Page 11 of Possessed By the Alien Guard
“I do not need a sling.”
She stopped rearranging my arm and met my gaze, her lips only centimeters away.Her surprised puff of breath brushed across my skin like a touch, and I suppressed a groan, though it still emerged as a strangled grunt.
The human backed away, her expression uncertain.The animal approached her, and she reached out to stroke its back.
I rose into a crouch, and the sheathed tip of my yedral blade dragged across the ground.After adjusting its angle, I moved forward, scooping my blaster from the ground.Odd that it had come out of its holster.
The human’s eyes darted to the weapon and then to my face, and she flushed.Perhaps it wasn’t quite so odd, after all.
I moved forward, keeping my head tucked low to avoid the irregularities of the rocky ceiling.
She got to her feet and walked ahead, able to stand straight.Her body blocked the light and threw a leaping shadow on the wall.
“Wait, human.”
She spun to face me.“I’m Jones, Lieutenant Jones.”
“I am Fin, a First Guard of the Varool,” I said.“And I will go first.”
“Why?”
I held up my forearm.“Because I have the light and can more carefully assess the terrain.”
“Oh, yeah.Makes sense.”Jones waved me forward.
The cave narrowed toward the back until it became little more than a crack.I turned sideways, determined to proceed as far as possible.
My chest scraped along the wall, protected by my uniform.Then the passage widened, and I stepped through into another cavern.It was larger than the other, the ceiling high enough that I could stand.Specks of quartz and mica reflected light from the walls, and a small stream trickled from a crack in the back wall, hugging close to the stone to disappear into the ground a few meters away.
I shone the light everywhere, but no other exit appeared.“We will make no escape through here.”
Jones sidled around to stand beside me.“My people won’t expect me to check in again until tomorrow.Yours?”
“It will be two days before any alarm is raised,” I said.
The undulate ran past our feet, trotting over to the water and drinking.
Her gaze followed the animal.She licked her lips.“We’re going to be here a while.Do you think it’s safe to drink?”
“Here.”I unclipped the water bottle from my scabbard and handed it to her.
“Thanks!”She grinned at me, all animosity temporarily forgotten.That smile was a punch to the chest.Just as she had on the video, she suddenly looked Varool.My zural heart leapt, beating for its mate.
And when she gazed upon me like that, the thought no longer seemed so outrageous.
