What the fuck? Myndrous? Here?
I clutch Zorin tightly and pray this isn’t the end of my last hope.
10: Tessi
The race grounds darken until only the stars are visible above and the eyes in the trees to our sides.
Zorin runs down the path, weaving through the forest, heading for the celebration. Heavy footsteps behind us tell me the creature is gaining.
“What is that?” I shout, even though, deep down, I know.
We’re almost to another opening in the trees when a heavy weight careens into Zorin’s side. I’m thrown from his back as he yips in pain and snarls. I tumble through the grasses and come to a stop against a tree trunk.
A wave of pain bursts through my spine. When I get back onto my hands and knees, I can’t see Zorin. The snarls are the only thing I have to follow in the dark. Crawling through the grasses, I search for him. Then I remember my wristband has access to security. So I tuck myself under a tree’s low boughs and call ABR.
“What’s the problem?” a guard asks.
“We’re stuck in the fields. Someone attacked us. Augmented eyes. I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s Myndrous using a Denarsoan stealth shield. I can’t see Zorin, the Shifter who caught me.”
The lights immediately brighten in the race arena again and expose a terror I hoped I’d never see.
Zorin is poised, in Shifter form, between me and four Myndrous. His hackles are raised, and his coat is surprisingly long, his body much larger, comparable to Myndrous, which is atypical of Mindorans. Heisdifferent.
Of course, something like this would happen to the one guy in this fucked up universe that I could ever fall for.
“There are four!” I tell security. “Please, hurry!”
Cameradrones hum in the distance, but they won’t be fast enough. This squad is different from the one I saw on Earth. One charges Zorin. They collide in a tearing, snapping, savage mess. Another joins in as the last two make their way toward me.
I back up, wondering why they want me and why I’m starting to feel hunted.
Over stupid palladium?
No. Something else is going on.
Zorin shreds a Myndrous and leaves him behind to pounce on his next attacker. The sounds of tearing flesh and crunching bone make me grimace.
Blood drips from Zorin’s mouth as he charges the third Myndrous, claws into his back, and they tumble into the distant trees. The fourth barely spares them a glance as he stalks toward me.
I scramble back into a tree branch. Security took all of my weapons. Out here, I have no armor, no gear, and no guns.
Ducking under the branch, I get an idea. As the last Myndrous approaches, I pull the limb back and release it in his face. He winces. His momentum still sends him smashing into me, and I’m knocked into the ground.
When he regains his wits, he growls down at me. I grab a fistful of dirt and fling it at his face, then get up and run as fast as I can toward the sound of the drones. “Over here!”
The drones hum louder and become visible as I feel the Myndrous’ breath on the back of my neck.
A blur of silver-tipped black fur smashes into him. I stagger a few steps and turn around to see Zorin has his teeth around the Myndrous’ neck. He wrestles him to the ground with a hit hard enough that I can feel it beneath my boots.
Two transports set down beside them. Men and alien males unload, shouting at Zorin to release the Myndrous. But Zorindoesn’t listen. He thrashes until the Myndrous shifts back to human form. Then Zorin drops him, rises onto two feet, lifts his hands, and backs out of the way.
The crews load up the bodies and their barely breathing prisoner.
“Well, this is a fucking mess, isn’t it?” Ohni is suddenly beside me, her hands on her hips. Her dark blue uniform is gilded with gold thread and ABR badges that glint under the lights. “Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah. Better than those guys.”
She shakes her head and paces a circle. “I thought we were done with these damned portals.”
