Nowthisis the picture of blood-thirsty gargoyles that the elves fear. I’m not sure whether I should laugh or cower. Neither seems like a good idea.
“Well, what are the rules?” I ask Erit. I’m still holding the sword. “Weapons or hand-to-hand combat?”
Indira is quick. “There are no rules.”
She takes two steps forward, feinting around my sword, and aims her fist at my face.
I evade Indira’s attack just in time. Light on my feet, I sidestep and throw my sword off to Erit in the same movement. I won’t use a weapon until she does. He catches it by the handle and hurries out of our way.
Dodging Indira’s next attack, I assess her movements, the rips in her wings, and the way she favors her right foot. She won’t be able to fly, which makes the fight between us even, but she makes up for it with five wing spikes across each wing, each spike at least an inch long. They remind me of Senturi’s wing tips, razor sharp. Of course, she has to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself with them so I could turn them into a liability.
She comes at me again and I discover I was wrong about her wings being completely out of action. She spreads them and catches air that lifts her higher than I expected. At the same time, she shoots forward. My defensive position is too low and her fist slams down on me like rocks. I’m forced backward, rolling to my feet. She comes in too close, allowing me to land two quick jabs, left-right on each of her cheeks. As she rolls backward with the punches, she uses her unbalanced position to her advantage to kick her upper leg straight into my stomach.
I slam hard up against the wall of the nearest building, grab the closest object I can lay my hands on—a ceramic pot with a dusting of soil and dead weeds in it—and crack it against her head. Her arms fly wide and I use the gap to land several hits to her stomach and face before she grabs my arm, lifting me bodily upward across her shoulders. Her wing spikes scrape across my arms and chest. I’m lucky they don’t pierce anything important before she throws me across the street.
Thud. That definitely hurt.Damn she’s strong. Curse my little body.I’m so light she can fling me anywhere. And she’s coming right back at me. I scramble to my feet but halfway up her knee attempts to slam my chest. I lurch backward just in time, pushing down on her knee defensively, but she spins, using her momentum to slam another fist at me. I block, dance backward. She leaps at me but I crouch, use my shoulder to lift her, and it’s her turn to take a tumble along the street. She lands right next to Erit, jumps to her feet, hits him square in the jaw, and steals my sword from him.
Suddenly the fight is no longer close to equal.
I don’t wait for her to unsheathe the weapon. With a roar, I barrel straight into her, grabbing her sword arm as we slam into the nearest building. My fingers close around her wrist and my fingernails dig in.
“Lady Storm! Catch!”
My hand shoots out. Somehow, I catch the dagger Erit throws to me. Turning my attention back to Indira and all I see is her fist. Pain explodes in my temple, the hardest hit she’s landed. I drop but I don’t let go of her sword arm, taking her with me. Once again we tumble, but not before I nick her cheek with my knife. We roll apart, both shooting back to our feet at the same time.
The sword is out of its case now and my dagger is no match for it. She charges, I defend, and metal scrapes on metal as her sword sings down the blade of my dagger, forcing me to my knees. I’m using both hands on the smaller weapon to resist the sword’s force, but I brace, pushing with all my might to set my left hand free to thump her stomach. The impact causes her to flex forward and I use the small shift in her weight to unbalance her. She tumbles to my left, angles her shoulder to take the fall, ready to roll through it, but I grab her nearest wing, yanking backward on it. She lands on her back with anoomph. I land on her stomach, straddling her.
My dagger descends to her heart.
Her sword ascends to my throat.
Both blades draw blood, making us freeze. If we continue, she will slice open my neck as fast as I can slide the blade into her chest.
Neither of us will survive.
