“Eeny meeny miny mo,” I whispered. “Which way is less fucking horrible?” I picked one randomly and started forward. When I approached, there was nothing except jungle and huts.
Perfect.
Something hit my forehead, making me look up. Clouds had gathered over the sky, threatening to release buckets on me. I sighed. Things kept getting worse. I should’ve stayed on the couch. I was a potato after all.
With the dense treeline, I didn’t see much, so I grabbed the handrail on the staircase and stepped up, wincing. I needed a higher advantage to search for the port.
Leading with my uninjured foot, I went part way up the staircase and peered around. I didn’t see even a glimmer of spaceships, so I kept going. As I came around the other side of the plateau, I paused. The port in all its glory was in the opposite direction I’d been going.
Typical.
I started down the stairs when a high, slithery voice came from behind me.
Four aliens strode down the stairs. Humanoid in shape but they had snake scales and golden eyes. Also, the planes of their faces were far flatter than any human's could be with two slits for a nose. They all wore black jumpsuits and had some type of gun on their hips. The leader, the only female to my gaze, spoke, twirling a baton crackling with green electricity on one end between her thin fingers.
“Can I help you?” I asked, facing them.
The leader spoke again and grinned widely, but it held no humor. A shiver of dread went through me. I might not understand the words, but I understood the tone. She reached out and played with the silver necklace I wore, her forked tongue darting out.
Not allowing myself to think, I shoved her, which sent her crashing into her compatriots. I raced down the stairs as I tried to ignore the pain in my injured ankle. I slammed down on the wooden step, and my ankle suddenly gave out. I staggered, trying to snag the railing, but it was too late. I fell forward and rolled down the stairs.
Sprawling on the ground, I moaned. Everything hurt, but I had no chance to recover because snarls came from behind me. I limped away as fast as possible in the direction of the port.
Shouts came from close behind me.
Shit. They weren’t going to give up. I searched for something, anything, to use as a weapon. I snatched up a plank of wood that wasn’t particularly heavy or thick, but it was all I had.
One of the snake-like aliens barreled toward me. When he got within reach, I swung, hitting him in the chin with the board. The plank splintered, breaking in half, and the man went down. Dropping the broken hunk of wood, I ran away as fast as I could manage. As I ran past another building, I snagged a long metal bar with a nice heft.
Someone grabbed my shoulder, jerking me. I spun around and whipped out with the bar. The woman grunted as I hit her in the arm, but I was too close to swing the bar at its full length, so the strike was rather pathetic. I yanked my arm from her grasp, her claws slicing my forearm, which tore a scream from my throat. I swung again, and she ducked, then punched me in the gut. I yelped, bending over instinctively. She punched me again, this time in the jaw. Stars danced before my eyes.
I blindly swung the rod. The metal caught her on the side of the neck, and she went down.
Breathing hard, I limped, hopefully in the right direction. Another snake alien leaped from behind a tree, and I jumped back.
“What the hell do you want with me?” I swung the metal rod like a baseball bat and caught him full in the shoulder, which crunched sickeningly. He shrieked and fell to the ground. I didn’t waste any time and ran.
My ankle throbbed, my forearm stung from the slashes, and my muscles were tight from falling down the stairs. Despite everything, I went onward, eyes peeled for the snake-like aliens.
It took a few minutes, but I made it to the marketplace.
Kal was in the middle of the street with a mass of security officers behind him. His expression was fierce and his wings were unfurled. He was speaking to the jellyfish alien who’d tried to kidnap me.
“Kal.”
He whipped in my direction and something calmed in his expression. He dashed toward me. I dropped the pipe, opening my arms. Kal swept me into his embrace, wings going about me and tail hooking around my ankle. I hissed in pain, and Kal released me.
His thumb trailed along the bruise on my jaw. His words came out in growls and snaps I didn’t understand, though I caught my name.
“I lost my touchstone.”
More unknown words spilled out of his lips as he stared at the bruise on my jaw. I didn’t have to speak Drakconese to know what he was upset about.
“It’s just a bruise.”
Breath harsh, Kal’s features tightened and his scales started to glow. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hauled him close. “I’m okay.”
Slowly, his arms came around my waist, and his wings surrounded me, engulfing me in heat. Kal was hot, even more so than usual, and his scales glowed with his inner fire. I tightenedmy grip, and he took a deep breath before his head settled against mine, nuzzling my hair.
