Page 19 of Lost in Barbarian Space

Suddenly, he rolled, and she lost her balance. He shoved her off him, hard. She tumbled backward and jumped to her feet. She took two steps back, switching the grip on her staff.

Colm appeared by her side.

Another surviving raider joined hers. They both drew their swords, their gazes on Colm.

“Ready?” Colm asked.

“Hell yeah, warrior.”

Together, they rushed forward. Colm went in high, while Honor went in low. With a few quick slashes of Colm’s sword, and swings of Honor’s staff, they had the two raiders writhing in the dirt.

She dragged an arm across her face. She watched as Colm cleaned his sword and reached up, with a flex of muscles, to put it back in his scabbard.

“Not bad, warrior.”

He nodded. “The same to you. Not bad, little warrior.”

She frowned at him. “I’m not little.”

“You are compared to me.”

“Most people are little compared to you.”

“Everyone okay?” Derek shouted. “I barely got a shot off. You two were incredible.”

The archeologists crept out of hiding.

Honor eyed the raiders’ milling hargon beasts, moving closer to study them. “What do we do about these?”

“Let them go. They’ll find wild packs to join, or be caught by traders.”

She nodded. “I suggest we load this pod up and get back to the estate.” She clipped her staff back to her belt. “I don’t want to risk making this a big, juicy target for anyone else.”

“I think that is an excellent idea.”

There was a sudden burst of movement near the hargons.

Honor spun…just in time to see a raider leap onto the back of a hargon and charge in her direction.

Dammit. The man must have been hiding among the beasts. She heard Colm shout, was reaching for her laser pistol⁠—

The raider leaned down, snatched her off her feet, and yanked her onto the galloping beast.

Colm let out a sharp whistle, watching the raider’s beast thunder away.

A second later, his hargon raced up beside him. He gripped the reins and while the beast was still moving swung onto its back.

He set his heels into the hargon’s side. “Yah. Find your speed, my friend.”

Ahead, he saw the dirt flying up behind the raider’s beast. The bastard had Honor, and Colm had no intention of seeing her raped, murdered, or sold into slavery.

His face turned grim and his hands tightened on the reins. He would get her back.

He leaned forward over the neck of his hargon, the wind blowing his hair back. He could see Honor struggling with the raider.

By the Warrior’s fist. If she fell off at this speed she’d break her neck. He was certain even skyflyer technology couldn’t heal that.

Colm urged more speed from his hargon.