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You re not dead, damn it!
Talos was surprised at the depth of the pirate s understanding and more than a little
unsettled by his unique point of view. He hadn t allowed himself to think about the bounty s
perspective when he retrieved a live prize.
What does your mother call you?
My mother? The connection eluded the Oracan. Only fathers chose the names for
their sons in his culture.
What s your Christian name, guv? You ve made yourself privy to mine.
I am Talos of Menalon.
Well, my fine, scaly friend, what s to stop me going after me treasure all by meself,
Tals? The fire of fresh rebellion burned in Maymon s dark eyes.
Ta-los. The Oracan stretched out the pronunciation, making each short syllable twice
as long as it really sounded.
Maymon nodded. That s what I said, guv -- Tals. What s to stop me, eh?
46 Laura Baumbach
The cartilage ridges over Talos s eyes arched and he titled his head to one side, listening
for some elusive piece of missing logic.
You mean besides the fact you re handcuffed, marooned, and you ve been legally dead
for centuries? Talos shook his head. It s been over 700 hundred years since you buried that
treasure, runt. Ocean currents have shifted and landmarks have changed. And let s not forget
that you d actually have to be on Earth in the first place.
Eh? Have to be in the Caribbean, guv, not Earth. Seven hundred years? A
suspicious, calculating expression lit the pirate s dark eyes. You said afore I weren t dead.
You aren t. The words were growled out between clamped teeth.
Maymon sat down and rested his head on his chained hands, eying the unfamiliar
mechanism binding them. Not dead, not drunk, you deny you be a sea monster and you says
I be hundreds of years old?
Talos nodded his head, relieved the pirate was finally beginning to understand.
Well then, Maymon sighed, that only leaves one thing to do. He began a vicious
pulling and twisting of his wrists, trying to slide them out of the manacles. It took only a few
twists before the pirate s wrists were raw and bleeding.
Talos grabbed both of the pirate s bare wrists. He held on tight trying to still the self-
abuse. The pirate seemed unaffected by his grip.
What the hell are you doing?
No problem, guv. Maymon redoubled his efforts. It s not real. Despite his words, he
gasped in pain. These should come off!
Nearly drowning must have killed off more of your feeble brain cells than I thought,
you knucklehead. Of course it s real. Talos couldn t resist shaking the daft human.
Maymon leaned in close to him, a mere whisper. No, tis just a dream, savvy? If I be in
the future, chained to a silver god of a sea monster, neither drunk, nor dead, nor fevered,
then I be locked in a dream of me own private wants, savvy?
Maymon ran an appraising gaze over Talos s very large, very powerful, very close body,
lingering longingly over certain areas of the alien s impressive physique.
Didn t know I d wants like these. Maymon looked up. Beginning to see the light of
it, though.
Unfazed by the manipulative flirting, Talos gripped the raw flesh under his fingers
tighter and squeezed until the pirate squirmed.
Does that hurt?
Aye, Maymon gasped. A bit.
Talos lifted the pirate s light frame by his sore wrists until the human hung suspended
off the floor. Do you usually feel pain in your dreams?
Details of the Hunt 47
Can t say as I rightly remember it happening afore, no. Maymon struggled against the
increasing pressure. Talos could feel Maymon s bones grate against each other.
Then trust me, you re not dreaming. I m real, it s the twenty-sixth century and you re
alive.
Talos felt a shudder run the length of the pirate s body and the dark eyes held the first
true shadow of panic.
Can t be. I ll not be sold into slavery. Not without a bloody fight, I won t. Rather die
first, guv, rather die! Maymon struggled harder against the hunter s restraining grip, trying
to hide the growing fear Talos could smell on him.
Understand this, runt. You re mine. I own you. You can t get off this station without
me, and you have no place to go to if you did. In your world, your time, you re dead. And
here, you don t even exist.
The words came out harsher than he had intended, but it was worth it to see the fire of
rebellion in the pirate s eyes dim. Talos slowly lowered Maymon to the floor and let go of his
bleeding, manacled hands. The smell of the pirate s blood filled his head and his groin danced
under the thin fabric of his pants as the rich scent of the young man called to his mating
instincts.
The moment his hands were free, the light of rebellion rekindled in Maymon s eyes
and he swung both of his fists up to club Talos in the head. Taking advantage of having
momentarily stunned his captor, he raced toward the exit and imagined freedom. Ten paces
from the doorway, a massive weight landed on his back and forced him to the floor.
The air was squeezed from his lungs, but the pirate knew better than to allow it to stop
his struggle. He twisted and squirmed under the huge hunter s bulk, wrestling for an opening
to wiggle away, landing an impressive number of good blows in the process.
Maymon suddenly found himself rolled over top of Talos and then lifted and bodily
heaved through the air to land in the middle of the padded play area in front of the open
observation window.
Catching sight of the view outside of the observation shield for the first time, Maymon
froze in place, sprawled on the floor, mesmerized and stunned by the vision.
Bloody hell. Me miserable soul s been cast out, all alone, not to Davy s grip, but into
the black heavens above.
The first tremble of fear showed in the dumbfounded pirate s voice. His wide,
wondering eyes never left the view beyond the shield.
Talos moved to sit beside the stunned man.
Was I really so bad the Almighty s seen fit to abandon me here? Aidan whispered,
seemingly unable to pull his gaze away from the spectacular sight. He reached out a hand to
touch the shield, then hesitantly pulled back.
You haven t been abandoned.
48 Laura Baumbach
Been cast out, I have, like Adam from Eden. Cast out from my world.
Your God doesn t have anything to do with this. There s no Judgment Day here, runt.
I took you, remember? Bounty in a treasure hunt. Talos tapped the thin band of silver
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