Page 17 of Beast Unburdened

Everything in the shuttle appeared either bolted to the floor or tucked behind a panel. There was no handy fireman box with an ax tucked behind a glass pane. The ship started rumbling louder, I could feel the floor vibrate beneath me. Running out of time here Abigail I scolded myself, I had to act now!

Slipping off my heels so I wouldn’t make noise when walking I fingered the sharply pointed stiletto. Was I really doing this? I eyed the hulking monster in the chair at the front, what was his weak spot? Where did I even hit this guy? It needed to be final, I couldn’t fight him, and injuring him would probably just enrage him enough to actually eat me.

I tiptoed to my feet, heading his way, keeping my heels low at my sides so he wouldn’t think anything of them if he saw me. I held my breath, terrified he’d lift off before I got to him, terrified he’d see me and I’d fail, terrified I’d hit him and it wouldn’t be enough.

But I reached his chair quietly, black spots dancing in front of my eyes. Breathe Abigail, breathe! You can do this. Then I raised my shoe, eyed his face, and then aimed the pointed heel straight for his bat-like ears.

It sank in far too easily for my liking as if there was no resistance at all; maybe that was my adrenaline. The blue-haired freak let out a hair-raising squeal and stumbled out of the pilot’s chair, turning on me with one clawed hand raised.

I ducked, stumbling backward to avoid that deadly swipe. Oh no, it wasn’t a killing blow. I was so screwed! I felt a searing pain across my chest as his claws raked me, losing my balance I fell backward and Geramor with an angry growl lunged at me. His weight landed heavily on top of me, the air rushing out of my lungs, my head spinning from its second blow to the floor.

Panicked I raised my fist and hit him, grazing the stiletto still dug into his ear, his entire body jerked on top of me. That hurt, he was so heavy I couldn’t breathe but he wasn’t clawing at me and he’d stopped growling. In fact, he might have stopped breathing too.

Chapter 9

Ziame

Kitan wasn’t breathing, at least, I didn’t think he was. I dug my clawed feet into the metal flooring, leaving grooves as I raced for the medbay. I had to believe Abigail when she said the doctor on this ship was on our side, had to believe he’d save the Sune male.

Bursting into the medbay I was met with two stunned males, one of them Jakar who had accompanied Sunder here. The other was unfamiliar to me, an Adaren male so he had to be the doctor, and just like Abigail had told me, he wore a slave collar.

Derailed as I was I still hurried to place Kitan on the medical cot and I didn’t even need to ask or say anything. The Adaren male was already there, scanning him, pressing instructions to the medical bed and the surgery arm in its panel at the head of the table. “Not good,” he murmured, “But I’ve got a pulse, I can work with that.”

I wasn’t even on the male’s radar as he assumed responsibility for his patient. I turned on Jakar, “Where’s Abigail?” The male leaned toward me, clasped my shoulder in a firm grip with one of his four arms, eyes concerned. “Geramor abducted her after he killed Uru and made the Doc take off his collar.” A hand pointed at the corpse in the corner and then the discarded pain collar on the floor.

“No!” I roared, panic scrabbling in my brain, I couldn’t lose my female. I had to get her back! If Geramor had her, he might very well eat her, a fate worse than death. I struggled to get my breathing under control while I spun toward the door, fire was curling away from my face, my fire-starter clicking angrily in my throat with each exhale. I was starting to get dizzy, burning up my oxygen instead of breathing it.

“Sunder is after her, we weren’t far behind, he’ll get your female back,” Jakar was saying but the sound of his voice came from far away. All I heard was a rushing in my ears, I flicked them back angrily. Flicking out my tongue to catch Abigail’s scent now that I had the fire breathing back under control.

Then I rushed out the door, picking up her scent and that of Geramor and Sunder, tracing their steps. When I reached what had to be the hangar bay after a few twist and corners I wasn’t surprised, of course, Geramor would try to make a run for it.

The door was open and I was able to spot two small short-range spacecraft inside the bay, the big airlock wasn’t opened which I took as a good sign. Which craft were they in? Or had Geramor already taken off? Was I too late? My heart sank and my fire-starter clicked again, fire curling from my nostrils.

“Ziame!” That was Abigail calling my name, I spun towards the sound and spotted her perched on some crates near the back wall. Sunder was hovering at her side, one wing outstretched and curved around her but not touching. The protective posture rattled my spines nonetheless but the moment he saw me the wing dropped away.

I hurried to her and only at the last moment realized that the hangar bay was brightly lit and Abigail could see me in my full glory. My ears flicked down, drooping, and all my spines flattened, the blades on my arms tucking themselves in. The last thing I wanted to do was frighten her but I couldn’t help how I looked and it was a fact of life that a full-grown Lacerten male terrified even males like Sunder. Point in case, the stone-skin male had taken several steps back at my approach.

But Abigail, my brave Abigail, she actually jumped off her perch and stumbled toward me. Leaping into my arms and tucking herself close, “Ziame! You’re alive, thank god!” Her warm weight against mine, her soft curves pressing against my body, immediately my world righted itself. We’d made it. We’d done it!

I pressed her close, nuzzled my nose into her springy curls, and tasted her sweet, sweet pheromones with my tongue. “Are you alright?” I asked her, and she nodded, “A little banged up, a few scratches. I’m okay.”

Each scratch and bruise was one mark too many but she was breathing, alive, and in my arms. I could deal with the rest. “Are you?” she asked, pulling back to look me over and gasping at the blast mark on my shoulder and the gash on my thigh I’d sustained in the fighting. “It’s fine little one,” I said, “Barely hurts at all.”

Then my sharp gaze took in the slashes across her chest, from collarbone to the top of her breasts. Through her blouse and jacket, marring her luscious dark skin, three lines welling gently with blood. “You are hurt!” Frantic I pulled the fabric away, trying to see how bad the marks were, and was met with laughter. “It’s alright, he barely scratched me, it looks far worse than it is.”

I was about to say it looked bad enough, my heart was pounding with worry, but she probably wouldn’t like hearing that, I didn’t want to frighten her. It was Sunder who actually calmed me, “She is alright, if you had scratches like that you wouldn’t even notice them.” Forcing myself to look at the scratches more objectively I had to nod, “Okay, alright. You’re alright.”

I was rewarded with a bright smile from my Abigail and then she tucked herself back against my body. When she did that this time I noticed the difference in height, my beautiful female had shrunk. Squinting over the top of her head and shoulders down at her feet I noticed that her stilts were gone; instead, she was barefoot.

“Where are your shoes?” I asked, a shiver ran over her delicate spine beneath my hands. I swung her up into my arms, raising her easily so that we could look each other in the eye. Now she wasn’t happy, she looked sad. “I killed Geramor with them.”

I stared in confusion, she killed Geramor with her shoes? She what? I couldn’t for the life of me picture it. But over her shoulder, Sunder mimed stabbing himself in the ear and I had a vivid picture flash through my brain of the narrow sharp spike on the heel of her odd footwear. Ouch.

Somehow I’d assumed that Sunder had rescued her but it seemed like she’d rescued herself, my whole body flushed with pride. Then understanding followed, the first kill was the hardest, it had shaken me up badly the first time I’d been forced to kill. And she really, really liked those crazy shoes, she’d barely taken them off at all since I met her and lovingly polished them with the corner of the blanket each morning.

“We’ll get you some new shoes at the first chance,” I said confidently, and if no vendors sold footwear like that I’d commission someone to make some. I beamed at her when she gave a wet chuckle and then added more seriously, “I’m proud of you. You saved yourself. I know this is hard but when it’s kill or be killed you have no choice. I for one am glad about this outcome.”

She raised a soft hand to place against my cheek and then she stroked her fingers up and tugged gently on one of my long ears. “Thank you Ziame, that’s sweet of you. I’m pretty glad too and I suppose if I hadn’t killed the bastard he’d have gone on to eat some other poor hapless person...”