* * *
The Overlord’s orders were very clear: decapitate the Interloper, and let the Riftprowlers make a feast of whatever remained of him.
I watched as two High Guards dragged the Interloper toward me. They chained both his wrists and tethered the hooked ends firmly to the ground, pinning the stranger in a kneeling posture. A waft of testosterone reached the three slits on either side of my neck. They flared. This was a male. As I regarded him, my hearts hammered inside my ribcage, like two tiny captives on a rampage.
The rhythmic thunder of blood rushing in my skull almost masked his pleas for mercy. The guard on his left stripped him of his garments; a white jumpsuit and boots with soles like lead. The one on his right removed the orb-shaped helmet and tossed it aside. For the first time since his arrival I stared directly at the face of the creature that had fallen from the skies in an airship.
Before my unwavering eyes knelt the most hideous creature I had ever beheld: two eyes glistening with clear liquid, a mouth with blunt white teeth that emitted an annoying wail. From the top of his cranium protruded dark follicle strings.
I moved closer, angling my antennae directly at his head. I held my breath, waiting for his mind to reveal its heinous plans. My antennae thrummed, and in the corners of his feeble mind, a face coaxed itself into formation, similar to his but with longer follicle strings. The image had a slender, hourglass-shaped body: female. In the pits of my chest a warm sensation rose, an odd mix of adoration and dread. Then a smaller, feeble-looking male toddled toward them. They welcomed it into their arms, all teeth bared. Warmth engulfed my chest.
The memory dissolved like smoke and another assembled. Here, the Interloper stood in his white garments, orb-shaped helmet tucked under his armpit, facing a gathering. Beside him, five more beings stood, waving their upper limbs while showing their teeth. A swoop of euphoria rushed through my veins, a culmination of hope and joy.
The scene shifted. While inside their airship, the Interloper and his colleagues floated past a Blue Planet visible through the windows. They waved as they advanced through space. It wasn’t long before an engine malfunctioned. The airship veered off course. I caught a glimpse of our world, Cersia, and the airship tearing into the troposphere, engulfed in flame.
The craft broke apart upon impact; pieces of metal sheared through air. The Interloper survived, but the rest weren’t so lucky. Their bodies lay scattered at the crash site, lifeless. I saw my men arrive at the scene.
Then, like smoke, that image dissolved and a new one formed -. A face with eyes burning like molten rock: my face. A surge of fear ran through me.
I had seen enough. I broke the connection by straightening my antennae and took a few steps back, struggling to catch my breath. This creature I had been so eager to decapitate was not the enemy; he was a victim of circumstance.
The guard on the left handed me the axe and moved away, probably to avoid blood spatter. I stared at the axe in my hands, my hearts pounding hard inside my Cersian ribcage. The Interloper wailed softly, head bowed in submission, ready to die.
My eyes watered. Though I had disconnected from the Interloper’s mind, his pain still registered as if it were my own. I let go of the axe and watched it fall at my feet with a loud clang.
