Page 85 of Crossing Quinn

The nauger charged me.

I pulled the dead Tanezumi from the cage and threw it at the nauger.

The nauger snatched it midair. Two chomps, and the Tanezumi was gone. The nauger eyed me hungrily.

“You don’t want to eat me. I taste like shit. Literally.”

The ugly creature shuddered violently and collapsed. Thank the Goddess, the poison worked on them too.

Three more naugers took its place.

My berserker rage flared to life. I was exhausted, chocolate deprived, and unable to even cuddle with Quinn. I hated the Overlord, Tanith, and all its vile critters. The need to kill was overwhelming. “Want to play? I’m game.” I summoned my fire and hurled a fireball at them.

Whoosh! Boom!Brilliant green flames engulfed the naugers, and within seconds they were ash.

Claws skittered on the rock floor.

A pack of the horrid creatures were running right at me.

Enough was enough. I wasn’t doing this anymore, and if I had to fry the Overlord, so be it. I hurled fireball after fireball after fireball. Whoosh! Boom! Whoosh! Boom! Whoosh! Boom! Whoosh! Boom! Whoosh! Boom! Whoosh! Boom! Electric green flames filled the passageway. The fire died away leaving a thick layer of gray ash. I sagged in relief.

There was a flash of light at the end of the passageway, and more than a hundred naugers ran toward me. Drekk! Someone had deliberately opened the tunnel’s blast doors.

Quinn grabbed the back of my jumpsuit and teleported us out of the tunnel. We appeared by the incinerator chutes. He looked me over frantically. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” I shuddered at the sound of hundreds of claws clicking on the rock. “I thought the blast doors were locked at all times.”

“They are, unless someone opens them.”

“It’s got to be Aruid,” I spat.

“I agree. If I die, he will claim you.”

“Not a chance in the nine hells.”

The naugers spilled out of the tunnel.

I summoned a fireball.

An energy barrier materialized in front of us.

Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap!Dozens of naugers committed suicide on the glowing energy field. Five fully armored warriors appeared behind them and quickly vaporized the remaining creatures.

I sagged against Quinn. “Thank the Goddess. I’m out of juice.”

Holding me like I was the most precious thing in the universe, Quinn teleported.

An instant of inky blackness, and poof. We appeared on a sunny terrace draped with a bright riot of flowers. In the distance, a silvery waterfall cascaded down the cavern wall. It was an Eden buried deep within Tanith.

I reveled in the sunshine and the gentle breeze fanning my face. Below us, a flock of pink, ducklike birds floated peacefully on the turquoise water. Some called this paradise. What lurked underneath Tanith’s subterranean cities was pure hell.

Quinn collapsed on a bench. “I’m beat.”

“Me too.”

“Let’s just sit here for a moment and enjoy the sunshine.” He pulled me onto his lap.

I leaned against Quinn’s chest and allowed the comforting warmth of his body to sink into my very soul. I was home. “You never told me why you became a Coletti.”

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