Page 19 of Xefe (Nozaroc Alien Warrior #1)

S unny’s chest swelled and his mango eyes swirled. He looked pissed. “Your time is over.” He ran his gaze over us. Clearly judging us hard . “You’ve wasted precious sonas on questions about our families. Useless. Now, you live or die by your choices.”

I watched Sunny stomp away. Despite his dire warning, my girly parts spasmed in reaction to the grumpy alien. That man and his smell. And those growled words with his vibrating tongue.

It was all too much.

With every fiber of my being, I pushed my desire aside.

I focused on the last few minutes of our convo, hoping the questions I’d asked him hit home.

There was no way that all three of their mothers, Nime, Xefe, and Loxo’s, had said the same exact phrase.

This story was getting com-pli-cated , and I was here for it.

Because no matter what the explanation, the supreme was lying.

About something. I just couldn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together yet.

But I would. And when I did, Mr. Truth and Honesty was going to have a come-to- Jesus-Cristo moment. He’d have to decide if he would remain loyal to a pathological supreme.

“Earthers. Come. Practice. Go!” Nime, in his broken English, shooed us toward the playing field. “More time. Go!”

In a few short hours, we’d mastered the relatively simple course.

Our smaller size actually helped. Until we came to the end.

The Floating Stones. I studied the platforms suspended in air, each one higher than the last and a little farther away.

The very last floater was the problem. I could toss Querida and Nieve across, but I was left stranded.

I hadn’t tapped into my Oro superpowers, mostly because I didn’t know how, but I was worried that the burst of speed I’d used yesterday might be gone forever.

Maybe it’s a one-time deal.

Which meant it was time to focus on escape.

This dilapidated training field was located on the side of a giant onyx mountain that didn’t have any walkways or stairs.

But it did have cave openings. A large pod of pangos streamed in and out of them as they scavenged for food and generally caused a ruckus.

There were piles of littered space junk, but a few floating platforms still hovered in place.

At one point, Loxo had zoomed over on some sort of hover-craft to talk to us while we practiced.

I’d paid special attention to how he’d operated the alien technology.

It was my best bet to access the cave entrances above us.

Loxo had activated the craft with his staff, but once on the machine, he’d maneuvered it with his body angle and a switch on the side. While the girls tried to traverse the pods, I came up with a plan.

“Time to retire, earthers. You have worked hard. Follow me.” Loxo happily trilled and led the way.

I lingered, dragging my heels. Querida cocked her head to the side, watching me. I placed a finger over my lips and nodded toward the floating glider.

Querida glanced at Loxo and shook her head.

Sorry, chica. I have to try.

I sprinted full force toward the platform when his back was turned.

My feet hit surprisingly soft metal. Loxo shouted my name, but I ignore him.

I jumped twice and swiped at the side of the machine, praying I hit the right button.

Third time was the charm because I lurched above Loxo’s head right before his beefy, six-fingered hand swiped at me.

“Get down from there. You will get hurt.” Thankfully, only his purple eye was swirling.

“No way, Jose.” I leaned my body toward the mountain, willing the platform toward the caves high above me. Thankfully, it obeyed, and I rose toward the highest opening.

As soon as I got close enough, I grabbed onto the brittle rock, clawing at the mountain ledge. I didn’t know how to stop the floater, so I dove through the cave and tried to drag it in with me. No luck. It kept rising. I looked down at the massive drop, realizing I had no way to get back down.

Unless I find a way off this death trap.

Didn’t matter. Valentina needed me. Fury and a soul-aching worry washed over me. She was helpless. Our lease would be up in days. She couldn’t work. Couldn’t hold down a job. And because of her love of making out, it would only be a matter of time before she was forced to do something drastic.

If that happened, my sweet, headstrong sister would lose her spark.

Her innocence. Any joy she’d previously received from random hookups would be snuffed out by the harsh reality of selling her body for money.

There’d been a few times, especially after I’d been injured, when I’d almost tried it myself.

Luckily, most men were intimidated by my attitude and scars, no matter how cute my dimples were.

Not to mention my reputation as a killer on the field.

Their loss.

I scrambled quickly through the cavern. The damp tunnel rose upward, exactly where I wanted to be.

Every mountain had its zenith. I was already so high up, I hoped it couldn’t be much farther until I broke through and got a lay of the land.

Sunny swore there was no escape. He was obsessed with telling the truth, but what if the supreme had asked him to lie?

He owed me no loyalty. I wanted to see for myself whether portals were the only way off this planet.

The light faded as I raced through spiraling tunnels, the passageway narrowing the further I ascended.

In minutes, I was encased in velvet black.

I slapped my hand against the wall, following slowly, using it as a touchstone to make it through.

There might be a ledge, and I wouldn’t even know it.

My steps slowed, and I glanced back unnecessarily.

What if I can’t find my way back? What if I’m trapped in here forever?

I tapped my palm reflexively, automatically trying to activate my GPS. Carajo! Still dead. I’d always had my vid-phone to guide me. I hadn’t had to pay attention since… ever. Literally.

The cave cut right, and as I was about to go back, too terrified to take another step, until I spied a faint glow up ahead.

Feeling my way toward the light, my jaw almost hit the ground at what I saw: a golden oasis.

An Oro-filled jungle seeped through and over the onyx rock.

Heart-shaped palms and vines glowed as they wound around the walls and ceiling.

It was so beautiful it stole my breath. The overgrown vegetation from the planet was alive with Oro.

The fluorescent gold bled through the veins of the plants, lighting the whole tunnel.

Tiny streams of glitter floated above the fauna, lighting the dank passageway.

The air felt thinner up here, and for the first time, I acknowledged that this mountain may go up for miles.

But not for me because the tunnels ended, abruptly.

There was no pinnacle. No opening to allow me to see outside. I’d been running for nothing.

No! No! No!

I spun around to circle back, to try another path, another tunnel, anything , when I lost my balance and fell. I sprawled forward and hit the ground hard, scraping my knee and palms. Nothing was going my way.

Valentina. I’m sorry.

Holding back a sob, I crawled back down the tunnel, the tears soaking my piece of shit potato-sack dress.

This was it. Confirmation. Sunny had told the truth.

There was no escape. No hope for me. For Valentina.

A faint voice in my head reminded me that there might be a million other ways back home, but the totality of being kidnapped and dumped into a bigger hellhole than Earth, drowned me.

Without my sister.

One of the leaves ahead of me shook. Over the past few hours, I hadn’t heard a peep. The absence of noise had been deafening. No chattering pangos. No growly aliens. No shoomp shoomp of the portals.

The leaf rustled again.

I looked down the cave. The bend was only about twenty feet ahead. I should make a break for it, but my damn curiosity won out. I couldn’t resist and took a peek behind the giant, heart-shaped leaf.

A crumpled little body lay unmoving. A pango.

Oh no! Was it dead? Please, little guy. Don’t be dead.

I crouched next to it, trying to dry my bloody hands before touching its tiny body.

I nudged it slightly and recognized the gold racing stripe down its back.

It resembled the little guy that Freckles had manhandled.

Slowly, I cradled the little pango in my hands.

His limp body spanned both my palms, only weighing about five pounds.

I felt around for a pulse but wasn’t sure where to look.

He had a short neck, and his fur was so silky and thick, like mink, that I couldn’t feel a beating heart.

But I did spy identifying features to let me know he was a male.

Guess he didn’t have the same problem as Sunny.

Dios , it was amazing to study him up close.

His round face was adorable. Smashed nose, huge eyes, and long ears.

And his wings were so small and delicate they reminded me of dragonflies.

How did they support his weight? He had four arms, rather than legs, sort of like a monkey—each hand with a double thumb, just like the warriors.

That was a strange similarity unless the animals of this galaxy all had double thumbs.

But the Aavvee had three-fingered hands.

No matter how many times I patted the pango, or shook him lightly, he didn’t move. Dios, he’s dead. Gone. Just like Valentina if I didn’t make it back home. I cried into his soft fur, still petting his thick coat, finally accepting defeat. I couldn’t help this pango or my sister.

My hands trembled and jerked. I gasped and looked down. The baby pango’s little tongue darted out and licked the tears off his whiskers.

“Sorry, let me wipe that off.” I sobbed and laughed as I watched his golden tongue in action. “I’m so happy you’re alive.” I ran my thumb over the side of his face, and before I could react, his sharp-as-hell teeth bit down into my finger.

Ay! I jumped, but he held on for dear life, at first feebly sucking but quickly gaining strength.

After the initial bite, I hadn’t tried all that hard to get rid of him.

It no longer hurt, and I didn’t want to startle him.

I think my blood’s helping him somehow. After a few minutes, he slumped into my palm, his tiny hand patting mine as he drifted off to sleep.

His chest rose and fell, and I could hear a strangled sound accompanying each breath he took.

The little pango was… snoring .

I watched him until I was sure his breathing was steady. I wished I could stay but I had to get back, had to keep trying to find my sister or make my way back home. Time to say goodbye, pangito. As I lay him on the ground, piercing hoots and shrieks rent the air.

Oh shit. I was about to have some visitors, and they sounded pissed.