Page 43 of Alien's Eternal Mate

I threw his body at the next closest Raider. My attack had been so sudden they had yet to even react. His hand went for the silver tube at his side, but I grabbed his wrist and shattered it like glass.

One of the others drew their weapon. With a shout of alarm, I turned about, putting the Masari with the broken wrist before me like a shield.

A buzzing crackle raised the hair on the back of my neck. The body I held before me caught on fire. The Masari screamed, his body wracked with spasms. Steam issued from his throat as his scream turned to a mere gurgle.

I kicked the dead man in his chest, hard enough to send him flying into the Masari who’d just fired at me. Both of them went down in a heap. I caught hold of another Masari who rushed me from the side. I twisted my torso and flipped him head first into the support pillar of an arcing bridge.

With a growl, I leaped on the Masari who had shot his fellow Raider just as he disentangled himself. I ripped the tube from his hands and planted my foot on his throat.

“You should not have come here.”

I pulled the trigger stud, and he turned into a masari-shaped inferno. I had to remove my foot before I got burned as well.

I broke the lock on the cage and bellowed at those trapped inside.

“Get out of here! Go to the caves!”

I turned away from them and tore the flight harness off one of the Raider’s backs. I had not had much practice with the devices. The last time I tried, I cracked my noggin on the ceiling in my home.

I hoped necessity would be the mother of adeptness as I secured the wings across my back. I launched myself into the air with a prodigal leap, pouring my energy into the wings to achieve flight.

I rose into the air, much too fast. I shot upward like a rocket, the ground dwindling below me.

It’s just like the spear. It’s going to drain me dry at this rate. I have to control it.

I had one thought. If I failed, then Arael might be hurt. I imagined the energy passing through a tiny valve before entering the flight harness.

My speed diminished, and soon I came to a hovering halt. The village’s flying island had dwindled below me until the raiders and deafening warriors appeared as tiny smudges.

I stopped putting energy into the harness. My body dropped like a rock. I stretched myself out like a missile to cut through the air all the faster.

Winds buffeted me, knocking me off course. I put energy into the harness, using it to keep myself level. I squeezed the trigger stud of the silver tube. A beam of angry red light lanced down and burned half of a raider company out of the sky. Their perfect V formation turned into screaming chaos.

I shot past their line and plunged to the ground. Panicking, I poured energy into the harness. My descent slowed, but I knew I would still impact. I twisted myself head over heels so I landed feet first.

Once I struck the ground, I tucked and rolled, eating up the excess momentum. I came to my feet, cursing as the tube in my hands sparked and grew too hot to hold. I dropped it on the street and examined my flight harness.

Torn, but I think I can make it work.

The silver tube emitted a high pitched whine, which grew in volume and intensity. The metal casing turned red, blurring the air with heat.

“Oh shit.”

I launched myself away from the tube. A sharp crack, and then it felt as if someone beat the bottoms of my feet with a steel girder.

The explosion kicked me into a wild spin. Agony stole my breath, and I could not hope to understand where the ground lay in the kaleidoscopic madness of spins my world had become.

I slammed into something, and my vision grew dim. I barely felt it when I crashed to the ground a moment later. I’d flown into the side of the Sage’s tower.

“Arael,” I muttered. I managed to get one foot under me, and then the other. I stood up and took a couple of steps.

The next thing I knew, the ground rose up and slammed into my face. I felt the smooth, well worn stones beneath my fingers and knew that if I could feel, I still lived. If I still lived, I could get to my feet and find Arael.

I struggled to rise, and the darkness edging out my vision washed in like a tsunami.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring up at the sky rather than face down. I moved, trying to see if the harness could still function enough to let me fly, but I no longer wore it.

“What’s going on? Where am I?”

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