“He’s brought some assistance too.”
Another familiar voice splits the air, and Dalox stands rather too close to us. He has armor covering one shoulder and arm, a pulsar rifle on his back, and a selection of daggers shoved in his belt.
Behind him are a cohort of warriors, all dressed in a similar manner and all with a high level of weaponry.
I study Driok’s face.
“I don’t know why he’s here either. And I couldn’t put him off.”
“At least we have an army to release an army,” I say. “After all, we can do with all the assistance we can get, can’t we?”
Driok nods, and his attention is grabbed by Kes, attempting to sneak past him.
Before he can move, Dalox has grabbed the Paralnyi by the scruff of his neck and has lifted him into the air, putting him very close to an impressive set of fangs.
“Friend, not food,” I call out.
“Ugh. I wouldn’teatthis,” Dalox rumbles, giving poor Kes a bit of a shake. “It’s not even a snack.”
“Kes is the one who took me from the bar because he thought I was in danger. He’s here for the Ulep too,” I say rapidly to Driok. “I think he can help.”
“He’ll probably be more help than Dalox,” Driok says.
“I can hear you,” Dalox rasps.
“I know.” Driok glares at him. “Put the Paralnyi down.”
Dalox lowers Kes to the floor, and he immediately puts some distance between himself and the warlords.
“I have bots,” he says quickly. “They can infiltrate anywhere. They don’t show up on any scans,” he adds.
Dalox growls. “Bots.”
“Lord Dalox is not keen on bots,” Driok says, his eyes not leaving the great warlord.
“That could be a problem,” I say, looking around us. “Because we’re surrounded.”
Out of the rubbish, from under every single surface, there are little robots, and bigger robots, and several of the type which took me.
I risk a glance at Dalox, and I can tell this isn’t going to end well. I glance at Driok, and he has, fortunately, noticed too.
“It’s time we dealt with the Ulep,” he announces. “It’s time for a fight.”
DRIOK
Dalox’s dislike of bots goes deep, and given he already has a pulsar rifle in his hand, in this confined space, the only way I can distract him is by suggesting something which he’ll like more.
A good battle.
Thankfully, it works. He holsters his weapon, and along with his warriors, he’s back out into the passage beyond the funny room I found my mate in, and I hear them heading back in the direction we came.
My heart is finally calm because I have Maggie. I thought it might have burst from my chest the closer we got to her. I thought the rut was bad, but it turns out not having her within arms’ length is even worse. I suck down her scent as if I might never scent her again.
I will always scent her. Even if there will be times she is out of my sight, I will have my Maggie within reach at all times.
Which probably isn’t practical, especially as the last thing I want right now is my mate and unborn sarkarnling in the middle of a running battle between Dalox who will do anything to get away from bots and the Ulep, who will do anything to get what they want.
“I’m so sorry, Driok. I should never have let Kes and his bots take me.”
