-------------- Tales of the Raptors – The Wait’s Over

They’d been back three weeks by the time Sabine and Najalla returned to the Bloque House. They had managed to neutralize one of the threats, but Jay, Yashifa, Tieran and Zheuretta had stayed mostly underground, literally. They came up into the mansion during the day, moved about as best they could and caught a little sun through the domed ceiling in some of the rooms, but they never went outside. Except Zheuretta of course. She regularly went into town, simply popping to various locations for meetings, apparently to keep her day job, that of smuggler working for the Xanth Guild. When she returned the evening of the twenty sixth, they didn’t think much about it. That is, until Hildy called them all into the library with instructions to dress for guests.

None of them knew who this guest might be. Jay was beginning to think that Miss Bloque wasn’t really interested in taking over the Guild and was simply wasting their time while she plotted some underhanded double cross. So, when a familiar face walked in, standing arm in arm with Hildy, Jay was ready to fry both their brains right their on the spot. Yashifa, however, having been cooped up with Jay and forbidden from partaking of Hildy’s houseboys, was somewhat stunned. The two Erotics immediately licked their lips, almost in unison, and locked their stares on the man Hildy had brought in.

He was six two or six three, muscled and unbearably handsome. He was young though not immature, maybe his late twenties or early thirties. He had a square jaw, clean shaven and strong. His eyes were the blue within blue of the Frelenat, and his skin tone was only slightly tanned, perhaps a shade lighter than Jay. His hair was medium length, pitch black, and perfectly groomed. When he spoke, he had something of a Frelenat accent, but there was something else in there, something worldly. His very posture said confidence, a confidence that was not from misplaced ego.

“Ladies. My apologies for keeping you waiting.”

Jay stood, saying nothing, keeping her mind focused. Yashifa looked at her and childishly elbowed her in the side, breaking her burning stare,… or rather drawing it upon herself.

“Not at all, sir. Who do we have the pleasure,…” Yashifa was putting on her best courtly manners. Jay sneered. It was wasted on this lot.

“This is one of Fekesh’s Lieutenants. How nice you brought him to us, Hildy. Shall I kill him now, or are we going to let the Erotics have their way with him?”

Yashifa glared at her. The man smiled.

“Colonel Al’Durran. Always a pleasure. You’re looking exceptionally stunning tonight. I thought I’d never get to see you out of that gold armor, yet here you are.”

“Stow it. How a Frelenat could serve that lowlife scum is beyond me. You dishonor your sietch.”

“Now, Colonel. Firstly, I’m not entirely Frelenat. But that’s a story for another time. As to serving Haziz Fekesh,…”

Yashifa butted in, “You two know each other?”

“We’ve run into each other before. But why don’t you ask Tieran?”

Yashifa shot the assassin a puzzled look. Tieran simply smiled coyly and shook her head.

“Don’t drag me into this. I recognize him from the Kasbah, when we took Rhazik back to the Guild and exposed the Doppelganger in their ranks.”

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