Page 67 of Alien's Eternal Mate

I let out a low, angry growl and attempted a more cautious approach. I thrust with my spear high, then low, then high again, a combo Pageus had shown me.

Jark parried the first two blows, and on the third he knocked my spear out wide, leaving my body exposed. I yelped and jerked myself to the side. His blade scored a long, bloody line along my tricep, joining a multitude of cuts and slashes.

Now Jark pressed his advantage, slashing and thrusting and keeping up the pressure on me. I gave ground, unsure of which way was up or down. Something smacked into my back, and I realized he’d pushed me all the way back to the edge of one of the flying rocks.

“It’s over for you now, stripling. When you arrive in the underworld, be sure to tell them that Grhoma Jark sent you--”

Something flashed across his face, a red light beaming into his eyes. Jark cried out, shutting his eyes from the visual assault.

I reacted on instinct as much as conscious thought. I hurled my spear, letting it fly as a deadly missile. The steel tip caught Jark in the groin, coming out at an angle behind his right thigh.

Jark clamped his teeth together and issued a hissing susurrus from his blood flecked lips. He grasped the shaft, attempting to pull the spear back out of his body. He rose into the air higher as he poured his life energy into his sky breaker harness. The dying sun reflected through the drops of blood, turning them into glittering jewels.

“You…you’ve…”

He sputtered, eyes wide and accusing.

“You cheat,” he gasped.

Jark yanked the spear free at last, letting out a raucous howl of agony as it came loose. The spear fell from his nerveless fingers, tumbling end over end toward the distant ground below. Jark himself rose higher, shooting up as if he sought to rival the daystar itself.

His ascent slowed, until he hovered for the briefest of moments. Then he plummeted like a meteor, falling toward the verdant green below.

I watched him as he fell, then remembered my injuries. I needed to stop the bleeding before I did the same move as Jark.

I flew up to the surface of Starlost village. My people came together, swarming me with cheering affection. One of them touched my chest, then recoiled in horror as their hand came back warm and sticky with my blood.

“The chief is injured! Bring a physicker, quickly!”

“I’m really all right,” I said, trying to allay their fears. “Pageus, we must keep watch on Jark’s forces, to make sure they will not attack…”

No one seemed to hear me. I accepted the medical attention, sitting down on the edge of the town well to receive treatment. Above the chaos of dancing, jubilant Masari, I spotted an island of calm.

Arael. She stood at the top of the hill, a smile tugging the sides of her mouth. I smiled back at her, and then she pointed a tiny cylinder at me. A red light flashed on my chest.

My mouth fell open. I looked up at Arael. She winked at me.

She saved my life. I owe her literally everything.

Just as I relaxed, Pageus bellowed above the tumult.

“Jark’s warriors! They come!”

SEVENTEEN

CARTER

“Iwas afraid of this,” I mumbled to Pageus as Jark’s Overtaken host descended on our village. They had us outnumbered three to one, at least, even with the Shunned bolstering our forces.

“No need to panic yet. They are not on an attack vector.”

I failed to see how they would need one. The flywheel’s electromagnetic pulse saved our forces the last time we tangled with the Overtaken tribe.

This time, we had no such trick. Nearly all of his warriors wielded a silver tube, compared to fifty percent of our own. There was no getting around the fact the Overtaken had better equipment overall, and not just limited to weaponry. Their armor looked thicker and better contoured to their bodies. The sky breaker harnesses they wore had a sleek, streamlined look to them, opposed to the kit-bashed appearance of our own gear.

I had no doubt that my warriors would fight hard and well. I also had no doubt about the eventual outcome.

This is one of those moments that great leaders face, a moment of truth. Only, I’m not a great leader. I’m just a scientist trapped in someone else’s body.

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