So named for the thorns embedded in the nine strands protruding from the handle, like briars on a bush, the flogger had been a particular favorite of their masters. Especially as a tool for punishment.
Thea sent Kira a wink. "Don't relax quite yet."
Out of the corner of Kira's eye, she caught a shadow of movement along the walkway. Warned, Kira flipped backwards, arcing over its tip as it snapped toward her. She landed, immediately leaping back into the air as another whip targeted her.
"Dance, Kira!" Thea shouted.
Kira was pushed back, barely evading taking damage from the smooth movements of the whips.
She landed a short distance away, crouching to consider Thea carefully. The handle Thea held was how she controlled the briar. It acted via a neural interface. Only a thought was needed to manipulate its movements.
As such it was a difficult foe to break through. Like fighting nine different enemies to get at one.
A sharp cry broke Kira's concentration.
Thea's smile was evil. "Still think that’s an illusion?"
No. Not this time.
With a feeling of dread, Kira turned to find Elena dangling from the grip of a creature that looked startlingly Tuann at first glance. His height and the unnatural beauty of his features told her otherwise.
Nothing in nature could have approached that level of perfection.
It was his eyes that clinched it for her though. There was no conscience in them. No morality or sense of soul. Just utter detachment. A clinical remoteness. As if they were bugs he planned to dissect. Or a science experiment he was evaluating.
"The Osiri, I take it," Kira said.
The nightmare even the generals feared. The mastermind behind the Tsavitee and their armies. And the target Kira had been hunting before she ever knew they existed.
It felt surreal meeting one for the first time. A tad anti-climactic, if not for his hold on her niece.
"Put her down," Kira ordered.
Her gaze darted to Elena's scared face. Jin still clutched to her chest. Where was Elise?
The Osiri stood on the central platform in the middle of the room. Directly above the heart of the pool below. The water rippled with the movement of something big.
Three of the briar's whips slammed down in front of Kira, denting the metal of the walkway when she would have taken a step toward the platform.
"Ah, ah, ah," Thea sang, using one of the other walkways to join the Osiri. "You stay right there."
Kira controlled her rage, not letting anything show on her face as Thea reached the Osiri's side.
"Master," Thea breathed, worship singing from her face as she looked up at the monster.
"You've made quite a mess of my lab."
Thea bowed submissively. "They were trying to steal your subjects. I couldn't let that happen."
The Osiri's gaze showed indifference as his attention shifted to Kira. "We finally meet."
Kira's hand clenched around the akieri, wanting nothing more than to remove his head with it. She forced herself to relax her grip. Losing her calm right now would be a mistake. It was exactly what they were hoping for.
Instead, she’d be calm. Patient. As she waited for her moment.
"You've caused my forces quite a bit of trouble."
She planned to cause them even more before the end.
