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She said nothing more, made no protest on behalf of her own safety, though he could feel her anxiety. At least he knew she was out of harm’s way for now.
Off to the side, Lev stood with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face as he guarded what looked like the base part of the weapon.
The Costa Rican system was known for built-up and, therefore, potentially lethal stalagmites and stalactites.
But he’d battled in all sorts of environments over the centuries and would be happy to take Quill on in this rugged setting.
“Well, brother,” Quill said, pulling a dagger from the placket on his right thigh. “I’ve waited for this moment a long time. Don’t forget, though, that I’m an Ancestral, which you are not, and I really don’t plan to break a sweat despite how fast you moved in Sweden.”
As with Daniel in the earlier encounter, Marius didn’t wait to exchange a few useless words. With a dagger in hand, he launched.
For a split second Quill looked surprised; then he smiled. Marius struck home as he passed by Quill, then flew quickly through the maze of dripstones. When he turned, ready to battle Quill again, he saw his half brother staring down at the wound on his arm that Marius had inflicted. Like Daniel, he looked thunderstruck.
Quill then levitated, lifting his head and meeting Marius’s gaze straight on.
Marius flew around a stalactite; Quill moved behind one.
Marius watched him, his vision growing acute. Quill charged at lightning speed.
Marius started moving faster, darting past the sharp downward growths, throwing himself out of reach of Quill’s dagger. But Quill’s Ancestral ability made him equally fast.
Marius’s mind reached for a strategy and as Quill shot past him with his dagger stretched in his direction, Marius dipped, rolled, then struck with blinding speed.
His dagger connected for the second time and Quill shouted his pain, followed by another long cry of pure rage.
Quill faced Marius once more, flying in and out of the stalagmites, his nostrils flaring as he turned his dagger over and over in his hands. He now bled from his stomach and his arm, but neither wound was serious enough to stop the battle.
“So why have you gained so much speed, brother? I can feel that you’re not an Ancestral. Is it Shayna? Daniel says she’s special and he wants her. And you know Dad, he always gets what he wants.” Quill moved slowly, watching, calculating. He matched Marius in size and muscle mass.
Marius understood Quill’s ploy. While he chatted, he was also self-healing, giving himself time.
Quill suddenly shifted to altered flight and disappeared from Marius’s view. Shayna’s voice shot through his mind. Quill is behind you, strike now!
He didn’t question Shayna, but moved in a lightning whirl and caught skin, muscle, and bone.
Quill dropped out of altered flight and rolled off the fat end of a stalagmite, falling into a pool of water. His ribs were exposed, his body writhing.
Lev’s behind you now.
Marius once more turned and swept his arm in an arc, but Lev leaped back and his blade struck only air. Lev lifted both his hands, the universal form of surrender. “Give me Quill and you can take the weapon.”
Marius thought it a perfect trade and nodded.
But the smile on Lev’s face told a different story.
Qui
ll vanished first. Lev swept in a quick flight to the black base of the weapon, took hold of it easily in one hand, then shifted to altered flight. He disappeared instantly as well.
What the fuck?
Marius glanced at the remaining faded bag. He knew exactly what it was and that Quill had definitely disobeyed his father.
Oh, shit.
Shayna, appear now. This is a trap. We have a split second to survive this.
The moment she showed herself, he shifted to altered flight, and like a rocket aimed for her, grabbed her, and flew them both straight through the rock, the jungle, and up into the air. He held Shayna close, pulling her arms and legs in tight to his body, shielding her as best he could because, at the same time, the bag that was a bomb exploded behind them.
