Page 72 of Game on Askole

Lilkee laughed like a hyena.“Your screams will be music to my ears.”

“Lady, they need to up your meds.”If she had a mustache, she would be twirling it.

“The females’ laser pistols have been drained,”a male voice announced.

What! I quickly checked my gun. Those slimy bastards. Only the power reserves were left. Which gave me about three minutes to kill as many naugers as possible.

The skinny bitch gloated,“With only a sword to defend herself, the filthy hybrid won’t survive long.”

My lips curled in disgust. Lilkee had piss-poor mental shields and didn’t realize I could hear everything she and her henchman were saying.

“Sarah’s combat skills won’t save her this time,”the henchman crowed.

Wait a minute. The henchman’s psychic aura was familiar. Where did I know him from?

“Pray to your primitive god. Death approaches,”Lilkee said gleefully.

I hurriedly gathered the other laser pistols and flinched as a high-pitched buzz filled my ears.

An alien blitzkrieg of naugers rushed out of the dead trees.

My stomach knotted in horror. There were hundreds of them. I emptied gun after gun until the last one failed.

For a moment, a kaleidoscope of images and sounds whirled through my mind. The Tai-Kok rampaging through my hometown. The butchered bodies of my family and friends. Their panicked cries melded with the roar of Marauders and fighter jets battling overhead. All that pent-up rage I had buried so deeply welled up, and I screamed my defiance. “Noooo! We are not dying today!”

The naugers’ hissing growls filled the air.

“I will hunt you down, Lilkee. Never doubt that.”

Lilkee’s taunting laughter rang in my head.“The dead present no threat.”

Something snapped inside me, and a killing frenzy took over as the naugers attacked. I hacked, sliced, and cut my way through their leathery bodies, but they kept on coming and coming and coming. My energy flagged. I stumbled under the onslaught. If I fell, we would all die.

Tihar abruptly linked with me. Energy poured into my battered body.“Who is the baddest motherfucker on this world?”

“Me.”

“Then fight like it. You are Askole now, and defeat is not in our vocabulary.”

“Mwah-hah-hah,”I bellowed. Tihar’s warrior’s skills merged with mine, and I was unstoppable. The naugers’ bodies piled up around me.

Immense power rolled around the courtyard. A split second later, Zarek, Voss, Rho, Jaylan, Talree, and several other warriors appeared. They annihilated the remaining monsters.

A hysterical laugh broke from me. I wasn’t dead. How great was that?

“I would not have let you or your family die,”Tihar stated grimly.

“Well, there’s a newsflash. Not that I don’t appreciate the help. I’m just really surprised you showed up.”

“My duty is to protect the Askole Empire andmyfamily from those who would destroy us,”Tihar’s voice was taut with anger and a hint of exasperation.

Duty? A coldness blossomed in my stomach, and all the hurt I had buried welled up inside me.“Gotcha. I saved your ass. You saved mine, and your obligation to me is over.”I took a deep breath.“Oh yeah, I’m keeping Musa, and unlike you, I don’t cut and run. Only a fucking coward does that. That brings up another point. Only a ball-less dick lets their father do their dirty work.”

“Neither my father nor I have time for female hysterics.We are at war. Snoor plans to obliterate our worlds. I must stop him.”Poof! He vanished from my mind.

“Female hysterics?”Okay, he had me there. I had said some things I probably shouldn’t have. I’ll admit I was pissed at the big lug and stressed out from fighting the naugers. Once again, I couldn’t find the butthead’s mental signature. A wave of exhaustion hit me, and I swayed on my feet. I bit back a groan as a multitude of aches and pains suddenly made themselves known. God, my left arm hurt like a mother. My vision blurred. I grabbed ahold of a sled to keep from falling flat on my face.

“Suck it up, buttercup,” I muttered to myself. “Check on the family, then pass out.”

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