Corsairs: Kaspar (Corsair Brothers 2) - Page 108

"I tried to be a good corsair," she cries, hiccuping. "I tried to take out his balls with a rock, but he had a shell."

My brave Sunshine. "You did great, love. Don't you worry about a thing. I couldn't be prouder."

"I was even going to cook the arm," she wails. "Just to stall. Just so you could find me."

"I'm here," I reassure her. "I'm here." I hope I was in time, too. It's been hours since I lost Alice, and I've been tortured with what he might be doing to her. Everyone's seen vids of glads going rogue, of them losing their minds and attacking everything in sight. I haven't been able to stop thinking about that since Alice was taken. "Did he hurt you? Are you harmed in any way?"

"Vagina dentata," she sobs.

"What?"

"I told him I had vagina dentata so he couldn't rape me. Told him I had teeth in my lady parts and they wouldn't retract until later." She gives a watery sniff. "I don't think he knew anything about humans."

"You have teeth in your female parts?" Gloom calls out, shocked. "Really?"

"Shut up, Gloom," I call over my shoulder. I've never heard of it either, but seeing as I've been intimately tonguing said body parts for a while—among other activities—I'm sure she made it all up. I'm not going to correct Gloom, though. If it's another thing that'll keep Alice safe, we'll take all we can get. I cup Alice's face, wiping away her tears. "Are you bruised anywhere? Do I need to murder him twice?"

She shakes her head. "I'm okay. Really. Just rattled." She offers me a wan smile. "There's another dead gladiator around here. That guy wanted me to cook some of him up."

"It's not Crulden," Gloom calls helpfully from in the distance. "He's the wrong color. I think it was a mesakkah."

"We'll handle it in a bit," I call out.

Alice suddenly pulls away from me, eyes wide. "What if there are others out here? We have to make sure we're safe, Kas. We have to check. What if he wasn't alone? What if someone else knew he had a camp here and was waiting to attack? Do we need to leave?"

"I'll check the perimeter," I promise her. "Me and Gloom. And we'll get rid of our friend." A wet crunch makes me wince. Sterre has some interesting timing. "Stay right here in the shelter of these roots with Sterre, and I'll take care of everything."

"Don't leave me," she says, frantic. She reaches for my hand as I get to my feet. "Kas, don't leave me!"

My heart aches all over again. I feel like I can breathe, though. Knowing that she's safe has returned all the air to my lungs. I put my thumb on her chin and tilt her face up to look at me. "I'm not going anywhere without you, Sunshine. Understand?"

Her eyes get wet again, but she nods.

"I'm going to check the perimeter and make sure it's safe, I'm going to get rid of this body so no other predators come into our camp, and then I'm going to return and hold you until the sun comes up."

"Promise?" Alice whispers.

"I promise."

"Watch out for the river," she tells me, worried. "He came up from the water and dragged me in."

"I know." I eventually figured it out. From there, it was just a matter of finding where he surfaced so Sterre could find the trail again. Thank kef we found it. I don't know what I'd have done if we hadn't found her before… I clench my jaw. It's not important. I'm not going to let the recent terror derail me any longer. "I'll be done soon. Stay with Sterre. She's missed you."

Alice's expression softens. "Sterre?" She snaps her fingers. "Here, girl."

Before I can turn around to see if the carinoux is responding to Alice's call, the creature practically bowls me over in her haste to get to Alice. She bounds toward my small female, eight legs and a lashing tail of excitement, and starts to lick Alice's face. My human sputters, squealing with disgust. "Dude, you were just eating the turtle guy! Don't lick me!"

Sterre, bless that damn creature, keeps right on licking Alice and distracting her. She puts one big paw on Alice's shoulder to hold her steady and starts to groom her ear, the big, pink tongue licking Alice even as she winces in a mixture of patient love and affection.

I find my pack that Gloom tossed down nearby and move it over to Alice's side. "Here," I say, pulling out one of my shirts. "Use this to clean her muzzle." I pull out one of the knives I've made from shattered pieces of glass, the “handle” wrapped in bits of tough animal hide. "And this is a knife. The next guy won't have a shell, so you feel free to carve off the balls of anyone that gets too close to you, Sunshine." I lean in. "That includes Gloom, too."

Tags: Ruby Dixon Corsair Brothers Fantasy
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