Protected By The Alien Bodyguard by Ella Maven

Ten

Cravus

“Who are you?”

I answered the way they told me. “Warrior.”

“And who is your maste?”

I looked straight into the round, flat face belonging to the one speaking to me. “You.”

His three mouths opened with gaping smiles. “Yes. Good job. At ease, warrior.”

I relaxed my shoulders from where I stood at attention. I couldn’t be sure how long we’d been in this room. A nagging tug in the back of my neck seemed to want to pull me toward the door, but I ignored it because my master told me to stay in place. A weapon sat on a table next to me, and it was familiar, so it must be mine. He told me I’d been hurt in battle, but I had no injuries except for my memory. He told me he’d help me remember.

He spoke to another of his species, and near the door stood two guards. If they worked for master too, then they were my allies, but I didn’t like the look of their yellow eyes. My fingers itched to touch my weapon, but I had to obey.

Master turned to me. “We need you to do one thing for us, Warrior. And then we’ll provide you food and rest.”

My stomach rumbled. Food sounded good. I nodded.

He picked up my weapon, which was a long stick with a spiked ball on the end. “There is a prisoner who caused many deaths. We have it caged, and we require you to end its life.”

This was an order, not a question. I nodded.

The mouths stretched into a smile. A bolt of pain streaked down my neck, and I flinched just as an image flashed in front of my eyes—a wreath of blooms. But just as quickly as it came, it was gone. I shook my head.

With the weapon pressed into my hand, they led me back down the hallway where I’d just been. The door opened and my Master walked inside first, but abruptly stopped. “Wha—where is she?”

He whirled around to face the two armored guards behind us. “Where is she?”

They looked around frantically, and I peered into the cage, remembering now the dark-haired, light-skinned creature that had been screeching when I first woke up. She wasn’t there, but the cage was bolted shut.

“Open it!” Master shouted. “Open the cage and check for holes or tunnels in the floor and walls.”

The other flat-faced master unlocked the cage door, and I waited, weapon on hand, while the armored guards raced past me. They entered the cage and searched the floor and walls with large paws. But it was empty.

I felt anger for my Master. How dare this prisoner escape? My lips curled back into a snarl just as I inhaled a scent—warm and spicy at the same time, it made my head spin. Something brushed my arm, a flutter of softness, and I glanced down as the floor seemed to blur. The scent flooded my nostrils and heated my blood. I groaned and went down on one knee as my temples pounded. My skull felt like it was going to crack open as images flashed relentlessly. One after another. Blooms. So many blooms. And then a face with green eyes. Cravus, she mouthed the word with pink lips. You know me.

“Warrior?” The Ubilque said.

I stood up and slammed my weapon into his face.

* * *

Bloom

I didn’t dare stay in the room, terrified that one of them would detect me or my body would involuntarily unblank. I brushed past a stoic and unmoving Cravus, determined not to cry, and dashed out of the room. Jukren had left the door open, so it was easy for me to slip out undetected.

Once outside, I had no idea where I was, and a long hallway stretched to my left and my right. Disoriented for a moment, I debated which direction to take. The stone floor looked more worn to the right, so I took a chance and sprinted that way. I heard a commotion behind me, and I knew it was them looking for me. I didn’t turn back, committed now to saving Cravus, Skags, and myself. This was who I was. I didn’t give up. I didn’t turn back. I went forward. Always forward. And I didn’t lose hope.

I sped past a few rooms, constantly checking to make sure I was still invisible. A distant voice caught my attention, and I finally came to a door that was ajar. I peeked inside to see a massive control panel with screens. A creature, similar to the ones who’d caged me back before I met Cravus, sat his legs propped up on the table in front of him, and he was speaking into a device attached to his mouth. He had gray hair and wore a ratty vest covered in medallions. His skin was a dull green, and he had long claws. His position was casual, but his voice was all business. “I’m sorry, we are doing everything we can looking for him.” Pause. “Yes, we understand he’s important to you, pardux, and we will continue our search.”

Pardux. Pardux. They had to be taking to a Kaluma. And from the sounds of it, it was Sherif, as he was the current pardux. My fingers curled into fists. This asshole was lying. They knew right where Cravus was. I needed to get on that comm. If I could talk to Cravus’s pardux, I could tell him the truth, and just maybe he’d get us the hell out of here. I glanced around for a weapon, anything, as the creature continued to babble into the comm.

Finding a pole propped up against the wall, I grabbed it, careful to make no noise, and crept closer to creature, who was facing away from me. Lifting the pole above my head, I let out a grunt as I slammed it down on top of his head. He cried out with a gurgle before whirling around to face me. I stared at his skull, which had a definite lump in it, and his one eye socket didn’t look so good. “Whaaaa—” he moaned, and made to stand, but his legs gave out. He crashed to the ground, coughed up some dark liquid, and went still.

My hands shook. I didn’t want to think about if I just killed someone. My breath came in stuttered pants as he lay unmoving. Panic bloomed in my chest as ice water flowed through my veins. “Shit,” I murmured to myself. “Shit, shit, shit.”

A voice crackled on the comm still attached to the creature’s voice. Feeling about a minute away from a meltdown, I bent down and jerked the device off the creature’s head. It was sticky with its blood, and I closed my eyes, ignoring the stain on my hands, as I attached the device to my head.

“Rogastix?” A deep voice boomed over the line. “Where are you?”

“Hi.” My voice was barely a whisper. I swallowed and tried again. “I’m Bloom, a human, and Cravus’s linyx. The Council is compromised by a mutiny. They…” My voice failed me.

Heavy breathing came over the line. “This is Sherif. Tell me what you know.”

So, I did. From the beginning, how they met us, injected Cravus, and caged us. How Cravus woke up with no memories. How I could blank. I tried to speak as fast as I could, and I was sure approximately half of what I said made no sense.

“We had suspicions that the Council had been compromised. We tried to tell Cravus, but the line wasn’t stable. I need you to travel to H-2 dock. We were already on our way there and should dock soon. Do you understand?”

I swallowed. “What about Cravus?”

“We will move to rescue him. For now, get yourself to the dock.” He rattled off directions because he knew where I was based on the comm location. “You can do it, Bloom. For Cravus.”

I nodded. “For Cravus.”

I dropped the comm back on the body beneath me, shuddering again at what I did, but knowing I had to move on. This wasn’t a game. I turned around and came face to face with the spiked ball of Cravus’s weapon swinging inches from my face. I let out a scream and dropped to a crouch.