Page 62 of Taken to Heimo
She beats a fist lamely on my back and I hear shuffling behind me. When I glance to my right, I see she’s holding the sword in both her hands. She’s put the prayer mat behind her. She glances up at me.
“Your way, huh?”
I nod. “My way.”
She huffs, “My way is so much better.”
My eyes lock on the two Oosa rolling into the space, still wrapped in fusion chains.Just my xoking luck.Apart from these two, the Niahhorru, the Avmar — a long, reptilian creature with an impossible-to-crack carapace and eight long, taloned legs — and the Egama — a one-eyed giant with plates covering most of his bare, moss-colored skin — are the obvious standouts.
But there’s also a pack of four death hounds, a flying Kato and a robotic, fanged Tevalope that looks like it was engineered by the Sky that would be a danger to underestimate.
The rest are creatures that look as if they were brought in here specifically for punishment, because they are too skinny and ill-equipped to pose a threat.
“What’s your plan, oh mighty battle strategist?”
I laugh at that.Laugh. At a time like this. “Since when did you get so bloodthirsty?”
She doesn’t look up at me as she says, “Since I found out I’d been blessed with a Xiveri mate and for whatever outrageous reason, that mate happens to be you.”
My heart explodes. Just the one. And it feels so xoking beautiful. “You’re beautiful,” I tell her. “May’reeme.”
She glances up at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Have you lost your mind?”
Hexa, every piece of it. “Yess.”
She opens her mouth, but before she can tell me she’s thrilled to be my wife, a giddy xoking Eshmiri floats into the center of the ring while the opponents are lead around its perimeter by their chains. The Tevalope on my left. The death hounds on my right. At least neither will be interested in Svera.
The shrill voice of the Eshmiri projects through the dome, translations fluttering in about a thousand different tongues through the various translators worn by the spectators. They are all fists and thrashing tentacles and skin in as many shades as there are colors in the universe.
I don’t know what he says, but I can see the attention of the spectators shift to me and my Xiveri mate. I pull her a little further forward, away from the spectators throwing things at us.
“Krisxox,” she whispers at my back as the Eshmiri continues to prattle on. “What is he saying?”
“Nothing.”
“Is it bad? It sounds bad. This looks bad,” she whispers.
I huff out laugh, still feeling buoyed. “Faith, Svera.”
“Verax.”
“Isn’t that what your Tri-God teaches you?”
I don’t dare break my concentration, not even for the draw of looking at her and crushing my mouth to her lips. She hesitates, then says softly, “Hexa.”
“Then have faith in your god. He will not allow me to fail you. And neither will mine. Whether or not you believe in her, Xana has fought on your side this entire time.”
The buzzer sounds. The thunk of chains releasing follows moments after. The pack of death hounds splits — half the pack lunging for the Tevalope while the other two descend on the thin creature to their other side and tearing the thing to pieces.
“I’m not so sure about the Tri-God right now,” Svera whispers as I step forward and brace my feet and watch the giant launch into a sprint, heading straight for me. “But I have faith in you.”
17
Krisxox
A flare of light. A flash of green. The giant dives into the ground as I unleash the full spray of canon fire at his chest. His fist flails out and in order to avoid its strike, I step into the acidic spray of the Tevalope, which has pieces of death hound dripping from the twin fangs jutting from the roof of its maw. I let the heat scald me as I sprint up the back of the fallen giant’s left leg and plunge my sword through his neck.
His arm is stretched forward, hand closed around Svera’s feet. She stabs down with her sword, missing by a mile.Hexa, the carpet would be more useful to her.
