Page 68 of Xara and the Xenobeast

The Graxlin pups huddled in the back alcove where she’d told them to stay, their bioluminescent markings dimmed to barely visible pulses. The smallest one—the one she’d named Dot—kept trying to peek out, curious despite the danger.

“Stay back,” she whispered, her voice firm but gentle. “Remember what we practiced.”

The pup chirped softly and retreated.

Her heart hammered against her ribs. The Xenobeast had been gone too long. The plan was for him to engage the Zarkari forces in the jungle, using the traps they’d set together, while she defended their home. But with each passing minute, fear gnawed at her resolve.

What if he didn’t come back?

She pushed the thought away. He would return. He always did.

A faint click from the outer tunnel snapped her to attention. Not the heavy, deliberate tread of the Xenobeast. Something lighter. Cautious.

Someone was inside their perimeter.

Xara grabbed the makeshift spear they’d crafted from salvaged metal and indigenous wood. The Tal’shai had treated the tip with a paralytic toxin—not lethal, but effective. She positioned herself between the tunnel entrance and the alcove where the pups hid.

“Stay silent,” she breathed to the pups. “No matter what.”

The footsteps grew closer. A shadow moved across the wall of the tunnel—humanoid but wrong somehow, bulkier around the shoulders and head. Armor, she realized. One of the Zarkari soldiers.

The figure emerged into the dim light of the inner chamber. The trooper was encased in sleek black armor, face hidden behind a reflective visor. A weapon that looked like a cross between a rifle and a harpoon was clutched in gloved hands.

“Target acquired,” the trooper said, voice mechanical through the helmet’s filter. “Civilian female. Indigenous fauna present.”

Xara’s grip tightened on her spear. “You’re trespassing.”

The trooper tilted their head, as if surprised she’d spoken. “Surrender peacefully. Commander Vask requires your presence.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

The trooper raised their weapon. “Compliance is not optional.”

Xara’s mind raced. The heat stones were behind the trooper now, useless. The spear would be ineffective against that armor. But she had one advantage—she knew this cave. Every unstable ledge, every loose rock.

“You know what he is, don’t you?” she said, taking a careful step to her left. “The one you call the Xenobeast.”

The trooper followed her movement. “A failed weapon. A defective asset.”

“He’s more than that.” Another step. The trooper matched it. Good. “He chose to be more.”

“Irrelevant. You will come with me now.”

Xara took one more step, positioning herself directly beneath a section of ceiling where mineral deposits had weakened the stone. The trooper stood exactly where she needed them—beneath the most unstable part.

“I don’t think so.”

She hurled her spear—not at the trooper, but at the ceiling above them. The metal tip struck with a sharp crack, dislodging a cascade of rocks. The trooper fired reflexively, the shot going wide as the first rocks struck their helmet.

Xara dove for cover as more of the ceiling gave way. A cloud of dust filled the chamber, and the trooper’s startled cry was cut short by the impact of falling stone.

When the dust settled, the trooper lay half-buried under rubble, their weapon pinned beneath a boulder. They were still moving, struggling to free themselves.

Xara didn’t waste time. She grabbed one of the heat stones with a protective cloth and approached. The trooper managed to free one arm and reached for a sidearm at their hip.

She slammed the heat stone against the exposed joint between helmet and chest plate. The superheated rock sizzled through the protective fabric, and the trooper screamed—a sound that was all too human despite the mechanical filter.

With a violent jerk, the trooper dislodged enough rubble to free their torso. They lunged for Xara, catching her ankle and pulling her down. She fell hard, the breath knocked from her lungs.

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