Page 8 of Aura Awakened

He gives me a puzzled look. “Of course not. You’re tiny. I just meant that I don’t want to cause you any further harm.” He frowns at my bleeding hands, then takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. I watch as all those thorns retract beneath his skin, leaving it smooth and unblemished.

Okay, that’s kind of cool. Without the armor, he’s slightly less terrifying. His skin is the same light brownish-green of tree bark, with a texture that looks similar but is smooth to the touch. He’s packed with muscle, which is more obvious now that he’s not all prickly. I study his face: strong jaw, full lips, brown eyes. His dark hair is cropped short, and he obviously hasn’t shaved in a few days, because stubble dots his cheeks and chin.

Back in Tenpenny, if I’d passed him on the street, he would have snagged my attention. My lady parts would have been all,Hoo-boy, who is that?But we’re not in Texas anymore, and whoever he is, he’s certainly not human. Hot or not, he’s a flipping alien. I try to process that incredibly weird fact.

An alien.

Aliens are definitely real, not just a spooky bedtime story sent back by bored colonists.

Oh, and I’ve been kidnapped by said aliens. Twice.

Sort of, anyway. All right, fine, one was a rescue. But still, I didn’t have any say in it, so it counts.

It’s past time to bail and forget this whole thing ever happened. “So,” I try again, “thanks for your help and all, but I’ll be on my way. Good luck.”

He stares at me for a second and then breaks into full-bodied laughter. “Where exactly do you intend to go?”

I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. I’m not some damsel in distress that needs to be constantly rescued. It was cool of him to get me out of the pod, but I don’t need a baby-sitter. “I’ll have you know that I’m fully capable and independent. I own my own business. I can take care of myself.” Prim irritation is practically leaking out of my pores, covering the fear that wants to come roaring out.

“Sure. Which is why you were in a Malifect sleeping pod?”

I give him my best stern eyebrow. “Okay, fair point, but that was a highly unusual circumstance. It’s not like portals or whatever regularly appear on my walk home! Now that I know what I’m dealing with, I’m sure I’ll be fine. There has to be an exit around here somewhere.” I’m not really sure, of course. And I don’t stand a chance against the spider-lobsters. But no need to tell him that. All I have to do is get out of here and…I don’t know, call the cops?

It would be much easier to seem confident if I had even a hint of a plan.

He stares at me, an incredulous look on his face. “An exit where? Into space? Do you have your own nanocraft that I’m not aware of?”

I stop, a cold shiver running down my spine. “What? Space?”

“Where exactly do you think we are?”

“I dunno, some sort of alien holding pen?”

“Sure. Which is inside a Grim-class Malifect ship. Inside what I’m pretty sure is a Wraith Nebula. In the farthest reaches of a truly weird galaxy. But by all means, be my guest.” He gestures grandly at the corridor and I frown at his sarcasm.

“We’re not still on Earth?” Exactly how long was I knocked out?

“Nope. This is a Malifect slave ship. We’re nowhere near your home planet, I’m afraid.”

I massage my temples, trying to make my slow-as-molasses brain wake up. Whatever else the gas did, it seems to have made me temporarily stupid, because his explanation makes sense. Evil aliens came to Earth, sucked me through a portal, and imprisoned me. Why would they imprison me on Earth? Of course I’m on their ship. That’s why there are tons of other kinds of aliens also in stasis. Aliens that the spider-lobster-roach people wouldn’t have found on my planet.

Now a completely different alien seems to be in the process of rescuing me, though I have no idea why. He seems nice enough, so far, but I can’t stop the question that’s running on repeat in my brain: Why would he choose me,and only me,out of a thousand prisoners, to wake up?

What the actual fuck is going on?

I’m still staring at him, brain short-circuiting, when he leans forward and inspects my skin, clearly upset at all the scratches he caused. “I’m sorry I injured you. It wasn’t my intention. I simply wanted to get you away from the Malifects.”

“Those are the giant spider-lobsters, right?” I confirm.

The barest hint of a grin dances across his lips, further shifting his face from fierce to full-on attractive.

“Yes. That’s one way to describe them. Like I said, they’re intergalactic slavers.”

“What in the world did they want with me?”

He gives me a look like I’m being obtuse, which, let’s face it, I probably am. Stupid pod. “I just told you. They’re slavers.” He says it slowly this time, as though that will help the information penetrate my feeble human mind.

“Yeah, I got that. But they came to Earth and kidnapped one random woman just to make her a slave? That seems like more work that it’s worth.”

---