Page 113 of Obsidian Dream
Talik was only a hundred feet away from her.The grass was slick, forcing her to slide rather than run, lest she lose her balance.Using the motion to her advantage, she focused on gaining as much ground as she could, closing the distance between them.
The guards moved closer to Talik, spurring her onward as she focused on him.She kept her posture low, using the ruins and shattered ice to conceal her movements as she approached them from behind, staying out of their direct line of sight.It wasn’t that hard.All of them were focused inward and entirely on Talik and not on any of their surroundings.
Blood dripped from Talik’s hand, pooling along his fingers as it slowly fell to the ground.Something snapped within Khalida at the sight—rage rushed through her as she focused on the closest wayfarer and launched herself at him.She drew her sword in a wide arc, silver flashing in the light as she sliced through clothes, skin, muscles, and bone, decapitating the wayfarer.A moment of silence descended as the other wayfarers stared at her in horror.In the distance, the yelps of the creatures reached a fever pitch.Kade was keeping his side of the bargain.To her left, about two hundred feet away, Ninhursag stood, rage washed off her in waves as her black hair hung motionless in the howling wind.Next to the god was a large Atlantean with wraparound glasses who stood guard.Another traitor.
“That’s my girl,” Talik whispered, holding the cloth bag close to him.
The words made her heart do something funny.
The wayfarer’s head precariously tried to remain balanced on his neck but quickly slid off his shoulders, hitting the ground with athudbefore it began to roll.The wayfarer’s eyes were wide open, and his mouth still twitched.
It broke the spell.
She thrust one of the blasters and Talik’s earpiece into his injured hand before she drew her other sword, brandishing both of them in front of her.She glanced at his other hand; he clutched the bag with white knuckles.
He had found the relic.
But that wasn’t what made her heart stop.This close to her, his warm breath caressed the back of her neck.This close to her and the smell of his blood, and the scent of his pain was unmistakable.
The blond wayfarer smirked and looked her up and down.“You let a female fight for you?”Disdain dripped from his every word.
Fucking misogynist.Even the wayfarers had them in an abundance.
“Yes,” Talik responded without missing a beat.He took a step closer to her, looping something on her belt.She straightened her back at the sudden weight.Whatever it was, the smooth curve of the object followed her body and reached her mid-thigh.He then slipped her two knives, concealing them between her shirt and pants.“She is scarier than I am.”
Talik’s breath tickled her ear, but his attention was solely on what was happening in front of them.“We have to save the day, and you make the better hero.”
His words were barely audible, but they felt like a knife to her heart as her world stopped for a heartbeat.
She opened her mouth to stop him, but it was too late.He grabbed her and spun her around.His hands slid down her clothed arms as he took the swords from her, easily prying her fingers from the hilt, forcing her to take a step back behind him.
He twirled the swords, now an extension of him.The sunlight bounced off the blades, blinding the wayfarers as they moved around them.Talik had always been a master swordsman with a flair for the dramatic—time hadn’t changed that.
She unholstered Talik’s other blaster from her back before she doubled-checked the pouch was secure.Talik wore an almost identical pouch on his belt—a decoy?
“Kiki.”
She looked up, not hating the nickname.
“Get out of here.”Talik smiled brilliantly at her.
“Try again.”If he thought she was leaving, they were going to have a long conversation after this was over.Instead, she turned toward Kade, who had been making his way to them, one body at a time.“Kade!”
The hunter looked up, pivoting in their direction as a giant tree root erupted from the ground.Landing in a crouch, he rolled before he started sprinting toward them.
“Fuck!”Talik yelled as he pulled Khalida down.“Make sure Ninhursag doesn’t get the relic.”
It was the only warning she got as the sound of blasters above her head erupted in a loud screech, forcing her to duck behind a tree root.From the corner of her eyes, she saw Talik tackle the wayfarer, a flash of silver, and then red blood splattered over the ground closest to her.The sound of the blasters suddenly disappeared.
She waited a few seconds to ensure that the wayfarer wasn’t healing.Ninhursag must be too weak to use all her powers.This was their opportunity to strike and stop the god.She turned to look at Kade.He nodded toward the footbridge, where a familiar blond human in matching white sweats and a pale-blue baseball cap saluted her with a blaster.The thieves guild must have followed them through when the inner wall had collapsed.
“The Atlantean reinforcements?”Talik demanded through the earpiece.His voice hoarse, it held a slight wheeze as if he was struggling to breathe.
“Coming now,” Kade replied.
“Tell them to move faster,” Talik ordered a moment before the sound of his blaster went off.“Ninhursag needs the relic to be voluntarily handed over or she can’t touch it.”He glanced at Khalida.“You need to keep it safe and out of her hands.”
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Khalida said to Talik between gritted teeth.
