That’s what she hated most about these bastards. They were always so damn unpredictable. It made them almost impossible to fight.
Thankfully, the force of her ki knocked the face changer backward. It landed in a heap twenty feet away, giving the lu-ong time to drop from Kira’s wrist and slither toward Devon where Raider was doing his best to perform first aid.
Kira followed Jin, leaving the face changer to Finn.
She’d made it only a few steps before a second face changer ripped its way free of Notus.
Kira let out a heartfelt curse. She should have expected that. She hadn’t and now she’d have to scramble to keep up.
Kira reached for her blade, cursing when she found the replica.
Fuck.
Her only weapon was useless. How was she supposed to fight these things without a sword in her hand?
The face changers and the people pulling their strings couldn’t have chosen a better venue or moment for their attack.
While she was distracted, the initiates in the second face changer’s vicinity fled. They’d learned from the previous victims.
“Finn, if you kill that thing, will it respawn in the waiting room,” Kira shouted, sprinting at the second face changer.
Finn snarled. “No. My en-blade is still mine.”
Kira had no more time as the face changer leapt to meet her with a bellow. It swiped at her head with a set of claws the length of her hand.
Kira ducked below his reach to sink a fist into its side.
His torso was spongy, swallowing her hand up to her wrist.
She tugged, finding her fist caught fast.
Pain prickled along her knuckles in warning. She tore her hand free as tiny, thin spears shot after them.
Dots of blood oozed from the surface of her skin where she hadn’t been quite quick enough to avoid getting stabbed.
Screams came as another face changer bloomed like a caterpillar from the cocoon of its host.
Selene’s face was a mask of determination as she stepped forward, one of the largest shields Kira had seen in a long time forming a dome around her. “To me!”
The initiates fled toward Selene, the shield parting to allow them through. Elena and Ziva were among them.
Selene said something to Elena. Her niece nodded, shoving Ziva between the two of them before whirling to face the rest of the initiates. She drew her dagger, standing guard as Selene gave her attention to maintaining the shield.
“That’s my girl,” Kira said with pride.
Trust Elena to understand what the rest of the initiates still didn’t. That the only thing standing between them and a grisly death was Selene.
Allowing the initiates into her shield was a risk. Several had already lost themselves to the seeds within. There was no guarantee there weren’t other face changers hiding among them.
Elena had thought far enough ahead to ensure Ziva couldn’t be used as a hostage, sandwiching her between herself and Selene.
It freed Kira up to concentrate fully on destroying the face changers before they evolved further.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kira caught the confrontation taking place in the stands as Baran and several other oshota confronted Terrel. A few warriors were trying to bring down the barrier, but Kira could already tell they wouldn’t be in time to be of any help.
They were on their own.
twenty-seven
