Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
“Good morning.” Sirex made himself greet the Trollox. “Lovely weather,” he added, nodding at the pinkish sky, where the red giant sun was already well past the horizon. It looked like a giant ball of flame filling an entire quarter of the sky, but Sirex supposed that was normal for Salacious Prime.
“Yes—perfect weather for a hunt!” Thruck said, his sane head beaming. “I trust you and your woman had an exciting night after she drank the Sparkler?”
“It was definitely interesting,” Sirex said dryly.
“Excellent! And have you given any more thought to getting her nipples pierced?” Thruck asked. There was a greedy light in his little yellow eyes. “Because we do believe the Shining One might have an opening in his calendar if we could see those luscious points pierced. A public piercing is always amusing. The way the females moan and cry and beg—extremely entertaining.”
Sirex frowned. Why was this big bastard so eager to see Phoebe’s nipples pierced—did he like to see women being hurt or females in pain?
Though he considered himself to be a Broken One because of his half-Scourge nature, Sirex didn’t take joy in such things. His desires centered more around domination and bondage. Pain was only for a much needed punishment, like the spanking he had given Phoebe the day before—not for the sick pleasure of watching a female cry out in agony.
“I still have no plans to pierce my female’s nipples,” he said blandly. “Though I do believe the Emperor could benefit from my wormhole technology.”
“Yes, well…” Thruck’s sane head looked irritated. “Let’s get on with the hunt, shall we? You’re our only new rider. Do get yourself a meat bun from the cart so we can find you the right mount.”
“Thank you.” Sirex accepted a large, dark blue steamed bun from a cart one of the servants was rolling around. When he took a bite, he found that the savory meat filling inside was bright yellow and extremely spicy.
Luckily he liked spicy food so he took another bite as Lord Thruck escorted him to the stables.
“Do you know anything about gallumphers?” he asked as they neared the first of the extremely tall wooden buildings. They were painted dark purple with white and green trim around the doorways.
“No. I’ve never even seen one,” Sirex admitted.
“Then you’re in for a treat! They’re beautiful animals and these are all thoroughbreds. The Shining One and the Emperors that came before him have been breeding them for generations,” Thruck said. “You there, boy,” he called to one of the servants—a stable boy in a purple and green coverall. “Bring out G’errr and be sure he’s saddled.”
The stable boy looked up at the enormous Trollox with wide eyes.
“Really, my Lord? But G’errr, he’s just finished molting and you know that makes him—”
“At once!” Thruck roared, glaring down at the boy.
“Yes, my Lord!” The stable boy ducked his head in a quick bow and scurried into the enormously tall structure.
“Er, how big are the gallumphers anyway?” Sirex asked, frowning as he surveyed the tall, rounded doorway. The stables looked to him a bit like the kind of doghouse one saw sometimes on Earth—well, if a doghouse had been stretched up two stories high and elongated.
“Oh, they’re not small by any means. If they were, how could we ride one?” Thruck’s sane head gave a hearty laugh. “Ah, here comes your mount now!”
Out of the tall, narrow doorway came the strangest beast Sirex had ever seen. It was as tall as the Earth animal called a giraffe but it looked nothing like it, he thought. For one thing, the head was longer than the short, stumpy body. It had beady orange eyes and a massive beak, as big as Sirex himself, which came to a sharp point. There was also a bony protuberance on the top of its skull with two long slits on either side.
The creature had sloping shoulders and a narrow back. Sirex soon realized that its front legs weren’t legs at all—they were massive wings that were folded in the middle. The creature walked on all fours, using the “knuckles” of its folded wings as its forelegs.
In comparison with the massive head, the back of the gallumpher was small and shriveled looking—scarcely bigger than the backside of a pony, which gave it a strangely lopsided look—at least to Sirex.
The entire animal was covered in tiny, opalescent white feathers that flared pinkish gold in the light from the red sun. The beak, in contrast, was a dirty orange-brown. It was wearing a saddle high up on its back, between the wings, and the stable boy was leading it by a very long set of reins.
“Here you are, my Lord,” he said to Thruck as he led the enormous gallumpher closer. “All saddled and ready to go.”
As he spoke, the gallumpher tossed its huge head and let out a fierce, shrieking wail that seemed to come from the slits on the sides of the bony protuberance at the top of its skull.