Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(10)
I ran through the market and bounded up the stairs, other warriors running to join me. Some bore spears like myself, some long torches, and some crossbows with their bolt-tips dipped in pitch.
“Bows, form up around the rear torchmen!” I bellowed, waving my arm. “Spearmen, with me!”
Despite having a job to do, I could barely think of anything besides the potential danger to Grace. I had no idea what I would do if she got hurt. Our bond was too new for me to fully sense where she was, but as soon as I got up the stairs, I must have caught her scent again. My head turned toward the Rilleen shelters.
There. She’s there.
I would have to fight my way to her. Gigantic, dark-blue insects swarmed all over the top of the wall, three-segmented, with jaws larger than swords. Their wings beat the air as they dove at the gathered warriors, trying to grab us and drag us off. The torchmen drove them back and lit the bolts of the crossbow wielders, who shot at the creatures’ wings. Once they were grounded, it was up to us spearmen to end them. I drove my spear into one’s back, pinning it down until a caste-mate could drive her spear into its head. I moved on to the next one and then the next, dispatching them methodically, only breaking my rhythm to dodge the odd mandible strike or flying body.
The Rilleen aerie was piling up its own insect corpses; I could see those winged gray and black shapes darting back and forth as they slashed through their mindless attackers. Their young and wounded would be safe; hopefully, the same could be said for Grace.
My arms ached with exhaustion from swinging the spear before the last of the swarm gave up and flew off. The rest lay in twitching piles all over the roof. I took a quick look around, noting only a few warriors seemed to be missing. However, I didn’t see Grace yet.
I turned to the Rilleen shelters, which had partly collapsed under the weight of the insects. I picked my way toward it around chitinous corpses and a single feeding Rilleen that didn’t even look up as I stepped over its tail.
“Grace!” I called. “Are you in there?”
“I’m here!” Relief washed over me at the sound of her voice. She clambered out from under a collapsed overhang. A familiar black muzzle poked out after her. “Keer protected me.”
A rattle of chitin nearby caught my attention. A wounded insect, drawn by our voices, dragged itself out of a pile of its dead fellows, its wings burned down to stumps and one leg missing. Before I could do anything, it tried to launch itself past me—straight at Grace.
I turned to face it, but it was too close for the spear. I was forced to drive the shaft of the spear crosswise against its mandibles to try and pin them, but one of them slipped and gashed open my bicep. I threw the thing backward with all my strength, turned, and as it launched forward again, drove my spear straight through its head. It collapsed instantly.
I straightened, my arm dripping blood, and looked over at Grace, who had cowered back against Keer. “Are you hurt?” I called out desperately.
“I’m not, but it looks like you are.” Grace hurried over to me without hesitation. “Here.” She pulled what looked like a hand-sized square of very white cloth out of her jumpsuit pocket and offered it. “Put this over the wound. It’ll stop the bleeding.”
I took it and examined it dubiously. More of the technology these humans depend on so much. But it also sounded like exactly what I needed right then. I slapped it over the wound and felt it sting a little. “Thank you.”
“You wouldn’t even have that wound if it wasn’t for me.” The regret in her voice surprised me. Perhaps she does not hate me so much after all.
“What happened?”
“The bugs cut me off from the stairs, and the only safe place I could go was in with Keer. I think I’m really lucky she likes me.” She picked a few bits of straw out of her hair and squeamishly looked around at the mess. The Rilleen were all gathering to feed now, chomping on insect corpses enthusiastically.
“Yes, to befriend a Rilleen is a rare thing, especially if you are not its normal rider.” I hesitated, wary of upsetting her again, but cowardice in any arena did not suit a warrior. “Are you still angry with me?”
“I’m mixed. You’ve rescued me twice, but you also caused me a lot of awkwardness. I’m here to do a job, Dekkir.” She frowned at the way I held the odd bandage against my arm. “Here, your whole hand’s covering it. It needs more exposure to air to work.”
She took the bandage in her little hands and pressed it against my skin, holding it by the edges. The stinging intensified and then became a sharp tingle. I held very still, delighting in that small gesture of kindness. The blood drizzling from beneath the edge of the opaque cloth slowed then stopped.
“Just helping put us even.” Her voice was so much gentler now that it gave me hope. “Look. I know some of our problem is culture clash. I also know some of it you may not even be able to help. But what you don’t get is how strange all this is to me and why it bothers me.”
“I don’t understand. Do humans not mate by instinct?”
Grace sighed. “I’m afraid our instincts have atrophied. We never know who’s a good match for us. We make mistakes, we get with the wrong people, and we get abused . . .” She hesitated. “Some people, mostly men, feel like women owe them something for turning them on and get violent when rejected. Or they simply rape us.”