On he pressed, crossing streams, climbing hills, hopping across rocky fields and weaving through massive, thick-canopied trees. She pushed herself harder, doing what she could to keep up, but Bodok gradually pulled farther ahead of her. She was falling behind.
She could have called out, but pride made her maintain her silence. He wouldn’t get the satisfaction of her admitting she wasn’t exactly up for the task. And if she could just press on a little bit longer, night would fall and he would have to stop for the darkness. At least she hoped he would.
“Sonofa—” she grumbled as she watched him hop nimbly from rock to rock across a small creek.
Maureen increased her pace, rushing to gain ground and close the gap. She jumped out onto the nearest rock, hurrying to the next and the one after.
“Fuuuu—” she blurted as her feet hit a patch of moss and slid out from beneath her.
She fell hard, her leg slamming hard into the rock as she bounced unceremoniously into the water. Maureen sputtered and splashed, the ache in her leg knotting up hard, keeping her from regaining her footing.
“God, damn it!” she grumbled, sitting in the cold water.
A large, deep-blue hand reached down. She looked up at Bodok as she reluctantly accepted it. He lifted her to her feet then swept her up in his arms effortlessly, carrying her to the shoreline in a few long strides. Gently, he placed her on the ground.
“You are injured,” he said, concern in his voice.
“I thought you said you wouldn’t slow down for me.”
“I didn’t. I just wished to stop for a drink of water,” he replied with a little grin curving his lips.
“Uh-huh,” she chuckled.
Bodok’s eyes crinkled slightly, then grew serious. “Your leg.”
“Yeah, I kinda beat the shit out of it.”
He reached out for her, then hesitated. “May I?”
Maureen almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. A life or death survival experience with a towering alien and here he was asking permission.
“You may.”
He placed his hand on her hip and lowered her trousers over the injured area. Maureen hissed in pain.
“Shall I stop?”
“Go on, then.”
He took her at her word and pulled them down further. Her upper thigh was already turning an interesting shade of purple, but the skin was intact. Bodok held his hand over the bruise a moment then gently lowered it until it contacted her aching flesh.
Maureen jumped a little at the touch. She knew he ran hot, but his hand was far warmer than she anticipated. Then she noticed the faint glow coming from it. Bodok reached out and placed his other hand further to the inside of her thigh, her skin prickling with goosebumps from the sensation.
His eyes met hers, his pupils enlarging and his pulse becoming visible in his neck as she gasped at the sensation. Somehow, he was making a circuit between his hands, the healing energy pulling the bruise back into her bloodstream, mending the damaged tissue as best he could.
Finally, he flopped back onto the shore, releasing his hold. Her thigh, while not entirely better, was a hell of a lot improved.
She looked at her leg, then at this miraculous man. “What did you do?”
He just grinned at her calmly. “My kind have a gift of healing, as you know. The pigments and runes channel and enhance it. And sometimes, on rare occasions, they allow us to transfer that potential to others. But you, Maureen, are a unique specimen. I have never felt someone react so strongly to it before.”
“Lucky me.”
“I would say so. It is strange, though, how you lack any pigments or runes on your body. It is unheard of.”
“Not on my world.”
“But we are not on your world,” he noted, looking up to the sky and gauging the sun’s lowering path. “Come. We should keep moving if you are able. We do not have much daylight left, and we will need to find an appropriate location to bed down for the night.”
