"Move! Move! Move!" Kira screamed, sprinting forward to weave through the trees.
Brie looked back once before doing the same.
Graydon covered their retreat, protecting Kira's back as they plunged through the forest.
"Over here," Brie called, waving them toward an embankment protected by a massive fallen tree.
Kira sailed over it, her heart squeezing when she found the drop on the other side much steeper than it had looked. She barely managed to land without breaking an ankle.
"A little warning next time would be nice," Kira growled at the human.
Brie's eyes were wide. "I didn't expect you to jump over it like that."
Graydon landed next to Kira. "Well, this is fun."
"Not the word I'd use," Kira said, dusting snow and dead leaves off her hands.
Pulse blasts hit the tree, sending bits of bark raining down on them.
Kira tucked herself further into the protection of the fallen tree. "We need to do something about that."
Otherwise, they were just asking to get sniped.
"I thought you'd never ask," Graydon said with a wink before climbing onto the top of the tree.
Brie attempted to stop him. "What are you doing? Get down from there or you'll get shot."
Kira pulled her back. "Don't worry. He'll be fine."
With a last glance at Graydon, Kira pushed Brie toward the creek bed that must have been the reason for the steep embankment. "We should get moving."
And give him room to work, Kira added privately.
Behind them the air crackled, the pressure in it causing Kira's ears to pop.
"What is he doing?" Brie asked, trying to get a look at Graydon.
Kira didn't let her, shoving her forward a little more forcefully. "Nothing you need to worry about."
There was a crack and then a flash of black light that seared her retinas even when looking in the opposite direction.
Brie dove for the ground, probably thinking a bomb had just gone off next to them.
An accurate description, Kira allowed as she glanced behind them to see the landscape obliterated by Graydon. The trees looked like they'd been snapped in half, lying on their side. The trunks splintered like matchsticks.
The snow had evaporated, leaving charred ground behind.
There was no longer any sign of the Tsavitee snipers.
"That's one way to handle it," Kira said as Graydon hopped down.
"We should do this again," he said, taking in the devastation with a pleased expression.
Kira shook her head as Brie climbed to her feet. "I'm so glad to see this is fun for you."
Graydon nodded. "It is."
Brie gaped at the destruction. "What did you do?"
