From Ashes and Dust (Book One)

Chapter 26.1

The boarding ramp to the Agkistrodon lowered with a steady hiss. Vatra watched the maw of her ship open with disinterest. Her muscles felt heavy, weak. A strong dose of painkillers was running through her veins.

A splint had been placed on her right arm. The hard plaster was anything but state-of-the-art. On any other planet, her arm would have been set with a more flexible material that would have been barely noticeable.

"Stop fidgeting with it," Hisato scolded her.

Vatra blew out a raspberry. "I'm not," she slurred out.

Hisato reached out and snapped her left hand up in his grasp. She had been scratching under the plaster without even realizing it.

The both of them looked up the ramp. Enyalius walked half-way down, a hand on his hip as if he'd been waiting for them for hours.

"Thank you for the get out of jail card, but we could have done without the embarrassing escort back to the ship," Enyalius said.

"You're welcome," Vatra giggled out. She was tugged up into the ship by Hisato, pulled along like a toddler.

Enyalius watched them pass with a raised eyebrow. "Is she high?"

"No," Hisato said. "She broke her arm and they gave her too many painkillers."

"I'm hiiiigh." Vatra dragged her words out.

Following behind them, Enyalius closed the boarding ramp. It shut with an airy hiss that made Vatra laugh.

"Gods, she's high," Enyalius said. "This is worth the stay in that awful holding cell. We must take advantage of this and get her to sing some ridiculous karaoke."

"Oooh, karaoke!" Vatra stumbled behind Hisato, but she watched Enyalius as if pleading for him to rescue her. "Please, let's do some karaoke!"

"No karaoke," Hisato said. "You need to rest. Spyro would space me out of Tau Honnor if I didn't get you to your room safely. Where is he, anyway? Why are you the only one here?" He regarded Enyalius with his last question.

The god shrugged his shoulders. "Down in the holding cell watching our captives. I'll let him know you're both back, if you want. The others are all hanging around in the rooms below. It's been a day for everyone."

"Have you ever thought about how many times we've used the bathroom throughout our lives?" Vatra stared off at the ceiling. "I've taken so many shits in my life."

Hisato and Enyalius stopped walking and looked at Vatra. She almost bumped into Hisato, and her attention slowly flickered back to the man leading her.

"Incredible," Enyalius mused. "Truly, I love this side of her."

"Did I say something? I'm tired," Vatra said. Her eyes glazed over after a moment, as if she were zoned out into another world.

Sighing, Hisato shook his head. "We can never acknowledge this again. She'll kill us both."

"Well, she'll kill you," Enyalius corrected.

Clearly biting his tongue, Hisato stopped himself from saying anything in reply to what Enyalius had said. Instead, he continued leading Vatra to her room. They neared the ladder down to the level below.

"Are you going to help me get her to her room, or are you going to watch? You're clearly enjoying this too much," Hisato complained. He stopped just at the top of the ladder, holding up Vatra who was wobbling on unsteady legs.

Enyalius sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. "You and all your muscles. What use are you, anyway? I'll go down first since I'm taller. Sit her on the edge and I'll catch her down below."