AllFreeNovel
Share Us
So I grabbed my second knife from its holster, drew in a breath, and stepped forward -
A twig cracked under my bare foot.
It wasn't a loud sound, but it seemed to boom as big as a clap of thunder in the hushed night air. I cursed my own sloppiness and bad luck. First the creaky door, now this. I just couldn't catch a break tonight - or at least be quiet enough to sneak up on someone.
For a moment, the two giants froze, staring at each other. Then Anton fumbled for his gun while Hannah turned toward where I was, more elemental Fire flaring to life in the palm of her hand.
I stepped up and threw my first knife at Hannah, but my aim was off, and the knife only sank into her shoulder. Still, it was enough to break her hold on her magic, and the Fire was snuffed out in her hand. She screamed, clutched at the blade in her body, and staggered back against the wooden railing that ran along the outside of the bridge.
Even as she fell back, I raced forward, this time focusing my attention on Anton. He managed to yank the gun from the holster on his belt and take aim at me. I threw myself forward, rolling, rolling, rolling, the pavement digging into my sides, stomach, and shoulders.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Anton's gun had a silencer, just like Dixon's, so the bullets didn't make too much noise as they flew through the air over my head and raced away into the darkness. Well, that was one small favor, although Hannah's scream had already been far too loud for my liking. But there was nothing to do now but finish my enemies and hope that no one would hear the commotion.
I came to a stop right in front of Anton, and I surged up onto my knees and sliced my knife across his thigh. The wound wasn't deep enough to sever his femoral artery like I'd wanted, but it was still a serious cut, and blood spattered across my neck, chest, and hand.
Anton screamed and went down on his ass. He kicked his legs out and crab-walked backward across the pavement, scurrying away from me and heading toward the bridge opening - and the bomb.
I didn't know if he was deliberately moving toward the explosive or just trying to get away from me no matter what, but I could not let him touch that Fire rune. Depending on how it was rigged, the rune could ignite at the slightest touch and trigger the bomb, which could blow us all sky-high.
A gleam of metal caught my eye, and I saw his crowbar sticking out of the top of his duffel bag. Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed the weapon and lashed out with it.
I cracked the crowbar against the giant's knee, stopping his backward progress. He moaned and started to curl into a ball to protect himself, but it was too late. I raised the crowbar and brought it down again, this time on his head. The curved end stuck in the giant's skull, and when I ripped it out, blood spurted up like a geyser, coating the pavement, and Anton's eyes took on a glassy sheen. He'd be dead in another minute, two tops -
The crackle of magic filled the air, and I ducked to one side. A ball of elemental Fire streaked by my head and exploded against a nearby maple, sending smoke and sparks whooshing up into the sky. I whirled around to find Hannah standing behind me, the knife that should have been in her shoulder lying on the pavement at her feet.
"I'm going to burn you alive!" she hissed, another ball of elemental Fire flickering to life in her hand.
"Oh, I doubt that," I drawled, twirling the crowbar in my hand.
She reared back her hand to throw her magic at me, but I didn't give her the chance. I closed the gap between us, raised the crowbar high, and cracked her across the skull with it, just like her partner. Hannah staggered back, a dazed look on her face, but I went after her again and again, hitting her across the skull, neck, and chest as hard as I could, driving her back toward the wooden railing that ringed the edge of the island.
When I got close enough, I dropped the crowbar and buried a knife in her heart.
She sucked in a breath to scream, but I ripped the blade free, pivoted, and lashed out with my left foot, kicking her in the gut. Hannah grunted and stumbled back, the weight of her body causing the weathered wood railing to creak and groan. I pivoted once more, kicking her again. This time, the railing didn't hold, making the same sharp, snapping sound that the twig had made earlier under my foot. Hannah's arms windmilled, and she fell backward into the darkness. A few seconds later, I heard the splash of her body hitting the river far, far below.
I stood there in the middle of the road, bathed in the golden glow of one of the garden lights, my weapon clenched in my hand. I looked and listened, but the only sounds were my soft, quick breaths and the faint plop-plop-plop of blood dripping off the end of my knife. No shouts of alarm rattled through the air, no footsteps smacked in my direction, no bullets came my way. No one had heard the fight, although the pieces of pavement underfoot had already started to mutter about their sudden, violent deaths.
I grabbed my fallen knife, put both of my weapons back into their holsters, then stooped down and searched Anton. He didn't have anything particularly noteworthy, although I did trade my gun for his silenced one and reloaded the weapon with the spare ammo I found in his duffel bag. I also picked the crowbar back up and grabbed Hannah's flashlight. Once that was done, I got to my feet and stared at the bridge. Thinking.
After a moment, I grinned. If Clementine wanted to blow something up, I'd be more than happy to oblige her.
Chapter 13
I decided to leave Anton where he lay on the pavement in front of the bridge. I didn't care if anyone found him. If things went according to my plan, everyone would know about me in a few more minutes anyway.
I stepped over the giant's body, walked through the bridge entrance, and dropped to my knees in front of the board I'd seen them messing with earlier. I clicked on the flashlight and moved the beam back and forth over the area. A symbol had been scorched into the top of the wood: a small circle surrounded by several wavy rays.
A sunburst. The symbol for fire. Mab's personal rune.
Well, I supposed that using that particular rune was rather appropriate, since the giants intended to steal all of the Fire elemental's treasures. I wondered if Clementine was as big a fan of irony as I was. Probably not.
The symbol glowed with a faint orange light, as though it were still hot and smoking from being burned into the wood. Usually, some action was required to trigger a rune like this. If it had been traced into a door, whoever was unlucky enough to open it would get a face full of elemental Fire for his or her trouble. In this case, it seemed like the giants planned to detonate the bomb underneath to get the rune to flare to life and add to the fire, heat, and damage from the explosive itself.
Well, not if I could help it.
I set the flashlight down, then put my hand on the adjoining board, careful not to touch and jostle the other piece of wood - or the rune on top of it - in any way. I had no desire to blow myself to kingdom come. At least, not before I'd saved my friends.
