Page 19 of My Tiny Giant

“What the...” I gasped, suppressing a cry of shock.

The yirzi shouted excitedly.

I doubled my efforts with the lock. As soon as the laser had made it through the metal, I shoved at the door with force, slamming it into the legs of one of the yirzi .

He shrieked as the other one drew a gun.

Staying low in a crouch, I kicked my foot out, swiping the first yirzi off all four legs. When he crashed to the floor, I yanked his gun from behind his belt, using his body as the shield from the shots of the other one.

The one on the floor grabbed me by the throat, and I shot him in the head, right between his eye antennae.

“You bitch!” The second yirzi leaped my way. I pulled the trigger, hitting him in the chest. He dropped to the floor, yelping once, then stilled.

The Voranian’s gaze focused on me from behind the glass when I jumped to my feet. I searched the wall of glass, finding a door on the right. Kicking it in, I pointed the gun at the Voranian inside.

“Where’s Agan?” I demanded. “The Ravil? What did you do to him?”

The male’s wine-colored eyes shifted quickly between me, the walls, and the floor.

“Don’t shoot.” He waved both hands at me, his palms facing me in a pacifying gesture, the clear rectangle pinched between his thumb and his finger.

“Where is he?” I stepped closer as he retreated. “Bring him back, now!”

As soon as my foot crossed into the red circle on the floor, the Voranian lowered the rectangle in his hands, pointing it at me.

“Oh no, you won’t!” I shouted, guessing his intentions to shine the purple light on me, too.

Jumping out of the circle, I shot, aiming at his hand. The blast grazed the back of his hand, with sparks flying out. The stench of burned fur rose in the air.

The male dropped the device to the floor, dashing to the back wall. A panel moved as he slammed his shoulder into it. It slid aside, revealing an open tunnel behind it. The Voranian promptly disappeared into it, and the panel slid back into place.

“Hey!” I shot again, dashing after him.

The blast burned a scorch mark in the panel. I kicked at the wall, behind which the Voranian had gone, but it wouldn’t budge.

Disheartened, I grabbed the clear rectangle he had left behind and inspected it. Dots and colorful lines twinkled inside it, but I had no idea what any of them meant.

How was I supposed to find Agan, now?

A movement on the floor caught my eye. Something small with a tail dashed my way.

A rat?

I squeaked in horror and disgust, nearly dropping the Voranian device, then jumped up onto a nearby equipment box.

Sure, I was a soldier—in and out of an armored suit—but I would rather face a bunch of fescods in hand-to-hand combat than let a rat crawl all over my feet. Nasty creatures.

“Eleven!” Agan’s faint voice reached me from below somewhere. “It’s me!”

“Agan?” I carefully stepped off the box, crouching down to the floor.

The thing I’d mistaken for a rat looked exactly like my current comrade-in-arms, only many, many times smaller.

I blinked, refusing to believe it.

“Is it really you?” I poked at his head with my finger, to make sure it wasn’t a hologram or something.

“Hey!” He swatted at my hand with his arm.