The Peacekeepers

"Where's the portal?" Dizziness made her stagger. The huge, repulsive male grabbed her around the waist and kept her from falling. Being so close to him made her gag, but she willed herself not to fight him until she was certain of his motives.

But, oh, how he stank!

Nimri inhaled through her mouth then chanted, "I will not panic. I will not panic. There has to be a way out." Closing her eyes, she forced herself to concentrate and realized that if she'd gotten in, she could get out by reversing events... maybe... if the portal had not shifted and taken her elsewhere.

No! She couldn't think of such a fate! She had to trust that she could return home.

She remembered falling down toward teeth.

Nimri opened her eyes and saw ordinary stalactites and stalagmites.

She looked upward and saw the gray limestone wall take one a rosy hue before receding into blackness. Odd. Tracking the reddish hue, brought her attention to a square opening situated twice her height up the wall.

If the sacred grove was there, she was still on Chatterre.

Heart hammering, Nimri gazed until she was certain she could make out the color of balata leaves. Nimri's knees quivered with relief knowing that all she needed to do was climb upward a dozen feet. She blinked and suddenly the color seemed too orangish to be balata leaves. What if the color was just wishful thinking?

They had to be balata!

She must be on Chatterre! She could return to her people. Nimri refused to contemplate climbing down Sacred Mountain with the encumbrance of a broken arm.

For now, getting up to the balata grove was her priority. Once there, and undistracted by the shrinking walls, she could heal her arm completely? Still, she'd need to begin the process in order to get out. Nimri leaned against the male's chest and placed her left palm over the breaks while she meditated on regenerating the bone.

Behind her, the male shifted his grip and distracted her by tapping her shoulder. She ignored him, and focused on the ulna. The obnoxious man tapped harder. She hid her dislike before opening her eyes.

He pointed at the shaft of magenta light. "Owyat?" When she blinked, he pantomimed climbing then raised an eyebrow.

Hoping that he'd offered to assist her escape, Nimri nodded.

Colonel turned to pale Anthropoid and spoke gibberish. Despite the fact that they appeared to be different species, Nimri suspected they were mates. The bleached woman exuded cold resentfulness in every move she made and every word she spoke. Nimri wished she could assure Anthropoid that jealousy was unwarranted.