But she didn’t stay there. She caught her footing and righted herself, which instantly stopped his laughter. “Goofer’s dirt? Really? What next? A nail in me footprint?”
He gasped.
Until Masaka came up from behind her. “Here, Baron. This is what you need!”
Valynda felt a tug on her gown. An instant later, she saw her bottle fly into the hands of her enemy.
Nibo went cold as he realized what his brother held. “Don’t you dare touch that, Qeenan! Give it to us!”
“Why? What is it?”
Masaka smirked. “The girl’s soul. Open it and she dies.”
Growling, Nibo sent a blast toward his former friend. “Damn you!”
Masaka went flying overboard as he turned back to his brother. “I mean it, Qeenan. Don’t you dare harm her.”
“Give me your crook and join us in this fight.”
Nibo pulled the crook from his neck.
Valynda was horrified at what he was doing, yet flattered that he didn’t hesitate. “Nay!” She grabbed his arm. “You can’t do this, Xuri. Think of what they’ll do with it.”
“Don’t care. There’s no world for me, without you. We’ll deal with whatever comes.”
Tears blinded her. “I can’t lose you again.”
“Nor I you.”
Qeenan made a sound of supreme disgust. “While this is all stomach churning, no one cares. Give me the staff.”
Nibo extended it.
Qeenan reached for it with greedy fingers. But the moment he touched it, Valynda grabbed it and used it to hook him about the waist and jerk him forward. As he fell, she went for her bottle.
Time seemed to slow down as she heard Xuri screaming out her name.
For the merest, tiniest instant, she had the bottle in her hand and was home free.
Until something ripped it from her grasp.
“Nay!”
Then everything went black.
Nibo couldn’t breathe as he saw Adarian scoop up Valynda’s soul bottle and shatter it against the boards of the deck. An unfathomable hatred rose up inside him and shot out through his crook as he attacked the Malachai and set him on fire.
Adarian screamed in pain and dove for the sea.
The other petro pulled out of their bodies and dove for cover.
Qeenan tried, but he was past that now. Nibo wasn’t about to let him escape his wrath. Not after this. Not after what they’d done.
Again!
“You bastard!”
At least his brother had the good sense to be scared. Qeenan backed away from him. “I was going through with the bargain.”
