Radan’s hired assassins had found us. “Don’t you hate it when company arrives unexpectedly?”
“It does shows a certain lack of respect,” Jaylan concurred, checking the readouts on his communications bracelet.
The ground rumbled beneath us, and with an ear-shattering boom, the earth erupted, spewing flames and smoke thousands of feet into the lavender sky.
Tiko and Madal vanished into the rocks.
“Smart cats. The iridium in the boulders will shield us from the assassins’ sensors.” Jaylan rose with a lethal grace and wrapped his arms around me. There was a fleeting second of blackness, and poof. We had teleported a good twenty miles. We were standing in a forest of mustard-colored stone spires. A millennium of sandstorms had eroded the rocks into a fantasy of arches and weirdly balanced boulders.
“There’s a cavern up ahead. We’ll take shelter there until my ship arrives,” Jaylan announced and climbed up a rocky obstacle course.
I trailed after him, gawking at toadstool-shaped rocks and sculptured buttes that marched like sentries down a canyon. The sizzling caress of the sun was turning our hike into a nightmare. What little breeze there was felt like it came straight from hell.
Wiping the sweat off my face, I asked, “How long will it take them to realize we’re not dead?”
“Once they scan the ruins, they’ll know we escaped.”
The smell of rotten eggs slapped me in the face. “Ugh, what is that?”
“This is a geothermal area.” Jaylan extended his hand and helped me up a chaotic mass of tumbled stones.
I paused at the top and gasped as a geyser shot water high into the air. “Whoa! Just like Old Faithful.”
“Not quite. If you get caught in the spray, you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.”
“Gee golly, you take me to the best places.”
Jaylan gave me the evil eye. “Does that mouth ever stop?”
“Listen, you Neanderthal, you picked me. I have a tendency to become a motormouth when I’m scared shitless. Deal with it, or find another mate.”
“You? Scared?”
“Yeah. Scared. Do you think this is easy for me? It’s not. I’m struggling to cope with you, Zarek, and this whacked-out alien world.”
“I will protect you with my life.” Jaylan pulled me into his arms and kissed me gently. “Never doubt that.”
He was definitely a keeper. I framed his face with my hands and planted a hot one on his mouth. “Good. ’Cause it’s the man’s job to kill creepy-crawlies.”
A puzzled frown creased Jaylan’s brow. “Creepy-crawlies?”
“That.” I pointed at an amber-colored critter skittering across the sand. It was the size of a Saint Bernard and looked like a scorpion had mated with a spider.
“A Barat. There’s a similar species on Joroco called Ovas.” He pulled his laser pistol and incinerated it.
“What? No sword?”
“Barats are incredibly fast, and it’s too damned hot to fight.”
I grinned at him. “Wuss. It’s only a hundred and thirty in the shade.”
Jaylan nipped my nose. “And you smell like a week-old corpse.”
“God, you’re such a romantic.”
A throaty roar echoed off the rocks.
“That’s not a sand rat.”
“A male Pantos on the hunt.” Jaylan’s predatory gaze surveyed the rocks.
My Siren senses shrieked a warning. “Yay. We have a couple of cats sneaking up behind us. Bet they think we’re on the dinner menu.”
“Or they could be tracking Tiko and her son.”
“She said her pack had been killed.”
“Any unmated male would pursue her.”
“Would Madal be accepted into the new pack?” Please say yes.
“No. He would be eaten.”
“Damn, I was afraid of that. Ain’t gonna happen on my watch.”
“If a challenger kills the current alpha, he eats all the cubs to ensure only those with his DNA survive. It’s a common practice in the Pantos culture.”
“That’s pretty damned barbaric. Those monsters aren’t getting anywhere near the kid.”
Jaylan raised his eyes heavenward as if
“It does shows a certain lack of respect,” Jaylan concurred, checking the readouts on his communications bracelet.
The ground rumbled beneath us, and with an ear-shattering boom, the earth erupted, spewing flames and smoke thousands of feet into the lavender sky.
Tiko and Madal vanished into the rocks.
“Smart cats. The iridium in the boulders will shield us from the assassins’ sensors.” Jaylan rose with a lethal grace and wrapped his arms around me. There was a fleeting second of blackness, and poof. We had teleported a good twenty miles. We were standing in a forest of mustard-colored stone spires. A millennium of sandstorms had eroded the rocks into a fantasy of arches and weirdly balanced boulders.
“There’s a cavern up ahead. We’ll take shelter there until my ship arrives,” Jaylan announced and climbed up a rocky obstacle course.
I trailed after him, gawking at toadstool-shaped rocks and sculptured buttes that marched like sentries down a canyon. The sizzling caress of the sun was turning our hike into a nightmare. What little breeze there was felt like it came straight from hell.
Wiping the sweat off my face, I asked, “How long will it take them to realize we’re not dead?”
“Once they scan the ruins, they’ll know we escaped.”
The smell of rotten eggs slapped me in the face. “Ugh, what is that?”
“This is a geothermal area.” Jaylan extended his hand and helped me up a chaotic mass of tumbled stones.
I paused at the top and gasped as a geyser shot water high into the air. “Whoa! Just like Old Faithful.”
“Not quite. If you get caught in the spray, you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.”
“Gee golly, you take me to the best places.”
Jaylan gave me the evil eye. “Does that mouth ever stop?”
“Listen, you Neanderthal, you picked me. I have a tendency to become a motormouth when I’m scared shitless. Deal with it, or find another mate.”
“You? Scared?”
“Yeah. Scared. Do you think this is easy for me? It’s not. I’m struggling to cope with you, Zarek, and this whacked-out alien world.”
“I will protect you with my life.” Jaylan pulled me into his arms and kissed me gently. “Never doubt that.”
He was definitely a keeper. I framed his face with my hands and planted a hot one on his mouth. “Good. ’Cause it’s the man’s job to kill creepy-crawlies.”
A puzzled frown creased Jaylan’s brow. “Creepy-crawlies?”
“That.” I pointed at an amber-colored critter skittering across the sand. It was the size of a Saint Bernard and looked like a scorpion had mated with a spider.
“A Barat. There’s a similar species on Joroco called Ovas.” He pulled his laser pistol and incinerated it.
“What? No sword?”
“Barats are incredibly fast, and it’s too damned hot to fight.”
I grinned at him. “Wuss. It’s only a hundred and thirty in the shade.”
Jaylan nipped my nose. “And you smell like a week-old corpse.”
“God, you’re such a romantic.”
A throaty roar echoed off the rocks.
“That’s not a sand rat.”
“A male Pantos on the hunt.” Jaylan’s predatory gaze surveyed the rocks.
My Siren senses shrieked a warning. “Yay. We have a couple of cats sneaking up behind us. Bet they think we’re on the dinner menu.”
“Or they could be tracking Tiko and her son.”
“She said her pack had been killed.”
“Any unmated male would pursue her.”
“Would Madal be accepted into the new pack?” Please say yes.
“No. He would be eaten.”
“Damn, I was afraid of that. Ain’t gonna happen on my watch.”
“If a challenger kills the current alpha, he eats all the cubs to ensure only those with his DNA survive. It’s a common practice in the Pantos culture.”
“That’s pretty damned barbaric. Those monsters aren’t getting anywhere near the kid.”
Jaylan raised his eyes heavenward as if
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