Page 17 of The Alien Warrior's Heart

Zar took out a box that was made from the same technology as his zapten. He pressed his thumb on the cover and tiny gears began whirring to reveal his supplies.

The human leaned forward, staring at him. At first, he assumed she was in awe, but impatience snapped through her eyes. “Hoora uhp!”

Zar took note of the urgency in her words, but he did not let it push him. The Heronas would not be able to fly their crafts in. If they gave chase, they would not get as far on foot as Zar could.

They had a moment to stop. He grabbed the torch, lighted the flame and held it up. Purple fire chased the darkness and caused the human to draw back. Lifting her hand, she shaded her eyes from the blaze.

Zar watched her and, for a moment, he was struck immobile. In the prison, he had not given himself the opportunity to truly observe her face. Now, he could not turn away.

The creature was stunning. Her hair was plaited back in three thick rows, allowing him a perfect view of her brown skin, her high cheekbones, a pert nose, and two dark lips that begged for his own. His heras throbbed erratically.

The female swung away from him with a huff and peered at Garbas in his portable form. She pressed her fingers against top of the box and then glanced up. “Diziz cul, buh cun weh plez lev?”

Zar handed her the light and gestured for her to follow him. Despite his attempts at focus, he kept peering at the human from the corner of his eye.

She smelled like a sweet Plutonian dessert. Like something hearty and filling.

Or perhaps he had lost his mind. Spending two sun rotations next to his own vomit might have made him desperate for a change of fragrance.

Zar stopped abruptly at the mouth of the cave and peered out at the terrain. The female tried to edge past him.

“Do not move,” he told her. Taking the sword from her hands, he stepped carefully through the exits. His eyes scoured the skies, searching for any Heronas hovercrafts that might be lurking nearby.

Stars gleamed in the darkness.

Silence met his trained ears.

The Heronas were gone.

He returned to the human female and nodded. She muttered words in her earthen tongue and then she smiled. Her eyes glittered likeethereamarble. It rivaled the sparkling of the stars and made his heras lodge in his throat. Made it pound so violently that he felt he would drop to his knees.

Zar had succeeded in escaping the Heronas prison but something told him, he was now face-to-face with something far more dangerous.

Seven

Simone

She likedto be prepared for events. In any situation, Simone showed up on time. And by ‘on time’, she was there early. Half-an-hour earlier. Just in case things didn’t go according to plan.

Simone didn’t believe in crying after the fact. Crying was for the weak. For people who didn’t prepare and plan ahead. Maybe if they did, they wouldn’t be in a mess.

But now she wished she hadn’t subscribed to such a harsh philosophy. How was she supposed to prepare for an alien abduction?

Right now, she felt like she was spiraling.

Simonehatedthat lack of control. She hated that she couldn’t bring order to this chaos. And the only person she could depend on wasn’t even really aperson.

She stared at the blue alien as he brought his metal dinosaur to land in a thick grove of trees. A small creek ran nearby, producing a happy, gurgling sound effect.

Two moons sank in the horizon. They shed a purple cast that speared the darkness and dispelled the stars. Day would break soon. And then where would she be? What would she do?

It wasn’t like this alien warrior had volunteered to be her protector. They’d broken out of prison together. Big whup. He probably had things to do. Aliens to see.

She only had herself to depend on.

Always.

She needed to make some plans, but to do that, she needed to communicate with this big guy.

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