Page 12 of Caldar
“I’m not cold.”
She shivered, he understood, from fear, but did not say this. It did not require saying. Instead, he said, “The fabric restricts my movement.”
“Oh, you want to show off.” Despite her teasing tone, she clutched the jacket around her.
He rolled his shoulders because perhaps he did want to show off. His tattoos burned with the need to protect Sonia. He felt the fire lick its way up his arms. He did not bear many markings—symbols of belonging and victories—but the few had had, they burned for Sonia.
He crouched down at the refreshment table. He lifted the white tablecloth. “Hide. Do not move until I return.”
Sonia crawled under. With the cloth lowered, no one could spot his hidden mate.
Now he had work to do.
From his pocket, he retrieved the collapsible staff. With a press of the button, it expanded to a full-length staff. The battery hummed to life. Blue energy sparked at the ends. When the staff made contact, it would deliver a shock along with a savage blow.
At least until the power ran out.
Caldar gave the staff a test swing. Constructed of a durable alloy, it had a pleasing feel in his hands. The balance was not ideal, which was the drawback of a collapsible design. He required stealth and could not walk through the ship unnoticed with full wizard weapons strapped to his back.
A Suhlik in matte black armor pointed to him. No doubt the soldier communicated his location to the others. With his tattoos exposed and glowing, there was no doubt who he was: a Mahdfel warrior defending his mate.
Two soldiers approached. Two he could handle. Three would be tricky. Four difficult.
It did not matter. He only needed to create a distraction to allow the passengers to flee.
Caldar adjusted his stance, keeping his limbs loose. Several witty comments came to mind, but he could not move past the irritation that the Suhlik ruined a lovely moment with Sonia.
“Do you know how hard I worked to get my female to dance with me? I am very upset,” Caldar said.
“Surrender,” the nearest Suhlik said, his voice distorted by the helmet. “Resisting only delays the inevitable.”
Such arrogance. Caldar knew what would happen if the Suhlik captured him. If not killed immediately, he would be taken to a facility and experimented upon. The Suhlik regarded the Mahdfel’s freedom a minor inconvenience to their research.
The facilities were disgusting. Caldar had been to several and had even rescued the being who he considered his son.
“Interesting. You make a compelling argument. Alternatively,” he said, falling into a defensive stance with the staff, “fuck off.”
Another explosion rocked the ship. The lights flickered. Using the momentary distraction, Caldar swept the staff low. The rod connected with the closest soldier's knees, flaring with electric shock. He doubted the charge would be strong enough to compromise the armor. A novice mistake. He needed to fight smarter than the Suhlik minions and aim for the seams in the armor.
The soldier raised his rifle at Caldar, aiming.
Projectile weapons were dangerous on a vessel. A spark could cause a fire. A puncture could cause a hull breach. There were too many lives on board to risk.
Caldar smacked the staff against the rifle. It shot wide.
“You must be directly out of the creche,” Caldar said, smacking the staff against the male. “No. Projectiles. On. A. Spaceship.” Each word was delivered with a blow. They were not hard enough to damage the soldier in any way, but it did enrage him.
Caldar spun the staff and cleared a path to dart away. A soldier grabbed the staff, his gloved hands immune to the shock, and yanked the staff away. Not pausing to fight over the staff, Caldar jumped on a table and ran. He kicked food and beverages out of his way. Projectiles followed him. Broken ceramics sprayed upward. Shards dug into the back of his calves.
He leaped onto the next table and continued to run. As long as he was the target, the passengers were safe. Sonia was safe.
At the end of the table, he grabbed a silver tray laden with beverages. The cups went flying as he swung the tray directly into the nearest soldier’s helmet. Liquid drenched the male. Using this distraction, Caldar grabbed the rifle.
“Sloppy. You failed to use the biolock feature.” Caldar pressed the barrel of the rifle to the male’s abdomen. “I thought such short-sighted mistakes were engineered out of your genes.”
The Suhlik growled a reply, but Caldar did not care to listen. He pulled the trigger. Equipped with armor-piercing capabilities, the blast tore a hole through the armor. The soldier crumpled to the ground.
Caldar gestured to an approaching soldier. The thrill of battle sang in his blood. As much as he was an outcast among his people, he was still a Mahdfel. He was made for this.
