AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"His shielding is too strong," I hear one of the other Ziarian males shout as the plasma blast sizzles harmlessly against the Lizordian's protective barrier.
"Told ye!" The Lizordian bellows with laughter. "Now gimme the females and I'll be on me way."
"Not happening, freak!" The blue-streaked haired male who carried Tasha to safety is back. "Let him have it."
I stand fiercely with the five Ziarians who had imprisoned me, my shield raised as a wall against the barrage of laser fire raining down from the Lizordian's weapon. The males huddle close as I bat away the incoming blaster fire, each deflection a thunderclap, giving them a chance to unleash their own volley of shots in return. Our battlefield erupts in a chaotic dance of searing energy and roaring laser and plasma blasts.
A sharp cry slices through the cacophony of battle, and the yellow-maned male recoils, clutching his arm where a laser blast sears his flesh. We were five blasters against one, yet the Lizordian has the upper hand.
"Fall back!" My roar eclipses the din of combat. "You can't breach his energy shield. Protect the females while I put an end to this."
And with that, I charge.
"Yer fury be wasted, Kaul!" The Lizordian's taunt slices through the inferno of battle, his scaled lips curling into a smirk beneath the wide brim of his white hat.
"We shall see," I snarl. With my shield raised, I lower my head and thunder into the onslaught of his blaster fire.
I don't know the Lizordian's intentions for the females, nor do I care. That scaled abomination will have to trample over my lifeless corpse before he lays his clawed hands on my Tasha or any of the others.
As I draw closer, the Lizordian's movements are serpentine and swift like that of a cunning predator. Agony explodes in both of my legs as his blaster fire finds its mark, but I keep coming. Barreling toward the Lizordian, I slam my corium shield into him, knocking him off his feet.
I sneer a satisfied grin as he bounces across the ground before skidding to a halt. He lies there, dazed but not defeated. I stand over him, rearing back my fist and delivering a blow that should silence him forever. Instead, my fist glances off the energy shield protecting his body.
He smirks up at me, but I refuse to back down. With a roar, I continue to punch and pound at the shielding with all my might. Each blow reverberates through my body, his laughter fueling my rage and determination to protect my mate.
The Lizordian blasts me with laser fire at close range. I endure the searing hits and continue my relentless assault. Wet warmth covers my skin, a visceral reminder of my wounds. The stench of singed flesh fills my nostrils, a cruel reminder of my mortality even in my sivot form.
"Ayt! So a sivot can bleed," the Lizordian hisses triumphantly, but his satisfaction melts away as panic sets in as the first cracks in his shielding begin to show under the force of my punches.
The victory is mine for the taking, and nothing will stand in the way of me protecting my mate!
I continue to pummel the energy shield, focusing my blows where the shield is giving way. The Lizordian shifts around inside his failing shield, trading his laser blaster for another weapon.
He aims it directly at my face, but I refuse to back down. I must keep Tasha out of the hands of this scaled abomination. With a final blow, the shield shatters in a shower of light; stinging sparks rain down around us, bouncing off my skin as I haul back my fist to deliver the Lizordian a death blow.
The Lizordian fires his weapon and my vision blurs but not from pain. My limbs grow heavy and too hard to lift as the Lizordian scrambles away. I collapse forward onto the ground, helpless and unable to lift myself up as the Lizordian stands over me.
"Bioti tranquilizer." The Lizordian wags the weapon at me. "Guess me should have led wit this first."
Shouts are followed by blaster fire as the Ziarians get back in on the action.
"Ye broos be a relentless lot," the Lizordian drawls, dive rolling behind a nearby tree trunk for cover. "Me only came for de females."
"You... cannot... have them..." my words are mere whispers floating on the breeze. I fight to remain in sivot form, but my beast can't fight the effects of the unyielding sedation.
Desperation claws at my insides, a primal need to rise, to get back into the fight. Incoming laser fire begins to diminish as the Lizordian takes out one male after another with his tranquilizer darts.
With the tips of my fingers, I pull at the hard ground, moving in a slow crawl toward the Lizordian.
"Ye got determination, me give ye dat." The Lizordian aims and fires on me again. "Stay down, broo."
I collapse back. My vision blurs, pain from my many wounds clouds my senses, the weight of failing my Tasha is a shroud that drapes over me, heavy and absolute.
"Tasha..." Her name is a ghost on my breath as my strength wanes, and my vision gives way to darkness.
TASHA
My breath hitches, eyes locked on the battle raging beyond the veil of alien foliage. Qhix's sivot, his monstrous beast with eyes that blaze a blinding white and shimmering skin swirling like liquid metal, is now pale and leaking from multiple wounds on his legs from the relentless barrage of blaster fire. Despite the sivot's shield ricochetting hit after hit, the Lizordian's aim is cruelly precise where the shield doesn't reach, each shot a thunderous crack, splitting the air and striking the sivot's legs with brutal force.
