The Cagliostro Chronicles by Ralph L. Angelo Jr. Page A

end this as fast as possible.
    They said nothing verbally , but sat stone still watching as Endorf merely grinned.
    Credom was on one knee now as th e Zrigg continued to pound at him, raining blows continuously on the red skinned powerhouse, and changing his position every few seconds, just staying out of reach as his downed foe tried and failed repeatedly to get to his feet.
    The Zrigg reached in to punch Credom in the head once again, when suddenly the kneeling red skinned alien caught the hand before it could descend upon him once more , and he grinned. A heartbeat later he twisted the hand ruthlessly, and stood up, shoving the bewildered Zrigg away from himself, as if he were but a child.
    Then , with a maddened howl, Credom charged forward and attacked the Zrigg, who ran to meet the charge head on, literally. The two smashed heads together with a loud bang. The lizard man stumbled feeling his forehead, as he woozily backed away. Credom merely laughed as he leapt atop the wounded Zrigg and hammered him with powerful, unrelenting blows that literally shook the arena with their thunder.
    The Zrigg tried to spit his venom into Credom’s face, but the red skinned brute merely lowered his head so that the venom splashed across his ridged skull.
    Credom had the Zrigg pinned on the mat floor when he raised both hands together above his head in twin fists . He brought them down atop the defenseless Zrigg with such explosive fury that the ring they were standing in collapsed from the power of the blow. Dust and sand filled the bar, obscuring the vision of everyone. The ventilation system quickly kicked into high gear, fighting to clear the air.
    Finally , from within the cloud of dust a shadowed figure could be seen holding another in one hand above its head triumphantly. As the fans sucked the dust and sand from the air, Credom contemptuously tossed the prone form of the Zrigg to what was left of the arena mat, like so much garbage.
    Endorf turned towards Mark with his hand extended and a smile f rom ear hole to ear hole,
    “Your ship, please?”

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    Ariel, Eddie, Red and Dan sat there tensely, as if they were controlled by a hair trigger. Each was ready to spring to the attack in their own manner. Mark merely smiled at the big red skinned alien before him who continued to hold his hand out before him.
    “What? You expect me to just hand you the keys to the ship without us having a chance to win it back first?”
    “You made a deal.” Endorf grunted angrily through grit ted teeth.
    “Yes and we’ll abide by it, but you are going to at least give us a chance to go double or nothing, right? ”
    “What else have you got to wager?”
    “What else do you want?” Mark replied with a slight grin.
    Endorf thought a second , then with a twisted grin replied, “The Female. She will bring good credits in the slave market.”
    Ariel leaped up from her chair, almost at the same time as Red and Dan, “Are you kidding me? I’m not even going to listen to this garbage,” she barked.
    “Relax , Ariel. Sit down.” Mark ordered, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
    ‘ You’re okay with this? ’ She asked him incredulously with her telepathic voice.
    ‘ Trust me, I’ve never let you down, I won’t now. This creep is not getting his greasy paws on you, I promise you. Trust me.’ He replied through the same mind link.
    ‘ Why do I always dread those words? ’
    “So you want Ariel, eh?”
    Endorf nodded slowly, “As humans go, she is comely. Not to my eyes, of course but as far your species, she is…adequate.” He grinned now.
    “ I don’t like this, but very well. So how do we go about this then?” Mark asked. Eyeing the red skinned mountain of muscle before him warily.
    “How else? You fight! Credom awaits!” Endorf spread his right arm and aim ed it wide at Credom who stood by the ring as it was being repaired, and the unconscious Zrigg carried off.
    “You want me, to fight him?” Mark asked ,