by Zara Zenia
“Gar’zul! Come here now. Do you know what time it is?”
The footsteps sounded again. A body emerged from the shadows and came into view, then shrunk back again.
“Urgh!”
I made for the stairs.
“I really can’t be bothered with your stupid games right now. It’s late, come to bed.”
Reaching the foot of the stairs, my heart jumped. Something felt wrong. There was a grim stench in the air, one that didn’t belong to Gar’zul.
“What the hell?”
I had the strongest urge to run back up the stairs.
“Gar’zul?” I whispered. “Are you just playing games with me?”
Silence.
I looked into the corner of the room where I thought he stood. There was the outline of a person, someone so much shorter than he was. My mind’s playing tricks on me, I thought. It’s late and you haven’t slept. Go back to bed.
But I stood frozen to the spot, my eyes fixed on the silhouette. Then the smell got stronger. It was foul and I pinched at my nostrils.
“Who’s there?” I said with my voice quivering.
Outside, the clouds moved in the wind to reveal a single beam of white moonlight. It landed across the living room, illuminating the face of an unknown creature. I screamed and stumbled backward, landing on the stairs.
“Who the fuck are you?”
The alien slithered out the shadows, its body small and sleek with a bulbous head and enormous glassy eyes.
“Get away!”
Something flickered in his hand. There was the electric snap of electrical impulses. Is that a Taser?
“Who are you?”
He slithered closer. I could see his skin was wet and slimy, the terrible smell getting stronger as he approached. The thing in his hand snapped again. There was the smell of burning, the stench of fiery hot wires.
“Please! Don’t hurt me!” I begged.
He opened his mouth to speak and I waited for an explanation, but only a hiss came out of his tight-lipped mouth, long and serpentine with his tongue flicking up and down.
“Get away!” I screamed.
He took one step closer. A miniature, purple lightning bolt flashed in his hand. The thing was only a few inches away from me, could reach out and electrocute me at any moment.
“No!”
I came to my senses and ran, rushing up the stairs so fast that I stumbled on the top step and fell to my knees on the landing. The creature was close behind me, moving slowly with a smirk on his lips. He was enjoying this torment, loving every second of seeing a human girl in fear for her life. Hurrying to the bedroom, I slammed the door shut and pulled a chair in front of it, jamming it under the door handle.
“Fuck…” I gasped. “This can’t be happening.”
My heart was hammering in my chest, beating so fast I was sure I was going to have a heart attack. It felt almost impossible to breathe with every lungful of air and determined effort. I gulped and cried, fell back onto the bed and prayed that it was all just a dream.
This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.
I thought it over and over again like a mantra in an attempt to convince myself that I was fast asleep. You’ll wake up any moment now with Gar’zul beside you. Just believe it.
But the steps were creaking outside the door. The alien was getting closer with his light and nimble footsteps dancing across the landing. How strong was he? Could he fight his way through the door?
I shouldn’t be here! I thought. I should be back on Earth where everything was miserable but at least it was safe. There were no deadly aliens in the water mines. Only sad and terrible humans, but at least that’s what I was used to.
Like a child, I crawled beneath the covers, pulling them up over my head and clenching my eyes shut. If these were to be my last few minutes then I at least wanted to feel safe and hidden.
The creature lingered in front of the door, taking his time. His fingers curled around the door handle, the bulky metal squeaking as he wrapped his slimy fingers around it. My heart beat a little faster. There was the rattle of the handle, the sound of his breath quickening as he struggled to open the door. I held my breath, wishing that if I remained so still I could somehow disappear. The house was shrouded in silence. The alien stepped away from the door.
BANG!
It sounded as though he was launching himself at the wall. I poked my head around the side of the covers and saw it shake.
BANG!
There was a squeal like a bird being torn apart, the sound of something wet being smeared across the door. Then silence. Dipping back beneath the covers, I curled up and lay shaking as I waited for my fate. But it sounded as though the alien was no longer there.
“Carina?”
“Gar’zul!”
I leaped from the bed and ripped the chair from beneath the door. Looking out into the darkness of the hallway I could just about make out the size and shape of Gar’zul.
“What’s that smell?” I gasped.
Slamming on the light, I immediately saw everything. The alien had been shredded into pieces, his desiccated corpse littering the hallway with his green blood splattered across the hall. The smell was overpowering and I clapped a hand to my mouth. Looking at Gar’zul, I saw he was drenched in blood, his face and head dripping as though he had just performed a sacrifice.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
“No…” I shook my head. “I’m most definitely not okay.”
My hands were shaking so much I could barely reach up to hug him. He took me in his strong arms and carried me through to the bedroom.
“I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here.”
“You’re lucky I was. Those things are nasty little creatures.”
I reached up and kissed his bloody cheek.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
“You don’t have to thank me. That’s what I’m here for, to protect you.”
He lay me down and held me close, his long talons delicately stroking my hair.
“I thought you were never coming home,” I said.
“Really? I couldn’t wait to come home! It’s so awful out there. All I wanted to do was have a quiet drink with my buddies and celebrate the victory but there were women everywhere, gross ones who were begging for my attention.”
I laughed.
“Gross ones?”
“You know the type, painted faces and terrible dance moves.”
I laughed harder.
“We have them on Earth too.”
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head.
“All I could think about was coming home to you.”
“Aw. You always know how to say all the right things.”
Rolling over, I burrowed myself into his chest and kissed him softly.
“I missed you,” I whispered.
“I missed you too.”
"Who was that out there?" I asked he rolled on top of me.
I let his great weight bear down on me so I could feel protected by his size. He buried his head in my chest and sucked a nipple.
"You don't have to worry about that thing out there. He won't be coming back. No one will."
"But I was so scared, Gar'zul! I was terrified. I thought I was going to die. I was certain of it."
I could smell the alien's blood on his skin and it rubbed off on me as he unraveled the strap around my robe.
"Don't be scared," he whispered. "I'm here now."
He leaned down and kissed me gently.
"Don't worry about a thing," he breathed as he ran his hands down my naked body.
Although I was still scared, my body was responding to him. I instinctively pulled my legs apart and guided his length into me.
"Gar'zul..."
He eased himself inside and moved slowly.
"Hmm... Yeah..."
His breath was hot on my neck as he wrapped his body around mine. Our limbs were ta
ngled together, our hearts beating hard against each other as our sweat covered bodies stuck together.
"Slow down," I pleaded. "I want to take my time tonight."
Rocking back and forth in a steady rhythm, he moved slowly with his hands pressing mine into the mattress.
"Look at me," he grunted. "I said look at me."
His voice was gruff and commanding and I had no other option but to look up into his fierce eyes as he thrust into me.
"I want to see the look on your face when you come," he said.
Moving slower, he fucked me gently, so gently that it was almost torture. His cock was so thick it grazed the top of my clitoris as he slid in and out. Soon, I found myself biting down on my lower lip as an orgasm began to rip through me.
"I'm coming," I gasped. "Oh, fuck. I'm coming. I'm coming!"
It tore through me, my entire body shaking as I climaxed hard and fast. Then I was being held tight in his arms as I gulped in lungfuls of air.
"That was incredible," he said. "You looked so beautiful."
"That was... intense."
He cradled me for a moment and stroked the hair from my eyes, kissing the top of my head as he said:
"You're so perfect, so gorgeous. I want to make you come another thousand times."
Laying me back down, I expected him to fuck me hard like the last time, but instead he pulled out of me and began wriggling down the bed on his stomach.
"What are you doing?" I asked as I looked down between my legs where he was resting his head.
"I'm going to give you the time of your life," he smirked.
Gently touching his lips to the inside of my thigh, I giggled and shrieked.
"Ah! That tickles."
He laughed and moved further up my thigh until his mouth was on my mound. He groaned as he inhaled the sweetness of my sex. Looking up into my eyes, he flicked out his serpentine tongue and I watched it flutter against me.
"Ah fuck!"
He rubbed it against my swollen, hot clitoris and I collapsed back on the bed clutching my head as I began to writhe.
"Oh, Gar'zul!"
Darting over me in quick, light movements, I felt the heat well up inside me once again as another orgasm approached.
"Fuck... I'm coming. I'm coming!"
Without warning, he latched his lips onto my clitoris and sucked as hard as he could. I shuddered inside his mouth, my pussy pulsing against his reptilian tongue. My eyes rolled back in my head, and for the most fleeting of seconds, it felt as though my brain was leaving my body.
When I opened my eyes, Gar'zul was dabbing at the corners of his mouth and crawling up the bed to lie beside me.
"Did you like it?" he asked.
I opened my mouth and tried to answer but all that came out of me was a long, exhausted sigh. He smiled and extended an arm so I could lie on it. As I rolled over and snuggled into the crook of his neck, I realized he was still covered in blood. But in the moment, I didn't care.
"Thank you for coming home," I said.
"Of course! How could I not come home to you?"
He kissed my forehead and pulled the covers up around my naked body as the goose bumps began to rise.
"What are we going to do about the thing out there," I said as my eyes began to grow heavy.
"Don't worry about it. I'll sort it out."
"Gar'zul, I'll be safe, won't I?"
I cuddled in closer to him and flopped an arm over his stomach.
"I promise you'll be safe. I'll make sure you always will be."
I lay my head on his chest as it rose and fell with each breath, lulling me to sleep as my body drifted away.
Chapter 13
Gar’zul
“Bastard, cowardly bastard.”
I paced up and down the training court with my ax in my hand.
“I know who it was! It was Furi, wasn’t it? I know it was!”
“Please, Gar’zul calm down.”
Davoth trailed behind me, clutching at the back of my shirt as he tried to convince me to relax.
“That champion, Furi…” I shook my head. “He’s so afraid of me he can’t fight me in person. He has to send some weak, pathetic assassin to my house in the middle of the night to hurt my woman. My woman!”
I beat my chest and raged, walking up and down faster. People were stopping to scare, were jumping out of my way as I approached. Training had now come to a standstill with every fighter watching me slack-jawed as I swung my ax and shouted:
“Furi! I know it was you!”
“Please…” Davoth pleaded one last time. “Calm down.”
I pushed him out my way and he stumbled backward, falling on his ass.
“I’ll kill him,” I seethed.
Soon Arlodd was rushing over, clapping his hands to my shoulders and saying:
“Gar’zul. This isn’t the time or the place. Come on… Let’s go outside.”
I shook him off me and raised my ax up in the air once again.
“Furi!” I bellowed. “You might be the champion now but you are a coward!”
Davoth was on his feet again, pulling at my arms.
“Come on… Let’s sort this out.”
“I’ll sort this out, alright. Don't you think I know how things are settled in this world? You don’t think I know how many gladiators have slaughtered each other outside these arena walls?”
Davoth’s eyes were filled with sheer terror.
“I beg you. Don’t do it.”
I leaned in close to his face.
“That man tried to kill my woman. I will not rest until I see his lifeless heart in the palm of my hand.”
The breath left Davoth’s body as he gasped and backed away.
“Come,” Arlodd placed a hand on my back.
“No... I must-“
Voices in the distance interrupted me. There was the sound of laughter, heavy footsteps and the dulcet tones of his cocky voice. Surrounded by his trainers, Furi stepped into the court, his eyes meeting mine as he entered.
“So you did hear me,” I said.
"Yeah... I heard you were talking shit about me. You think you're so important, such a great fighter that I'd have you killed! Ha!"
He threw his sword to the ground and laughed.
"You must be more stupid than I thought to actually believe I'd be worried about you taking my place. But I wouldn't expect any different from a scumbag deserter like you."
"Deserter? Deserter! My wife and children were murdered!"
I stormed toward him and pushed him in the chest. It made little impact and he laughed with his fat, hairy cheeks jiggling. In the blink of an eye, his expression changed and he narrowed his eyes, regarding me coolly for a moment before taking a step forward.
"I think your family got off lightly. I'm not surprised your wife picked death over being with you."
"You son of a bitch!"
I shoved him hard and he staggered backward with a satisfied, smug grin on his face.
"You think that's funny, eh?"
He laughed again.
"Thinking of your little children dying in the ashes of your home, where you left them to die. That, I find funny. Knowing that you were too much of a coward to help them… That makes me laugh."
Without thinking, I moved to punch him square in the eye but Arlodd leaped on me and held me back, roughly pulling my arms behind me.
"Calm down, buddy. He's just trying to provoke you. He doesn't mean a single thing he says."
My chest was on fire, my face burning, and the blood in my body rushing to my fists as I thought of nothing else but pummeling Furi's face into the dust.
"You're the coward!" I yelled. "You're the one who sent an assassin to do your dirty work because you were too afraid to. You sent one of your crew to kill my defenseless woman, a fragile innocent human that has done nothing to you!"
"From what I heard, she's not too innocent," Furi smirked. "But that's none of my business."
"You haven't heard shit!"
I kicked the ground and dislodged a rock embedded in the dirt. It bounced along the ground before hitting Furi in the shin. He looked down at the feeble stone and shook his head.
"You think she's innocent," he chuckled. "I guess she never told you that she's been coming to the arena behind your back to visit Mysterious Marco."
I glowered at him.
"You're lying. She wouldn't do that."
"You don't have to believe me," he said. "She came here, others have seen her lurking amongst the shadows with the other Earthling, the one who everyone knows to be your rival."
Turning to Arlodd, I saw he had a peculiar look in his eye. He glanced at the floor nervously and kept his gaze down.
"He's just trying to get a reaction," I said to him. "Talking crap to make me angry. Well, I won't rise to it."
Arlodd, with his gaze still cast to the floor, reached out an arm and grabbed my wrist.
"Gar'zul, the man lies about a lot of things but not about this.”
At last, he looked up regretfully.
"What are you saying?" I asked.
He swallowed and looked over at Furi before leaning in close to me.
"I have seen her here too, in the cloisters with Marco..."
Before I could reply, I began to shake, the heat rising within me as I thought about that weak, little human and the way his eyes ran all over Carina's body.
"So..." Furi stepped toward me. "It looks as though the mighty Gar'zul has just discovered the truth about his sweet, innocent human bride to be. Who knows who else she has been seeing when you’ve been training, slaving away to buy her everything she wants."
"Back off," I seethed through gritted teeth. "What happens between me and Carina is none of your business."
He licked his dry lips, the sound of his parched tongue running over his crackled skin making me nauseous.
"One day I'll get you into the ring and you'll fall just like your first wife. You'll finally be able to see your children again."
His lips were twisted up into a wicked smirk. I'd have killed him on the spot if it weren't for Arlodd pulling me back.
"Don't, Gar'zul. He's enjoying himself. Don't give him the satisfaction of seeing you angry."
"Fuck off Furi... I don't have time for these playground taunts. If I ever see you in the ring I'll make sure to take my time with you.”
