ARMOR [New World Book 2] Read Free Page A

sorry lot of malnourished women and children would be like
shooting fish in a barrel. Bracing herself against a tree Amy found her
footing—as unsteady as it was. The night was filled with agonized cries of
fear. There was no doubt in Amy’s mind that the creature was killing every
single man back at the circle of men.
    Amy moved faster. She
practically bounced off each tree trunk in her haste to get away. The creature
knew she was the most defenseless. It was saving her for last. She had to warn
the others. She needed to protect the children. But how? The being had
been at least six-and-a-half feet. Fangs like a vampire’s protruded from its
mouth. Just to look at it stopped her dead in her tracks.
    The opening to her cave was
closer. She was almost there. A sound high in the trees stopped her. Amy spun
about and looked up. The gray cloud hanging overhead parted for a mere few seconds
to allow the light of the stars to shine. Oh my God. It was up in the
trees above her hanging upside down staring at her. Thick talons on its hands
and feet clung to the bark of two trees side-by-side, embedding into the hard
wood as easily as they had sunk into human flesh. One lone talon tapped the
tree trunk as though counting down her remaining seconds of life. Both Amy and
the creature remained frozen except for that single claw. Amy’s heartbeat
thumped, stopped, thumped, stopped. It consumed her—the need to hear her life
drum continue.
    The creature jumped from tree
to ground to tree, eating up the distance between them, gaining momentum with
each pounce. In seconds it would have her. Amy screamed. She had never been so
terrified in her life. She bolted like a rabbit. The dark crevice was before
her. She slipped inside, seeing then the fiery shimmer of light, hope. The
pounding thunder of her heart hammered in her ears. Sweat covered her body and
dripped down the back of her neck.
    Amy felt something hook her
shirt. She screamed when a huge talon embedded into her clothing. Amy was in
the cave but it still had her. With its foot-long, sharp black talons the reach
of the creature was phenomenal. The other women and children were screaming as
Amy tried to struggle out of her coat. Her zipper was snagged on a corner of
fabric. The creature pulled. The yanking motion ripped her clothing and jerked
her backwards toward the crevice. Her scrambling feet skid across the dry dirt
floor. The women and children pulled her back. Their game of tug-a-war was
turning violent with both sides persistent.
    Finally Craig, a young boy of
almost twelve, grabbed a knife and cut Amy from her clothes. All of them went
flying back in a heap onto the cave floor barely missing the fire pit. The
creature’s claw disappeared with its useless prize.
    Amy did something she hadn’t
done in ages. She crumpled lower to the ground, with her face in her hands,
feeling defeated with this new threat and sobbed in terror on the dirt. She
remained there a long time as each individual wrapped their arms around her
making a human ball of comfort. How could they ever hope for survival now?
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 1
     
    Dasks stood looking at the
cloth he held in his talon. It fluttered in the breeze. He frowned. The woman
should be in his arms heading back to the ship not sobbing her heart out in a
dank cave. He cocked his head to the side and sniffed into the crevice. He
could smell fear, a lot of it. The scents were odd. Seven female scents he
counted. Then two tiny female scents. The other odor made him growl. There was
a male smell in the cave. Was he hurting her? The woman was Dasks’. He had
found her. Castian law ruled here now, ever since their ship had landed. These
females no longer belonged to the males of their crumpling world. They were
Castian prizes. Dasks bellowed in rage. The sound reverberated off the cave
walls. Every occupant of the cave screamed…including the male.
    Good—be afraid, human
male.
    The question was how was he
going