Page 34 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Stars
Aiken
Margot’s plasma pistol streaks through the air with a catastrophic crackle, smashing into the ceiling above us. She wasn’t even close to her target with that one. I look back over at her as she lets out a soft sigh.
“Still my girl,” I say, winking at her.
“I’m sorry,” she mouths. It doesn’t matter. She showed up for me, Emily, and Xavian. That’s enough.
General Arcadia looks up at the ceiling and lets out a deep chuckle, then shakes his head. The Handmaiden bots keep their palms trained on us. The general locks eyes with Margot, and his lips peel back in a threatening grin, revealing dozens of yellowed fangs. “Good try, sweetheart. But I’m afraid you’re all still going to die.”
Margot and I hold each other as the ceiling starts to crumble in bits and pieces. Either we’ll be shot to death or crushed. Whichever comes first. I nuzzle Margot’s cheek.
“Fucked up way to go,” I mutter.
“I’m hoping for disintegration first, to be honest. Seems like the quicker way to die,” Margot mutters in a dry, almost sarcastic tone. If she’s terrified of our impending demise, my little snake wife doesn’t let on. If we do somehow survive, I vow to take better care of her because she’s clearly not taking care of herself judging from her constant stoicism. Does she know that I can see the cracks in her armor, I wonder, and always have?
“There’s my girl. Good to hear you retain your sense of humor to the end,” I mutter right back.
We’re holding on to each other as we wait for the end when the blaring of sirens catches our attention. General Arcadia narrows his eyes as he jerks his head up toward the ceiling, clearly not concerned about being crushed along with us. Damn psychopath.
“You’re going to die too, you know,” I grind out, and clutch Margot tighter to my chest. I can feel her heart beating wildly against mine like a small bird’s. There isn’t anything in this world or the next that I wouldn’t do to calm her right now.
The Denorran general sneers at me. “Oh, oh no. I’m not dying here, as much as I would love to stay to make sure the job gets done this time.”
More stone falls, leaving a hole in the ceiling above us. Stars twinkle overhead, and Margot gasps when neon pink lights shine in the distance.
“It’s the police,” she says as her hair blows around in the wind. “About fucking time they showed up.”
General Arcadia lets out a strangled hiss. “And that’s my cue, I suppose.”
A spotlight hits all three of us, and Emily shouts something over the commotion. General Arcadia decides to make a break for it. He runs for the double doors, his leathery tail wriggling behind him. “Handmaiden bots, clean up this mess!” he yells before grabbing the door handles.
But before the bots can hit us with their palm plasma guns, an electromagnetic pulse bursts down from the hole in the ceiling. It hits the bots, and they short circuit and fizzle out before falling to the ground like empty tin cans.
I nudge one curiously with my boot. “Neutralizers,” I say, then look over at Margot. “Quick, go see to Emily and Xav. I’ll make sure the general stays put.”
Margot nods before running off to find the bride and groom. What a lousy wedding this turned out to be.
I leap across the aisle, over benches and debris, and land right on top of the general’s tail with a satisfying crunch. The general lets out a wail and tries to pry himself free, but it’s no use. When the doors swing open again, a unit of heavily armored police officers rush in, their guns trained on all of us. I put my hands up immediately.
“Whoa, whoa! I’m here with the wedding party!” I yell. The police officers don’t miss a beat before slapping a pair of plasma cuffs on General Arcadia and hauling him away. They’re about to cuff me, too, but Emily rushes forward.
“S-Stop!” she yells, nearly tripping over a few rocks. I catch her at the wrists before she can stumble. “This is my friend! This is—was—my wedding!”
The officers look at one another, say something in their mouth pieces, and then nod.
Margot stalks down the aisle, her hands balled into fists at her sides. “What took you fuckers so long?” she demands. “We were almost killed!”
I shake my head as I chortle. “Little wife. Maybe it’s best we don’t cuss out the people who are trying to save us, eh?”
Another officer strides into the room, and this one looks different. This one’s Terran, and of similar height and build as Xavian. He’s also in a darker uniform. A captain, perhaps. He takes in the room and winces. “Fuck’s sake,” he mutters under his breath. “What the hell happened in here?”
Margot stomps right up to the man and looks up at him with a feral expression. “My friends and I were almost murdered, that’s what happened. What took you so long? You should have been here ages ago!”
I’m about to pull Margot back when the captain looks down at her, his lips skewing into a small smirk. “Our deepest apologies, ma’am. The Denorran sent us on a wild goose chase, I’m afraid. We got a tip about a terrorist threat at the docking bay.”
“Was there a threat?” Emily asks, her voice sounding so small.
The captain nods. “Unfortunately, we had to clean up several bombs, yes. This fellow really had it out for Kallista.”
“It’s Emily now,” Emily corrects the captain. “And my fiancé is injured. Please tell me you brought medical aid.”
The captain nods at the two officers beside him. “Aid Xavian Melrose, and let’s get everyone else in a medical scrammer.”
I pull Margot against my chest again, but gently this time. There’s no telling what injuries she might be hiding, and I don’t want to accidentally aggravate them. I press my lips to the top of her head and murmur, “Don’t worry. This nightmare is finally over.”
But Margot simply lets go of a long, ragged sigh and looks up at me with eyes full of sadness. “No, Aiken. I’m afraid it’s only the beginning.”