Weapons Master Galactic Gladia - Anna Hackett Page 0,17
Magnus bellowing orders.
The assassin smiled. “There is nothing you can do, cyborg. The woman is marked for death.”
Chapter Seven
Bellamy struggled to her feet.
She saw Maxon and the assassin fighting, knives flashing.
Anger exploded inside her. This was the Edull’s doing. They were the only ones who wanted her dead. Bastards.
She saw Maxon take the assassin down, swinging one powerful leg around to trap the man as he surged with his knife. Both men rolled before coming back to their feet.
She lunged forward, but a hard arm banded around her. She was pulled back against Acton’s lean body.
“Stay back,” the cyborg warned.
Bellamy growled. She’d never been good at following orders.
The other cyborgs were busy clearing spectators out of the way.
The assassin broke free of Maxon’s hold, and yanked something from his pocket. He tossed a small ball into the air.
Bellamy tensed. The device broke apart, and a swarm of small, metallic bots flew out. They were tiny, no bigger than insects, and ducked and weaved, moving as a swarm.
They turned and rushed at her.
Shit.
Acton surged forward and Bellamy ducked. The swarm dodged around the cyborg and rushed her. She spun, but the edge of the swarm hit her—cutting at her skin like small knives. She yanked her scarf off. The swarm flew away, whirled, then zoomed back.
“Bellamy!” Maxon roared.
She held the scarf up. The insects raced closer and she tossed the fabric over them, then pulled it tight. They jerked, but she held them and smiled grimly. Take that.
Then they started to slice through the scarf.
Oh, hell. She released the bundle and leaped away.
She saw Zaden leap past her, his arms raised. The bug bots froze in midair, then started to crumple inward.
She wanted to watch, but she heard a grunt and spun. Maxon landed a hard punch in the assassin’s face, but the man absorbed the blow and swiveled around. He darted away from Maxon and jumped on some of the empty seats, running along the curving bench.
Right at Bellamy.
The man held his long, thin knife like a lance. His reptilian eyes focused on her with scary intensity.
Crap. Bellamy dived out of the way. The knife flew past her, but the assassin’s body hit her hard.
They slammed into the arena railing…and tipped over it.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
The sand raced up to meet her and she braced herself. She hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her.
Beside her, she heard the assassin grunt.
Knowing this was life or death, she shoved back her pain and rolled away. She pushed to her feet. Her ribs ached, but she was pretty sure nothing was broken.
The assassin rose into a crouch. He tilted his head, a predator assessing its prey.
“The Edull want you dead, female. You know too much. I’m going to slide my sweet blade right into your heart.”
“Sorry, asshole. I’m not interested in being murdered today.”
Suddenly, a big body hit the sand between them.
Maxon rose, his large knife clutched in his hand, his gold eyes glowing.
More bodies dropped, circling them—Magnus, Jax, Mace, Zaden, Seren.
Several other gladiators jogged over—led by the sexy Raiden, and others from both the House of Galen and Loden.
The assassin’s face twisted. He ran, and as Maxon rushed to grab him, the assassin dropped to the ground, sliding feetfirst through the sand, right past Maxon’s legs.
He rushed at Bellamy, but Maxon was fast, swiveling and slamming a punch into the man’s back.
He drove the assassin to the ground, then raised his arm and stabbed his knife into the assassin’s shoulder.
Bellamy made herself look as Maxon flipped the assassin over, and then stabbed the man in the chest. Neatly, right in the heart.
Maxon rose, breathing deeply.
“We’ll take care of cleanup,” Magnus said. “You take care of Bellamy, and your injuries.”
“Injuries?” Bellamy jolted. She strode toward Maxon and saw the blood on his shirt, soaking the fabric.
She made a noise, gripped the hem of his shirt and yanked it up.
Several deep cuts covered his chest and abdomen, where the assassin’s blade had caught him.
“You need to get to Medical,” she said.
“No, I don’t.”
She glared at him. “You do.”
He shot her a mutinous look, his eyes looking like melted gold.
Hmm. Time for a change of tactics. She staggered a little and he caught her arm.
“Bellamy?”
“I don’t…feel great.”
He slid an arm around her. “Magnus, I’m taking Bellamy back to the House of Rone.”
The imperator nodded, but Maxon was already leading her to the closest tunnel.
Bellamy tried to keep the smile off her face. She had no qualms about her little trick. The