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“Hey, asshole!” I said, and it curled its lip, began to lope forward and away from Beyo’s cabin.
Not the brightest bulb,I thought, and felt the monster offer its agreement.
The hybrid reached out, and I slid between its legs, sliced a longstrip from its calf. It howled, overbalanced, and nearly landed on me as it fought for control. I scrambled to my feet and swung the katana again, gestured it forward.
“Not impressive, Zane. Want to try again?”
It loped forward but, instead of swiping to grab me, stuck its arm out to slap me backward. I spun to dodge the blow, but it corrected, sent me flying.
This time, I’d learned my lesson. I rolled, which softened the blow of the landing and helped me get to my feet faster.
“Lis!” I heard Connor’s voice over the sounds of battle, and despite whatever horror he was facing.
“I’m fine,” I called out, and faced the beast again.
The monster was angry. And unless I was wrong, feeling a little sting of pride.
We go again,I told it, and sucked in a breath, ran toward Zane. This time, we jumped, took air and skimmed over the top of his head, spittle flying beneath us as we moved. We pivoted, slashed down, and pierced the beast’s shoulder, slicing through tendon and sending it to its knees.
The monster felt victorious, and I reveled in its pleasure.
We turned again, ready for another strike. But light began to flash, that bitter-smoke scent filling the air. Magic pummeled the beast, spasming through his body, revealing a pale man, body brutalized by battle and the weight of the spell he’d been carrying.
Revealing Zane.
Weakened though he was, the transformation didn’t stop him. Naked and thin, he came at me, arms swinging like those of a boxer on the ropes.
“Bitch,” Zane said. “Ruining this...”
“Oh, spare me,” I said, and knew what the monster wanted to do. It punched out—sharp jab, hard uppercut—and then a front kick that had him flying through the air.
Zane hit the ground, skidded twenty feet, and came to a stop. Chest still rising and falling, but head lolling to the side.
Good girl,I told the monster and, for the first time in our relationship, felt it preen with delight—and realized it had feelings just like I did. It wasn’t just a well of anger, but a creature—somehow bound to me—that also hadn’t asked to be in this situation. And I was going to have to learn to work around that.
I rose, looked around, found half the resort—including Theo and Georgia—was watching Connor finish off the brown hybrid.
“It’s impressive,” Theo said as Connor plunged a dagger into the creature’s calf, pinning him into the ground.
We both winced.
“What’s impressive?” I asked.
“Watching the future Apex in action.” He slid me a glance, grinned. “You ready to be the future Mrs. Apex?”
“Watch it, friend.” I tapped the blade of my sword. “I’m still armed.”
Theo snorted.
“What the fuck?” Cash exclaimed as he and Everett ran toward the field of battle, stared at the scene in front of them.
“What the fuck are those?” Everett said, face a mask of horror as he looked over the creatures.
“The hybrids,” Connor said. “Or the ones left. John and Marcus. Zane’s over there,” he said, pointing. “They’re here to kill Beyo, which we didn’t let them do, and to take out me and Elisa, if they could manage it. They didn’t,” he said good-naturedly.
Cash didn’t speak, just looked over the beasts, his eyes wide and staring... and his mind probably reeling to figure out how he was going to manipulate this to his benefit.
Magic flashed, and he threw up a hand to shield his eyes, then watched as John and Marcus began the transformation back into human form. And just as with Beyo and Zane, it was an ugly process.
