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“Whore to a Kar’Kali,” he wheezes, still lunging at me. “You’re throwing in with a doomed lot, human. Mark my words.”
I’m desperately trying to think of the best plan for ending this fucker that won’t die easily.
And then he flies back. In the blink of an eye, he’s flat on his back as if he slipped on a banana.
Niko lays on the ground, one hand holding the airwhip rod while the other clutches his stomach.
“Now, Raina! Blade into the head! Into his head!” Niko’s cries urge me on as I throw myself atop the dark figure and stab into his face once, twice, three times. The mask he wore splinters under theikani, falling away to reveal a jelly-monster. The squishy squid-man is somehow stuffed inside a bi-pedal-shaped suit, fully protected by the armor that not even the stinger blasts could penetrate.
I think I killed him.
I stab him once more to be sure.
“I think he’s dead now,ti kaia.” Niko’s sarcastic tone sounds like heaven to me as I shove the blade in my pocket and rush to his side. I thought I had lost him.
“Are you okay?” I ask. My hands are shaking, but I immediately go for his comm device that he keeps in the chest pocket of his jumpsuit. “We need to call for medical help.”
It’s then that I see the trail of blood. The ground was too dark to notice before, but now that I’m closer, I can make out the exact distance he dragged himself across this dirty street. His hands, the front of his jumpsuit, the handle of the weapon—they’re all coated red with his blood.
“Raina,” he moans, eyes rolling up toward the sky. “I think it’s bad.”
“No, it isn’t. How do I work this fucking thing?” I scroll to a symbol that means ride services. I tap it until the voice command informs me that a vehicle is on the way to my location.
“I love you. You know I love you, don’t you?”
“Niko, we’re getting a cab, and I . . .” I unzip his jumpsuit to check the wound now that help is on the way. His gray skin grows paler by the moment. “We’re going to get you somewhere safe.”
“When I’m gone, you can always go to my home,” he continues talking like he’s dead already. “I told you how to get there. You’ll always be welcomed by my people.”
A small hover vehicle appears at the end of the alleyway. “You requested a ride service. Please enter with safety in mind.”
“C’mon,” I say, crouching behind Niko and tucking my arms under his pits to drag him toward the cab. “Hold on to your guts.”
“Raina, I was blessed by the spirit when I saw you,” he murmurs, his head lolling onto my shoulder. “Promise me to be good. I want you to think about whether I’d approve . . . before you get yourself into—” He pants and coughs. “—dangerous things.”
His words are slurring.
“No, I won’t,” I angrily reply, trying to get myself under him in a position that will provide balance. “You’re not going anywhere. You’ll have to stop me yourself.”
He seems to pass out, going even limper than before. I release a short scream of frustration and then get under him. I try to do a fireman’s carry, positioning him onto my back and then lifting with my legs. I’m sweating and panting as I make the final efforts necessary to drag the massive male toward the waiting air cab.
“Clearly state your desired destination,” the robotic cabby says.
I tip Niko’s head into the passenger area. He doesn’t make a sound as I shove the bottom half of him over the side.
“Injuries are detected,” the cabby notes cheerily. “The closest medical unit is —”
“Take us to the Seventh Bright Sun Building,” I shout as I jump in and pull the rest of Niko’s body inside. I prop him up and tear open the front of his jumpsuit.
“We will arrive at Seventh Bright Sun Building in one hundred and seventeen taps unless unforeseen circumstances cause air traffic to jam.”
“Okay fine go!”
The cab starts to speed off toward our destination, and I’m praying that the advice Niko gave me will be enough to save him. I tear the front of his jumpsuit off and use the fabric to staunch the site of his stabbing.
“Niko, stay with me,” I say, but all he does is scrunch up his eyebrows and wiggle his head like he’s having a nightmare.
“What floor of the Seventh Bright Sun Building will you be visiting? With further detail, I can make your journey much simpler,” the robot cabby says cheerily.
