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“Raina, I said run!”
With another jerk of his ‘airwhip,’ the dark figure catches hold of Niko again and tosses him against the wall. I take aim and shoot, staying pressed against the wall and shuffling backward in the hopes that I might evade his whipping weapon. The dark figure moves unnaturally fast, letting out a wet sputtering that must be laughter. He evades one shot, but the next one hits him. He doesn’t flinch even though the stinger’s beam took him straight in the chest.
Then, I turn and run.
I pick my way through the trash that’s overflowing from a silver compacter on the opposite end of the alley. It must be broken, but it’ll make good cover. I crouch down behind it, checking on Niko as he fights with the strange man. He’s on the defensive, wriggling out of the invisible grip of the attacker’s weapon that Niko called an airwhip. When Niko jumps back and rolls away momentarily, I fire a few more shots.
This man must have impressive armor because my shots continue to glance off his body, including a beam that landed on the side of his head. I reach for Niko’s blade, which I stowed inside the shaft of my boot.
“What do you want?” Niko asks, dodging another swipe of the enemy’s invisible whip.
“I’m looking for the Ashbringer.” The voice of our attacker is deep and rasping.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Niko says.
This time, when the man wields his rod, the unseen force catches Niko and knocks him to the ground. I stand up out of my cover for a moment to aim at the fucker’s head. He’s forced to dodge away from my line of fire, so I have hope that he’s somehow vulnerable to the particle beams, perhaps only on his head.
But he turns the whip on me in response. The force of it slams against my neck, throwing me back against the compacter. My hands go to my throat as my head slams against the hard corner of the compacter. Just as Niko said, my hands interrupting the invisible whip is all it takes to release its hold on me. The stinger is lost to the pile of trash as I gasp for air.
“Leave us to our talk, female, or I’ll deal with you in earnest,” the cold voice threatens me.
I fall to my knees, clutching my head as I search for the stinger. The man’s attention turns back to Niko.
“The Ashbringer,” he repeats. “Tell me what you know, and you will live.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Niko repeats, panting.
“Don’t lie to me, Kar’Kali.”
I can’t see what’s happening as I search for the damn gun, but it sounds like a struggle.
“Not. Lying.” It sounds like Niko is barely breathing. I whip my head up, ready to give up on the gun and tackle the fucker if I must.
As I look up, my heart stops. The man has his knee digging into Niko’s neck and a blade poised against his abdomen. I might not be able to shoot him, but I still have Niko’sikani.I release the blade from its shaft and silently creep out of the trash pile.
“You messaged his private comm line. Not many have access to it. Tell me his name or where I might find him, and I will leave you alive.”
“You have the wrong information,” Niko insists.
The dark figure makes a noise of derision.
“Tell me the truth, Kar’Kali, or I will bring your female companion into this conversation.”
“If you read my private messages, then you know I was looking for him, but he didn’t reply,” Niko growls. “Touch my female and you’ll regret it.”
As I ready my blade for a throw, the man plunges his own into Niko’s belly. Pained groans come from my mate, shattering me.
“No!” The scream comes from my lips all on its own as I hurl theikaniat the sinister figure. It buries itself in the small of his back, causing him to cry out and release Niko’s neck.
He’s reaching behind his back for it as he whips around with snarls of anger.
“Ikani,heat.” I command the blade before launching myself at the frightening creature. I don’t know what he’s capable of, and I don’t care. I’m going to rip him to shreds.
He lets out a blood-curdling scream as the blade inside him responds, turning white-hot, hot enough to melt metal. His body curves, chest thrown forward. His weapons clatter to the floor. I put all my weight into my elbow as I crash it into his crotch. When he makes to grab me, I hit the floor and crawl between his legs as he staggers angrily.
I hop to my feet and wrench the blade out of his back. I don’t hesitate before I sink it into him again, angling up under his ribs. He whirls around, but he’s shaky. It’s easy to dodge his blows. I still back away, not sure what sort of creature he is. I can’t risk him getting ahold of me. He’s too strong. Even injured, he could snap my neck in a heartbeat if given the chance.
I backpedal.
