He knew he was going to win.
He would kill me.
And Maddy would be next.
With the scent of my blood in the trackers’ nostrils, I wasn’t convinced they could bring themselves to wait until they reached the shuttlecraft. They would kill her right here.
And I could do nothing to stop them.
The blade at his waist slipped free of its scabbard.
It was only a matter of time now.
“Your honor is mine!” Klang said as he drew the blade back.
I let him bring his blade down. I twisted his wrist, snapping it. The blade sliced into my chest.
I was prepared for it.
As he came down, I pulled my head back and smashed him in the face.
He started back, shocked. But he still had the killer instinct in him and wasn’t about to give up now.
He brought the blade down for a second time.
I smashed my head into his grill again.
And again.
And again.
This time, his eyes rolled back in his head. He was done.
I kicked the blades from his prone form. But there would be more knives on him.
There were always more.
He lay unmoving on the floor but I wouldn’t make the same mistake he had. I wouldn’t creep up on him on the off chance he really was unconscious. I didn’t need to kill him. Only delay him.
I stumbled over to the open hole in the wall that looked out on the surrounding landscape.
Our fight must have produced more noise than I thought as Maddy and Trang came running toward the barn.
At first, I thought Trang was chasing after Maddy but I could see that wasn’t the case. They were running side by side.
I couldn’t let them come up here. If Trang saw her lover lying on the floor in a swelling pool of his blood—from his nose I’d smashed to a pulp with my forehead—she would assume the worst and think him dead.
All orders from on high would go out the window and she would attack us. I was in no fit state to fight off another well-trained killer. I could barely even stand. Both my shoulder and chest were seeping blood.
I needed a sudden rush. A sudden propellant that would fire me forward. It only needed to last a few minutes. Just enough to deal with Trang. Then we could be on our way on the arjath.
But how?
Then the solution came to me.
The barn’s front door flew open and the two girls entered. Within seconds, they would be up here.
I scooped up the syringe infused with adrenaline off the floor, dropped by Klang when I’d made my first attack.
Boy, I hate needles.
I didn’t need the belt. My veins were already standing out. I put the needle to my vein, shut my eyes, and slipped it in my skin. I felt its keen nip as it entered my body. Then I depressed the plunger.
The adrenaline hit my system instantly.
After the fight, I was already pumped. Now my brain cells were firing on all cylinders too. Without any apparent effort, I picked Klang up and held him upright.
Maddy appeared at the top of the stairs first. She saw the beaten and bloody figure with his head flopped forward and screamed.
I didn’t blame her. The guy did look horrific.
It didn’t help that Klang blinked and began to awaken.
Trang came next. Her expression was one of terror. This was not what she expected when she came up here.
Pleased to disappoint you, bitch.
She reached for the blade at her waist but I’d already tossed her lover at her. He slammed into her and knocked her off her feet. She stretched for the banister but missed.
She and her lover rolled down the stairs in one giant heap.
Maddy was dumbfounded. She didn’t know what to say.
I took her by the hand.
“Come on,” I said.
The adrenaline wouldn’t last long. I would need it for what I was about to do next.
“What happened here?” she said.
“I’ll tell you later,” I said.
I scooped her up in my arms and ran at the gaping hole in the roof.
Maddy tensed.
“Why don’t we take the stairs?” she screamed.
“Because I’ve seen what supposedly unconscious bodies can do,” I said. “It’s not pretty.”
I leaped through the hole and fell to the ground below. A fall like that might have broken my legs if I landed badly. But my system was pumped with two of the most powerful drugs in the known universe.
Pure adrenaline. But it was a poor substitute for its far more potent elder brother.
Love.
Anything was possible when I had her in my arms. I’d proven that much today already.
The sky’s fringes bloomed with early morning light when we reached the clearing where the shuttlecraft awaited us.
I was beginning to wonder if it would be there once our green arrows consumed the blinking orange on our monitors. I was relieved to find she was. Light blinked off the cockpit window and gleamed along both wingtips.
She was there and she was in great shape.
We stood on the peak of a bulging mound of earth that wrapped around the flat grassy plain. That was to conceal it from passers-by who might have spotted it by accident.
I cast an eye over the area. Wind whispered over grass damp with dew. The birds were silent, done with their hunting duties for the night.
I leaned forward and spoke in Maddy’s ear.
“We’re here,” I said.
She’d fallen asleep during the journey. I’d almost joined her. The problem with adrenaline hitting your system full pelt was you ended up having to pay for the boost later. A debt was owed and it never failed to take payment.
I’d ever been so tired my entire life.
With the two of us sharing a single arjath, I couldn’t push him too hard. We traveled the majority of the distance at a fair pace, taking regular breaks for the creature to rest, eat, and recuperate. He was a good beast for helping us and I wouldn’t see him suffer for our sake.
I climbed off him and lifted Maddy free. I
