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I've never felt so useless and vulnerable in my entire life, crouched in the dense forest and watching the males engage in combat with a solitary enemy. An impenetrable shield cloaks their scaly opponent, rendering their laser fire useless. Each shot bounces harmlessly off the alien's shielding. I can only hold my breath and watch in frustration and fear as Qhix's sivot sustains blast wounds while protecting the Ziarians as they return fire.
"There has to be something we can do," I utter through gritted teeth.
"Keep down," Stacy fusses at me when I surge forward as the sivot takes another laser blast to the leg. She tugs me down beside her. "We can't help them. We'd be killed the second we stepped out on to the field."
"Why is the lizard guy here?" Romy asks in her heavy German accent. "What does he what?"
"I don't know," I say, the girls and I huddling as one, our eyes wide and fearful, reflecting the raging light show of blaster exchange between the Ziarian males and the turquoise cowboy lizard I vaguely recall bumping into on the Gilded Orb.
"Is he for real wearing a Stetson?" Darcy mumbles in disbelief.
"Looks like one to me, and what about those black leather chaps?" Zoe cringes as a bright laser blast narrowly misses her mate’s shoulder.
The sivot roars a pained cry that pierces the pandemonium, and I feel every agonizing sound like a physical blow. My stomach twists as another blast sears his thigh, leaving a blackened wound on his ethereal hide.
"Damn it," I curse under my breath, powerless to do anything except watch.
"Qhix's sivot is getting hammered. Jesus, look at his poor legs," Stacy whispers, her voice quivering with the same fear clawing at my insides. "It's like the lizard cowboy is purposely aiming for his knees."
"Looks like it to me too," I groan, the reality bitter on my tongue. "I think he knows if the sivot gets hold of him, he's dead."
I watch him through the chaos, his snow-white lion's mane, unruly and wild, a stark contrast against his swirling blue skin, the corium shield on his arm taking a beating to protect the Ziarian's finding cover behind it.
"Scheisse!" Romy curses in her native tongue. "There's got to be something we can do to help them."
The Lizordian is a nightmare come to life. The shock of red and yellow hair hanging out from beneath the brim of his stark white cowboy hat flickers like flames with every shot from his blaster, its shots merciless and unyielding.
We were supposed to be safe on Crao! Is it my fault the cowboy lizard is here? Did he follow us from the Gilded Orb?
"Drax!" Stacy grips my arm, crying out in alarm as her mate takes a searing blast to the arm, causing him to nearly drop his weapon.
"Fall back!" the sivot roars, but the rest of his words are lost in raging battle.
I suck back a hard gasp as he charges forward, leaning his shield into the cowboy lizard's blaster fire and giving the Ziarians a chance to take cover inside the tree line.
"Hard-headed fool," I curse, worried about his reckless bravery. But without hesitation, he continues to push forward, determined to protect us at any cost.
Qhix's sivot slams his shield into the alien. We all cheer as the turquoise lizard flies through the air, bouncing once, twice, before he slides across the ground to a halt. The sivot comes to stand over him, rearing back a meaty fist and delivering a serious punch. His fist glances off as the shield around the enemy shimmers from the force of the hit.
"Kick his ass, Qhix!" I stand and yell, pumping my fist in the air.
The sivot roars, punching and pounding on the downed the enemy. More girls join my cheers as an explosion of sparks rains down around the sivot.
"He's broken through the lizard's shield." Darcy bounces on her toes.
Relief and hope fills me. It's only a matter of time before the sivot delivers a killing blow. I know the sivot won't stop until I'm safe.
My heart stops when the lizard points a new weapon and fires.
"No!" I start to run toward Qhix's sivot as he falls to the ground, but the girls tackle me, holding me down so I can't move.
The lizard stands over the sivot and wags the gun at him. His mouth moves but his words don't reach my ears. I'm too heartbroken and shocked to move.
The Ziarians get back in on the action, shouting and firing on the lizard, who takes cover behind a tree. To my horror, the sivot morphs back into Qhix's Kaul form and begins to crawl toward the lizard.
The lizard opens fire on Qhix and a little piece of me dies as he collapses unmoving onto the ground.
The Ziarians continue to fire but whatever weapon the lizard has now, picks them off one by one until all five males are down.
