Warrior's Wife Read Online Free PDF

had used. He waved a shiny little stick to emphasize his demand.
    The small metal rod looked no more menacing than an oversized ballpoint pen. Her noble rescuer gripped an almost identical metal stick. Maybe the pointy things were a lot deadlier than they appeared. Alien weapons were a complete mystery to her, as was everything else about them. The biggest question was why they wanted her alive, especially considering they didn’t seem the least fussy about damage. Every inch of her had been cut, bruised or battered. None of the small injuries hurt too much, probably because of the adrenaline flooding her bloodstream. Either that or else she was in shock and would crash into unconsciousness any second now. Since she already felt lightheaded, she quit cheering herself up and bit her split lip. The pain kept her focused on the current standoff.
    A ripple in the tent’s front wall caught her attention. A dark blade silently parted the tough canvas. She tracked the movement from the edge of her vision, hoping reinforcements had arrived. If the newest intruder was with the metal guys, he wouldn’t bother sneaking in, right?
    She bit her lip harder as the dull gleam of a metal-covered fist appeared. Next to her Galahad struggled into his protective gear. She made an intuitive leap, concluding the ominous glove might belong to a friend. She had no way to ask her protector or even call his attention to the intruder without alerting the metallic aliens. Their strange, mesh-covered heads tracked every movement she made. Carefully she angled her gaze away from the lengthening slit in the canvas shell.
    She’d seen enough battles to last her a lifetime. Galahad stuck close to her, his stubborn insistence on guarding her made him a non-combatant. Without some kind of help the good guys would lose. They would both die, or wish they had. Abruptly she realized a distraction would help Sir Galahad’s buds get the drop on the bad guys.
    Since getting to know the cold, metal band of un-merry aliens, she’d changed her mind about nothing being worse than death. She’d never thought of herself as the martyr type and still didn’t. Dying fast and painlessly while she tipped the odds in the heroes’ favor seemed like a decent way to go.
    “Appreciate the shirt, Sir Galahad. Now it’s my turn to do something for you.” She pitched her voice soft and low for only his ears. A second slit in the tent wall appeared a yard away from the first.
    “What are you…” Her protector’s words drowned under the roar of her blood.
    Action time. She burst through the air in a flying leap.
    “No,” Galahad yelled.
    She heard him, but she couldn’t have stopped even if she’d wanted to. Momentum pushed her past fear and smashed her into the first of the three males. She hit below his center of gravity and locked around his hips, determined to hang on no matter what.
    The metal monster tumbled backward, taking her with him. He scrambled to his feet. The metal-covered limbs she tried to hold shook her off and batted her aside as if she were no more trouble than a mosquito. She hit the ground in a ball, protecting her bruised head, and kept rolling. She still had her knife, for all the good it did. She’d have to be close and incredibly lucky to do any damage with such a short-range weapon against armored enemies.
    Then all hell broke loose.
    Crouched back in her favorite corner, she watched as the two sides grappled, both sets fought for an advantage. Three enormous warriors pitted against three equally impressive opponents. Despite the small element of surprise she’d given Galahad’s friends. The evenness of the combatants eliminated any certainty about the winners.
    Then metal-clad fingers forced open an alien’s headpiece and fired the small rod against a mouth stretched in a terrified shriek. Features distorted by fear melted.
    So that was what the pointy sticks did, instant destruction on a cellular level. Sickened, she dropped her gaze,