by T. J. Quinn
Ryoko scoffed. “Why not? There’s plenty where that one came from,” he said in a venomous tone.
Sylan faltered. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t care,” he pointed out, sounding victorious.
“Not necessarily. I don't like my toys being stolen,” Ryoko replied, slowly moving towards Sylan.
His moves were so imperceptible I doubted Sylan had noticed how close Ryoko was now. I felt I was watching a giant anaconda stalking its prey, getting ready to attack.
Sylan was desperate. He was breathing hard, and I could feel his heart beating to a frantic rhythm. He was scared and with reason. The Asseptians and the Septians were not warriors. They conquered worlds, sneaking into them like the parasites they were.
“You knew I wanted her for myself… you knew it, and yet you went behind my back and snatched her away from me,” he protested, furious.
“I couldn’t let you have her. There are plenty of females for you to have fun at the breeding quarters. This one is my toy,” Ryoko said in a harsh tone, and I started thinking he was probably telling Sylan the truth.
I mean… this version of the facts made so much sense. He had lusted for me, and he had taken me, period. Not that whole bullshit about mates, life partners… just plain lust.
“You’re not supposed to have toys!” Sylan ranted.
“You know nothing about my people or me,” Ryoko said, oozing his contempt for the other man, in each and every word that came out of his mouth. “Quit this! You’re still on time. You’ll go your way, and we’ll go our way as if nothing had happened,” Ryoko suggested, with a cold, calm tone.
“No!” he knew if he ratted out on Ryoko, he would have to tell the elders all about his part in the situation, and the Asseptians would not like his role on it. “She’s mine.”
He waved the weapon, and before he was able to pull the trigger, Ryoko was on top of him, snatching the weapon from his hand and sending him to the ground with a powerful punch.
I shouted and fell to the ground but managed to roll away from the fighting couple, trembling.
The weapon had been thrown to the ground and laid a few feet away from the men. I considered picking it up, but I was so weak, so cold, I could barely move.
All I could do was pray Ryoko would be alright and that we could go home.
One final punch rendered Sylan unconscious, and Ryoko jumped to his feet, apparently unscathed. He took off his cloak and wrapped me with it.
“Can you walk?” he asked, worried.
“I don’t think so. I’m too cold,” I confessed, relishing on the cloak.
The fabric still held Ryoko’s warmth and scent, and I felt at home for some strange reason.
“I’ll carry you home,” he said, making his armor disappear and picking me in his arms.
“We’re too far,” I protested. “I’m too heavy,”
“Not for me,” he assured me.
“Are you going to leave him there?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“He’ll have you killed! He’ll tell the Asseptians you went rogue, and they will feed you to the dragons,” I spurted, too scared to think clearly.
“He has too much to lose if he does it,” he assured me.
Still not convinced, I looked over his shoulder and cried out when I saw Sylan reaching for his weapon.
“Watch out!” I yelled at Ryoko.
Ryoko turned with me still in his arms and saw the weapon on Sylan’s hand. He immediately turned his back on the despicable man, and the blast hit him in the middle of his back.
Ryoko roared, and his pain rushed through me. He didn’t have his armor on, but he put it on moments after putting me on the ground, so he could face Sylan and get rid of the man as soon as possible.
With his claws in battle mode, he reached the other man, dodging the blasts of his weapon, and grabbed him by his throat, lifting him a couple of feet off the ground.
Ryoko broke the weapon in two with a furious roar.
“I’m sorry for the human you’ve infected, but I’m sure he would agree with me that you don’t deserve to live another second,” he snarled before he broke the man’s neck with his bare hands.
The sound of his bones breaking echoed in the night, and life fled the human body. Ryoko dropped it to the ground and stood there, waiting. A few moments later, the Septian parasite crawled out of the dead human, clearly in agony.
I gasped, disgusted, and watched Ryoko as he placed his heavy foot over it, smashing it until all there was left was a slimy, formless mass.
With Sylan out of the way, Ryoko turned to look at me while his armor disappeared. The moonlight was bright enough for me to see him well, and when he fell to his knees, his face turned into a hard mask of pain, I let out a small cry.
“Ryoko!” I cried out, jumping to my feet and rushing to his side, just in time to stop him from falling to the ground. “Oh, God, please… talk to me! What’s the matter?” I asked, barely able to hold the dead weight in my arms, but he was so pale, so weak, his lips didn’t utter a word.
As carefully as I could, I moved him just enough to look at his back, and I almost passed out at the sight of the massive wound he had on his back. He was bleeding profusely - or at least, I thought it was blood because the fluids were bluish and not red – and I didn’t know what to do.
“You’re hurt. Please, please, tell me what to do. You’re losing too much blood,” I begged Ryoko. “Don’t you dare to die on me. I wouldn’t know what to do without you,” I whimpered.
With his head on my chest and my arms wrapped around him, I felt more desperate than ever. I couldn’t let him die on me. But I had no idea what I should do. I had never taken care of anyone before.
“Please, Ryoko, please… I need you to help me. You have to tell me what to do,” I begged him once more.
“Leave...” the order came out of his lips. “Start running north, and don’t stop. You’ll find a human settlement not far from here. They will help you,” his tone was so low, so weak I could hardly hear him.
“I’m not going anywhere, not without you,” I assured him. “There must be something I can do. Just tell me, please,” I insisted.
He shook his head. “Go before they send the dragons out to find him,” he insisted.
“No! I’m not leaving you. So, you better get well,” I protested. “Please, let me help you.”
He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead against my chest. “Stubborn…” he mumbled, sounding weaker.
“I am, and I’m not leaving you here. So, you better start helping me, or we’ll both die in these woods,” I warned him.
He tried to raise his head to look at me, but he was too weak. The blast to his back must have done more damage than I could imagine.
“Can you see the creek?” he finally gave up, trying to send me away.
I looked around, wishing the sun was already up in the skies. Everything looked worst in the cold light of the moon.
I finally saw the damn creek, just a few feet away behind me.
“Yes, it’s behind me,” I told him.
“Can you drag me there?” he asked with a deep frown. “The cold water will help stop the bleeding.”
“It will hurt you more,” I pointed out, whimpering.
“I can take it. Can you do it?” he insisted.
Not even sure that would work, I nodded and started dragging him. He was a lot heavier than he looked, and with my body still a bit numb from the cold, it took me what felt like an eternity to get to the small creek and help him lay down on it.
“This is not working, Ryoko. You’re bleeding even more,” I cried as I watched the tainted water flowing away.
Chapter Fourteen
Ryoko
I should have killed the rat. I should have known he wouldn’t accept defeat, that he would attack me from behind. I should have known it, but all I wanted was to take Maya home.
When I saw the weapon on the rat’s hands, I knew I had to protect Maya
, so I turned my back at him and got the blast fully on my unprotected back.
I could have pulled on my armor, but my spikes would have injured or even killed Maya, and I couldn’t take that risk.
Pain coursed through me with rabid speed, stealing my breath away and pushing me a step forward.
Fueled by the rage and my need to protect Maya, I slowly put her down before I put on my armor, the scales containing the damage momentarily but causing a lot more pain.
Determined to end things, I rushed to where Sylan laid and pulled him up by his throat, ripping the weapon out of his hands and breaking it in two.
Killing him had been the easiest thing I had ever done. No other creature had deserved death more than him. But the whole ordeal took every ounce of energy I had left.
My armor vanished, and I started bleeding profusely. My healing abilities had little chance against a wound this big, especially with no blood to replace the one I was losing.
Maya’s insistence on helping me and staying beside me warmed my heart, but I knew she was in danger. She needed to escape. The dragons would be here in no time, looking for Sylan, and they weren’t exactly the forgiving kind.
The sounds of the creek dancing through the rocks gave me an idea, and I accepted her help.
“This is not working, Ryoko,” she insisted, sobbing. “Tell me how to help you, please, please…”
“You need to leave, Maya…” I ordered, but I knew she wouldn’t, not while I was still breathing.
“Never! Do you hear me? I will never leave your side…” she cried out. “And if you dare to die on me, I’ll lay down by your side and wait for the dragons to come, do you hear me? I will never leave,” she insisted, while thick tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Maya…” I tried once more, but she cut me off.
“Save your breath, unless you’re going to tell me how to help you,” she ranted. “Please!” she insisted, sobbing harder. “There must be a way.”
“I need blood,” I told her, hoping the cold truth would scare her away. “Your blood. Will you give it to me?” I asked, with a bit more scorn than intended.
“My blood? Will it help you?” she asked, confused.
“Yes… only your blood can save me,” I assured her, knowing she was going to cow and finally do as told.
I allowed my sharp fangs to slide down and waited for her reaction, pain getting stronger by the second.
There wasn’t a moment of doubt in her, not even a split second.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” she scolded me, in a tone half harsh, half relieved. She looked around as if looking for something. “We need to take you away from the water.”
“Maya! Did you understand what I just said?” I asked, astounded.
“Of course, I did; I’m not stupid,” she scolded me once more.
“It might kill you,” I warned her, though the possibilities were relatively slight.
“I’m sure you won’t let that happen. Now, let us get you out of here, so you can take the blood,” she said, pulling me to her lap.
“You don’t have to do this,” I insisted, still not sure how to interpret her reaction.
She stopped hustling and looked at me in the eyes. “Would you do it if I was the one in need?” she asked in a soft tone.
“It’s not the same thing…” I started saying, but she covered my lips with her finger.
“It’s exactly the same thing. Now, help me get you out of here,” she ordered, without a trace of hesitation in her voice.
Once out of the creek, she laid my cloak on the drier ground and helped me lie down.
“What do you need? My wrist or my neck?” she asked, breathing hard.
I could tell she was nervous, but not because she was afraid. She was worried about me, which gave me the strength to do what had to be done.
“Your neck would be better, but the wrist will do,” I told her, closing my eyes for a second as an intense wave of pain coursed through me.
“You’re getting weaker by the second,” she pointed out, as she lay next to me, wrapping herself around me and pulling me closer until I had her neck a breath away.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked once more.
“Just do it, damn it,” she ranted.
Convinced there was no other way, I inhaled her deep scent and scowled. “You reek of his scent,” the words came out of my lips before I could stop them.
She tilted her head back, hurt shining in her eyes. “What?” she asked in a low tone.
I considered lying to her, but I knew she wouldn’t believe me, not after I let out the hurtful words so carelessly.
“Your skin is impregnated with Sylan’s scent,” I explained, as blatantly as possible, trying to undo the harm.
“Well, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to shower,” she ranted, but I knew her hurt went deeper than that.
She had taken my words as a rejection. I wanted to explain, to tell her that it didn’t matter, that it could never change the way I felt about her, but I was too weak to wait much longer.
“Does it matter?” she insisted.
“No…” I shook my head, and I finally gave in to the urge that burnt in my very core.
I nuzzled her neck for a few seconds, looking for the best spot to sink my fangs in and sending out a little prayer to all the gods of the universe; I did it.
Chapter Fifteen
Maya
With my heart drumming against my chest and my entire body aching, I closed my eyes and waited for whatever was coming. A sharp pain rushed through me when Ryoko finally sank his fangs on my neck, and I gasped.
I was expecting pain. But I didn’t care.
What I certainly wasn’t expecting was the rush of pleasure that came with the pain.
Suddenly, my body was washed by a million tiny waves of pleasure that blasted through in a crescendo that ended up in such a powerful orgasm that blew my mind.
I must have passed out at some point. By the time I came back to myself, I was still in Ryoko’s arms, but he was no longer taking my blood.
Startled, I pushed myself up and looked at him. “Ryoko?” I called, trying not to let out just how scared I was.
He didn’t answer, and I shuddered. Had it been too late? Was he dead?
I pressed my hand over his chest and looked for a heartbeat, something that told me he was still alive. Sobbing with relief, my hand detected a slight motion, and I looked at him, unsure what to do.
One thing I knew. I had to get us out of there before the dragons showed up. How I was going to take him out of here was the big question. He was too heavy for me to carry and probably for me to drag.
“God! Why things always have to be so difficult?” I cursed out loud, feeling frustrated.
“Perhaps, I can help,” a gentle voice came from the bushes in front of me.
Startled, I jumped to my feet. “Who’s there?” I asked, scared as hell.
A young woman came out of the bushes. She dressed in rags, and bruises covered her body.
“I mean no harm,” she assured me.
I frowned, not sure I could trust this stranger. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” I asked, in a cold tone, slowly moving to stand in front of Ryoko.
“He saved my life,” she said in a soft tone, pointing at Ryoko. “A few scavengers had captured me, and they were torturing me when he showed up and rescued me,” she explained.
It sounded like something Ryoko would do, though he pretended not to care. “Why are you still here? You should have gone home. It’s too dangerous out here,” I pointed out.
She nodded. “I know, but I’m lost. They brought me here blindfolded, and I have no idea where I am,” she confessed. “I’m Julia, by the way,” she introduced herself.
“I’m Maya,” I told her, seeing no harm in that. “I wish I could help you, Julia, but as you can see, I’m busy,” I told her, still not sure I could trust her.
“I know… and I want to help you. We need to ge
t him out of here,” she said in a calm tone.
I stared at her, trying to see any sign that indicated she was infected, but I saw none. As if she perceived my mistrust, she raised her blond hair and showed me her nape. People infected had a massive scar from when the parasite infected them.
“I’m clean,” she assured me.
I looked at her for another moment before I looked at Ryoko. She was right; of course, I needed to get him out of there, to a warmer place.
“Can you help me drag him out of here?” I asked Julia. She was the smallest of evils. Staying here meant certain death, and if she turned out to be an ally of the aliens, I would deal with it when it happened.
“Yes, of course. There’s a small cave not far from here where we could spend the rest of the night,” Julia suggested, pointing towards the woods.
“We can’t let his back hit the ground,” I warned her as she approached us.
Slowly, we turned Ryoko face down. For the first time since I came to my senses, I was able to take a good look at his wound. Relieved, I realized there was a thin scaly skin covering, and it looked a lot better than it was before.
Sighing, I grabbed Ryoko’s cloak from the ground. It was covered in his blood, but leaving it behind would give the dragons a firm clue of our whereabouts.
I washed it as best as I could in the creek and wrapped it around me. It was very cold, but at least I wasn’t naked, and it was the best way to carry it.
“Do you know the way to this cave?” I asked Julia, looking around.
“Yes, I was taking shelter there when I heard the fight,” she explained.
Her words reminded me of Sylan’s body still lying in the woods near the creek. I guess I should bury it, but getting Ryoko out of there was more important than a stranger’s dead body.
“What made you come out? You could have gotten killed,” I pointed out, frowning.
“I heard your cries and thought I might be able to help,” she explained, shrugging.
Her words only made my frown deeper. “How much did you see?” I asked.
“By the time I gathered the courage to come out, you were checking on his vitals,” she told me, but Her words did not convince me.