Page 8 of Veras
The alien-dragon huffed again and opened its huge mouth. It had hundreds of shark teeth, the size of baseball bats, and they came straight at me.
Dios mio.I couldn’t even raise a fist to fight it off. In one chomp, it grasped the hem of my dress and whipped it off me. In another blink, it snuffled me with its long snout, snorting and inhaling like my dog used to do when I hid her treats.
Damn, I hadn’t let myself think about Gorda in years and instantly my heart hurt worse than my body. Plus, it made me miss Nito more.
The beast lifted its head and studied me again, unrolling a long, spotted tongue.Ugh,if I never saw another tongue, it wouldn’t be too soon. But this one was a completely different shape and color from the Aavvee, and thankfully, held none of the stench. Thebrutoolicked my stomach clean, paying special attention to the gash in my side. Horrified, I mustered the last of my strength and swatted at its bony nose. “Stop.”
It huffed again and dug the tip of its pointy tongue into my gash.
“Aaagh!” Pain lanced me. But I no longer fought against the monster; I strained toward it. “Just do it then. Get it over with. Eat me!” Luckily, my brain and body gave out. Depleted of all energy, I slipped into darkness.
***
I cracked myeyes open and immediately mourned the loss of the gorgeous scent, the one that made me feel like I could float on a cloud. I also felt… no discomfort. I squinted in the dark, allowing my eyes to adjust to the velvet dusk surrounding me.A media luz—perpetual twilight lit by a golden glow, resembling the moment the sun kissed the horizon.
I reached for the hem of my dress to inspect my wound, but realized I was butt naked and alone. No giant beast, no clothes, and, blissfully, no agony. It’d been exactly five years since I’d felt this normal. The few times I’d gotten my hands on more than a few drops of Oro, I’d come close to this, but for once, I was just my normal self.
Gracias a Dios.
The jagged edges around my wound were clean. I’d almost forgotten the warm acorn color of my skin. Every other exposed inch was covered in flaky black dust. But my side, where I’d been stabbed by Creeper, was an angry pink. Healed. Either I’d been asleep for weeks, or the beast’s spotted tongue held healing properties. Gratitude overwhelmed me, and for the first time in years, I almost cried.
Almost. It’d been so long since someone besides Nito had offered me kindness. My constant companion. I felt his loss. Had those tornadoes destroyed him? Would he be trapped in their whirling vortex forever? This time, I couldn’t hold back. I slumped against the craggy wall and sobbed.
My tears flowed over my cheeks, dripped off my chin, and plopped on the ground. A familiar clicking sound tickled my ears, and like clockwork, furry, crab-like insects skittered around me.
I didn’t flinch as they collected my tears, using tiny mandibles to gather the water in dirt bundles and carry them off. They even swarmed my hands, but I had long made peace with these mini alien vacuum cleaners. No matter what waste or fluid oranythingdropped on the floor, they would appear, wrap up their bundles, and descend back into the walls. The familiarity of the little buggers brought me back to the present.
But I wasn’t in my cave-cell. I was… somewhere else with an alien-dragon that smelled so good I could almost taste it. Scrambling to my feet, I glanced around and realized I was trapped on a ledge. I also spied my sack dress on the floor. I winced and shoved it on, disgusted by the filth but grateful I wasn’t completely naked. It was torn, but it covered the important parts. Willing myself to be brave, I crawled forward and peered over the edge.
My breath caught in my throat. I gazed out at a waterfall of molten gold. Beyond my little perch was an alien jungle that stretched as far as my eyes could see. Miles above me, I spied twinkling lights that resembled stars but, on closer examination, resembled diamonds or crystals embedded in the rock.
The foliage surrounding the falls and lake ranged in color from the lightest pink to deepest purple. The ground was not dirt colored, but instead the deep black of the mountains. Everything, living and inanimate, was streaked in gold.
This isparaiso.Total paradise.
If I could just get my ass off the ledge, I could put some more distance between me and the chicken aliens. There was no place to jump, at least nothing my human legs could traverse. But if I knew anything about this planet, it was riddled with caves and apparently portals, too.
I stood on tiptoe and felt for an opening in the rock around me. Nothing. I leaned as far on either side of the ledge as I could. Also solid as, well… rock. Finally, when I peeked below the overhang, I saw a skinny branch protruding beside a doggy-door-sized opening.
Hell yeah.
A dark shape landed on the ledge behind me. I couldn’t see it, but I felt the danger immediately. I reached for the branch and bent my knees to jump.
Right before I lunged, I heard, “Where do you go, Earther?” His voice was pitched impossibly low, so low it felt like it vibrated my organs.
Ay Dios!The ledge seemed to shrink upon his arrival.What should I do?Jump? Spin around and kick thetalking dragonin the face? Because that was who it had to be. The same amazing smell had returned the minute the deep voice materialized.
I didn’t move.Itdidn’t speak again. Maybe we could both pretend the other didn’t exist and what… sit on the ledge forever? Taking the biggest and deepest breath of my life, I turned around and faced… a large andverynaked alien.
Not a dragon-beast, not an Aavvee, thank God, but not a man either. At least, not a human one.
I recognized the wideset tangerine eyes. His oversized corneas shifted and swirled in the same mesmerizing pattern as the wind. Instead of white sclera on the outside of his irises, his were violet. A sense of connection and peace, the same that I’d felt when watching the beast in the arena flowed over and around me. It felt… nice, which was uncomfortable. I didn’t trust it. At all. Nothingniceever happened in this world.
“Earther? That is the name of your planet. Is that how I should address you?” His voice crashed over me like a satin wave. He crouched down, miles of copper flesh before me. A glittering mist rose off him like steam, as if he were made of molten gold. Four large spikes jutted down his spine, and two more poked out from his elbows. “Speak. I have heard your thoughts, so I know you can think. Or perhaps they harmed your ability to communicate in some way?” He leaned forward, and I flinched away from his oddly shaped hand.
Two arms, two legs, and… four thumbs? Two on each hand. One in the normal spot, another much lower, near his wrist. And his shoulders were the width of two men—his proportions impossibly broader and wider than humans. As my gaze ate himup, it snagged on his right arm, which was covered in a golden tattoo—even deeper and richer than his skin.
“You. Speak?” He pointed at his mouth. The motion brought his own lips into sharp focus. They were bowed and full, but sharp canines protruded over the bottom one. Above the spiky teeth, he had no nostrils, only fine slits, two on each side. They fluttered with each indrawn breath. The bridge of his nose resembled a finely curved blade.
