Read The Temporal Void for Free Online Page B

wait here for Paula?’
    Troblum couldn’t stop staring at Alcinda, who had begun to shake in a convulsive fit. Her head was now half-covered in the furry growths, with additional ones pushing out around the edges of her bikini bottoms. Tiny clear fluid drops glistened at the tip of each strand of fur. The shaking grew more violent. Troblum was seriously considering trying to kill her with a disruptor pulse if his biononics could put one together. ‘I’d never make it to the stairs,’ he said, trying desperately to focus on what the Cat was saying. Alcinda’s death would be a mercy, and she’d definitely have a secure memory store and re-life insurance. ‘Stubsy’s other companions would make sure of that.’
    The Cat made a small gesture with her hand. Alcinda stopped shuddering, her body collapsing limply to the rock floor. ‘See. If that’s all you’re worried about, the girls are easily disposed of.’
    Troblum thought he was going to collapse himself. A stricken Somonie was gazing at Alcinda’s body. The grey fur continued to spread outward. He’d never seen anyone die before, and certainly not in such a terrible fashion. ‘Don’t do that,’ Troblum gasped.
    ‘Why? I thought you were going to kill us all, anyway.’
    Troblum began to accept that he really was going to die. In a way it was kind of fitting that he would do it eliminating one of the most horrifying human beings who’d ever existed.
    The villa nodes abruptly came on, flashing a short encrypted message he couldn’t decode. He tried to use them to reconnect to his starship, but they wouldn’t acknowledge his u-shadow.
    ‘She’s here,’ the Cat snarled happily. ‘Was this why you were stalling, my dear? I thought she wasn’t due for another couple of hours.’
    ‘Sorry,’ Troblum said. He couldn’t help grinning.
    ‘I won’t let her save you, darling.’ The Cat brought an arm up, bulging through the aurora.
    ‘You can go,’ Troblum said quickly.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Go. Have your battle. If anyone can defeat you, it’ll be Paula. I’ll wait down here. Leave Somonie to guard me if you want. I can’t get a message out to warn Paula. If you win I’ll fire the zone killer. If she wins, well, you don’t get to call the shots then, do you?’
    ‘Clever boy,’ the Cat said in an admiring tone. ‘I accept. Stubsy, get up. You’re going to have to be the bait now Troblum isn’t playing.’
    ‘No!’ Stubsy howled. His body jerked madly, and he scrambled to his feet as if the floor had turned white hot. Troblum didn’t like to dwell on that idea.
    ‘Do it, you almighty shit,’ Stubsy cried at Troblum. ‘Kill us all. Kill her .’
    ‘Tut tut,’ said the Cat. ‘Is that gratitude?’
    Stubsy’s mouth slammed shut. A trickle of blood dribbled down from the corner of his lip.
    ‘Somonie, you stay here,’ the Cat instructed as she walked out of the chamber. Stubsy Florac hobbled after her, throwing one last desolate glance at Troblum. Somonie stood in the doorway as the malmetal contracted shut, framing her with a dark circle.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ Troblum told her. She didn’t say anything, though he could see her jaw muscles working silently.
    The Cat must be remote controlling her, he guessed, which didn’t leave him much time. Then he noticed the way her eyes kept switching from him to Alcinda’s body. The vile grey growth had covered her flesh completely; now it was starting to spread across the floor, sending out fronds that moved like a spilled liquid.
    Troblum activated his integral force field again, and hurried across the chamber until he came to the longest case in his collection. He was sure he heard some kind of bang from outside, maybe more than one, but the door was an effective seal and he didn’t want to turn off his force field again. Paula must have arrived at the villa itself.
    He had to use biononic reinforcement for his muscles so that he could lift the elongated cylinder out of its cradle mountings. The