“Return my son,” Verig demands.
“He’s not yours. He’s one of us. Human.” Joe’s expression sours as he realizes I’m still standing near Verig, even though nothing is keeping me from running to Joe. “You actually prefer an orc to us,” he spits out with clear disgust in his voice. “You can whore yourself out to those monsters all you want, but the boy comes with us.”
“Give him back!”
With his sword extended in front of him, Verig pushes me behind him. “I will get our son back.”
Our son?
“He’s coming with us,” Caleb said, while Ethan struggles to escape the vint’s grip.
“The youngling is not of my flesh, but I’ve claimed him as mine. He’s under my protection. Release him and leave, or I will slice you in two, human.”
Under different circumstances, Verig’s proclamation would make me smile. It’s what I’ve longed to hear, though I’m only realizing it now.
“Ethan, come to me,” I say as calmly as I can so I don’t scare him any more than he already is. The vint’s tail is still wrapped around him, but not tightly enough to drive any of those spikes into him.
When Ethan pushes against the vint’s tail, the male releases him. I hold my breath with my arms outstretched as Ethan runs toward me, but then Caleb snatches him and hoists him up against his chest like a shield.
“Let me go,” Ethan demands, squirming against Caleb’s hold. With his small fingers, he claws at Caleb’s eyes.
Caleb jerks his head back and loses his grip on Ethan, who drops to the floor. Caleb immediately backhands Ethan across his face, knocking him down.
Verig leaps forward, and with one downward swing, severs the hand that struck Ethan. I run to Ethan, lift him into my arms, and race to the corner where I curl my body around him and pray we survive the ensuing massacre.
And itwillbe a massacre. I see it on Verig’s face as the vints surround him. The sound of clashing metal doesn’t drown out Caleb’s screams, even as Joe tries to stop the flow of blood.
Like horse whips, the vints’ tails snap outward, the thick spikes on the ends striking Verig’s sword over and over.
I’ve never seen a sword move so fast, slashing at tails, legs, arms…He can’t keep up that pace forever.
A spike embeds into Verig’s sword arm, pulling his arm and sword away from his chest, leaving his body undefended as the other two vints circle behind him. They’re surrounding him.
And there’s nothing I can do to help.
Joe uses his belt as a tourniquet on Caleb’s arm, not paying attention to the blaster holstered at his hip.
“Ethan, I have to help Verig. Stay here. Don’t look, don’t move, for any reason. Promise me.”
He doesn’t answer.
Another scream echoes through the room along with a steady stream of the vints’ language. Blood gushes down Verig’s left arm and left leg, but he hasn’t slowed his assault. Two vints lie on the floor, dead, blood pooling beneath them.
I catch sight of Verig. He’sgrinning. My warrior’s got this. I don’t need to leave Ethan.
The door opens, and I pray it’s Sojek at last.
Four more vints enter!
Huge vints, with long, thick tails, surround Verig. I’ve never seen vints so large. Vintwarriors…Fuck!
I squeeze Ethan tight and kiss the back of his head as he curlsin a tight ball around Brownie. “You need to protect Brownie by staying here,” I tell him. “I will be right back. DO NOT move. Mommy loves you. Always.” I kiss his head, turn, and dart for Joe’s blaster.
VERIG
Out of thecorner of my eyes, I see my female racing along the far wall toward the humans. No! my mind screams, but I dare not speak aloud and call attention to her. She would not leave her child unprotected without cause.
I shift my stance, drawing the vints—seven now—away from the corner where Ethan huddles. It would not take much for a vint to gouge him with one of their tails, even unintentionally.
