Page 140 of Sohut's Protection

That gray blur moving down the wall leaped into the air, latching itself onto one of the guard’s faces, its razor-sharp teeth sinking in.

It took her a moment to realize that the terror ripping the guard’s face off was her beloved pet. Wawa screeched, his sound of rage echoing down the corridor.

Behind him, Sohut was making quick work of the other guard and the guard tumbled off the platform, falling not far to the ground in front of her.

Its shock rod skated across the ground to the side and the guard groaned, not dead.

Her feet moved fast, fueled by the adrenaline pumping in her veins, and she grabbed the shock rod.

There was a narrow depression on the handle and the way she held it, her palm pressed against the area. Just by chance, the rod zinged to life.

She could almost feel the power traveling up her arm.

Sohut moved quickly, activating the door just as the guard on the ground raised his hand.

She saw it at the moment. There was a square that looked like some kind of radio-device in his hand.

No.

He wasn’t about to send a message and fuck everything up.

“You!” she screamed as she spun and hit the guard in the chest with the glowing end of his weapon.

The guard’s body shuddered as if he was having a seizure and only the smell of burnt flesh filling the air made her stop her attack.

When she lifted the rod, the guard wasn’t moving and she stared at him, her body trembling even though she felt numb.

Strong arms surrounded her waist, and she realized Sohut had swooped her up in one motion and was rushing toward the opening door.

Vaguely, she realized he grabbed the robe as he ran and that Wawa jumped from the platform, landing smoothly on his shoulder.

“They’re going to know something happened. We have to get out of here.”

As if she was going to resist that.

The next few moments were a dash to freedom as her heart beat in her throat.

The door didn’t open fully. It paused with a gap just big enough for them to squeeze through as a shrill alarm echoed down the long corridor.

Then they were on the run.

Outside, the air was clearer and as they ran up the incline she wondered how Sohut was able to run with such speed without pausing for a breath.

He only stopped once to set her down and briskly slip the robe over her shoulders, pulling the hood over her head in the process.

At the same time, he deactivated whatever gadget he was using for his disguise.

Seeing him again, Cleo’s heart skipped a beat.

Wawa made a low sound and crawled over to her, transferring himself from Sohut’s shoulders to sit on her neck, under the cover of her hood.

There, he rubbed his head against the side of her face and she had just enough time to pet him before they were off again, weaving through streets she didn’t know the name of, alleys she’d never remember, until they were in the middle of a throng of shopping aliens.

All the while, she felt as if there were eyes on her back, but she kept her head down, trusting the one person she could trust at that moment.

Her love.

Sohut.

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