Torvald gave them alu-ong’ssmile.Sharp and terrifying and full of teeth.“Good.Now, I’d like to hear the forty-three’s proposition for myself.”
Graydon snapped out a salute.“Understood.”
Harlow’s formal salute was slower in coming—but it did eventually appear.
“Oh, and Graydon—don’t screw this up.”Torvald glanced at Harlow.“Either of you.It would be a pity if I had to order the execution of my oldest ally and my favorite Face.But if it comes to it, I won’t hesitate.”
Kira
Kira was dreaming.It was the same nightmare she’d been having for months now.
She stood on a wide, flat plain that extended as far as the eye could see.The ground so dry that it had cracked.
In the far distance, a scorching golden figure blazed.The corona around them blurring their features and body.
The only thing Kira could make out was their impossible height.They were several stories tall.Their limbs thin and long and wrong looking.
Every night they crept a little closer.The heat from their blaze got a little hotter.
Kira couldn’t move.Her legs and feet were locked in place.She was helpless.Fear, a wild thing in her breast.
Then as it did every night, alu-ongstreaked down from the sky, bringing needles of rain.Despite its lack of wings, its serpentine form writhed as if it was swimming through air.
Great scars decorated its sides, snout, and face.Its horns were broken.What remained was jagged looking.The mane around its face bedraggled and stringy.
Its body was massive and impossibly fast as it crashed into the ground between Kira and the golden blaze with the force of a megaton blast.
A wave of dust and dirt erupted outward.
Kira shielded her eyes as the dust cloud swallowed her.Pinpricks of pain as tiny rocks sliced into her skin wrung a scream out of her.
Her feet slid as she was pushed back.
One step.
Two.
Pieces of her soul broke, flying away with the dust.
Then she was gone.
With a gasp, Kira woke, her heart racing in the aftermath of the nightmare.It was several seconds before the adrenaline and fear started to fade.
With a heartfelt groan, Kira rolled from her side and onto her back.The base of her skull and shoulder throbbed as they made contact with the cold hard ground.
"That bitch knocked me out," Kira whispered in realization.
Impressive.
Though… "What is it about inquisitors and attacking from behind?"Kira grumbled.
A dry rasp of sound, like a page being rustled, announced the presence of another.
Tensing, Kira glanced to her right to find Jarek engrossed in the contents of an actual-to-goodness physical book.
"When you apprehend the types of criminals we do, you learn to embrace the element of surprise,” Jarek commented, not bothering to glance up from the antique he was perusing.
Kira was a little taken aback.
