the right balance with Elate even when the user was careful.
More impaired than I’d planned. Come on, concentrate on why you’re here. Huk. Vax. Retribution and redemption. Be a man, damn it. Be a Nobek.
The apartment door hissed open and closed again. Had the Dramok left? Was Vax alone? Karil forced himself to stand up straight. He willed his eyesight to hold steady. He tightened his grip on the blade and listened.
Soft pad-pad-pad of footsteps. Just one man. Bacoj had gone.
The hall brightened. Sounds of scraping metal, clunking, cabinet doors opening and closing in the kitchen. Karil could go there, taking Vax by surprise. He could sneak up to the doorway, wait for the Imdiko’s back to be turned, then rush at him. Get him down on the floor and listen to his pleas before stabbing him full of holes. Hold him down, watch his existence bleed from him. Seeing Vax cry, the terrified knowledge he was dying as Huk had, the life slowly dimming in his eyes…
Karil took a step, and his surroundings rocked. Violently. He swayed, close to collapse. The Nobek retreated to prop himself against the doorframe within the shadowed common room once more and waited for the world to stop twisting.
He couldn’t assault his prey in the kitchen. Not when he was off-balance and Vax had access to cutlery. Being a chef, the bastard would know how to wield a knife with skill. That could present a problem, should Karil’s unsteadiness provide Vax with an opportunity.
He’d strike as the Imdiko passed by. Gripping the doorframe, Karil widened his stance, giving him the stability for a successful leap. He’d knock Vax to the floor and land on him, pinning him down. Then he’d do his cutting and claim justice for Huk.
He didn’t have to wait long. Vax’s voice carried as he moved his way. “Greeting room, kitchen, lights out. Hall light, twenty percent.”
Karil braced as that soft pad-pad-pad closed on his position, staring at the spot he’d chosen to take Vax down. The scent of herbal tea wafted in his nostrils. Tea the little shit would never drink.
The Imdiko came into view, not looking Karil’s way, holding a steaming cup. He hit the ambush point. Adrenaline spiked through the Nobek.
Karil screamed a warrior’s attack cry. He leapt.
The surge of energy offered him perfect clarity as he lunged at Vax. The other man’s startled face filled his vision, a wonderful image Karil could enjoy when he played back the memory of killing his enemy. Shock turning to terror as Vax recognized him.
Next would come the understanding he was about to die, the most delicious expression of them all.
However, adrenaline hadn’t mitigated other effects of the Elate crippling Karil’s system. At the last instant, as he pushed off the floor to complete his spring onto his prey, Karil’s balance wobbled. Not much, not as bad as moments before, but enough to make him strike the doorframe with his shoulder as he went airborne.
That second of delay and few centimeters of altered trajectory made all the difference, giving Vax the opening to jerk out of Karil’s path and fling the contents of his cup at the Nobek.
Scorching liquid splashed Karil square in the face. He crashed to the ground blinded, his warrior’s shout turning into a pain-filled screech. Though his flesh flashed agony, his very being insisted he fulfill his mission. Blinded for the moment, he scrabbled for his quarry. His fingers curled around a bunch of fabric, probably the leg of Vax’s trousers—then it jerked from his grip. Vax had slipped free.
Karil swiped at his eyes, trying to clear them, bellowing in rage as he did so. He sensed movement nearby and swung, opening his lids in time to see Vax jump over him as he flailed on the floor. Karil simultaneously tried to spring up and grab the fleeing Imdiko, but again, his equilibrium failed. He rammed himself headfirst into the wall instead.
Screaming for help, Vax disappeared down the hall into the greeting room. The opening and closing of the apartment’s door followed.
“Fucker!” Karil shrieked. He forced himself to his feet and staggered to escape the apartment. Outside, he searched the cavern for his escaped prey, but Vax was nowhere to be seen.
The few people in the area stared at Karil as he lurched away from Vax’s home. After a moment, it occurred to Karil that he was still holding his knife, waving it about as he stumbled from one rock wall to another.
Cursing, he sheathed it smoothly.