Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,62
Selene’s mouth was a thin slash, anger tightening her features.
"You say that like I had a choice in this. I followed her here, not the other way around."
"I noticed you also have your changeling close. You should be careful. Their kind is untrustworthy," Selene said.
"Then they'll fit right in with the rest of the universe," Kira retorted.
She wasn't going to entertain recriminations regarding Odin. Not again. They'd already had this fight, and Selene knew where Kira stood.
A faint screech interrupted them.
They fell silent, each straining their senses to pick up on the disturbance.
Kira didn't hear anything for a long moment. She plucked a tendril of the ki that coiled in her center, sending it out into the world. It went easily, no sign of the pain that felt like razor blades sawing at her insides.
It was a small victory, but recovery often was.
For several seconds, Kira caught nothing odd.
Gradually, the sound of many bodies moving in unison reached her. Worse, they were heading directly toward Kira and the woman.
Selene covered her nose with a grimace. "Tsavitee taint."
Kira cast her a sidelong look. When had Selene become so theatrical? Selene would know what she was picking up wasn't an actual scent, though it may have presented as a smell due to her brain's interpretation of what it felt.
Selene glared at Kira. "They followed you."
"We don't know that."
The woman sent her a look that said to get real.
Kira started to respond when she heard her name being called. She frowned. That had sounded a lot like Jin.
Branches rustled. Jin burst into view.
"Kira! We have a little bit of a situation!"
He beelined toward her, a swarm of shriekers erupting from the trees in his wake.
"You're right. They didn't follow you," Selene corrected.
The creatures were humanoid, loping across the ground on all fours, their backs abnormally hunched. Their heads were bald and their skin a mottled color that included violets, greens, and some hard to determine mix of colors that resembled the ponds and lakes Kira had traveled past on the way to the cafe.
The myriad of colors was a camouflage technique and varied for every swarm. They evolved based on their surroundings. Highly adaptive, shriekers bred extremely fast.
Kira hadn't seen any since the war. Typically, the Tsavitee sent them in advance of their first strike. Their purpose was to soften up the ground troops and make it easier for the main invading force. They tended to chew through civilian populations, ambushing from the shadows for weeks before anyone realized they were there.
"What did you do?" Kira shouted as Jin zoomed toward her.
"I don't know," Jin wailed. "I was exploring, and then I was being chased."
"You couldn't have lost them first? Why'd you have to bring them here?"
"Don't you think I tried?" Jin shouted plaintively. "They're exceedingly difficult to shake."
Selene leaned toward her as the shriekers pounded toward them. "Do you think they're here for you or me?"
Kira shook her head. "It doesn't matter either way."
They shared a look.
There was no way Kira could leave Elena here now. Nor would the woman allow her to.
As if obeying some mental signal, the swarm split to circle around Kira and Selene.
"I forgot how much I hate these things." Selene raised her hand, a small distortion in the air beginning a few centimeters away from her fingertips.
It built, growing quickly only to pop like a bubble when Kira pushed Selene’s hand down. As much as she appreciated the offer to help, it would be a mistake.
"Tuann who will recognize the use of ki are everywhere, to say nothing of Haldeel surveillance. Unless you want to be outed, I suggest you keep your talents to yourself," Kira advised.
Selene’s expression softened. "You make it so hard to deny you when you do things like this, little sister."
"Enough jaw jacking; more killing," Jin roared as he threw himself into the midst of the shriekers. Lightning bolts shot from him, hitting several bodies.
Kira grinned as she stepped forward, already sliding into the necessary mental space she'd need for the coming task. A place where mercy was as unwelcome as fear.
"When you see an opportunity to escape, take it," she ordered.
There was no more time to talk after that.
Kira darted forward, palming the small blade she'd hidden on her in the same instant. She'd prefer one of the swords House Roake had given her, but at least she wasn't unarmed for this encounter.
The swarm wailed, rearing upright and slashing at her with their two-inch claws.