Page 84 of The Firebrand
ChapterEighteen
Storminginto the gym, flustered by the slow progress on portal jumper misdeeds, Kole yelled at the only Firebrand working out. “Grab a weapon, Ramirez. I’m about to beat your ass.” He tugged his shirt over his head, exposing the map of his scars, displayed with pride along with the demon lineage runes of his parents.
After he scanned the sparring weapons, Kole hefted a battle ax but set it back. Pulling out a flail, he whipped it through the air, testing it out, spinning it, loosening his shoulder, getting comfortable with the speed and motion. The practice one was a shaft topped with a wood ball on a chain. No spikes.
Though Kole had a good three inches and fifty pounds on Ram, the eager satyr dropped his weights, sprinting for a Scottish dagger and a katar with its distinctive H-shaped horizontal grip. When gripped, its three-inch blade sat above his knuckles. “Prepare yourself, Commander. I am better than ever.”
“You lose every time, Ram. Today will be no different. I will not be easy on you just to fluff your pussy ego.”
“You never give an inch. That’s why I improve.”
As they circled each other on the mat, Ram shifted out of reach to avoid Kole’s flail.
“You’re going to improve a lot today.” He motioned the satyr closer while spreading his massive legs and bending his knees. “Come on. If you plan to use those limp-dick blades, you’ll have to get close enough to the hair on my arms.”
The warriors stepped toward each other in battle stance. Kole moved with ease for a big man, but Ram was faster, more graceful. With his size and strength, though, a single blow from Kole’s weapon would slam the younger warrior to his knees.
The commander kept his arm in motion while Ram ducked, prancing on his feet like a boxer dancing the Ali shuffle. Kole knew if he poked at the satyr’s temper, the hothead would make a mistake. So, the experienced Firebrand circled the flail high, flashing a taunting grin. “Since my head-smasher requires sharp concentration, you’re as good as dead.”
Kole followed Ram’s eyes, watching for a weakness. When he lunged, the satyr again ducked, avoiding the ball.
Just as they fell into the rhythm of combat, Logan interrupted from the sidelines. “Hate to stop you guys, but we’ve caught a break.”
Kole stopped, the spin of his flail slowing until he brought it down. “We’ll take this up later, Ram.”
The satyr nodded but stayed to eavesdrop.
“I am the overlord of click. Hear me roar, and…”
“Logan,” cautioned Kole, “it’s me you’re talking to. If you want to stay upright … well, you know.”
“Right, sorry. As ordered, I pored over the Ministry of Compliance’s jumper logs. Most shit I expected to find—lots of traffic going to Earth or back. Some entries made me say ‘WTF’—I mean—‘What the Fuck.’” Logan glanced at Kole. “Fact, I noted two sites we should stake out to see what pops.”
“Where?”
“One is right here in Covenkirk. The other in Bludhaven.”
“What’s unusual about these two places?” asked Ram.
“An exporter jumps from Scath to Earth often. His job, yeah? Anyway, an entry logged his journey from Covenkirk to the human realm. But hear this, the next entry shows he jumped to Earth again an hour later.”
“So? Fast trips.” Kole’s brows scrunched.
“He didn’t come back between his travels. Not possible to do two one-way legs. Instead of over-back-over, he did over-over.”
“Good work, Logan. What about Bludhaven?” asked Kole.
“An ylve who works for the Triumvirate of the Wise rides the Whorl from Aerilon to Earth. Lots of goodwill trips. That makes sense, but the logs also show her using a site in Bludhaven for beaucoup jaunts. On occasion, she’s in two places at the same time.Muyimpossible.”
“We’ll see. Your info’s promising,” said Kole.
“I’ll D-chip Sabine. We’ll stake out the jump site here in Covenkirk,” offered Ram.
“Sounds good. Feel out Dax and Brak. Tell them to get their asses over to Bludhaven. What are the best times, Logan?”
“Most weird activity is at night.”
“Finish your calls, satyr. Let’s get back to my beating your ugly ass. You’ve got an hour to kill.”
