Page 5

Ashtoret looked at the creature attempting to wrench his arm out of the socket. It had a row of sharp teeth, currently embedded in his flesh, yellow beady eyes, a long snout, and scales from head to toe.

“Let go,” Ashtoret growled a feral sound, letting the beast know who the bigger predator was.

He smiled when the creature released his arm, then wisely swam off, with a parting defiant lash of its scaly tail.

“I think you found the mother of all Jurou Biljana,” Vintor chuckled.

“You might be right,” he agreed with a grin.

“How’s the arm?”

“Eh, it’ll heal.”

“We’re close enough to get out of this stream. It probably wouldn’t be wise to attract more of those things with you bleeding in the water,” Vintor suggested as he waded ashore.

They paused when they reached dry land. He pulled the watertight pack off his back and removed the clothes that would help them blend in.

“I’m not fond of these breeches,” Ashtoret groused, holding up the pants and eyeing them critically.

“They’re constricting,” Vintor complained, after removing his vestment and stepping into the breeches.

Ashtoret tugged a hooded long-sleeve top over his head, then dealt with the dreaded pants. He had to coil his tail around his waist like a belt for them to fit properly.

“I think they’re strangling my shaft,” he groaned as he shifted in discomfort.

“I hope to Kali we don’t have to run in these things.”

Ashtoret and Vintor moved toward a series of artificial lights that lined a black road and illuminated the dwellings. He studied the two-story homes decorated in a range of vibrant colors. They kept to the shadows as they wove between the clustered buildings. The lights inside showed that many of the inhabitants were still awake.

“The dwelling we’re looking for is over there. We need to cross this picket barrier.” Vintor pointed to the third house.

Ashtoret nodded and vaulted over the knee-high wooden wall. He almost stumbled when his breeches cut him up the middle.

Damn restrictive clothing.

They were almost to the other side of the grassy enclosure when a noisy, small, four-legged, furry creature came charging up. A light flicked on in the nearby residence, and Ashtoret knew the yapping beastie had betrayed their presence.

“I guess we’re going to test how well we can run,” he hissed as they both took off, leaving the annoying creature behind.

“Great,” Vintor huffed.

They slowed when they reached the rear of their destination. Vintor looked around, gauging if they’d been sighted.

“It appears our contact isn’t here yet.”

“We’ll enter and wait. That will be safer than standing out in the open. I just hope the male doesn’t have one of those yappy beasts,” Vintor smirked.

“We’re supposed to look for a tiny metal key beneath a potted plant. If it’s not there we’ll have to find another way in.”

Ashtoret quickly reviewed what he knew about the male they would soon encounter. He hoped their liaison wasn’t too shocked or put up a fight, before they could deliver their message.