“What?” she almost snapped, not looking away from Xander and Genblade to see how the color had drained from her lover’s face.
“He wants Xander to kill us,” he said, taking one more look at the crowd of mourners that had gathered in the gallery.
Cathy turned and looked at him, then at all the people around as well. “Oh my God,” she breathed, as she realized quickly what was about to happen.
Xander glared up at Genblade, who towered over him with a great, toothy grin pasted across his lips. The red had gushed down over the right side of Xander’s face, cutting it almost evenly down the middle.
Slowly, Genblade reached out and touched his cheek with the tip of his index finger, getting just the slightest dot of blood on its tip. He put his finger into his mouth until his lips touched the knuckle, swishing it around and coating as much of the inside of his mouth with it as he possibly could. He made a small, joyful sound in the back of his throat and then turned back toward the desk he’d sat behind a moment ago.
Natasha Mayer still stood behind it, stepping back in utter fright as Genblade locked eyes with her.
Genblade grinned, a deep pleasure in his eyes. “Now, Miss Mayer; now do you admire my work?” he said, snickering at his own joke.
She stepped back again, almost jumping out of her skin as her back touched the cold of the wooden bar. She shook all over like a tiny voice, letting out a small whimper as she turned away from him.
Suddenly Genblade broke out into a hysterical laughter, throwing his head back and then bringing his arm back to strike her. Before he could follow through with the blow, his entire body thrust itself to one side, his head slamming against the defense table. He went through it, sending splintered shards in all directions. One scraped the side of his face a little as all the air in his lungs forced its way out through his mouth.
“It wasn’t that funny!” Xander shouted, standing back up. Every word he spoke spat deep hatred. His fists clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned white, the veins in the back of each hand looking as though they were ready to pop out. Each of them was running black.
Genblade glared up at Xander, rubbing the back of his head with one palm. “Impudent little brat,” he grumbled harshly, the smile gone from his face for a moment. He reached back and ripped a long, pointed splinter off of the table, spinning it slightly in his hand until he found a good grip.
“What’s the matter?” Xander retorted, letting himself smirk. “You lose your sense of humor?”
Genblade lunged at Xander, the stake slashing at the air around him in a giant, sweeping cross as he went.
Xander leapt to one side, the weapon coming so close to his face that he felt the smooth finish of the varnish wipe against his temple. The makeshift blade continued down, digging into his leg.
Xander screamed, his mouth open wide as he felt the wooden spike connect with his bone, ripping away flesh from it as it did. The sound it made was like pulling meat from the leg of a chicken, that long slurp followed by a small, polite snap.
Genblade slammed Xander in the face with his elbow, the force on the open jaw making it snap to one side as the rest of his head stayed put.
He felt the joint on the side of his face shatter like a plate as he hit the floor, rolling away from Genblade with the impact and sending him crashing into a row of chairs that shattered under his weight. He groaned, looking down at his leg. It had a large chunk of wood sticking out near the kneecap, making it impossible to bend. Biting his lip, he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled up hard. There was a sick, sucking sound as the wet, supple meat of his leg clung to the wood. He almost bit his lip off between his teeth as he watched clear, viscous juice come out of the wound from around the spike. He felt the womb organ surge inside his side, then stopped. He couldn’t take it out without setting it off. Fuck.
Genblade glowered at Xander from across the room, bringing the remaining sharp stake to his lips and licking a bit of Xander’s blood off of it. “Revenge is a dish that tastes good,” he smiled.
Xander scowled, trying his best to climb to his feet and slipping in his own blood, crashing back into the chairs.
Bringing the stake up to a striking position, Genblade started to march toward Xander.
“Stop!” came a loud, booming voice.
Genblade turned just in time to see one of the guards finally gain control of their senses and began pumping off a hail of bullets at Genblade. He leapt and twisted, letting the ammunition whizz past him before he landed and then leapt again.
“Bout damn time,” Xander mumbled under his breath, glancing around to see where everyone was. Megan Greene and her associates were cowering under the table, but while her associates kept their heads between their arms, Megan seemed to be taking it all in, unable to tear her eyes away from the swarm of shots and blood drops that seemed to hang in the air forever before splashing to the floor. “Bet this’ll help your case,” he grumbled, shifting his gaze to Natasha. She seemed to be all right, still shaking from her confrontation with Genblade. Her eyes were wide but weren’t seeing anything that was happening around her, just staring off into nothing and
