Page 9 of Treasured By the Hunter

The way he’d rushed out there at the first sign of danger, eager to eliminate the threat and keep me safe, had been kind of sweet. And they said chivalry was dead. I almost felt bad for ditching him. Almost.

I had a job to do. There were two more charging points I had to disable, then it was off to Sanctuary and the last safe house.

It was almost too dark to see now, so I listened carefully for any signs of danger. When I heard none, I entered the third house in the row and found the supplies exactly as we’d left them. I’d go through them tomorrow. It was getting too dark to see, and I didn’t want to use my headlamp unless it was absolutely necessary.

I locked up, then made my way up to the master bedroom, hauling my bag and scooter up with me. We’d pulled everything out of the dresser the last time we were here, and the place was a mess, but it’d do. I dug a blanket out of the chest and tossed it onto the bed. I set my pack on the desk and parked my scooter next to it before climbing in.

The moon was out tonight, but I pulled the curtains mostly closed just in case. I always worried I’d wake up and see one ofthose giant centipede-like bugs plastered to the window trying to get in.

The room plunged into darkness, and I lay down in the bed. Through the narrow crack I’d left in the curtains, I saw the first stars of the night in the sky. Despite everything that had happened in the last six years, the stars were still unwavering.

I closed my eyes, exhausted from my crazy day. I didn’t realize I was not alone until the intruder stepped onto the creaky plank just outside the bedroom door, waking me.

Crap! Who the hell?

I froze, hoping I’d imagined it, but the door opened with a soft snick.

A Xarc’n warrior stood in the doorway, his massive horns highlighted by the moonlight coming through the window. His broad shoulders took up the entire entrance, and he had to duck to get through the door.

Was it another Xarc’n hunter? Or was it the same one? I couldn’t see clearly enough in the dark.

“It is I, Harb’k.”

Oh, him again. I relaxed. He was a known entity, and he’d taken care of the bugs for me earlier today. I was pretty sure he’d also lured the flyers away so I was safe. I decided he wasn’t so bad.

“And you are Zoey,” he continued.

I frowned. “How do you know my name?”

I hadn’t given it to him. Maybe he’d heard Corey and his friends say it.

“My friend Heather identified you from an image.”

That threw me for a loop. “Who is Heather?” The name sounded familiar.

“She lived in Sanctuary before she came to stay with our group.”

“Oh! She’s the lady the Xarc’n warrior stole!” Now I remembered. She’d worked in the kitchen and was real sweet.

The alien scowled. “She was not stolen. She helped free one of our hunters and decided to stay with our group instead. There are many humans living with us.”

I sighed; this crap again. “Yeah. I knew about the prisoner they’d kept there.”

In a roundabout way, that particular incident was why my group was gone. Some dominos just fall harder than others. We’d always known that the decision Corey’s group of nomads made to fuck with the Xarc’n hunters was a horrible one; we just didn’t realize it would end up fucking us over as well.

“And for your information, my group was completely against it.”

Harb’k grunted noncommittally. After a short silence, he said, “You are still alone.”

“No, I’m not. You’re here. Unless I’m hallucinating.”

“Come with me back to my group. You should not be alone.”

He reached for me, and I grabbed a pillow and whacked him with it as hard as I could. It made a soft thudding sound, but that was it. He looked back at me with amusement plain on his face.

“There is no need to fear, little female. I will never harm you.” He took the pillow from me. “Unless this is your way of playing bedroom games.”

“What? No!”

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