I slowly lifted my chin. Beast loomed over me. “Hello, weird eyes. Fancy meeting you here.”
My stomach dropped, and I scurried to my feet, backing away from him, toward the hole in the roof. Celine and the others were engaged in fights, and I was on my own. Should I run? I could quickly drop off the edge and climb down and wait to fight from the ground. Instincts told me I should. Pride wanted me to stay and defend my team.
I glanced around for Taewyn or Celine.
“Viper isn’t here. You can just surrender now and save that pretty face.”
I felt for the hole with my foot then dropped inside. My team immediately grabbed me and threw me to the ground. My cheek was smashed into the smelly old floor with a boot on my back. “It’s me, Bonecarver.”
“Oh, sorry about that,” said a boy. Taking my arms, they hoisted me up just as Beast and a couple others dropped in. My team rushed forward and fists flew. Grunts and curses came next, then bone cracking flesh. More Team Assassin dropped in and climbed through the windows. I backed toward the hostages, shielding them with my body.
Beast quickly took down a girl on my team, sending her crashing to the floor. She curled up on a ball and held her side.The wood boards cracked and gave way. With a scream, she fell through landing onto the grass ten feet below.
He marched toward me, mask down so I could see his smirk. “Get out of the way.”
To my right, one of my team had her face pressed into the floor by one of Team Assassin, their elbow hooked around her throat. “I surrender.”
A few more surrenders echoed through the room. We were about to lose. I gritted my teeth and put up my fists. Vander was going to be pissed, but what else was I supposed to do? Celine called Foxglove a coward and she hadn’t run. She’d taken a beating before she led them to us. Imagine what she’d call me if I ran or surrendered without a fight.
Our hostages didn’t move but the man on my left looked nervous. He turned his face away, averting his gaze, I knew then I was in trouble. He didn’t want to see me get beaten to a pulp.
Beast grabbed for me, and I shoved his hands down. He laughed but it was wicked. “You’re not seriously going to fight me.”
I swung for his throat and hit. His eyes blew wide and he choked, stumbling back several steps. The ragged gurgling noises coming from him made me smile.
“Oh, now you’re dead.”
I steeled myself, thinking of my training. I’d learned evasive moves. Beast swung and I ducked. He kicked and I jumped back. I’d been sparring with Vander for weeks and his strikes made Beast’s slow to my eyes. Beast was no Viper, he was a grizzly—powerful, but he relied on his brute strength and intimidation. If he landed a hit, I was in trouble. I blocked his blows, shoving aside his fists, shifting away a fraction before each hit. Every time he missed me, the fury burned hotter in his face.
Then he went for the hostage. His fingertips were inches from touching the woman. I slapped his arm down and kickedhim in the back of the legs. One knee buckled but he turned and hit me hard in the ribs. Pain ripped through me. I coughed out my breath.Shit, not my ribs again. I stumbled back into the wall, gasping.
Celine, Taewyn, and Fang dropped into the room. Maybe they’d taken back the roof, and we still had a chance.
“Is that all you’ve got?” I wheezed, distracting Beast from tapping the hostages and leading them out. I ignored the pain in my ribs and forced myself to stand taller.
The slow turn of his head sent a chill down my spine. “You must have been dropped on the head too many times as a baby.”
Pyro pushed her way through the skirmish and stood beside Beast. Me against two. Tonight, she and I were on different teams. Beast tapped the hostages, and they started to follow him.
No, he wasn’t going to get away with our prize that easily. Despite Vander’s warning, I shoved Pyro aside, jumped onto Beast’s back and went for the chokehold.Don’t directly engage with him.
But after he beat me without even trying my first day, I wanted revenge. I wanted him and everyone here to respect me.
The muscles in his body tensed, and he tucked his chin before I could hook my elbow. I might be quicker than him, but when he flipped me over his shoulder, I got a taste of his true strength. I wanted to be stronger. I wanted to be able to toss him through the wall as if he were nothing but a pebble. My back crashed to the floorboards. I rolled before his boot came down on my face.
“The hostages, don’t let them go!” I pushed up and Celine broke free from her fight. She tapped each of the hostages and dragged them back to a corner.
“Don’t just stand there, Pyro, do something,” Beast said, chasing the hostages.
Pyro squared up to me. “Sorry, but this is for Ghost.” A fist flew at my head; I weaved just out of reach, then a knee slammed into my gut. I dodged another punch, and another. I swung back and popped her in the nose. Blood trickled out, rolling over her lips, down her chin. She smiled, bloody-toothed, and chuckled.
“You hit hard. No wonder Ghost was pissed.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re still an amateur, though.” Her boot heel slammed into my toe, her elbow swung up and smacked into my chin.Elbows hurt worse than fists, I thought, as I stumbled back into the wall and the room began to swim and blur around me.
Another person on my team surrendered. Then another. My team was dropping like rain from a dark storm cloud. Taewyn went down, face dripping with blood. Team Assassin was leading the hostages out the door.
