As I approached the hill’s crest, Skrew suddenly came running full speed toward me. I drew my new sword, ready to kill whatever might be chasing him. Instead, the vrak tried to tackle me.
“What the—” I started before he climbed halfway up my body and clamped a three-fingered hand over my mouth. He pointed into the woods at a fallen log. I looked, and he proceeded to push against me with all his might. Whatever he wanted to hide from must have been important, so I ran to the log and lay down behind it.
I watched the trail, and a few seconds later, I saw a woman sprinting down it. She wore leather clothes, similar to mine, except they were either dyed a pale green, or just as likely on this world, were made from a creature with green flesh. She was muscular, and her skin seemed to sparkle in the bright sunlight.
I was entranced. She was definitely alien but humanoid enough to catch my eye. As she ran by, breathing hard, I noticed what made her sparkle. It wasn’t her entire body, just a stripe going down the side of her neck behind her ear. Another stripe, this one an iridescent green, blue, and pink, made a distinct line from her bottom lip, down her neck, and disappeared between her ample cleavage and into her green leather shirt.
Her three pursuers were not nearly as attractive. Like Skrew, they were gray-skinned, but that was where the similarities ended. Their two muscular arms were as thick as my waist. The creatures weren’t any taller than me but easily outweighed me by 80 pounds. They were tank-like beings with murderous grins visible under their gold and green helmets.
These creatures were strapped with surgically implanted technology that looked as if it had been cobbled together from a scrap-heap. Based on what I’d seen with the dragon, the idea wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
They were fast, so I couldn’t see much of them before they disappeared behind the trees. Their tech looked advanced enough to make me cautious. One might have even been a sensor array. Other items swung from their hips, and they almost looked like firearms, but it was hard to tell now that they were getting away. They could have been close combat weapons similar to the MSM vibro-blades. They looked like they were wearing body armor of some kind, though it didn’t cover them completely.
“They are Enforcers,” Skrew whispered. “They are evil. They have the magic. Can burn to ash. Burn everything. Burn through wall. Burn water. Jacob cannot stab them, even with new, pointy sword. Leave Jacob ash mess on ground, on floor. We hide. We wait. We don’t die.”
Magic? I didn’t believe in magic. I believed in illusion, in technology that was too advanced for me to understand, and in sleight of hand. But not magic. What he called magic had to be the interesting tech they carried.
I wanted to see what they had. The tech could be useful to me not only for the journey to Brazud but also for when I entered the city. Plus, I didn’t like the way they were chasing that woman. Neither she nor they were out for exercise. They were trying to catch her—maybe to turn her to ash.
I’d already seen the Ish-Nul burned to a crisp by the dragon. I’d saved many of them, but I hadn’t been able to save them all. This fleeing woman I could save.
“Are the Enforcers slavers?” I asked as I considered how best to take them down.
Skrew didn’t answer.
“Skrew?” I said. “Tell me the truth.”
“They are slavers,” he said, sounding completely defeated.
He knew what was coming next.
Chapter Fifteen
Before I could pursue the Enforcers, Skrew insisted I stop and listen. I guessed he was only trying to delay me so I couldn’t catch up with them. But I knew how fast I was. I could still track them down.
I pulled Skrew’s three-fingered hand away from my shirt. “What?”
“Path curves back,” he said, emphasizing what he was saying with all four of his hands.
“And?”
“And,” he said, his own patience growing thin, “Jacob can set trap. Can do the sneaky. Can maybe kill both Enforcers and not get made to ash. Skrew show him where. Good idea, yes?”
I didn't know what kind of Enforcer tech had Skrew so scared, but whatever it was, I could overcome it. But maybe his suggestion to set a trap wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Show me where,” I replied.
He bolted upright and ran into the forest. I kept up with him but wondered if we’d make it in time. So, I hoisted him under one arm and poured on the speed. He held onto me with three arms and pointed where he wanted me to run with the fourth.
We were there in seconds.
“This is the same path?” I set him on his shaky feet.
“Yes. Same path.”
I looked around for trap-making material, something I could put together fast. I thought about what I had on me. What could I make by using my new sword? Nothing immediately presented itself, and I came up empty-handed. Then I remembered I was stronger than I’d ever been. The most abundant material I had around me was wood—trees.
“Stay quiet,” I said to Skrew. “I have a plan.”
“Jacob has plan!” he yelled.
I winced and slapped my hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.
He was absolutely giddy with anticipation. I thought I might need to gag him, tie him up, and stash him somewhere until it was all over.
“Enforcers so going to have a headache,” Skrew whispered after I released him.
I poked him in the ribs and put a finger to my lips. He flinched, nodded, and clamped two hands over his mouth. I could still hear him giggling but just barely. Unless Enforcers had enhanced hearing, he wasn’t making enough noise to alert
