The Journey of the Marked (The Miyran Heir Book 1) by Rebecca P. McCray Read Free Book Online Page B

rooted to the ground and the growling had stopped. They were staring
at a spot in the wall where the laser beam had removed a chunk of stone. As the
boy quickly jumped back to his feet, the Graeliths briefly looked at each
other, then turned wide eyes toward the boy.
    He grabbed the handle of the weapon
with both hands, and began firing repeatedly. The rapidly fired red beams took
chunks out of the stone walls and ground. One of the Graeliths cursed and they
began diving wildly in every direction. At first, the shots seemed random, but
as she watched, the boy’s aim noticeably improved. Finally, he hit one of the
Graeliths along the side of the leg. The Graelith howled, then turned angry
eyes toward his assailant. The boy stopped firing. He turned to look
uncertainly at her.
    She drew in a deep breath and yelled
at the Graeliths, “Leave us alone!”
    The injured Graelith let out a
loud, terrifying roar. The boy jumped backwards in shock, lost his balance, and
stumbled once again into the pile of trash.
    Suddenly, two Graeliths fell to the
ground, blood pouring from them. Five fighters had appeared behind the
Graeliths with swords slashing. Who were these fighters? And why were they
helping when no one else would? One Graelith blocked the attack from another
fighter with a long-handled, serrated sickle. Another Graelith shifted, bearing
only a nick to his snout, as a fighter swung his sword. Prizene grabbed the boy
and pulled him behind the bins. He pushed the lever on the top of the gun and
tucked it away inside his coat. She peered over the bins occasionally, hypnotized
by the fierce fight with neither side gaining advantage.
    One of the Graeliths landed a solid
blow on the left side of a fighter’s head, knocking him unconscious. The
remaining fighters occupied, the Graelith turned toward Prizene and the boy. He
covered the square quickly. Prizene frantically looked at the boy. He was
hunched behind a can, not watching the fight. “Your gun!” she pleaded with
desperation. “Quickly!”
    The boy jumped up, fumbling with
the gun inside his jacket. The Graelith tossed the can aside and swung his
right claw, cutting deeply into the boy’s side. Prizene had to do something. She
threw her weight against the Graelith, knocking him off-balance. On her rebound
she grabbed a nearby bin and slammed it into his head. The Graelith fell to the
ground, motionless.
    She dropped the container and ran
to the boy’s side. He collapsed against her and she slowly lowered him to the
ground. She needed to slow the bleeding, but she didn’t have anything useful in
her pack. What could she do?
    “Put pressure on the wound!”
someone yelled.
    With her hands, she applied as much
force as she could. The boy winced. She looked at the on-going scuffle. One of
the fighters was stealing glances in her direction. He nodded curtly at her, as
an indication she was doing the right thing. He was massive, standing nearly as
tall as the Graelith he was fighting and was a little overweight. He must be a
daunting adversary.
    In the next few minutes, one of the
fighters inflicted a severe wound on one of the Graeliths. The four conscious
Graeliths edged away from the fighters and retreated from the square. The
fighters checked on their unconscious companion and each other, except for the
large one. He walked directly toward Prizene and the boy.

Chapter 10
     
    As they made their way through the
dimly lit underground passage, Eros kept his eyes on the girl. She walked like
a man, at least like the men in his settlement. What had his mother told him
about Arlian women? Or perhaps it was one of the traders that had traveled
extensively? Yes, it was one of the traders who had told him something about
Arlian women. He had said they were unusual. That was it. But in that one word
the shifty trader, who was notorious for his romantic escapades, had conveyed
an intriguing thought. Now Eros analyzed the girl again, scanning her up and
down. He guessed her