Page 84 of Fractured Souls

There was no sound, no warning, just Nythian traveling at the speed of dark light as he scooped her up into his arms and made like quicksilver across the red dust, and suddenly everything was dust; it was in the air, in her nose, in her mouth...

A deafening roar split the air, a sound of pure bestial fury.

“What the hell is that?” she cried, her voice hoarse from all the dust.

“No idea,” Nythian growled as he passed through the ship’s hatch. The doors closed immediately and he set her down. Armor-clad warriors swarmed around her as Nythian barked orders at them. “You stay here. They’ll look after you. Go up to the second deck and wait.”

“Wait… what are you—?”

But he was already gone, disappearing through the ship’s mysterious doors as they unravelled and snapped shut in a whirlwind of dust like some gaping maw that had swallowed him whole.

She spun around and came face to face with a squad of unsmiling Kordolian warriors. They were all decked out in black armor and armed to the teeth.

Shit. She didn’t know any of these people. If she didn’t trust Nythian implicitly, she’d be a little spooked right about now.

But concern for her mate erased any wariness she might feel toward these intimidating warriors. “Where’s Nythian gone?” she demanded, suddenly feeling afraid for him. “What was that sound?”

That bone-chilling roar…

“Hreeek!” She heard it again, but this time the sound was dulled by the walls of the ship. That made it even more disturbing, because she had no way of knowing what was happening. The plasma gun that could disintegrate boulders now felt useless in her hands.

She tucked it away in the sleek holster that was attached to her customized belt.

“Let’s go, human,” one of the Kordolians said, nodding sharply in the direction of the upper decks.

“But wait… Nythian’s out there… Aren’t you people going to go and back him up?”

A couple of the warriors chuckled.

Alexis glared. What was so goddamn funny?

The one who’d addressed her, a severe looking character with wolfish yellow eyes—she assumed he was their leader—waved his hand dismissively. “Nythian, he’s…” He shook his head wryly. “Clearly, you have not been with us long, human. Why don’t you go up and see for yourself?”

None of them seemed the least bit concerned. In fact, they were all acting rather nonchalant now that the doors were closed and the storm was raging outside.

That dust… those horrendous roars… What was out there? Some sort of huge alien beast?

The warriors slipped into the shadows, disappearing up the ladder until only she and the yellow-eyed Kordolian were left. “I’m Captain Ektans,” he said. For a moment his expression became distant, the same way Nythian’s did when he was communicating through his comm. He let out a short, barking laugh. “Looks like we have a giant sand worm problem.”

“Sand worm?” Her mind was filled with visions of ridiculous creatures straight out of some cheesy Earth space-movie. Anuk would probably have been able to explain it.

Ektans shrugged. “I don’t know what the fuck they’re supposed to be called. These things keep repeating themselves. I swear we get some version of this every third planet or so. Sand worms, dust yaagas, desert samimis, whatever. It’s big, it lives underground, and it has saliva… a lot of saliva. Tch. He’s going to be in a foul mood when he gets back, I tell ya. That sand worm’s just chosen the worst possible enemy. That male of yours might seem pretty reasonable on the surface, but he’s got a vicious temper on him… one of the worst out of all the First Division.”

“Nythian?” She shook her head. “No, he’s not like that. He’s—”

“Got a temper,” Ektans stated bluntly. “Trust me. You can go up there to the viewing port and see for yourself.”

“Huh.” Feeling a little indignant on Nythian’s behalf, she shot Ektans a dark look and made her way up the narrow steps that led to the upper decks.

Strange pounding noises reverberated through the walls.

Filled with worry for Nythian, she scrambled the rest of the way up the stairs, bursting into a dimly lit chamber.

She rushed toward the nearest port-hole.

A couple of warriors were staring intently at the scene outside. She pushed her way around them, not caring that they were fully armed strangers.

The Kordolians obliged, looking mildly amused.

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