The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,37
tried to stop him but were powerless and eventually joined him. It was just self-defense on our end. And I’ll have four other witnesses, very much alive, willing to agree to that story while you’ll be very, very regrettably dead.” Faust paused, motioning to Randolph and the other three strangers in the room.
There was another pause. The silence was deafening. Connor could only relate what he was seeing to two heavyweight boxers staring each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move.
“Randolph, you know this is madness!” Lupus roared, not daring to take his eyes off Faust for even a moment.
“Oh, Randolph and I have a very clear agreement, Lupus, don’t you worry. Isn’t that right, Randolph?”
“You know I’m with you,” Randolph’s reply came back, forced and hesitant.
Right when Connor was beginning to think he should come up with some kind of plan instead of standing in the rain, the action started.
The eyes of Faust and his followers had changed from varying degrees of blue to pitch black. This wasn’t the only transformation. The entire group traded their smiles for snarls, showing off extended fangs.
Connor turned his attention to Laren and Lu. He was startled to find much the same. Menacing fangs extended from their mouths like tiny daggers. Their eyes, however weren’t black like Faust’s and his followers, they were a pale yellow.
Connor couldn’t take his eyes off Laren. It was as though he was seeing her for the first time. She was still beautiful but somehow now more herself, as if she had taken off a mask and revealed a part of herself he had always known was there. Her long brown hair, drenched with rainwater, fell in tangles around her. She was in a warrior’s stance—knees slightly bent for balance, with one foot in front of the other, arms tense and ready.
Faust gave an every so slight hand motion and the two male Elites standing behind him rushed towards Lu. At the same time, the female Elite sprang into action and made a beeline for Laren, Randolph reluctantly in her wake.
The first Elite to reach Lu was the bigger of the two; he had close-cropped black hair and a scar that ran from his right temple to his left ear. Lu met his attacker head on and they collided with monstrous force. Lu took his attacker to the floor immediately. Sitting on the scarred Elite’s chest, Lu rained down blow after blow of vicious strikes.
He landed a few of these before the other male Elite was on top of him, dragging him off his friend and pinning his arms behind his back. But he was too late, his counterpart lay limp and lifeless on the floor. Lu’s new attacker was built like a bookcase, square shouldered, sturdy and strong as an ox. Before Lu could engage this new threat, Faust, who had observed the fight until now, crossed the distance separating them. Producing a wicked-looking brass knuckle, he inserted the fingers of his right hand through the holes and formed a fist. He threw a punch and struck Lu across the left jaw, invoking a shower of dark crimson blood from his mouth.
On the other side of the room, Laren got the best of her adversary with a series of jabs and a powerful right hook. The female Elite was slowly dragging herself off the floor as Randolph and Laren now circled each other. They waited, each searching for the right moment.
Randolph was the first to strike. Feinting a left punch, he instead stepped into a right body shot with all his weight. The blow connected with Laren’s stomach, doubling her over and taking her breath. The female Elite, who had now regained her composure, assisted Randolph by restraining Laren. Forcing her in a kneeling position, Randolph grasped her left arm behind her and the female Elite, blood dripping from her nose, held a vice-like grip on Laren’s right.
They forced Laren to watch as Faust landed another blow to Lu’s face. Blood ran freely from his mouth and nose. Crimson covered half his face.
“Lupus, you stupid, stupid boy. Did you ever think you would win?” He turned to look at Laren. “And now you can watch your brother die, Larentia, and see first-hand the power of my family.”
This all took place in a matter of seconds. They were as fast as cheetahs and as brutal as raging bulls. Connor knew he had to do something before it was too late. He was outmatched in