As soon as the harsh flare lit the vid-comscreen and the percussion wave rocked the Raptor, the ex-Burgon watcheduntil the last flicker of debris was gone. “Are you sure Cean was on board?”
“We’re sure,” Polemusa said.
“Where is the hag’s son?” he asked.
“In a holding cell,” the security chiefreplied.
“Is Shanee finished yet?”
“Not yet,” Polemusa answered. “If I know mydaughter, she’ll prolong that bitch’s death for as long as possible and makeher suffer as much as she can.”
“Well,” Bakari said, settling into his chair.“Let me know when she’s finished and then send the pup to the gym. Give him asword. We want to make it a fair fight.”
Polemusa snorted. Like everyone else on thebridge, she knew there would never be a fair fight between a Fleet Commandensign and a full-fledged scythelord, but it didn’t matter. Felix Harmattan’slife was forfeit.
* * * * *
Elspeth fought tooth and nail but nothingshe did seemed to faze the Amazeen. Wounds closed automatically and the youngerwoman inflicted just as much damage as her opponent but it took the older womanlonger to heal.
“You hurt him,” Shanee said, crouched overand circling her enemy. “You caused him so much pain all his life.”
“I never wanted him,” Elspeth said. “Any ofthem.” She feigned grabbing Shanee’s leg then skipped away, out of reach as theAmazeen reached for her.
“You signed his death warrant,” Shaneeaccused, a muscle grinding in her jaw.
“Not once but twice,” Elspeth agreed with agrin. “And I agreed to have him tortured by Cean and her scientists.”
Shanee knew the other woman was attemptingto make her lose her concentration, to make her angry and thus allow hercontrol to slip.
“Didn’t work either time,” Shanee said witha snort. “He’s stronger than you could ever have imagined.”
“Oh he’s dead by now,” Elspeth declared.“Felix would have seen to that.”
“No way, old woman,” Shanee said. “He’s gota new queen.”
Elspeth faltered. “That’s a lie!”
Shanee didn’t know how she knew what washappening to her husband but she suspected it was because the fledgling queengrowing inside her had come from Leveche’s queen and they were communicating insome fashion. She also knew Leveche would do whatever was needed to saveAilyn’s life.
“He and I will be around when you are ashesfloating in the wind,” Shanee said.
With a furious snarl, Elspeth flung herselfat Shanee, changing in mid-leap to her lupine form. She never heard the laughthat erupted from the Amazeen’s throat as Shanee threw her arms around thefurry form and clasped it to her in a savage bear hug.
Jaws snapping, fangs dripping, enragedhowls and snarls issuing from her throat, Elspeth struggled to pierce her clawsas forcefully as she could into Shanee’s shoulders. Her back legs raked at theyounger woman’s thighs—drawing blood and shredding flesh—but still the deadlyembrace kept Elspeth imprisoned. Her head was turned to the side and held tautagainst the Amazeen’s chest, Shanee’s arms crossed behind the older woman, herhands on Elspeth’s neck so she could not snare Shanee with her fangs.
Shanee tightened her grip on the furryneck. She wanted to snap the wolf’s neck and knew she could. “Wait,” camethe silent command from her hellion.
Elspeth realized her strength was waningand she changed back to her human form, but the change wasn’t as quick as itshould have been. She was still trapped in Shanee’s arms with her neck in alethal grip.
“Wait.”
Shanee unlocked her arms and stepped back.She hurt in twenty places where claws had poked into her flesh but that didn’tmatter. The wounds were healing quickly and the older woman in front of her wasbreathing heavily, panting, staggering backward.
“Ailyn and I will be around when you areashes floating in the wind,” Shanee said again.
Elspeth leapt at her only to find her neckgripped fiercely between the younger woman’s hands. She raked her nails alongthe black silk clad arms of the female Reaper, tried kicking out at her, butthe grip on her neck tightened until she saw stars. She gagged, her queenbuckled beneath the skin of her back to cause hideous pain that weakened herfurther.
“Now.”
With a twist of her hands, Shanee brokeElspeth’s neck then stepped back to allow the body to fall. She drew herphospho gun and not even bothering with anything else, hit the direct dischargebutton, and simply turned the old woman into so much black dust. Though she waswatching closer, the queen never tried to escape. It too was reduced to soot.
* * * * *
Leveche was in agony as his queen waspulled from his back and he lay there with his hands curled around the sides ofthe gurney. He was dragging in heated breaths as he watched the healer drop thequeen into a large beaker then hurry to Ailyn to open the incision on theyounger Reaper’s back.
“Hurry,” Leveche warned. He could feel thelife force leaving Ailyn.
Incision made, the healer staggered backfrom the horrid stench that erupted from Ailyn’s body along with a copiousamount of a putrid green jell-like substance.
“Get it out of him,” Leveche said. His ownstrength was waning and he knew unconsciousness was but a heartbeat away as hisnest took over closing his wound and electing a new hellion to control him.
Scooping out the foul matter, suctioningthe rest, the healer made quick work of cleaning the fetid debris from Ailyn’sback. As soon as he was sure he had almost all of it, he dropped Leveche’squeen onto the young man’s back.
At first the queen balked—sensing theputrid death of one of Her kind. She sniffed at the wound, reared up like acobra for a moment, hovering there with Her head bobbing back and forth.
“Save him.”
The queen snapped Her triangular headaround and stared at the woman who had come into the room.
“Please,” Shanee asked. “He is one ofYours.”
Moving so fast no one saw it happened, thehellion wedged Herself into the wound and disappeared. The flesh of Ailyn’sback buckled in several places then subsided, accompanied by his low groan.Almost instantly, the incision closed up and sealed Her inside the Reaper.
Shanee glanced over at Leveche and couldtell he was out of it. His eyes were closed and one arm was hanging limply offthe edge of the gurney on which he was lying.
