Stormbreak (Seafire #3) - Natalie C. Parker Page 0,84
snake, coiling back and darting out in a single, brutal strike meant to lay her low. She dodged, twisting around him to deliver two tight blows to his side. She landed them with firm fists and heard the involuntary grunts he made before laughter spilled from his lips.
“Not much without your guns,” he taunted.
Caledonia let the irritation show on her face. Let him think he could read her the way she read him.
He dove in again, twice more in rapid succession. Caledonia dodged the first attack, but the second blow caught her shoulder, shoving her back with such force her teeth clattered painfully together. On his third attack, she bent low, landing a kick in the side of his knee.
Tassos grunted as his knee slammed against the street, and the surprise on his face morphed into anger. He rounded on her, darting forward, forcing Caledonia to retreat faster than she was ready to move.
His fist crashed into her chest. The force of it sent her flying through the air. She landed flat on her back. Pain shot through her body as the muscles in her stomach clenched hard and her lungs pinched tight. She couldn’t draw a breath, but she opened her eyes in time to see Tassos draw back his leg and drive the toe of his boot into her chest.
She felt this pain as if it were a tight embrace, squeezing against her muscles and bones. Her vision narrowed and Tassos kicked again, snapping her head sharply back.
“Caledonia!” Pisces’s voice splintered through the haze.
“Caledonia!” Pisces shouted again.
“Cala!” Oran cried.
Suddenly, she was aware that both Oran and Pisces were fighting. The Bullets had surged forward, and they attacked now with glee.
Caledonia grit her teeth and rolled, catching the wind of Tassos’s next kick against her cheek. Her vision blurred, but as she crouched on her feet, she felt her lungs loosen. She sipped at the air and spread her fingers against the ground.
“You might be a hell of a girl, Caledonia Styx,” Tassos was saying as he stalked toward her again. “But you’re still just a girl.”
Caledonia grimaced. Blood coated her teeth, filling her mouth with its coppery flavor. She licked her lips and heard the meaning behind his words. She was just a girl. And he was just a man.
He was part of Aric’s legacy. He’d been raised violently and groomed to seek power over others. As long as he lived, he would find ways to continue the merciless story of the Bullet Seas.
And he was going to kill her.
The crack of a whip sounded in the air and Pisces roared. Somewhere, Oran was struggling to defend against two attacking Bullets, his hands all but useless in their metal splints. Caledonia could sense the two of them more than see them. Neither could help her.
Tassos moved in again. This time when Caledonia dodged his fist, she crouched, lashing out with a swift kick to sweep his legs out from under him. He went down hard, shoulders slamming against the stone. He groaned, rolling to his side and climbing to his feet.
But Caledonia was there. She drilled an elbow into his neck. Tassos fell again to his knees, and as he gasped for breath, Caledonia circled to stand behind him.
Without pausing to think, or give Tassos time to recover, Caledonia planted her feet wide. Then, pulling the push dagger from her waistband, she yanked his head back and slid the blade into his throat.
All sound vanished as Tassos’s body fell to the ground at Caledonia’s feet.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Caledonia’s chest heaved painfully, and nausea threatened to reject the meager contents of her stomach, but she remained where she stood. Little by little, her fractured vision righted itself until she could see Pisces and Oran. And oddly enough, Cepheus standing at their side, as though she’d joined them against the other three Bullets.
She focused on Cepheus and the Bullets, all of them having stopped their own fight the instant Tassos hit the ground. As Lir had demonstrated by killing Aric and taking command, violence was how leadership passed between Bullets. If another Bullet had killed Tassos, they would assume his authority, but Caledonia wasn’t a Bullet.
“If any of you wishes to challenge me, now is the time.” Thumbing the blood from her chin, Caledonia curled her fingers into fists to mask the tremble of her hands. She would fight if she had to, but she wasn’t sure how much more her body could take.