carries Gard

Gard gasped, and the empty rifle slid from her fingers. She shuddered and pressed her hands to her belly.
I moved to her side and picked her up, trying not to strain her stomach. She was heavy. Not like a sumo wrestler or anything, but she was six feet tall in her bare feet and had more than the usual amount of muscle. She felt at least as heavy as Thomas. I grunted with effort, got her settled, and started for the door.
Gard let out a croaking little whimper, and more blood welled from her injury. Faint pangs of sympathetic pain flickered through my own belly. Her eyes had rolled back in her head. It had taken a lot to beat Gard's apparent pain threshold, but it looked like the visit from the Denarian-and the activity it had forced on her-had done it.
The day just couldn't have gotten any more disturbing.
Until the splattered mass that had been the Denarian started quivering and moving.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" I shouted.
Where there had been one big bug thing, now there were thousands of little mantislike creatures. They all began bounding toward the center of the room, piling up into two mounds that gradually began to take on the shape of insectoid legs.
The shotgun downstairs roared again, and running footsteps approached.
"Harry!" Thomas shouted. He appeared at the bottom of the stairs, sword in hand, just as I hurried out the door, still toting Gard.
"We had company up here!" I called. I started down the stairs as quickly and carefully as I could.


Small Favor Chapter 13, Page 103-104