Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(18)

The two hairy giants flailed at the ground in front of them, and after a moment, I caught sight of some sort of two-legged, birdlike creatures roughly the size of men, milling around, snapping at their legs. Wailing cries rose from the pack, so high-pitched they stung my ears.

The warriors formed a crescent shape around the Grogs and started moving forward, killing the Raptors as they went. I heard the grunts and shouts of battle and the heavy thud of steel on leathery hides. Dekkir waded into the middle of it, and I felt an immediate surge of fear for him. He wasn’t well. He wasn’t entirely himself. And worse, it was my fault. What if he got hurt?

In the sedan at my back, I heard Dorin let out a loud moan as the sound of battle roused him some. A number of the warriors had stayed behind to guard his sedan and looked at each other as he cried out. I pressed my back against the stretched-hide cover and wondered if I should step out of sight inside.

They had left me with no weapons, not even my knives. I finally decided hiding was the smartest course of action and grabbed my carry bag, along with Dekkir’s, planning to duck into the high chieftain’s sickroom. But then a familiar deep voice shouted a battle cry, and I looked back at the fight, only to be completely captivated by what I saw next.

Dekkir had closed with three of the creatures on his own, spinning the long-bladed spear in a circle before lopping off the first one’s head. A second beast tried to jump him from the side, only to get the butt of the spear in its gut. It staggered back, and the third lunged and then took the blade through its chest as he turned so fast I could barely track the movement.

I stared. This is how well he fights when he’s not well? Holy crap. Dekkir is a badass!

Suddenly, shouts rose up around me. I turned my eyes away from the fight ahead and found myself staring unexpectedly into the green eyes of one of the bird creatures. A trio of them had snuck up on the middle caravan while I was captivated, watching the fight.

Oh crap! I ducked as the one in front of me snapped at me and then jumped around the corner to the side bench, running down it as fast as I could. It gave chase, letting out that skirling cry as I scrambled to get away from it.

I looked around as I ran for my life and noticed none of the guards were coming to help. One or two of them actually looked my way as they continued fending off the other birds, but none made a single move to protect me. I saved my breath for running, suddenly understanding calling out for help was pointless. Sheltered and treated kindly by Dekkir, I had forgotten for a while that I had become a pariah. And now it was going to kill me.

I swung around the corner of the sedan, jumping onto the next bench. But before I could get any farther, the creature darted under the sedan and popped up to intercept me. Nearly running into it, I backpedaled, holding my hands up in a futile warding-off gesture as it crouched to spring.

It was midair when suddenly a black spear slammed into its side and pinned it against the sedan. It went limp immediately, and I looked up to see Dekkir standing empty-handed, staring at me with his chest heaving. He had just thrown away his weapon to save me.

I got over the shock just in time and screamed, “Duck!” He did, and one of the things sailed over his head. I saw him draw a pair of short blades from his belt and leap onto the bird’s back, driving the weapons into its flesh.

I drew a deep breath of relief and then turned to try to pull the spear out of the dead bird next to me. It took all of my strength to yank it free, but I had to get his weapon back to him. Those short blades forced him to close in with the creatures instead of keeping him out of biting range.

I had barely managed to pry it free when I looked up and saw two of the creatures jump on his back at once. His companions turned to pry them off and stab them to death, but as they were in mid-motion, one of the birds sank its teeth right through his scale-armor and into his arm.

I screamed as if I had been bitten myself. Blind with anger, I ran forward, only vaguely aware I was holding the spear in front of me in a desperate charge. The men made short work of one of the creatures, but the one with its teeth in his arm hung on doggedly as he shouted and stabbed at it with his good hand. Forcing myself past hesitation, I ran smack into it, spearhead first.

Its teeth popped free of his flesh as it squealed. Dekkir immediately turned as I pinned it to the ground with the spear and drove his knife into its throat.

The air was suddenly quiet as the other creatures fled into the underbrush. I looked around, getting my bearings. One of the Grogs was bleeding, and two guards lay dead. About half a dozen others appeared to be nursing wounds besides Dekkir. We had won, but it had cost us.

I let go of the spear and turned to him. “Are you all right?”

He grinned, panting as he struggled to stanch the bleeding wound in his arm with his other hand. “You have survived and are unhurt. Because of this, yes. I am fine.”

That night, wounds tended, he lay resting in the infirmary sedan with his father and the other injured. I sat outside, alone on the bench, as we moved along through the dark. Thinking of his exhausted smile as he had seen I was safe, I felt tears fill my eyes again. He deserved something from me in return for his devotion and all he had done. But all I could feel when I thought of him was guilt, stress, and that smothering feeling of being trapped. I asked myself again as I rode through the dark, weeping, What’s wrong with me?





CHAPTER 8 / GRACE

“The high chieftain is resting comfortably.” Neyilla glided toward us across the polished hardwood floor, her silver-gray robes rustling slightly. Her hair was very white and was pulled back from her high, olive-skinned forehead in an elaborate mass of braids. “Now that I have him stabilized, I can have a look at the medicine your mentor Dr. Stirling gave you.”