with.” V nodded in approval as he looked at himself in the 3-D viewer. He was wearing a tight-fitting bodysuit made of sleek, white fur that went all the way to his wrists and ankles. He had on a pair of warm fur boots as well, in the same color, and a white fur hat with fake fur ears that pointed straight up to mimic polite attention in the Fox’en society.
“Are you sure about this?” Penelope looked down at herself uncertainly. She was wearing an exact duplicate of V’s outfit except hers was made of sleek black fur instead of white. V thought the perky little fur ears at the top of her hat made her look fucking adorable.
“Sure, I’m sure,” he said. “Told you, I’ve had dealings with them before.”
“But I feel like I’m going to a Furry Convention!” she protested.
“A what?” V frowned at her.
“Oh, it’s a thing on Earth. A bunch of people who like to dress up like animals and get together and hang out together.” Her voice dropped. “And sometimes have sex, I’m pretty sure.”
“They have sex while dressed as animals?” V shook his head. “Sometimes I think I’ll never understand humans.”
“Well, we’re not all into that,” Penelope protested. “But still, I just feel…weird in this getup.” She nodded at herself in the viewer.
“Better get used to it,” V advised. “Do you want to be able to get in there and get the Eye or not?”
“Of course, I do!” she said.
“Then you’ll wear the outfit.” V frowned. “Now what have I got I can bring with me to barter with?” He snapped his fingers. “Of course! I got some bars of rare Silka spice the last time I hit a slave ship.”
“A what?” Penelope frowned.
“I like to harass the Kindred but it’s the slavers who are my main targets,” V explained. “I set the poor bastards they kidnapped free, set the slavers themselves adrift, and take whatever pretty items they’ve collected along the way as payment for my good deed.”
Going to the safe in the wall of the room—which happened to be his home office—he pressed his hand to the print identifier. The door hummed as it read his print then clicked open to reveal a small fortune in precious gems, rare currency, and luxury items. He chose a few things to put into a furry black pouch, including the carved wooden box of Silka spice sticks.
Opening the box, he looked to make certain the six delicate sticks were unbroken. They lay in narrow grooves on a bright orange velvet cushion, which made their indigo blue coloring even more intense.
“What is that stuff?” Penelope asked, coming forward to look at the open box curiously. She sniffed cautiously. “Smells like a combination of cinnamon, cardamom, and curry powder.”
“Silka spice is one of the rarest substances in the known universe,” V told her. “It’s said to give true visions of future or accurate answers to any question you ask before you take it. Of course, some people complain that the answers they’ve received are obscure and hard to understand, but that hasn’t tarnished the Silka’s reputation any. Just one of these sticks could buy my entire ship,” he added, closing the lid of the box carefully.
“Wow—they’re that expensive?” Penelope’s big brown eyes opened wide. “Are you sure you want to use them to barter with the Fox’ens?”
“Oh, I expect the Kindred to pay me back,” V’rex said, frowning. “Your Commander Sylvan seems like an honorable male and I’m sure they have the means.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any lack of money on the Mother Ship,” Penelope admitted. “I know everyone there gets paid really well—Sylvan’s wife, Sophie, is a teacher and she makes as much as he does for being Head of the High Council.”
“So Commander Sylvan is already mated?” V liked the Kindred leader better immediately. Though he himself had Foresworn the curvy little female, he still didn’t enjoy the idea of her going back to the Mother Ship and getting Claimed by some other male.
Sylvan had seemed very protective of Penelope, but now V saw it was just because he was responsible for her wellbeing, not because he had any other designs on her—which was a relief.
“Oh yes—for years now. They have the most adorable twins—a girl and a boy,” Penelope assured him.
“They sound like a gorgeous little family,” V said dryly. “Here, you’ll need some things to barter with, too.”