Obsidian - Miranda Bridges Page 0,46
silently through the alleyway. Our power radiates between us, equal in its strength, but it’s futile, since the androids are immune. There’s no flesh to penetrate, no real organs or blood to poison. It’s the first time in my life I wish I were a Fireblood so that I could melt these machines into scraps.
“Target has been located. Pursuing.”
“Fuck!” I spin around in search of the source, unable to detect it. It could be coming from any one of the alleyways.
But then it appears in the middle one, its hard drive flashing a deep crimson. Another emerges in the alley beside it. And then another and another, filling up the alleyways while repeating the same words over and over again: “Target has been located. Pursuing.”
I pull Jade behind me, my grip on her threatened by fear. There are too many androids for me to overpower. Eight of them march forward, their metal frames gleaming in the slivers of sunlight that pour through the cracks in the alleyways.
“Disengaging holograms.”
A blinding light blasts my eyes, and the holograms that protected my mate and me vanish into thin air. The only way for me to protect Jade now is to cause a distraction. My crew are aware of the hotel’s location. Once Jade gets back there, she’ll remain safe until they pick her up.
The assassins are hunting me, not her.
I grab Jade into my arms and kiss her with every fiber of my being. It lasts not nearly long enough, but I do not have more time. I shove my card into her hand and drag her into the cleared alleyway. She drops her prize as I hurriedly pull her behind me.
“Run and don’t you dare look back.”
Her eyes widen into glazed orbs. “No, Castien, wait! Let me help yo—”
Before she concludes her protest, I raise my palms and summon a veil of darkness. It clouds her like a blanket of shadows that not even she will be able to escape. I slam my fists into the ground, and my power blasts off me in waves, pushing Jade through the alleyway and causing my wings to erupt from my back.
My mate’s screams of betrayal pierce me like a septic blade, yet I do not surrender.
I must protect Jade at all costs.
The remnants of darkness gather around the androids. For a moment, they are blind, but their metal parts flash to signal their close proximity. I use this fleeting moment to send an SOS to my ship, and I then charge for the android nearest to me. I slam into its chest, and we collide with the other androids. A red veil masks my vision; all I see and want is blood.
Their blood.
And so I stab and rip through the machines for as long as I can to give Jade time to escape. When a surge of electricity slams into me and blackens my field of sight, I am content to die, knowing that I did all I could to rescue my mate. She’s safe.
She’s…safe…
When I come to, I am surrounded by a halo of light. It appears death has plans for me yet. Groaning, I open my eyes and move my arms, but they are restrained by a pair of glowing manacles that attach to the corners of the confining structure. Beneath me is a magnetic field that hums and tightens my bonds when I try to move, not that I really can. I swallow the frustration that threatens to grip me.
Jade is safe, and that’s all that matters.
I’ll endure whatever these machines want me to if it guarantees her safety.
At any rate, I just need to buy enough time for my crew to find me. It won’t be long before they track my device, and hopefully I’m still being held on Lixis. I scan the room slowly, surprised to find that I’m in a space dock. There are no starships or maintenance crew, however, and the windows have steel shutters over them. One opens above me, and ice-cold water gushes down. I shake my head, spitting mouthfuls of water onto the tiled floor, and once more search the area.
“Target is now fully operating.”
The android steps out from behind me as it speaks.
“I was already operating before you unleashed the damn water!”
In my rage, I forget about the magnetic field and yank my restraints. The manacles tighten again, and I grind my teeth to endure the crippling pain. Unlike before, the torture does not subside as volts of electricity surge through me.
The air