Part 24 (2/2)

I was just about to pounce on him when I noticed the two naked alien women entering through the side doorway, one with thick, silky blue skin, the other with white skin-and five arms.

What was going on?

Devyn waved them over. ”Come, ladies.”

The first, the pretty, pale-skinned blonde with too many arms, clapped and giggled. The second, the exotic azure one, licked her lips. Both possessed lean bodies and sculpted muscles.

”Watch us,” Devyn told me. ”And learn.”

My mouth almost dropped in shock. He didn't mean to rape me, but merely wanted me to watch how others pleased him? I shook my head, unsure I had heard him correctly.

”Do not think to leave, either, while I am distracted,” he said, admonishment ripe in his tone.

In the next instant, my knees buckled of their own accord and I fell onto the pillows. My muscles froze in place. I tried to fight against the paralysis, to no avail. d.a.m.n him.

The two women reached him, eagerly scratching their hands over his body and leaving amber welts in their path. The five-armed woman was able to cover a lot of ground. Not even trying to be gentle, they nipped at his chest with their teeth, drawing little beads of gold blood. They pinched his nipples and tightly squeezed and pumped his erection.

The Targon groaned with rapture. His eyes closed.

This is it,I thought.My only chance. I couldn't move my body, but I could still move my spirit. I concentrated on a spot just beyond his shoulder, focusing my energy inward. I had to risk leaving my body vulnerable. This might be my only chance to find the necklace he'd used to send me here.

Soon my spirit broke from my body, leaving it cold, forgotten, and I was looking down at myself. My eyes were open, and I appeared to be watching the straining, writhing trio. Good. The only thing that gave me away was my blank, unmoving expression, but I doubted Professor s.e.x and his apprentices would notice.

There was no furniture in the room, nothing to search, so I abandoned it. I didn't know how long Targon s.e.x lasted, so I quickened my step. Thankfully, there were no closed doorways.

Devyn hadn't lied when he claimed he'd dismissed his guards. There were no males of any kind-that I could see-inside. There were only women, a handful of humans ranging in size and color, and all of them were naked.

Inside another bedroom, I searched a vanity. Found nothing. I came to a wooden chest. Searched and found nothing but s.e.x toys. Every piece of furniture, every knickknack I stumbled upon, I searched. And found nothing. My frustration grew with every second that pa.s.sed.

Finally, however, I came to a hallway that appeared different than the rest of the house. It was narrow and closed. At each section of the wall was an armed guard. This was it. I knew it. Felt it. The weapon-heavy men (also in kilts) stood sentry to whatever lay beyond the far door. In my spirit form, doors proved no obstacle. I brushed past the scantily clad man in front of the steel-like entrance. Where our bodies intertwined, I tingled. He must have felt it too, because he jumped.

”What was that?” he demanded, gripping his long, sharp blade. His narrowed gaze darted left and right.

”What?” the man next to him asked, stiffening.

Silence, then, ”My mistake.”

”Bracken,” someone muttered. English translation: idiot.

I slipped through the door...and gasped. Inside the new room was what looked to be a doorway straight into the heavens. Black velvet sky, brilliant pinp.r.i.c.ks of stars. It swirled. Beckoned. Was it some type of portal? Did the Targons not need to wait for solar flares? I wanted so badly to touch the liquid, but resisted the temptation. For now, at least. I couldn't risk world travel without my physical body.

Besides, if itwas a portal, I could end up on a worse planet than Targon. I needed that necklace!

I looked around. Towering columns stretched to the domed ceiling, and white stone glistened all around me, leading up, up, up a staircase. At the top rested twelve pedestals. Curious and anxious, but most of all hopeful, I climbed the stairs. When I saw what lay inside each display case, I laughed. The necklace was here! I'd found it. Actually, I'd found eleven others, as well.

Each necklace boasted a different stone, though all were roughly the same size. Did the stone matter? I wondered. What if the stone held the magnetic force? What if the stone decided which planet to carry its wearer?

Which stone would take me to Earth?

I studied each. Blue, red, violet, green, amber. I paused, a memory surfacing. The amber stone had brought me here, which meant amber represented Targon. Nodding, I continued my search. Brown, gray...My attention abruptly returned to the brown, drinking in every detail. It was dull, a bit jagged, flat in color.

Devyn had worn it during the auction. Nearly jumping up and down with my exhilaration, I concentrated a ma.s.s of energy between my hands. The air soon swirled and sizzled, growing heavier, denser. My spirit, too, began to burn. Burn, burn. I grimaced, but didn't stop. When the air held sufficient weight, I used the cl.u.s.tered molecules to lift the necklace from its perch and hover between my hands.

Instantly alarms erupted.

I quickly guided the energy and necklace high above me, and prayed no one looked up. A legion of guards stormed the chamber. They raised spears and blades, and their gazes shot throughout the room. Thankfully, they couldn't see me.

I cast a longing glance to the dappled pool and raced out the open door, taking the path I'd traveled to get here. All the while, the necklace hovered above me. Along the way I must have navigated a wrong turn, because I didn't enter the room that held my body. d.a.m.n it! I raced onward, rus.h.i.+ng into every room I found, rus.h.i.+ng past the guards headed toward the necklace room.

Finally-thank G.o.d-I found my body. The king and women were gone, but my body was just where I'd left it. I entered quickly and discovered that my muscles were still frozen. The necklace fell from the air and landed on the pillow beside me. If I could move, I could escape amid the confusion. I could hide the necklace.

I just had to move!

I struggled and fought for what seemed an hour, all the while remaining immobile. The king at last remembered my presence and strode back into the room. His amber eyes were narrowed as he knelt in front of me.

”How did you do it?” he asked, the words stilted, halting.

Even my lips refused to move.

”Answer me,” he growled.

I glared up at him and flicked my gaze to my mouth. Realizing I couldn't speak, he finally released me from the paralysis.

”Do what?” I scooted away from him. The action sent a sharp ache all the way through me.

”How did you steal the torque? My Earth torque is missing, woman, and only you have an interest in it.”

”I've been right here.” Hoping I appeared nonchalant, I covered the necklace with my b.u.t.t. ”You saw to that. How could I have stolen anything?”

He reached out, intending to search me. I kicked his chest, and he stumbled backward a few feet. A mere second later, I found my arms and lower body frozen again. Dark fury exploded through my veins. I hated how easily he subdued me.

His hands roved over my every curve and hollow, but he found nothing. His frown deepening, he scooped me up and set me aside. That's when he saw the gold band. Scowling, he lifted it and shoved it in my face. ”How did you get this?” When I remained silent, he added, ”I didn't immobilize your mouth this time. Answer me.”

A wave of helplessness joined my fury, swirling together in an escalating tempest. How could I win against such powerful telekinesis?

The answer hit me with the force of pyre-fire.

I couldn't fight him like this, but I could fight him another way. Vulnerability be d.a.m.ned. My lips twisted in an evil smile. ”Why don't I show you?”

I centered quickly, and my spirit sprang from my body. In seconds, I was behind him. I focused energy between my hands, then shoved it at him, nailing him in the head. He crashed sideways, but fluidly jumped to his feet. Scowling, he spun away from my body and toward my spirit.

When he failed to see what had hit him, his eyes widened. ”What's going on?”

Next I shot a burst of energy dead center between his legs, hitting his precious p.e.n.i.s with enough force to drop him to his knees, groaning in pain. He looked back at my body, then whipped back to search the center of the room.

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