Page 3 of Veras (Nozaroc Alien Warrior #2)

A roar shook the stands. Below, the alien-dragon, the one I’d locked eyes with earlier, was fighting for its life.

Nito zipped around in glee because I was panting in fear.

I scrambled behind the bored harem to get a better vantage point.

But they were sprawled out in a pile, blocking my view and no longer pretending to fawn all over the supreme.

I ducked under an arm and beheld a terrifying sight.

The beast is truly awesome.

At least twenty guards pulled him across the field by the collar. The brutoo roared and threw its head back every time they fed a deadly jolt of electricity into him. The metal collars proved unbreakable, so the magnificent monster had no hope of escape.

Inkonexo jumped off the stage and straight for the beast.

“This- this brutoo is indigenous to this world and lives in the desert, among the wind storms that roam this land,” the supreme stated.

“Powerful, deadly. Faster- er than sound. But will it escape the killer winds- winds ?” He paused just enough to heighten the emotions of the audience and then continued. “Wagers- gers ? Any wagers?”

A whirling purr swept over the crowd, and holograms filled with complicated symbols flashed before the Aavvee’s faces. Quickly, they clicked the translucent pages. I ignored the crowd; my undivided attention remained on the deadly animal in the center of the ring.

“Fine- fine . Wagers closed. Bets taken. Now- now we watch.” The supreme signaled a guard who waved a staff and somehow managed to get it to respond.

The buttery forcefield that surrounded the U-shaped arena opened even further.

Strong winds rushed in, battering the animal cages and whipping through the stands.

Aavvee cloaks flew up and around their heads, and again, the crowd devolved into chaos.

Luckily, there were no signs of the giant tornadoes.

Taking advantage of the melee, I crept closer to the edge of the stage to see what special kind of hell they had in store for the alien-dragon. Nothing that these Aavvee came up with was good. Or kind. Nor did it extend your life in any manner.

Nito slipped through my hair, making the ends dance, his essence somehow distinguishable from the roaring winds slicing through the arena.

Inkonexo paced around the beast, studying every aspect of him, raising a hand and then pulling back when the monster would throw yet another guard out of its way.

Even wounded, with the collar on, it appeared invincible. If only—

A hand clamped around my neck, choking off my air. I was pulled back into an all too familiar stench. More alien dick. I gagged, even with the pressure against my esophagus.

“You- you dare to bite me? Use those nasty little teeth. You- you will pay! I will kill you before the supreme has time to miss his pet.” Creeper jumped in front of me, which meant one of the guards held me from behind.

I searched for a weapon— anything that I could use against him. Because at this moment, I knew I was as close to death as I’d ever been on this planet.

The thin, unyielding body of a guard was at my back. I tried to peer up to see him, but he was too fast, pulling me further back behind the stage where the harem would shield me from view.

I raked my nails over his arm but couldn’t penetrate his thick skin. Talons cut deep as Creeper studied my mouth. For good measure, I bared my teeth, and he took a step back.

“Disgusting- ting creature. You won’t be so brave when I pull out those teeth, one by one. Then I will use your nasty pet mouth. I- I will—”

The guard stumbled behind me, allowing the smallest give. I lunged forward and swiped at Creeper’s face, managing to jab a digit in his bulbous eye, using a big chunk of the last of my strength. Between the lack of Oro and oxygen, I was about to faint.

“Again- again . You dare!” He slashed me in the gut, his sharp talons penetrating my flesh. I went limp before he’d even removed his three-fingered hand.

Nito freaked out and whizzed faster and faster around me, kicking up dirt and stone, the dark sand choking all of us.

The guard lost his grip enough that I gulped in a breath, and adrenaline kicked in.

I jumped up, and the top of my head slammed into the underside of the guard’s chin.

To my utmost surprise, I’d knocked him out.

Note to self. The Aavvee have glass jaws.

Before Creeper could react, I ignored the searing pain in my side and grabbed the guard’s staff.

Creeper lunged, but I evaded him, twisting a lot faster than any of them suspected.

I’d spent my time here crouched down and small.

They had no idea I could move. By Earth’s standards, I wasn’t very fast, but my body proportions drastically differed from the Aavvee’s.

My legs were twice as long. Most of their height was in their head and torso.

I ran past the apathetic harem and rushed to the side of the stage, hoping to jump onto one of the elevated platforms. So far, no one had noticed me; all eyes were on the beast below.

What was the best route for escape? Since I had no way off this dusty wreck of a planet, I decided to go back into the mountain.

Maybe I could hide. Over five years, I’d studied every nook and cranny of the caves and tunnels.

Because I’d acted docile—and had absolutely nowhere to go—they’d relaxed my supervision after the first couple of years.

The buttery metal platform floated up, and I hopped on. That was when my luck ran out. Creeper suddenly grew some balls and screeched at the top of his lungs. The sound was so powerful, I felt my eardrums vibrate.

I flattened myself on the suspended ledge, but instead of going down, it hovered, and I had no idea how to adjust it.

I fiddled with the staff and prayed something would work.

Eventually, I headed down; unfortunately, it set me right next to Inkonexo.

He hadn’t noticed me yet, still fixated on the beast. He strode toward it with his hand held out.

Is he trying to touch it?

Unfortunately, the horde of guards running toward me would probably tip Inkonexo off.

Hijo de la gran puta!

Nito buzzed in agitation, and I felt him flow toward Inkonexo. Even without Nito touching me, I felt what he intended. He wanted to hurt Inkonexo. So, I did something I hadn’t done since arriving here. I screamed at the top of my lungs, “No! Come back.”

The evil alien spun toward me, and a shudder went through him, as if my voice…affected him. Inkonexo looked at me, really looked at me in a way no one had ever done on this planet.

It scared the shit out of me.

His yellow eyes swirled, and he studied every inch of me, zeroing in on my hair. It fluttered and flew erratically because Nito had returned at my command.

“Calm down, mi amor,” I spoke softly, no longer willing to be silent. I refused to spend my last minutes yelling at Nito.

The burst of wind immediately settled.

“That voice. It can’t be…” Inkonexo lifted a hand. “Who do you speak to?” Suddenly, Mr. Mean and Demanding’s tone gentled.

I don’t buy it. I glanced at my wound. Bright red blood soaked my sack dress.

I was only a few feet away from the alien-dragon.

It stood close to twenty feet tall, its head as large as a bus.

A mist of gold poured off its scales, emitting the most delicious scent.

I wanted to roll around in it, take it into every cell of my body.

I stumbled a bit, completely light-headed from the loss of blood, but I wanted to follow that smell.

Even if it meant approaching the brutoo they had chained up.

The beast watched me, completely still, flaring its nostrils as I took a tentative step away from Inkonexo and toward it. Eerily enough, because the alien-dragon had settled, the guards around it paused as well, confused at the abrupt change.

Everyone is staring at me.

I coughed up blood. My adrenaline rush… gone.

This is the end of a long road. I didn’t have long to live, but I’d go out on my terms and maybe help this gorgeous monster along the way.

The beast would absolutely kill me, but I was dead anyway.

My only hope was it would take a hell of a lot of aliens with it before it escaped through the wide-open doors.

At peace, or as close to it as I’d ever been on this mother- clucking planet—I blew Nito one last kiss. With a quick tug, I ran my hand along the side of the staff.

Almost there…

“Do not! “Inkonexo rushed at me but paused when I held up the pole. “Do not be stupid, Pet. If you release the beast, you’ll die along with the rest of us.”

“That’s what I’m counting on.” I showed him the red splotch staining my side. “I’m dead already.”

“Run, fools, run! She is releasing—”

I hit the last button, and the collar dropped away from the brutoo ’s neck. It reared back on two sets of hind legs and roared at the sky.

Anarchy ensued. Aavvee flapped and screeched in the stands, crushing each other in the stampede. Several hundred fell from their floating pods, and… it was the best thing I’d ever seen.

Me. The meaningless, little human had wrought all of this destruction. Too bad I’d only be alive a few more minutes before I was trampled or devoured by my alien-dragon.

Yes, I’d decided to claim him. Or maybe he’d claimed me. I watched as the brutoo tore off Aavvee limbs and heads, shredding and consuming aliens in a bite. The guards took Inkonexo’s advice and ran for their lives. Not that it mattered. The speed with which the beast moved was awe-inspiring.

I didn’t bother to run.

I stood as tall as I could, no longer interested in appearing small, satisfied that I had control over my life—and perhaps the death of an incalculable amount of Aavvee.

Was it possible there were innocents in the stands?

Maybe. But maybe not. They’d chosen to attend.

This planet peddled in slavery and torture, so no, I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for the visitors.

I said a small novena for any innocents, hoping they escaped. After that, I was good.

Nito tickled the nape of my neck as if urging me to run. “No, mi amor. I’m staying right here. But if you’re scared, you can go. I’ll miss you so much.”

He tickled my cheek and my lips, as he always did when I spoke to him, and ruffled my hair quite dramatically. As if I’d offended him.

“I love you, Nito. Thanks for being my friend.”

The beast paused and glanced over its back as if it’d heard me. Ay, chingado . Some of my satisfaction was quickly replaced by bone-numbing fear. It charged at me full speed, and I shut my eyes, too terrified to look.

Don’t let it hurt. Make it fast. I—

A vice gripped my waist, and I was flying through the air. My eyes popped open as I landed on the beast’s back. The spikes on its spine shifted and grew over and around me, plastering my hips to the scaled back of the dragon.

I sat high atop the beast! Stuck! And I had a front row view to total destruction. It plowed through Aavvee, chomping off limbs, tossing their frail bodies in the air.

But I… I was surrounded by warm, lush luxury.

I wasn’t even struggling because this beautiful brutoo was surrounded in a golden mist that smelled so delicious it was like a warm blanket for the soul.

It’d been over five years since I felt this safe, all because of the delicious golden mist painting me, rushing through my nose and mouth as I gulped in air.

A blast of laser fire cut through the haze.

I turned in its direction to see that some of the Aavvee had procured a craft.

They were using it as a weapon, blindly shooting into the arena.

Their target was most likely the beast, but their aim was pitiful.

Most of the shots landed in the stands, killing the spectators.

Idiotas. Every last one of them.

The beast huffed and turned to look at me.

Golden eyes penetrated mine, and if I weren’t almost dead, I would’ve tried a little harder to figure out what the hell was going on.

A second shot whizzed over our heads and landed at the base of the stage.

The left side of the platform crumbled, and I heard the supreme squawking through the advanced sound system.

The brutoo took off and instead of heading inside the mountain, he sprinted toward the open gates—and the giant friggin’ tornadoes that couldn’t be far away.

“No! Don’t go out there!” My words were snatched up by the gale-force winds that only increased the closer we got to the barrier.

We breached the gates, and I took in the endless black stone.

But traveling faster than a bullet train, plastered to the back of an eight-legged alien-dragon, I couldn’t focus on details.

The landscape blurred into one fuzzy ebony line.

I heard the rumble before I spied the tornadoes barreling toward us.

The beast must have spotted them, and yet…

we made a sharp turn toward the massive twisters.

“No! Go left.” Again, my shouts might as well have been whispers.

We sped toward spiraling golden cyclones that loomed larger and deadlier than anything I’d ever witnessed. Nito’s warm caresses grew fainter as we flew forward.

“Please, turn around!” I pulled at the beast’s scales, even tried to bite it but quickly realized the mist tasted as good as it smelled. My lips lingered far too long, and I ended up giving him more of a hickey than a bite.

The brutoo dug in and ran faster, evading the smaller tornadoes, but I could see the granddaddy of them all zeroing in. The beast feinted to the left, and the twister was right in front of me, and I… couldn’t process words.

Because despite my terror and the delicious mist coating my tongue, I could only register awe at the sentient tornadoes. Whirling bands of sparkling gold. The big one was made of unique slivers, as alive and lovely as Nito. They were lit by flame, emitting the same mist as the monster beneath me.

“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered as it rushed toward us.

At my words, the tornado paused, hovering for the briefest of seconds, long enough for the beast to pivot toward the wall of black mountains.

I couldn’t appreciate our victory because I felt the last of Nito’s presence fade away. The strong winds stripped him from me. My joy at looking into the face of something so terrifyingly beautiful was overshadowed by my loss. I knew it in my bones. Nito was gone.

That hurt me worse than the idea of my own death.

I looked up and saw the mountains looming ahead, and my startled scream was snatched away. Luckily, the world faded to black right before we smashed into the side of a mountain.