Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,157

so stark and deep it had warped the soul of whoever this had once been.

"Soul bound," Finn said from the opposite side of the android. "It must be destroyed."

Kira didn't move, her fingers separated from that chaotic mass by a few millimeters of metal.

"It wouldn’t be a mercy to allow it to live," Finn told her. "It will never rest. Never feel. All that lies in its future is endless madness. It can't be saved."

"I know." Ki streamed from Kira's fingers, wrapping around the ball of energy and smothering it.

It struggled, its energy fluttering against her senses as it fought to survive.

With a final flex of her ki, Kira ended it.

She rose, her face carefully blank as she tried not to think about what she’d just done.

Killing in that fashion was different than when you ended someone with a blade or laser fire.

Her hands clenched as she took a deep breath, pushing the feeling aside to be examined later.

"What was that?" Raider asked as she walked past him toward the hole in the wall.

"Tuann stuff."

Raider glanced at Finn's stony face.

"We call them soul bound. They are mad creatures deserving of our mercy."

"Soul bound, huh?" There was speculation and an understanding Kira refused to acknowledge as Raider stared at the side of her face.

Kira ignored the two, carefully listening for any signs of hostiles before diving through the hole. She landed, on guard for an attack that never came.

There was a thud, then a second one as Raider and Finn ducked out after her.

Raider nodded his head at a prone body to their right. "What do you want to bet they went this way?"

Kira started forward with a sense of resignation. "There's no point in betting when it's a sure thing."

Raider jogged after her, Finn next to him.

"Really wishing I had a weapon right about now," Raider muttered.

Kira snapped off the dangling gem in her earring and pressed a button. A long thin blade extended out of it, forming a knife.

She tossed it to Raider. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic."

*

A short while later, Kira held up her hand as they reached an intersection. She looked down one corridor and then another without the faintest clue which direction to take.

More than anything, she wished Jin was here. She wouldn’t even complain about his smart-ass comments or his ridiculous antics.

At least he’d have some idea what to do, which direction to take. He’d hack the security feeds or use any one of a dozen methods to get a lock on Elise.

"Which way do we go?" Raider asked, turning in a circle.

This time there wasn't a handy body left behind that they could use as a compass.

"I don't know."

"Do we split up?"

"I don't know!" Kira yelled.

She took a deep breath immediately after.

Focus, Kira. One foot in front of the other until you accomplish your mission. Losing control won't help anyone, least of all Jin.

Raider paced, his movements almost frantic. "You go that way. I'll go this way."

"We can't split up," Finn objected. "The enemy is too powerful. None of us stand a chance if we meet up with them alone."

And by none, he really meant Kira and Raider.

"We don't engage then," Raider argued. "We hang back and notify the others."

Finn sent a pointed look in Kira's direction that seemed to mock that suggestion. Noticing the look, Kira could only shrug. Even she knew the chances of that working were small.

It wasn't just her. Raider was as likely to run into the fray as her.

"We don't have a lot of options," Raider said, unwilling to back down.

Static filled Kira's comms.

"—tie."

Kira frowned and pressed a finger against her ear.

"Auntie, are...there?"

"Elena." Kira closed her eyes in relief.

At Elena's name, Raider took a step toward Kira.

"Is that Elena? Is she okay?"

Kira held up a hand as she moved further into the hallway in the hopes of strengthening the signal. By now, they had to be out of the protected section of the station. That had to be why she was suddenly able to hear Elena.

"I've been trying you forever," Elena burst out, sounding close to tears.

"I know. Some things happened. The place I was in must have blocked unauthorized signals."

"Do you know what's going on down on the planet?"

Kira started to answer but paused.

"Where are you?" Kira asked.

"About that—" Elena drawled.

"You're on the station," Kira answered for her.

Elena's silence was answer enough, her guilt traveling down the line as clear as her voice had.

It made perfect sense. The channel Elena was using wouldn't have reached the station from the planet, especially