Page 20 of Arresting the Warlord

“Gotta be faster than that, bitch.”Launching myself off the roof, I landed on the Testavorr’s back and sank my fangs into her neck.

With a shriek of rage, she tried to dislodge me.

I dug my claws in and hung on.

The Testavorr fell into the creek and rolled, trapping me beneath her. I bucked and thrashed in a desperate attempt to free myself.

“You, I will eat slowly,” the Testavorr gloated.

A tendril of fear crawled along my gut as my lungs began to burn, and black spots danced in my vision. Holding on to consciousness with a grim determination, I reverted to my human form and managed to slip away. My head broke free of the water and I sucked in a lungful of air.

“What are you?”The Testavorr lunged at me.

I dove to one side and her lethal teeth missed my right foot by an inch.“A shaman.”I hurled a lightning bolt at the gaping wound on her neck.

The creature screeched in agony.

Poof! Jake materialized in the water, grabbed me, and teleported. We appeared on the ledge above the Chee’s hogan.

Crack!A blinding red energy bolt incinerated the Testavorr.

I mentally scanned the area. “God, I hope that was the last one.”

“Me too. We need to get you some battle armor and proper weapons,” Jake said.

“Armor like yours?”

“Yep, only the best for my partner.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “You have battle armor in my size?”

“We do. After you’re outfitted, we can check on your father.” He opened his arms. “Let’s go, buttercup, we have a murdering bastard to catch.”

The need to see my father outweighed my reluctance to visit a Coletti warbird. I stepped into his arms.

Chapter Four

There was a flash of black and we were standing in the Coletti version of a conference room. One wall was covered with instruments of death. Swords, knives, laser pistols, rifles, war hammers and what looked like a variety of thermite grenades. The opposite wall held a huge view screen and an assortment of scanners.

My skin prickled as tremendous power crawled over me. Two men occupied the long platinum conference table. My gaze fell on a menacing looking Coletti warrior sitting next to General Jones. Man, he gave Jake a run for his money in the sexy as hell department. He also looked like someone you never wanted to piss off. His black battle suit emphasized his massive frame, and, on his right arm, he wore a large gold warrior’s bracelet with an elaborate design. An etched gold headband held back his gray warriors’ braids. Holy hell! That was Zarek, the Coletti Overlord! For a split second, I was tempted to zap him with a lightning bolt.

Zarek smiled at me.

It was as if he could read my mind.

Zarek’s smile got bigger.

Shit! He could. “Thank you for helping my father,” I said diplomatically.

“The Coletti Empire takes care of its people.” Zarek’s gaze roved over me. “Take yourpartnerto sick bay, Jake, and have Shrek check her over.”

Jake did the fist-to-chest salute. “Yes, my lord.”

“Will I be able to see my father?”

Zarek nodded. “You will. After you have been cleared by Shrek, we need to talk about your bloodline.”

Fuck. “Not much to tell.”

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