Chapter Seventeen
Zhor came around when something sharp stabbed into him, sitting up with a jerk. Something about the size of his forearm scurried into the shadows. Instinctively, Zhor made a grab for his sword. When he didn’t find it, he scrambled onto his hands and knees and felt around a little further.
He didn’t find the sword, but he did find an object that seemed to have enough weight to it to make it effective at chasing off whatever was trying to fucking eat him alive.
He threw it in the direction the thing had disappeared and had the satisfaction of hearing a squeak of pain or dismay and then the sound of the thing scrambling away.
He relaxed fractionally then, trying to figure out where he was and how he’d gotten there.
And why he felt half dead.
It flooded back on command, flickering images that only made his head throb harder, made his chest tight with fear and despair, made him feel like puking.
Thezorphs had taken Ah-na—he did not have to wonder why. Nothing good would come of it.
Swallowing convulsively, he lay still until the wave of nausea passed and tried to get up.
His head swum more, pounded harder. The bile rose up his throat again.
He debated with himself and finally lay back again.
He was of no use to Ah-na in his current condition.
If he didn’t die, he would go after her as soon as he possibly could.
But he had no food and no water. After a time, he realized he was going to die if he didn’t find the strength to get up and hunt something to eat and water.
He was sorry he had not killed whatever was trying to eat him.
The temptation was strong to seek help in the village, but they had turned him away when he had asked for help ... because he was with Ah-na. He was not going to ask them for help now.
Instead, he fought his way up the stairs, mostly on hands and knees, until he finally reached the little bit of supplies he had left with Ah-na.
There was a little water and a handful of nuts and berries. He ate and drank half and settled down, rolling in his fur, waiting to see if his stomach would keep what he had put in it. At some point, he dosed off. When he woke it was daylight—bright enough he knew it was already well into the next day.
Refusing to think about what might be happening to Ah-na when he could do nothing about it, he finished the little bit of food and water.
The dizziness seemed to have—mostly—passed. He still felt faint and vaguely nauseous when he stood up, but he was able to maintain his balance. Moving cautiously to the opening he had used the first time to enter, he peered out, staring into the distance in every direction.
It took him a while to spot them and he could not be certain when he had that he was actually looking at thezorphswho had captured Ah-na, but he discerned three figures and one did not lookzorph. In fact appeared to have the bright locks that Ah-na did.
He was puzzled that they were not headed in the direction of the alien machines he had seen, wondered if that was not them after all, but he saw no other party moving as if they had left the city.
He could not afford to ignore them, he decided. It would not take him nearly as long to catch them as it had taken them to get so far and then he would know for certain.
As soon as he stepped from the opening and spread his wings, however, he knew he was not going to make it. The strain of trying to fly nearly made him black out.
He was fortunate he managed to catch enough lift to glide to a safe perch.
Something to eat, to drink and a few more hours to regain his strength, he decided, and then he would catch up to those bastards and kill them!
If they had hurt Ah-na, he would kill them slowly!
* * * *
A hand the size of Annika’s entire face was clamped over her –well, her face!
“Shut mouth!” her captor snarled in her ear.
