Page 65 of Chieftain
An earsplitting shriek filled the air, and my head jerked in Willa's direction. Thick crimson rivulets ran from her bicep where Barkkus' razor-sharp claws were embedded in her flesh.
Charick raised a beefier version of my Nerf gun and fired. The grizzly creature bellowed an anguished howl as the shot severed the Kerzak’s arm at the elbow with a puff of gray smoke.
Khaion and Charick charged forward, their battle cries as terrifying as the weapons glinting in their hands. A single shot from the shuttle cannon tore through the Kerzak ship, engulfing it in a blazing inferno. Bartuk felled half the Aljani guards before anyone seemed to recognize the attack.
Willa scrambled backward on her hands and feet, searching for safety, her eyes wide with panic.
I screamed her name, the sound bouncing off the metal walls of the hangar. In the chaotic cacophony of Khaion and Charick fighting hand to hand, Bartuk shooting from the shuttle gun, and a thick plume of smoke filling the air, she flailed her head around, trying to find me.
“Emmy!” Willa scrambled to her feet. Our eyes met for a split second before a large, furry paw grabbed her by the throat.
Khaion’s order to stay put wasn’t even a second thought. I sprinted towards her, my hands trembling as I raised my Nerf gun, but I was too afraid to fire. I might have handled a gun before, but my marksmanship wasn't so great that I'd risk hitting my best friend.
A gust of heat, accompanied by the pulse of laser fire, wafted through the hangar, carrying with it the faint aromaof honeysuckle—Willa's favorite. From the corner of my eye, Charick came into view. His long dark hair escaped his braid in the fight, ruffled by the breeze. I watched his nostrils flare slightly, and his entire being froze as he glanced toward Willa. Slowly, as if enjoying the motion, he clipped his gun to his belt and withdrew two weapons from the sheath across his back. They reminded me of Medieval halberds but with blades on both ends and wicked sharp. With a guttural roar, Charick charged.
With the Kerzak's attention taken elsewhere for the moment, Willa gave one last tug against the beast's hold and, this time, managed to free herself just as Charick reached her side. The metallic clang of Charick's weapons against the Kerzak's echoed like the ringing of church bells.
"Human!" I felt a painful yank on my hair and stumbled backward, turning just in time to see the massive grizzly-alien holding me. He had a long deep cut across his chest that seeped thick black blood, but he didn't seem hampered by it. His black eyes narrowed as a long gray tongue licked over pointed fangs, mouth widening so much I could see the saliva trickle in hungry anticipation. He didn't notice the gun in my hand until I pressed the barrel against his stomach and pulled the trigger. The black eyes flashed wide in astonishment, and the alien staggered backward, releasing my hair as his paws went to the basketball-sized hole in his middle.
The air suddenly throbbed with the sound of heavy boots thudding on the ground as a dozen more Aljani guards arrived, rushing into the fray. The Vaktaire seemed undaunted by the added opposition. Bartuk aimed with deadly precision, the shuttle guns cutting down the guard and Kerzak alike with asingle shot. Khaion moved gracefully, his blades slicing through the air in graceful arcs. I could feel his heartbeat, raised due to the physicality of the fight, but otherwise strangely calm.
Charick fought with unbridled rage, swinging his weapons in a dizzying display of power and aggression. The Kerzak that accosted my friend Willa lay lifeless at his feet while four Aljani guards circled him cautiously. Khaion and two Kerzak engaged in a brutal, bloody choreography. I would be lying not to admit the flash of arousal I felt watching my mate in action. He was all speed and strength, muscles rippling as he wielded the large twin blades as easily as toothpicks.
I needed to get to Willa and get her back to the shuttle.
The thick, smoky fog of battle felt like a shapeless monster filling my lungs with burning gunpowder, charcoal, and sweat. I squinted through the haze, desperately trying to spot Willa’s silhouette. A figure broke from the smog, an Aljani guard, pale eyes crazy with the lust of battle, his teeth bared in a bloody smile. I shot without hesitation, oddly relieved when his body slumped to the ground.
“Willa!” I yelled, my voice barely discernable above the sounds of battle.
“Em…! The muffled scream spurred me onward. I plowed through the smoke pouring out of the hangar just in time to see Nansar throwing Willa over his shoulder, making a mad dash towards a small escape shuttle.
"Khaion!" I screamed out his name in utter faith he could stop Nansar. Footsteps pounded against the tarmac, and I felt a glimmer of comfort. But the figure manifesting through the thick smoke was far too large and way too hairy to be my mate. Myheart sank as I raised my gun and pulled the trigger, only to hear a click come from the barrel.
Shit!
Terror raced through me as the Kerzak raised a long, bloody blade above his head. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, tears streaming down my face, and prayed to any god that would listen. I didn't pray for survival—there would be no surviving his strike. I prayed in gratitude for finding a deep, real love, even for the short time I knew it. I prayed for Khaion to go on—that the end of my heartbeat wouldn’t mean the end of the brave, wonderful warrior I loved.I waited for the blow to hit,but all I felt was a rush of air carrying the faint scent of spicy muskiness. My heart hammered, but it wasn’t from fear. It was a beat of fury and vengeance, a totem of protection. One eye slid open, then the other. The bulky form of a dead Kerzak lay at my feet, a dagger embedded in his throat, the blade snapped from the hilt, the knife ruined forever. Khaion stood above him. Rage tightened his features while his long hair framed his face like an avenging angel. His broad shoulders revealed muscles hardened from battle, and his golden eyes emanated love and strength. He was everything I ever wanted—everything I would ever want.
Tears wavered in my eyes, not from fear, but the knowledge that saving me cost him a most precious possession. “I’m so sorry. Th-that was your father’s knife. Wasn’t it?”
Khaion gave a slight shrug. “Nothing is more important to me than you, myvika.”
With a desperate cry, I threw myself into his embrace. Sweat, blood, and some other goo I didn't want defined coveredKhaion from head to toe. His blades clanked against the tarmac as he clutched me against his chest.
“I told you to stay hidden!” he uttered frantically, voice rumbling through his chest. His arms tightened around my waist as he buried his face into my neck. We stood there, holding each other, breathing each other in as our heartbeat calmed. It was his beating heart I felt reverberate through my body during what I thought were my last moments—moments where once again he saved me from the brink of destruction.
“Nansar took Willa.” I pulled away just enough to point toward the small ship hovering above the ground.
“Bartuk!” Khaion yelled into his comm. “Do you have an angle on Nansar’s ship? He’s fleeing with the other human.”
"Yes, Chieftain," the crewman's voice responded, calm and confident.
“Don’t you shoot at my friend,” I yelled into my own comm.
Nansar's ship rose higher, thrusters blazing as bright blue flames licked the night sky. Suddenly, a deafening rumble and a brilliant white light emitted from the Vaktaire shuttle, pinging on the underside of the Aljani ship. A faint trail of smoke followed Nansar and Willa as their ship propelled itself with tremendous force into the heavens.
“Bartuk! I told you not to shoot at my friend,” I fussed into the comm.
The voice answering held a hint of amusement. “I did not chieftainess. I merely tagged the ship with a tracker.”
