Page 48 of Defying the Relic Hunter

“No, Granny put them in a deep sleep.”

We exited the building. The Coletti electro-fence and automated laser canons were coated in a thick layer of ice. Frost-covered soldiers littered the ground. “I tried to tell Ethan Granny Annabel was more than enough protection, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“He’ll listen now.”

“Oh yeah. I’m kinda surprised Zarek hasn’t shown up.”

“His warbird is part of the fleet intercepting the marauders,” Xenia replied.

I did a happy dance. “There’s no one to stop us from finding the treasure.”

“Not a soul.” Xenia broke into a funky chicken dance. “We are women, hear us roar.”

“No one’s gonna keep us down,” I sang.

“We are strong.”

I hopped over a soldier. “We are invincible.”

“We are women,” we shouted in unison and walked out the front gate.

People gawked at us.

My singing wasn’t that bad, was it? “Ah, maybe we need to hit the mall first, we kinda stand out in our battle armor,” I said.

A wicked smile curled Xenia’s mouth. “Quinn got me a credit card.”

I chortled. “So did Ethan.” I assumed the illusion of a Vegas party girl. “Let’s party.”

Xenia suddenly sported black hair and a silver micro mini dress. She hailed us a cab.

Chapter Fourteen

Even after ten years of war, Vegas was still a glittering mecca with architectural wonders, miles of colorful neon lights and one-of-a-kind exhibits. The sidewalks were crowded with humans and aliens of every shape and form. They were all here to take in the sights and gamble away their money.

As we cruised the main strip, the night air was full of music, laughter and gimmicky calls from twenty-foot tall vid screens luring the unwary inside the casinos with promises of instant wealth.

Granny popped into the cab.“A very angry Coletti Warlord showed up at the base.”

“What does he look like?”Xenia wanted to know.

The image of a big, distinguished looking man with thick gray hair and the eyes of a roused predator appeared in mid-air.

“Oh Goddess, that’s Uncle Saul,”Xenia exclaimed.

I swallowed hard. “He looks really pissed.”

“Granny Annabel did make a mess out of Uncle Saul’s new base and she also incapacitated his men,”Xenia pointed out.

“Once it thaws out, everything should work like it did before. Hopefully.”

“I taught the Coletti a much-needed lesson,”Granny huffed.

“Yeah, boy, you sure did.”I turned to Xenia.“How good of a tracker is General Jones?”

“One of the best,”Xenia answered.

Granny proclaimed,“Do not worry, Kizzy. I will put him to sleep too.”

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