“Argh!” I throw my hands up in frustration, taking stock of the latest room in this stupid labyrinth temple. I gotta get out of here. I’m stuck in this year’s production of Alien Indiana Boner and the Temple of Gloom, because the alien who married me can’t think past his magic stick.
The room’s filled with rock dust, and I wave my hand in front of my face, trying to clear it. I reach for the tank knotted to my belt loop… and come up with a handful of smashed fish.
“Gross,” I mutter.
“I am sorry,” Kanuz says. “I did not imagine the ceiling would give in and crush our meal.”
“Can’t say I blame you on that one,” I say, wrinkling my nose and tossing the fishy fabric far away.
There’s water in this room too, a huge dark pool, and the sealed off entrance to the last trap. I squint, in the dim light cast by the line of fire embedded in the wall, trying to see if there’s another touchscreen anywhere.
Nope. The walls are all rough stone, no carvings, no symbols, nothing.
Just the dark, rippling expanse of water stretching before us.
I purse my lips.
“I have a feeling we’re going to have to go in there,” I tell Kanuz.
He grunts in agreement, his movements stiff.
I can’t say I love the idea of getting in it. The pool isn’t nearly as inviting as the last one, and that one was about as inviting as a shark-infested riptide.
I mean, some people might be into that kind of thing, but I’m not.
Shit. I wish I hadn’t thought of sharks.
“There isn’t anything… living in here, right?” I peer at the pool. “Besides dinner? Or is it lunch?” I don’t have a clue what time it is.
“There may be fish.” He lingers on the last word, drawing it out in a way that tells me he’s worried about whateverthefuck might be lurking in there, too.
I take a hasty step away from the pool.
Well, at least I can’t be scared and horny.
Right now, that is.
“Your scent has changed.” Kanuz drapes an arm across my shoulders, pulling me into him. “Do not be afraid, Gen. I am here.”
“Yeah, but what the fuck is in there?” Knowing this temple, it could be a prehistoric snake. A megalodon. A nightmare.
“Are you afraid of swimming? Of water?” He puffs his chest out, side-eying me. “I can swim well enough for the both of us, my princess.”
“No,” I say, and I’m not. “I’m actually a fantastic swimmer, thank you very much, Captain Condescending.”
“I am a prince, not a captain,” he retorts.
And just like that, I’m smiling again. Still less than thrilled about getting in the stupid ass dark water, but his little misunderstandings are… endearing.
“It’s just something humans say,” I explain, then stop short. The water ripples. Bubbles burst at the surface.
Big bubbles.
“That could be from the shaking, right? Like…something in there is loose. Right?”
“Perhaps,” Kanuz answers. He cocks his head, watching the water, and I relax against him slightly. “It is more likely there is something in there,” he adds.
“Fuck.” I eye the water. “What do you think we have to do? You’re the expert. God, I wish I had a weapon, I hate this.”
“I am your weapon,” Kanuz tells me earnestly, and my heart does that little squeeze.
“I appreciate that,” I say, because I do, “but I would feel better if I had my gun. Or an energy weapon. Whatever it is you Suevans like.”
He holds up his talons.
“Right.”
“We use energy weapons as well,” Kanuz says with a hint of a laugh. “I will find one for you as soon as we are able to.” He tugs me closer to him, and for a moment, I simply breathe him in, letting his now-familiar masculine, earthy smell wash over me.
It calms me, my heart slowing. It’s probably just because I’m breathing slowly… but he does smell nice.
More bubbles appear.
“What would make those?” I ask conversationally, eyeing a skull-sized rock. Swimming with a rock is probably not my brightest idea.
“Probably a zeloth. They are very cute when they are small.”
“Oh.” Relief washes over me. “That’s good to hear.”
“They are deadly when they are full-grown, and I imagine the one that might make its home here is ancient.”
“Oh.” I swallow hard. “So… we’re in trouble.”
“It could be the rocks shifting, as you hypothesized.” He shrugs, and pain flickers over his face.
“Why don’t you let me look at where you’re hurt?”
“Because there is nothing to do about it.”
“Sure there is—"
“Our best bet is to keep moving, as you remind me every time you become aroused. If you did not keep telling me you are uninterested in exploring my sexual prowess, I would think you were in a hurry to bed me, Gen.”
I huff an indignant breath.
Water surges upward, and my jaw drops as a wave drenches me.
“Oh, shit.”
The thing that surfaces is, like everything on Sueva, huge. Tentacles flail, and as one slams into the rocky ground beside me, I note that the suckers are lined with what looks like tiny teeth. It’s near translucent, blue veins and muscle visible underneath the clear skin. One giant eye protrudes from the sharp tip of a bulbous squid-like head.
“Lovely,” I mutter.
“A zeloth,” Kanuz proclaims, laughing a little as he shoves me behind him.
“Is it an ancient one?” I ask, suddenly yelling over the splashing of water and the strange squelching and clicking noises the creature’s making. “It’s pretty big!”
“No, my sweet golden flower, this is a medium-sized one.” And with that, Kanuz laughs again, then swan dives into the black pool of water, disappearing under the thrashing tentacles.
Perfectly rational behavior.
When confronted with a big ole alien tentacle monster, laugh and dive in the water and take a nice swim with it.
Why not?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KANUZ
This is less than ideal. My tail propels me through the water, toward where the zeloth’s most sensitive. The water is dark, yes, but not too dark to see. For my sweet wife, though, it must be terrifying. I set my jaw. There is nothing to do but move on and escape this place. I slice through the water, dodging to avoid a flailing arm of the great water beast.
Still, I cannot help but echo my mate’s thoughts.
I wish I had a better weapon.
Sure, the zeloth is not as huge as I feared, but it is still a formidable opponent. To take it down, I will have one opportunity to strike its delicate underbelly. They cannot live out of the water, but I would not risk my Gen to lure it out onto dry land. I have to do this right.
If I miss, it will latch on to me and feast on my blood.
Even my hide is no match for its many knife-sharp teeth.
I hate to think of what the zeloth will do to my prickly but delicate mate. The thought spurs me forward, bubbles leaking from my nostrils as I careen towards my target.
There.
The soft, pale blue underbelly. I stretch my hand out, preparing to rake my talons across it, eviscerating it in one blow. I kick, closing in. One inch. A half inch.
Something wraps around my ankle, and I yell, the water swallowing the sound. As the creature tows me under, all I can think of is my sweet mate, and how I have failed her.