Page 75 of Galaxy Games Four-Book Box Set (Galaxy Games)

75

Enemies or Allies?

S adie

I’m defenseless. My spear is still embedded in the bear. His massive body is slumped on it. Both Anubis and the bear are between me and Anubis’s spear. I won’t be able to reach it.

Anubis’s chest is heaving from exertion, blood coats his lips and is dripping from his fangs and claws. Those glowing red eyes are looking at me with detachment. There’s no doubt his body has changed. He’s pulled a complete Hulk—his pants and shirt are shredded to rags—he’s morphed into something so large he grew too big for his clothes.

Two emotions war inside me. Terror and heartbreak. I’m now facing an animal more menacing than the giant bear. Anubis took the animal down, albeit with my help, but he would have prevailed even without my spear piercing the animal’s heart. It just would have taken him longer.

I’m terrified of the male I professed to love only a few hours ago. I’m also heartbroken to look at Anubis and see he has no feelings for me. My chest feels achingly empty.

He takes a step toward me and I reassess. It’s not that he feels no emotions toward me. The grimace on his face tells me he hates me, sees me as his enemy. Dear God, is he going to attack me next?

“Anubis? Anubis, it’s me, Sadie.” I don’t know why I’m talking. It seems he’s morphed into an animal and no longer understands speech. He doesn’t pay attention to my words.

Instead of stopping, though, I keep talking. Perhaps my tone of voice will touch something deep inside him. Really, what else can I do? It’s almost pitch-black, with just the watery light of the moons drifting down to the planet. If I run, I won’t get more than a city block before I turn my ankle or get eaten by an animal. And at the moment, it looks like that animal will be the male who recently told me he loved me.

“1213?” Maybe he’ll relate to that name better. But he dips his head, looks straight at me from under furrowed brows, and snarls. Okay. I won’t say that again.

“Anubis, we flew through the trees yesterday. You held me tight so I wouldn’t fall, remember? We’ve helped each other every step of the way. It’s just us against everyone else.”

He doesn’t seem to understand me, he’s just panting and staring at me. Every muscle in his body is rigid, as if he’s ready to pounce on me.

“You’re bleeding, let me fix it.” At least I think he’s bleeding. I don’t know whether he’s covered in the beast’s blood or his own.

He stalks toward me, never taking his gaze off me. If I thought running would do anything other than trigger his predatory instincts, I’d take off, even in the dark. But I have a hunch this being—I can’t bear to think of this animalistic thing as my Anubis—will kill me the moment I run.

His shoulders relax a fraction of an inch, his panting turns into regular breathing. Perhaps he’s turning back into his real self? Maybe my talking is getting through to him.

“That’s right, big guy. Let me look at you. See if there’s any damage. I can clean you up even if I have no supplies to treat you with.”

One of the drones takes this moment to whir closer, capturing his attention. His reflexes are so quick, he turns, leaps, and catches the thing before it can dart away.

He bows up, snarling and growling as he twists the gizmo, which is a little larger than a shoebox. He bites the metal, then yanks it into pieces. After he tosses it on the ground and it continues to make noise as its gears grind, he stomps on it until the thing is a pile of parts, each no bigger than a Lego.

When he turns to me, I fully expect him to focus all that aggression on me. Instead, he chuffs, then nods his head as if he’s inviting me closer.

In his mind, perhaps we’re both allies against the noisy machine.