Page 100

“This one’s a chancer,” Ash said.

“He’s also one of the gang, so if I get a free ride, so does he,” she said.

Ash smiled at her softly, but the concern on his face was clear. “You’re the boss.”

She rested her head against his shoulder and clung on. Even though she felt like hell, she didn’t miss the fact she was pressed up close against Ash, her amazing alien warrior. The alien who loved her.

The banty closed his eyes and flopped down. Georgia had to grab him or he’d have slid off.

“Hey! Something’s wrong with him.” She ran her hand over the animal, but he didn’t respond. “Ash, I can’t get him to wake up.”

“He could just be tired.”

“No, he’s always on the alert. He wouldn’t fall asleep on the job.” She gently shook his front limb. “Hey, you gotta keep those eyes open. There are all kinds of nasty things wanting to take a bite out of us, and I need your fighting skills.”

Georgia bit her bottom lip when the banty didn’t respond. “Do you think he’s sick, too?”

Ash slowed and tilted his head. “Do you hear a hissing sound?”

She groaned. “Please don’t say there’s a hundred-foot killer snake coming down from the trees to eat us? That really would be the shitty cherry on the top of this dog food cake.”

“No, this doesn’t sound like an animal sort of hiss.” Ash walked on a few steps.

Georgia closed her eyes. “I do hear something. It’s very faint. Where is it coming from?”

“From all around us. And it’s getting louder.” Ash continued to walk.

Georgia sucked in a deep breath and frowned. The air tasted weird, like burnt tires and diesel fumes.

It was so hard to focus. Her head was spinning badly. “Oh, crap. Ash, I know why these animals didn’t follow us in here.”

He looked down at her. “What is it?”

“That weird smell in the air and the hissing sound. There’s some sort of gas in here. Something that’s making me feel bad and my banty pass out. The air isn’t breathable for us.”

He cursed. “Then we need to get out of here. Should we turn back?”

“No, keep going forward. Just hurry.”

“Hold on tight.” Ash broke into a sprint.

The taste of the air grew even fouler, and Georgia started sucking in tiny breaths. But with every breath she took, she felt worse.

Ash stopped and cursed under his breath.

“What is it?” She had her eyes closed and her nose pressed against his shoulder.

“I’ve found the source of the gas.” He lowered Georgia to the ground.

She reluctantly opened her eyes. In front of them was a huge lake of gray, bubbling water. Thin streams of gas drifted out of it.

“We have to go back,” Ash said. “I’m not wading through the middle of that with you. It could kill you.”

“We can’t go back. The Siblet and their beasts are waiting for us.”

“They could have left. They won’t want to risk staying on this planet any longer than they have to. Not now they’ve been seen.”

“The Siblet may be gone, but I bet they’ve left their beasts behind to play with us.” She leaned on Ash to keep herself upright.