“Men!” Celdrake yelled, turning to the crew. “He’s trying to escape. Get him!”
The former members of Lyk’s crew stood there, not reacting. Lyk assumed they were calculating their odds and realizing that their former captain had all the leverage.
“Fuck it,” his former first mate said. Without hesitating, he threw a right hook at Lyk. It connected with his jaw, staggering him. Celdrake gave him a nasty smile. “Time to find out if a cyborg can kick the ass of a superman.”
CHAPTER 26
ALLY
She gasped as Lyk staggered, having been hit by Celdrake and caught unawares. Zelup approached swiftly, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the side.
“Wait,” she cried. “Aren’t you going to help him?”
“Help him what? Pound his friend into the ground? He doesn’t need my help to do that.” Zelup moved them off to a safe distance.
“Aren’t you worried? Celdrake is a cyborg! He’s half machine!” She knew she sounded hysterical, but she couldn’t help it.
“And Lyk is a Vartik male of the royal line in his prime. There is no competition.”
Ally held her breath, her hands clenched into fists as she watched the fight unfold. Lyk recovered quickly from the surprise attack, but he didn’t launch himself at the other man. Instead, he held up his hands, and in a commanding voice, he ordered the cyborg to stop.
This command did little to slow Celdrake down.
“Interesting,” Zelup said, and Ally turned to him with an inquisitive expression. “The cyborg is immune to our Vartik persuasion. It must be the implants.”
The cyborg lunged forward, driving a fist deep into Lyk’s midsection and causing the Vartik male to double over. Her anxiety ratcheted up. Why wasn’t he fighting him?
“You don’t want to do this,” Lyk said when his breath was finally back.
“On the contrary,” Celdrake replied, “I’ve been waiting years to do this.”
“Ungrateful asshole,” Ally muttered to herself. In the short time she’d known Lyk, she’d found him to be a fair and generous person. As a captain, she imagined he was the same. Yet Celdrake appeared to appreciate none of that.
Her mouth dropped open.I haven’t appreciated it either. I’ve been raging against Lyk all this time, demanding things of him when all he’s tried to do is help me. What a fucking ungrateful bitch I’ve been.
She’d felt like she had to do things on her own because she’d been wronged in the past, so much so that it blinded her to the people who she could actually trust to help her in the present.No more of that,she told herself. I’ll tone down my bitch and show Lyk what he means to me.
When Celdrake threw his next punch, Lyk blocked it and followed up with a fierce kick. The cyborg stumbled backward, but he didn’t lose his footing. Instead, he struck back with a kick of his own, one that knocked Lyk to his knees.
“Come on, get up!” Ally murmured. She didn’t like seeing Lyk in pain, and despite Zelup’s assurance that his brother had nothing to worry about, Ally had her doubts.
In the next moment, she realized those doubts were misplaced. When Celdrake aimed a kick at his head, Lyk grabbed his leg and swung him around hard enough to smash him into the ground. The Vartik male quickly pounced, putting his knees on the cyborg’s shoulders and hitting him repeatedly in the jaw.
“Give up now, and maybe you don’t have to spend your whole life in a Vartik prison.”
“Fuck you!” Celdrake said from beneath him, then spit blood into Lyk’s face.
“Suit yourself,” Lyk said, hitting him again until the cyborg started to look woozy. Lyk stood, walking a few paces over to the electro-cuffs that he’d been wearing earlier. He put them in position at Celdrake’s wrists, but before Zelup could hit the button, the cyborg threw out a knee suddenly, hitting Lyk in the back and knocking the cuffs askew.
“That cyborg’s got a lot of fight in him,” Zelup said, amused.
Ally wished she could share his delight. She bit her lip, her nails biting into her palms. When Celdrake dropped an elbow on Lyk’s back, she groaned in unison with the Vartik male.
Then, without warning, Lyk made a stunning move, managing to lift himself in a fluid motion so that he was suddenly on his feet. The strength and swiftness of the motion dislodged the cyborg from his back and knocked him to his knees.
Lyk grabbed his hair, pulling back on it to lift Celdrake’s face to meet his gaze. “Surrender.”
“Your precious female hits harder than you.” Celdrake’s mouth spewed blood, and Ally felt a little nauseated seeing it. She expected Lyk to kill him then. He’d given the cyborg ample chances, after all.
