Three rotations had passed since Gliv or any other thrall had gotten a taste of the lash.

She, of course, welcomed this reprieve, but this unexpected bout of leniency did not soften her disposition towards her enslavers. If anything, her resentment only grew without fear and pain to keep her hatred in check.

“What do you think that monster is playing at?” Gliv asked the other slaves huddling by the fire.

Her tattooed companion, Una, shrugged. “Don’t bother trying to read a blackblood,” she said, whilst she gnawed on a stale loaf of bread. “They were all insane, especially the Worm.”

“Zhulong the capricious is what the mercenaries call him,” a tokai named Spot interjected. As his name implied, several black dots were tattooed across the gecko's belly. “Occasionally he was the nicest of the lot, most times he was one of the cruelest. I don’t expect this break of ours to last, so enjoy it while you can.”

Tokai

A man named Grot spoke up, “I dunno. He seems to have gotten less vicious since that faintin’ spell.”

“I’ve known that monster for two years now,” Spot replied. “He ain’t ever gonna lose his love for inflictin’ torment. He might not be in the mood for it now, but he’ll be looking to spill some blood soon enough.”

“I ain’t just voicin’ my own opinion,” Grot persisted. “I overheard a pair of fat heads talkin’. They said that the Worm didn’t wanna kill the local neanderthals and elephants even though we’re low on meat. Maybe things will be better for us from now on.”

Una shot the other neanderthal a warning glance. “Like I said, don’t bother trying to read a blackblood.” The other thralls were less accommodating to Grot’s dissenting opinions. The tokais bared their teeth and Gliv balled her fists.

Gulping nervously, Grot held out his hands and backed away. “All I’m sayin’ is that it ain’t a good idea to badmouth him when things might be lookin’ up for us.” He beat a hasty retreat.

Gliv spat in his direction. “A few days without the lash and he turns sycophant.”

“Don’t be so hard on him,” Una said. “He’s young and didn’t lose anyone to these black-hearted monsters.”

“But he knows what they've done! He’s seen my son shoveling filth with a leech buried in his head!”

Spot nodded in agreement. “My brother would have throttled me if I spent the rest of me days scraping shit off the floor for the Worm and his pals.''

Una sighed. “Not asking ya two to let go of yore anger, but ya can’t be snappin’ at every slave that ain’t interested in revenge. We won’t be gettin’ any payback if someone figures out we're up to.”

“I’m still not seein’ ‘ow we’re supposed to pull this off,” Blotch, a second tokai with a flame-shaped marking emblazoned on his shoulder grumbled. The reptile forced himself to swallow a pungent cockroach and scowled. “I wouldn’t mind dyin’ if I could bring these bastards down with me, but I reckon that we’d get crushed even if we managed to get all the other slaves on our side.”

Gliv shook her head. “It ain’t just gonna be us slaves risin’ up. The mercenaires ain’t too happy with the Worm. Shouldn’t be too difficult to get them on our side.”

“Aye, a week of this slop would turn anyone against an army of blackbloods,” Spot grunted, scowling at the bowl of roaches in his hands. “I would be surprised if the mercenaries weren’t whispering in each other’s ears now that the Worm is the only one left.”

“And don’t underestimate what us slaves can accomplish on our own,” Gliv spoke up again. “We could poison his pets and kill his sycophants in their sleep.”

The second tokai still looked skeptical. “Yeah, and where are we gonna—” he suddenly trailed off. Gliv turned to look at what he was staring at. She stiffened. A creature forged of creaking crimson chitin was closing in on them. Insects had always disgusted Gliv and this one’s strange anatomy only added to the revulsion. From afar, the giant ant looked as if it were riding another bug. Upon closer inspection, she realized its vaguely human-shaped torso was connected to a quadruped’s body.

“What are a bunch of ginger monkeys and gray squeakers doing in one place?” the hellvetii asked, mandibles rapidly clicking against another as she spoke.

“Just trying to keep warm,” Una stammered. She and the other slaves stared at the ground to avoid looking into the insect’s uncanny eyes.

The hellvetii glanced at the tokais and sneered. Without warning, she grabbed Spot’s wrist and lifted him off his feet.

“I hoped that you would have something tastier than those roaches the vulture has been pushing out. Suppose, I’ll just snack on this squeaker instead.”

Gliv and the other slaves were on their feet. “Let him go!” the neanderthal screamed, fear lending her voice a manic pitch.

The hellvetii laughed. “Or what, you’ll bleed on me?” Spot pawed at her wrist, blunting his small claws on his attacker’s exoskeleton. “Don’t be so afraid. I am not going to eat all of you. I’m just going to take your tail. I am sure it will grow back in a few weeks.” The insect snickered when the other slaves backed away, eyes wide with fear.

“Ahem.”

The hellvetii immediately dropped Spot and whirled around. Her antennas straightened at the sight of Zhulong looming over her.

“I am pretty sure I told everyone to cut the slaves a break. Isn’t that right, Zigu?” he asked, glancing at a hulking crocodilian warrior.

“Aye, ya did, cap’n of all cap’ns,” the zobaka captain nodded in affirmation. “Shall I give ‘er a taste of me bardiche?”

Zobaka

“Naw, I am in a good mood.” Zhulong bent down to stare the hellvetii in the eye. “Are the fruits I’ve been giving out not good enough for you?”

“They were delicious, monarch!” the hellvetii stammered. “I am sorry, I was just hungry.”

“Well, we’re all a bit peckish, but we’re not in such a tight spot that we need to resort to eating each other. Least, not yet.” The devourer continued to lean forward until his snout was practically touching the hellvetii’s mandibles. “You know, the only reason your colony is still around is because of me, right? The others wanted to get rid of you after the third revolt, but I convinced them to keep you around because you're outstanding fighters. That, and because I think you guys look cool. But I reckon we don’t need as many soldiers as we used to. And you guys would look just as cool if I mounted your heads on my wall. Would you like to go on my wall?”

“No, lord.”

“You sure? Every night when I spank the eels, you’ll get a front-row seat. Maybe I’ll even use the slime to polish your fucking skull.”

“Please, no! I’ll never disobey you again, monarch!!”

Zhulong put on a wounded expression. “Is my proposal that frightening? I was told that my unclothed figure was the most beautiful thing to grace the earth!” Goruza opened his mouth to say something only for Zhulong to reach over and clamp it shut. “Damn it, Goruza, we’ve been over this. Don’t actually compliment me. It’s weird and gross unless a human or mostly human woman does it.'' The devourer turned his attention back to the hellvetii. “We’re done here. Now make like a banana and do the splits.”

The hellvetii needed no further urging. She was out of sight within seconds.

“And how are you guys holding up? You know, before the giant ant showed up and manhandled you.” The slaves remained silent. “Hmph. Tough crowd.” To Uru’s horror, Zhulong squinted at Gliv. “Hey, aren’t you that neanderthal that got smacked by Gorzua for saying nasty things about me?”

“It is, lord,” Goruza confirmed. “Shall I slay her?”

“Naw,” Zhulong told his subordinate. “I see that you're still sour with me.” Una bit her nails when Gliv continued to glower at the devourer. Zhulong stroked his barbels, clearly lost in thought. He shrugged and said, “I was supposed to keep this close to my chest, but I don’t see any harm in letting you guys have a little teaser. There’s good news coming to you guys. You might think better of me in a few weeks.” He reached into his satchel and tossed something at Spot and Blotch. The two geckos screamed. Zhulong guffawed at their reaction. “It’s just a bit of meat. Consider it a gift for the inconvenience. Hopefully, the menu will improve soon. I like cockroaches but not even I can stomach the toilet flavored ones.” His business concluded, Zhulong and his guards left the slaves to their own devices.

“What were you thinking?” Uru scolded Gliv when she was certain the three nightmares were out of hearing range.

“I couldn’t help it, Una. Just the sight of him makes my blood boil.”

Blotch had no sympathy for the neanderthal. '`Do anythin’ like that again, and I’ll stick a knife between yer ribs! I ain’t gonna die because you can’t control yourself!” He angrily bit into his meat and swallowed. “You gonna eat your share?” he asked Spot, pointing at the piece of goat meat in the other tokai’s hands.

Spot pocketed the chunk. “I’ll eat it later. Hard to work up an appetite when you’ve just stared death in the face twice!”

******

A few minutes later, Zhu was ready to grab his own meal. “Alright, it’s my break time from you guys. Scram,” the devourer told Zigu and Goruza. His two guards exchanged looks, but departed without protest. Zhu hummed in satisfaction and headed to the main hangar. As he expected, Shrike and Sarin had been waiting for him.

“Yo,” he said, greeting Shrike with a customary snowball to the face. He laughed at her angry sputters and acknowledged Sarin with a nod. He snorted when she handed him a necklace with several teeth strung on them.

“I understand you don’t want to take any guards with you, but I’d strongly advise that you at least keep comms with Dirge. He will briefly check in on you every fifteen or so minutes.”

Zhu clicked his teeth but relented. “Alright, that’s doable.”

“Also, I request to accompany you. This trip would be far more productive if you had access to my pocket dimension.”

Zhu shook his head. “This trip is just for stress relief. If you want, we can hang out some other time, but I am not bringing you along if you’re just going to be on guard the whole time. Besides, I got squishy!” he said as he patted the horribly deformed synth on his belt.

“I see,” the synth glanced at Shrike. “And may I ask, why do you find the zeraphs' presence so enjoyable?”

“Her reactions are kind of funny,” Zhu said matter-of-factly. "I am mostly taking her with me to make up for all the days she spent locked up. I’d say she’s entitled to three or four more flights.” To his amusement, Shrike looked dejected at this revelation. He tousled her hair. “If the day comes when we are both able to understand each other and you prove to be a good conversationalist, I might make you my permanent flying buddy. Now stop sulking and climb into the tummy pouch.”

Zhu would have preferred to fly on Pathogen but, aware that his other wyverns were cooped up, took his brute wyvern Blitz instead. Like poison wyverns, brutes only walked on their legs and required a running start to take off. Zhu cackled when Shrike tightly gripped the passenger vest as Blitz vaulted off the roof.

“If I had taken Brimstone or Southwick, we’d be able to get airborne without all these theatrics, but fire wyverns aren’t built for ground combat and you wouldn’t survive one of Southwick’s zaps if his saddle isn’t properly insulated.”

It was difficult to tell whether Shrike was paying attention to him when she was strapped to his chest, but Zhu didn’t care. Silence was boring, and he wanted an excuse to listen to his own voice now that he knew he had been speaking some universally understood otherworldly language this entire time. From his perspective, he sounded exactly the same. A rather disappointing development. It would have been nice to have a menacing baritone voice that matched his new appearance.

His musings on this matter ended when he spotted the same mountain they visited three days ago. Three rotations, he amended. Tannin and the other moon operated on twenty-hour cycles, so his minions naturally measured time with those units.

The bighorns had learned from their previous encounter. None were grazing on the mountain’s flat peak, choosing to forage on the steep craggy sides where it would be impossible to land or pluck a goat without crashing.

“Crap. Now, how the hell are we supposed to get any meat?”

With his mind occupied by this quandary, Zhu did not notice the figures that skulked out of cover.

“What is it?” Zhu grunted when Shrike shouted. He looked to where she was pointing and saw a group of neanderthals that were in the process of removing their clothes.

A tall individual that had already slipped out of his furs raised a crude ring-shaped amulet and screamed at him.

“That’s an interesting pick-up line,” he remarked, hardly intimidated by the ranting and ravings of a naked green man. The display had been considerably more effective on Shrike, who continued to shout and squirm.

“What’s got you in a tizzy? Never seen a dick be—” Zhu paused when he noticed the giant sphere of dark purple matter that had materialized above them. He was just about to ask what that ominous sight portended when Blitz of all creatures answered his inquiry.

The brute wyvern screeched as he steadily lost height. His wingbeats had become stiff, as if they had been weighed down by tar.

“Oh. Shit. I thought you told Sarin they weren’t anti-air creatures or weapons around here?” Zhu grumbled, acting as if she had just spilled milk on his shirt. “You’re in for a spanking when we get back.” Sarin started climbing out of the passenger seat. “I didn’t mean that literally,” he chuckled, his good mood already restored.

Confident that the neanderthals' primitive weapons would simply ping off his armor or Blitz’s osteoderms, Zhu confronted the belligerent natives with a cocksure attitude.

“Well, you certainly got my attention. Question is, did you actually want it?”

Zhu’s arrogant grin fell when their skin sloughed off their muscles and their bones violently expanded. Within a blink of an eye, the men had nearly doubled in height. Elongated simian muzzles erupted from their faces. They opened their newly formed jaws and screamed, revealing six-inch canines.

Zhulong scarcely managed to arm himself with a glaive when the gibbering shapeshifters flung themselves at him.