Page 68 of Claimed by the Alien Warrior Triad

“Alert!”I telepath, not wanting to vocalize the words and warn the Scorps ahead of time that we notice them.

Aubrey senses the change in mood instantly as we tense up, drawing our weapons. She steps back – not out of fear, but from the knowledge that she will aid us best by staying out of danger.

The first Scorp appears over a ledge, and rushes towards us with five of its beastly compatriots scuttling along behind. Aubrey draws her gun, but I know she has only eight shots.

“Save those metal arrows!” I yell, not knowing what else to call the things she says will come racing from the point of that tiny metal weapon.

She lowers her gun, as I activate my axe. I run forward to join the fight, and together my blood-brothers and I quickly slaughter the Scorps – moving amidst them like violent dancers, and cleaving them effortlessly with our Orb-Weapons.

Once they’re dead and twitching, we cleave the venom barbs off the Scorps and carefully put them in our pouches. Even Scorp-Blooded, if we’re so much as pricked by those venom-dripping, razor-sharp barbs, we’ll have a terrible few hours of pain, increased strength, and violent rage before the blood works through our system. It’s a trade that is sometimes necessary.

Next, we hunt a firecat. Brigg uses his skills to track one, and it’s easy enough to find in this open and barren terrain.

We corner the creature, and it snarls as it realizes the impossible; that the predator has become prey for more dangerous animals.

I finally cleave the throat of the firecat open, and it falls to the dry dirt, flailing and gurgling.

Aubrey gently pats the dying creature, soothing it. “Thank you for your sacrifice,” she murmurs to the dying lynx, truly grateful. When it is dead and gone, we administer the Scorp venom, picking the veins of the firecat and gentle squeezing the venom in it’s bloodstream. I only hope that it will be enough to affect the monstrous dragon.

We heft up the body of the slaughtered beast, and climb towards the volcano.

Once we stand at the base of the towering, flaming peak, we throw the carcass of the firecat on the ground lay in wait.

Hours pass – but I could have happily waited hours more.

Much later in the day, the scream of the dragon chills me as I hear it waking up. My muscles are sore from standing shock still, but I have no desire to move until we spring the trap and I spring into motion.

Overhead, the sun is a boiling circle, casting heat down, and my throat aches from the acrid smoke of the volcano.

We hide as the great dragon suddenly comes swooshing out from the mouth of the volcano. The ferocious dragon soars up, arcing in a wide circle overhead, and then sees the body of the firecat on the dry, barren dirt.

Take the bait, tyrant beast, take the bait.

With a screech, the great, angry beast swoops down and snatches up the body without even slowing its speed – gulping down the animal eagerly and flying away.

“The venom didn’t work!” Aubrey gasps, watching the dragon beat its mighty wings and rises into the sky. Fear and disappointment is in her voice.

“Patience,” Stryker offers soothingly, holding her arm. Higher and higher the dragon climbs, and each beat of its wings fills me with anticipation.

Higher, you damned creature, higher! Fall to your death like you killed my tribemate, Liam!

High up in the sky, the dragon suddenly dips as it flies, then flails in the air as if in burning agony. The creature’s wings thrash and beat, but it’s as if the huge creature struggles to stay aloft. Then, finally, it comes plummeting down from the sky – before crashing hard into the rocks blow with the force of an explosion.

I hear the snap of its massive wing breaking. In agony and crippled, the dragon tries to get up, then falls again.

We run towards it. I don’t know how long the venom will incapacitate the dragon, but we’ll only have one chance to kill the beast ourselves. It will never fall for the trick of a poisoned carcass again.

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Brigg

There is no fear in my mind as I rush towards the dragon, my Orb-Mace drawn.

It’s still alive, flailing and thrashing, but the Scorp-venom is clearly coursing through its veins. The dragon raises its head weakly, screaming out in agony, and I suddenly understand its pain.

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