Leila exited the new containment chamber, closing the door and locking it before exhaling. “Well, that was an exciting start to the day.” That didn’t come without injury. A glance at Grayson showed his hands dripping blood. “Oh, no. You’re hurt.”
“Told you it was biting me,” he grumbled.
“Let me grab some supplies to fix you up.”
“Why bother? Just send him down to the Stardust Room and he’ll be good as new within the hour. You remember where it is, dude?” Aquarius asked.
“Yeah, but how do I know which jar to use and how much to sprinkle?”
“They’re marked with our symbols, and you can never use too much,” Aquarius replied. “I’d go with you, but I need to go report this development to Aries right away. With the exceptionof Toronto, we’ve been dumping the alien bodies in places they could decompose without notice.”
Leila frowned. “Don’t you usually drop the carcasses in the void when you’re beaming?”
“Would have, except it didn’t work. We lose our grip on them soon as we try. Might be time to crack out the flamethrowers and incinerate their asses.”
“Probably the best thing to do for the moment.”
“Hope you feel better soon, dude.” Aquarius slapped Grayson on the back.
“I’ll take care of him,” Leila offered, surprising herself.
“Perfect. I should go. Was nice to finally meet you, Doc.” Aquarius waved as he exited, leaving Leila alone with Grayson.
She pursed her lips. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“I’m just glad we got here before that thing attacked you.”
“Is it me, or did you come to the rescue with your bare hands?”
“Tower didn’t exactly explain the situation before racing us up here.”
Come to think of it, odd it hadn’t provided Leila with any protection either. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. Your arrival was timely.”
“One day on the job and already rescuing damsels in distress,” he stated with a lopsided grin that had her heart stuttering.
“Shall we go get those hands healed?”
He nodded, and so of her own free will, she left her lab, in the company of a warrior, who didn’t technically need her help. So why did she go?
Not because of gratitude, because she’d technically been handling the situation before their arrival—albeit not very well. Not because of her medical oath, either, because, technically, the Stardust could do more to aid him than anything in her cabinetscould. It surprised her to realize she accompanied him because she wanted to.
Wanted to spend time with him, and that was even more frightening than the blob that tried to eat her.
CHAPTER 7
Despite his shredded hands—damnthe tiny little fucker had sharp teeth—Grayson didn’t feel too much pain. Might have been because, despite her assertion they wouldn’t meet again, Leila accompanied him down the tower steps.
“Can’t believe you grew an alien,” he stated.
“Not exactly. More like it grew itself. When I left it in the aquarium last night it was grape-sized and still just a blob. Once it got loose, it went after everything flesh-based in the lab.”
“Which is super bad news because that likely means the aliens we killed in the arena didn’t die and regenerated.”
She nodded. “There was definitely enough bodies and blood all over for them to use as fuel, assuming they could propel themselves. But even if those couldn’t, any hunks of tissue that might have been expelled have the potential to become new aliens. They’re apparently capable of seeking out the protein needed to heal and grow.”
Grayson uttered a low whistle. “Which is bad.”
“Very.”
