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On my left, Roz wielded a nasty-looking serrated blade in one hand. On my right, Menolly moved in on one of the bikers, her fangs out and eyes glowing. As we engaged the three men, I could hear Morio tell Camille, “Rope it in—save the magic. They can take care of those three, and we’ll need all our powers for Karvanak.”
And then I was into the fray. My opponent’s blade was long and curved and spattered with blood. As I raised my dagger and braced against his blow, I wondered how many men he’d killed. How many women? I put my weight behind my blade and shoved, knocking him back. He stumbled but caught himself and swung low. I leapt, playing jump rope with the sword as it passed beneath my feet. The next moment, I did a Bruce Lee and flipped over his head, landing behind him, my dagger at the ready.
He jerked around, startled. I took advantage of his confusion and leapt again, this time spinning to kick him solidly in his sword arm with my stiletto. The heel pierced his leather, pierced his skin, sank deep into the muscle.
Oh shit! My heel was caught in the tissue of his arm, and I couldn’t pull loose. I shook my foot, ripping a long, jagged gash in his arm as I did so, and he let out a scream that echoed through the room. As he jerked away, I managed to free my boot and stumbled, rolling into a somersault, coming up into a squat.
“Bitch! Bitch!” My opponent was obviously in pain. He was losing it, and I aimed to drive him over the edge. One bit of battle wisdom: Push an adversary too far, and they often lose sight of common sense and make mistakes.
A slow smile spread across my face as I stood, tapping my blade against my hand. “Come on, baby. You gonna let yourself get whipped by a pussycat?” With a smirk, I blew him a kiss. “I’d offer to blow you, but your dick’s gotta be smaller than my little finger and I just don’t do shrimps.”
Oh yeah, that did it. He came at me full-tilt, roaring as he raised his sword over his head, leaving his torso open to attack.
One thing about berserker rage, I thought, it can make a grown man incredibly stupid. I hauled back and sent my dagger singing through the air, to land right in his heart. As I danced away, he suddenly realized he wasn’t going anywhere anymore. He lost his grip on his sword, and it tumbled to the floor behind him. He glanced down at his chest, at the blood burbling out from around the dagger’s point, then at me, looking confused.
The coppery scent of blood filled my nostrils, making me salivate. As quickly as stepping through a doorway, I could feel her there, aware and awake; Panther wanted off the chain. The man was close to dying, and the Death Maiden in me reveled as he slipped away.
I grabbed my dagger, yanking it out of his chest as he started to topple forward. His gaze locked on mine, and I saw the shock and the bewilderment that accompanied whatever last thoughts had run through his mind. And then, just like that, he lurched to the ground and lay still. He was dead.
Staring at his prone form, I tried to summon up some feeling of regret, but the only thing I could think about was rescuing Chase, and how this man might have been the one to cut off Chase’s fingertip. I wiped my blade on his back and turned to help the others.
Roz had cut down the man in front of him, and Menolly had taken care of her opponent. For the moment, we were alone again.
Camille walked over to their swords and picked up one. “These could come in handy. Not iron—but sort of alloy. The enchantment’s to make them stronger and more deadly. I don’t think its aimed at any one particular race or species.” She tossed one to Morio, one to Roz, and offered the third to me. I took it, staring at the curving blade.
“I dunno, I’m used to my dagger. It would be hard to run with this. On the other hand, it’s good for holding people at arm’s length. Vanzir, you want it?”
Vanzir looked at the blade with a hunger I seldom saw on his face. “I’ll use it to cut out his heart,” he murmured, and I knew he was talking about Karvanak. He took the sword and swished it around. Obviously the dude had experience from the way he made it sing through the air.
I glanced at Morio. “You don’t have any clothes that you could spare in that bag of yours, do you?”
He grinned. “Don’t like looking like a hoochie mama? I have a spare karate outfit. The pants will be short, but it’s got to be better than what you’re wearing.” He zipped open his bag and tossed me a pair of black pants and a white top, along with a belt, also black.
“Thanks,” I said, yanking off my togs of torture. Everyone stared. I was buck naked beneath the lamé. “Look all you want, but right now, I don’t give a shit. I just want out of that crap and into something that won’t give me jock itch.”
Camille laughed as I yanked on the pants, which came up to my shins, and belted the top. “Feel better?” she said.
“Much. The material’s a lot heavier than that crap,” I added, kicking the glittering hooker togs. “At least my skin can breathe now.”
“Take them with you,” Camille warned me. “Morio, put the pants and halter in your bag. They’ve got her scent and essence on them, and there’s no way in hell we want anybody who might work magic to get hold of that.”
“Good point,” he said, snagging them up. He stuffed them in his bag, then zipped it shut.
“Okay, let’s find Chase. We’ve still got a bunch of bloatworgles and venidemons to deal with.” I led them into the hallway that branched off from the living room. The house reminded me of the one in which we’d fought the venidemons, though it looked in better shape. I also doubted we’d find a portal here; the energy wasn’t strong enough for that. At least, I hoped we wouldn’t.
I opened each door as we came to it. In one room, we found stacks of expensive rugs: wool, hand-woven, and beautiful. The next was a bathroom, and the third was a bedroom. Lush and opulent, the room smelled like RÄksasa. I was about to cross the threshold when Camille stopped me.
“Wards—strong wards. You’ll blow your head off if you go in there. Let’s find Chase and get him out of here.” She pulled me back from the door, and I nodded, looking around.
“Where’s the basement, Fraale?” I didn’t want to waste time running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Camille was right: Get in there, get Chase out, and then come back for Karvanak.
“See that door over there—the one that looks like it might lead to another bedroom?” She pointed to a door on the other side of the arch leading out of the hall. “That’s it. The basement is unfinished, so it’s cold and dank. I have no idea where the venidemons are. Karvanak was pretty clear about not letting them loose down there. The creatures are mindless and would have tried to use your detective as an all-you-can-eat diner.”
But the bloatworgles weren’t mindless . . . dangerous, yes. Disgusting, definitely. But mindless? No. I reached for the door handle.
“Be on your guard. My guess is that the bloatworgles are down there. Don’t go in without your defenses being up. By the way, Roz saved me from getting toasted by the one on our property. Remember, they breathe fire.”
As I opened the door, a fetid smell wafted up. Oh yeah, bloatworgle stench. Delightful. A pair of glowing eyes gleamed from the darkness below.
