Dan ran down the sidewalk effortlessly, dodging people as he went. Being chased was nothing new. It was a hazard of life for a thief. He wasn't much worried about being caught. Once he was clear of all the people on the busy street, he could and would outdistance anything and anyone. Bio assistance was a necessity in his line of work.
He reached the corner and made a left. The street was empty. His speed nearly doubled and he was at the entrance to an alley in seconds. He made another left to double back on the people chasing him and slowed. The alley was a dead end.
Stopping in confusion, he mentally went back over the map in his head. He was where he should be all right but the alley had changed. Two days before it had been open, now there was a brick wall across it. A wooden door in that wall was the only way out. Going back was not an option.
All his carefully laid plans were beyond that wall. He tried the door. It was locked of course, but for a thief, locks were just an inconvenience. He had it picked and was through it in a few seconds. The room he entered was dark, damp, and warm.
It took only a few seconds for his night vision to kick in and then he froze. A woman was standing across the room from him. A beautiful woman at that, tall, slender, and nude. Well, almost anyway.
Soft knee-high leather boots, a harness with straps over her shoulders and across her chest, above and below her breasts. Leather cords were tied on each bicep and thigh. Strands of the cord hung down at each point and had metal ends.
Two long handles with silver balls on the ends showed one above each shoulder. As Dan watched, the woman reached up and pulled on one of the handles with both hands. A thin metal blade appeared that was as long as the handle. It was a sword.
Dan reached for the doorknob behind him. It wasn't there, even when he felt around and to either sides of his body. The door was not there either. A nude woman was fine with him but a nude woman with a sword was not. No weapons were allowed on this world and he thought it was a very good rule.
He took several quick glances behind him. The door wasn't there and the wall was not brick any longer, it was solid rock. Ok, that was enough; he did not want to play this game any longer, especially when someone kept changing the rules and the playing field.
Who, what, when, where, and what the fuck, kept floating around in his mind but Dan didn't say anything. The woman had drawn the sword but had not moved. She held the handle between her breasts with both hands, the blade pointing up and the edge away from her face.
If she didn't move or say anything, then he wasn't about to. Women with knives were dangerous. Women with big, very sharp looking swords were worse than that. He might be crazy but he wasn't anyone's fool. There was still the possibility that she did not know where he was.
All bets were off as a sudden blaze of light knocked his eyes off line.
*****
About the time Dan could see again, the woman spoke. "If you want to live, you need to stand close behind me so the light shield will protect you also."
"What?" Dan asked in confusion.
"Come stand close up behind me and hurry."
"Uh, if you say so." Dan replied as he hurried over to stand behind the woman.
As he moved in close behind her, the light that was covering her body expanded to cover his. That answered that question. Now, if he only had any idea about the staying alive part, he would be a happy camper. Staying alive was high on his list of things to do.
The longer he stood there, the warmer it got and not just because of the fine naked ass pressed to the front of his pants. It was warm enough that he had sweat popping out on his forehead and running down his face.
"Can you turn the heat down or the air conditioning on?" He asked jokingly.
"It's the shield and our coming visitor. You have far to many clothes on." She replied in a whisper. "Now be quiet so I can hear."
Dan upped the range on his hearing and listened for a few seconds. He heard nothing except their breathing and heartbeats. He was also growing hotter so he slipped off his jacket. That helped a little but he could feel the perspiration on his chest and back as a tickling sensation. He unbuttoned his shirt.
Ten minutes went by and Dan was about to melt from the heat. He removed his shirt. He still had not heard anything but the woman seemed to be listening intently. He could see beads of sweat coursing slowly down her body and felt the same on his.
He had the urge to put his hands on the slick, shiny, tempting skin in front of him. Visions of her sword mangling his body held him in check. If he didn't have his pants on, his hard ridged manhood would be between her luscious ass cheeks. He wondered what she would think of that.
Visions of that sword and his manhood made him shiver. He studied the sword scabbards crossed on her back. Men and women in assorted sexual positions adorned them. She wasn't a prude if she wore stuff like that. Her being naked and not trying to cover up had already told him that.
He hadn't seen any hair on her sex and the sides of her head was shaved. It was a strange haircut. There was a stiff three-inch tall by two inch wide Mohawk down the center of her head, but the back was full and long. The hair in back was braided and down to her waist.
Strange, very strange. She definitely was not from any place he knew of. He had traveled extensively in the galaxy and her mode of dress and weapons fit nowhere. Other than her muscular physic, she could have been from anywhere, except for the hairstyle that is.
A hint of sulfur in the air and a building pressure drew his attention away from the woman. A dull red glow was forming across the room from where they stood. Maybe room wasn't the right word. They were in what looked more like a very large cave but the floor was paved with blocks of stone.
"Be ready to move with me," the woman whispered.
"Uh, how will I know when and where?" Dan asked in the same type whisper.
"Put your hands on my hips, I'll try and give you a signal but you'll have to be quick."
Dan put his hands on her hips. As he did, he noticed his hands were shaking. Was it fear of the unknown or the thought of touching the woman? He never had time to find an answer. The red glow burst into a brilliant red light and they were moving.
The woman backed up several steps, pushing Dan as she went. There was something forming in the red light and it didn't look good. In fact, it look like hell, a demon at the very least and the devil at the worse. Whichever, it was big and nasty looking.
Folklore devils and demons vary greatly from planet to planet and culture to culture. This one was red with black wings. The face was humanoid but wide at the brow and narrow at the chin. Two large curved horns were at the hairline but there wasn't any hair, just slick black skin.
The body was powerful looking and twice his size. Dan's first thought was flight but the thought of the woman facing this thing alone, rooted him to the spot. He almost missed the cue when she took a slow step to the right. She twitched her hip and moved the other way.
She gave him hip cues for all four directions and then said, "It's us or him. We can't let him leave this place."
Dan thought a moment and then asked, "Uh, can I borrow that other sword of yours, I'm feeling kind of defenseless, if you know what I mean."
"Do you know how to use it?"
"Not really but I can be a damned fast learner when I have to be."
"For right now, just follow me and lend me your energy." The woman answered. "If things go wrong for me then it is yours and may the Gods have mercy on us both."
Before Dan could reply the thing across the room roared and then said in a deep rumbling voice, "Clear out humans. I will have my freedom and there is nothing you can do to stop me."
"You will not pass!" The woman replied.
