Page 73 of Zalis
“Why do you treat me with such hostility?” Ren asked. “I have been intimidated and browbeaten by males more frightening than you because I am small and I bested them all. Do not be deceived by my stature.”
Zalis nearly laughed. “No.”
That was clearly not the correct response. Ren took a step forward, hands clenched in a fist.
“Because you are a liar, Ivon Ren,” Zalis clarified. There. It did not erase the male’s anger, but he felt lighter for the admission. “I do not know how you convinced Emmarae to forgive you, what lies you spun, and I do not care to know. You will not speak to my mate. You will not speakofmy mate nor look at her. I will not have you whispering your poison to her.”
Somehow, during his speech, the paneling buckled and distorted under his grip. He ripped it from the wall, metal tearing in jagged strips around the screws. Typical. Inferior material, failing under the slightest stress. The mining company used the cheapest materials and achieved the expected results. Wet cardboard would last longer.
“Thisis why I am with you and not with my mate. I must rebuild this substandard moon,” Zalis snarled and tossed the abused panel to the ground.
Ren glanced from the Zalis to the panel and back, clearly unimpressed by the random destruction. “No one is perfect. I have made mistakes, that is true. The question of forgiveness concerns only my mate and myself.”
Tension crackled in the air.
“A sanctimonious attitude is a dangerous thing,” Ren said. “Fling too many accusations and eventually people will look at your own misdeeds. What will they find?”
A great many things. Necessary things that he would do again.
Zalis sniffed, smoke tickling his nose. That was not tension. That was an electrical fire.
“Extinguisher. Now.” He hauled himself back inside. Smoke filled the tunnel, stinging his eyes.
Ren tossed up the extinguishers, both of them, and climbed in. “Tear off the panels and I will spray. Quickly. If the fire spreads to the junction?—”
“I am aware.” The network for this building would be ruined. The entire electrical system would be destroyed. All his work—days of frustrating work—gone.
Zalis removed the panels, not bothering with tools and electing to rip them away. The panels would have to be replaced but speed was the key to success.
Ren sprayed as Zalis stripped away the panels. One by one, they worked their way down the tunnel to locate the source of the fire and extinguish it.
Zalis examined the culprit: an overloaded circuit. As labeled, it should have been able to handle the power flowing through it. Curious. The circuit was either faulty or lesser quality materials were used during construction and mislabeled. He held the circuit up to the light, noting the melting plastic.
A powerful blow in the center of his back sent him forward. His horns slammed into the panel, crunching on impact.
“You hit me,” he said, brushing bits of plastic from his hair.
“I forgot about the horns.” Ren swung the extinguisher.
Anger simmered inside him. Being a target was not a new experience. Large as a child and even larger as an adult, the other warriors always set their sights to take him down. Zalis held his own in a fight. He was not upset or ever surprised about being pulled into conflict. What angered him was the indignity of being attacked from behind. The male lacked honor.
Zalis took a step back into the wall to avoid the blow. He grabbed a wrench from the toolbox on the floor, raising it in time to block another swing from the extinguisher. A direct blow would cause no lasting damage beyond minor aches. Two solid blows might break his skull, which he would rather avoid.
Ren’s tail hooked around his foot, throwing his balance off enough that the next swing of the extinguisher caught his jaw.
Static filled his vision and the metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.
Zalis wiped the back of hand across his split lip. “I forgot about the tail.”
This was a proper fight. What happened on Tholla with Niklas had been necessary but satisfying. That male was not a true opponent.
Despite his size, Ren was a worthy adversary. Perhaps because of his size. Always disadvantaged, he had to work harder and be clever with his strategy, which Zalis could respect.
Fighting Ren was a pleasure.
The narrow confines of the maintenance tunnel put Zalis’ superior size and strength at a disadvantage. Ren was fast, true, but they were in such close proximity it did not matter. Ren was always in arm’s reach. It did not matter how slowly Zalis struck or moved to dodge. There was nowhere to go. They moved forward and then immediately back again. Feet slipped in the fire suppressant foam.
Ren swung.
