“You are going to be a fantastic addition to our collection.” The taxidermist hooked the hose to the base of Eva’s cell and aimed his remote at her.

CHAPTER 29: MARKINGS

What have we here?” Zin floated through the shutter doors to the laboratory. Behind him several royal guardsmen entered, followed by a tall creature draped in resplendent finery.

“Curator Zin, Your Majesty,” said the taxidermist as he approached the queen and kissed one of several pendants hanging from her frilled neck. He glanced around the messy lab, nervous, like one of his own captives. “I wasn’t expecting your presence. I am . . . honored.”

The queen nodded and glided into the room past her guardsmen.

Though she had yet to be frozen by the deadly mist, Eva was paralyzed with dread as she awaited her fate.

A pair of iridescent eyes, each with a dark horizontal iris, regarded the girl. The translucent, pearly face was decorated with painted scroll-like markings. The angular head was wrapped in a dual frilly collar and adorned with a wreath made of colorful fungi and lichens. A large vocal transcoder hovered over her, following the queen’s every move.

“This is the creature I apprised you of, Your Majesty,” said Zin, hovering alongside her. “It was delivered to us by Besteel, as part of his mandatory task. I believe it may be related to the artifacts we’ve exhumed from that remote site south of here.” Both of them looked fixedly at Eva. Next to the towering Queen Ojo, Zin appeared small, like a tiny bird flitting around.

“If I may add,” said the taxidermist, clearing his throat, “this little bug slipped out of here momentarily. It was captured in the Hall of Artifacts near the artifacts you speak of, Curator Zin.”

Overcoming her nerves, Eva stood to face the queen. “Are . . . are you Queen Ozo?”

“It is pronounced Oh-ho,” the taxidermist scoffed.

Queen Ojo looked at Zin.

“Its dialect is strange, Your Majesty,” Zin said, intrigued. “Unlike any I have heard before.”

“Can . . . can you help me?” Eva swallowed down the iciness that chilled her very core. Her arms, bound in front, were shaking right up to her shoulders.

“Shouldn’t she kiss our sacred earth before speaking to Her Majesty?” the taxidermist asked, looking at Zin for affirmation.

The mouth of the queen opened slowly, like the holograms Eva had seen of fish breathing underwater. The voice that burbled out was throaty and erratic, like a pot of thick stew about to boil over. “What are you?” she asked.

Eva glanced quickly at Zin before answering, “I . . . I am Eva. Eva Nine.”

“An Eva Nine, Queen Ojo,” Zin repeated. “Fascinating.”

The queen circled around the captive girl, studying her. “It had others with it?” she asked.

“Not that Besteel mentioned,” answered the taxidermist, following the queen.