Page 12 of Dragon Me Through Space

“If I don’t kill you, you’ll send mercenaries after me, again, and I don’t want to keep killing my former friends,” I said. “Besides, I’m not going to stay here, so I don’t care what chaos ensues.”

“You do care. That’s always been your problem, Xoe. You care about people, don’t like to see them hurt on your behalf, and it will be your downfall,” Charles said.

I didn’t know how he knew my real name, but at the moment I didn’t dwell on it. Also, he was right. Curse him to the seven hells, he was right that I cared too much.

“Well, I don’t care,” Zeke said from behind Charles.

Charles spun around with his mouth open and shock etched across his features.

Zeke stabbed Charles through the chest with his claw tipped hand, twisted, and jerked it out, leaving a gaping hole in Charle’s chest.

Charles’s body fell to the ground, a pool of blood immediately spreading out from beneath him.

Dead. Charles was dead.

Oh, no. Crap!

“We’ve got to leave!” I screamed and grabbed Gage’s hand. “Now!”

“What are you yelling for?” Zeke asked as he used Charles’s shirt to clean off some of the blood from his hand.

I grabbed his arm and yanked to make him come with us. Surprisingly, the giant Dragonkin allowed me to pull him along, though he wasn’t moving nearly as fast as I wanted him to. “You moron! They’re going to come after us. We have to get off planet as soon as possible.”

“Who is?” Gage asked.

Both at least followed me without hesitation, even if they didn’t understand the severity of what they’d just done.

“His minions,” I snapped. “He leaves them at the laboratory, but if he dies, they are released and come after whoever was near him at the time of his death.”

Scout chirped and placed red dots to indicate enemies approaching.

Shit, we already had company.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“On the ship,” Zeke answered. “I came because I sensed … trouble.”

He’d sensed trouble? What the heck did that mean?

The ship came into view. Almost there.

The red dots moved closer, gaining on us.

“His minions are almost on us,” I said. “You two get on the ship. I’ll hold them off.”

“We aren’t leaving you to fight … whatever they are,” Zeke growled.

I drew out my recent purchase, still wrapped in a cloth, and said, “You’ll just get in my way. Get on the damn ship, Giant.”

“Zeke. My name is Zeke,” he grumbled.

Gage tapped his ear. “Start the ship. We need to leave.”

“Ear comms?” I asked Zeke.

He nodded.

Scout buzzed.