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Chapter 12

12

For a moment, grief and fear paralyzed her, but it didn't last. She might not be able to help, but she could at least get ready in case an opportunity appeared.

She unslung her rifle and gave it a quick once-over to ensure nothing had happened to it during her climb. All good.

That settled, she shifted her stance until she was looking back up the way she'd come, her feet braced and most of her weight supported by the rope.

She could hear occasional roars over the waterfall, accompanied by loud thuds that sent random sprays of dirt and pebbles cascading off the cliff. Cursing, she turned away to protect her eyes and caught sight of something moving beneath her.

Shit. Now what?

A nightmare stalked the shore of the river below. The thing was huge with mottled yellow and gray scales and a tail so thick she couldn't have wrapped her arms around it. Massive jaws opened, revealing teeth like swords angled toward the back of the creature's mouth.

It stared at her with orange eyes. Still staring, it raised two surprisingly stubby arms and uttered an eerie trilling sound that drilled its way into her soul and booked an appointment to visit all her future nightmares.

Then it raised its head higher, and she realized it wasn't looking at her but at something happening above her.

She spun around in time to see Vengeance standing at the brink of the waterfall. His sword flashed, and something screamed in pain. Another slash and the water flowing past her changed color—first pink and then red. Blood. She leaned farther out, trying to get a better angle.

A shape charged into view. She recognized it as a larger version of the creature below.

Vengeance swung his sword again. She saw the blow land, cleaving deep into the monster's neck. Yes !

It staggered and dropped to its knees before vanishing from view again. The rocks shuddered around her. Was that it falling? Was the fight over?

The water was crimson now, and even the mist had turned a sickening shade of pink.

Her lover staggered into view at last. He raised a hand to her, and she waved back.

Then something struck him from behind. It whipped back and forth several times and then stopped. It didn't matter, though. The damage was done. Knocked off balance, Vengeance fell.

To Loris, it seemed as if the whole thing happened in slow motion. She screamed and reached out as if she could somehow stop this from happening.

He managed to curl into a ball, his arms around his head as he plunged into the pool at the foot of the falls.

She had no idea how deep the water was. Could he survive that, or had his body shattered on rocks beneath the churning surface? She had no way to know.

She did know one thing, however. If she didn't kill the second creature, he would die. He'd been through too much to win another fight against a monster like that.

It stood in the same place it had been before, but something had changed. It took a moment for her to see it. The creature had puffed up its throat until it looked like it had swallowed a balloon. Then it raised its head and loosed a booming call that almost deafened her.

"Shut up!" she screamed as she raised the pulse rifle to her shoulder.

Still vocalizing, the beast broke into a run, its lower legs driving it forward at a terrifying speed. It was charging toward the pool, and she knew without looking what it was heading for.

Vengeance.

She pulled the trigger once, twice, three times. It kept running. Body shots weren't going to stop it. She paused, assessed, and chose a new target.

One leg buckled as an energy pulse shattered its knee joint. Did lizards have knees? She had no idea, but whatever she'd hit, it worked.

Once the creature was down, it was only a matter of time before she ended its life, but every second she had to focus on the monster was agony. She needed to get to Vengeance.

The second she was certain it was safe, she unclipped herself from the rope and started climbing down. By the time she reached the bottom, her hands were bloody and her pants were torn to shreds.

"Venge! You better not be dead!"

No answer. And no body. She didn't know if that was good or bad. She called out again as she splashed into the pool, trying to find him.

A golden blur moved from behind the waterfall. "I'm here."

He was alive. Thank the gods. Now she would not have to murder him for getting himself killed. The thought didn't make any sense, even to her, so she cast it aside and focused on reaching his side.

He looked rough. His nose was bloody, his face swollen, and one of his horns was broken. She stopped in front of him, afraid to hug him in case she caused him pain.

"I told you I didn't need the rope."

She gaped at him for a second, not sure if she wanted to laugh, cry, or yell at him. She threw herself into his arms and kissed him instead.

Then she shouted, "I thought I'd lost you before I could tell you I loved you. Don't you ever do that again!"

"Which part? Fight a thing we'll have to come up with a name for? Get knocked off a waterfall by the nameless thing's death throes? Or watch as my beautiful little warrior saved me from being eaten?"

"All of that!" she said. "And we're calling them boomers."

"Good name." He smiled at her, which only made his split lip bleed more.

Tears streamed down her face as she led him to dry land. Then she gave him her rifle while she treated the worst of his injuries with items from her personal med-kit.

He kept touching her as if to reassure himself she was alright, and she never left his side for more than a second as she cleaned his wounds, regenerated the worst of the damage, and bandaged the rest.

He let her fuss over him, but the moment she was finished, he took charge again. "Sit."

"What? Why?"

"Because your hands are cut to ribbons. Show me how to use that regeneration thing you used on me."

She'd forgotten about her own injuries. Now that he pointed them out, the pain kicked in along with a heady sense of relief that unleashed a flood of tears.

"Damn it. You see what you made me do?" She held up one hand. "This is your fault, mister-I-don't-need-a-rope."

He kissed away her tears and then set to work patching her up. It didn't take long, which was a good thing. Other boomers could be around. Even if not, the scavengers would show up soon. Too much blood and death lingered in the air for them to ignore.

"I wish I could give you some pain killers, but I have no idea how the meds in that kit would react to your biology."

"I'll be fine. You're the one who needs something for pain." He pointed to the kit. "Which one do you need?"

She gestured to the vial she wanted. It was a mild pain killer that wouldn't muddle her mind too much. Even after her wounds were closed, her hands ached and tingled. New skin always did that, and she wouldn't be able to keep a tight grip on anything for at least a day.

When he was done treating her, he lifted her hands one at a time and gently kissed each finger followed by her palm. "I don't like that you were hurt trying to help me."

She leaned forward and kissed his still-swollen lips. "Right back at you."

"Let's get out of here. I have a good idea where we are now. There's a place we can rest about an hour's walk away. I've never seen one of the boomers before, so it should be safe."

She got to her feet, wincing as the newly healed skin on her legs pulled a bit. "That's good. But if we run across another one, we'll take it down together."

"Together," he agreed.

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