Close Combat
A queen’s power roars to life inside me. Take the crown that belongs to
us. Take what’s yours.
Imbued with their magic, I shove him hard.
He staggers back, a sharp smile on his face. “Do you know what, wife?
It’s been far too long since anyone has truly challenged me. I think I was
starting to miss it.”
Magic rushes into me from the earth, and I charge at him, but this time,
he’s ready and moves for me with a shocking speed.
He grabs my wrist, twisting my arm sharply behind my back, then
shoves my chest against the tree. Every nerve in my body is alight. My face
presses against the rough bark, and I catch my breath.
Leaning close, he whispers, his breath warming the side of my face.
“You’ve been playing me all along, little liar. And here I thought you
needed to be saved…”
“Blocking you out of my head kept me weak,” I say. “But now I’m
free.”
I slam my head back into his face, causing him to lose his grip. I spin
around and kick him high in the chest, my foot colliding with what feels
like pure rock. Even worse, he manages to catch my foot on the way down.
With a dark smile, he twists my leg and flips me onto my stomach. I hit the
ground hard, grunting from the pain.
I gasp sharply for breath. Rolling over, I kick him hard in the thigh, and
he winces. Swift as lightning, he’s on top of me now, his hand around my
throat. Not squeezing. Just holding me in place. Dominating. Owning me.
Curiosity flickers in his eyes, a flare of copper in the darkness. “What
are you, exactly? How did a demi-Fey become this strong?”
Morgan’s power streams into me again from the earth. Dark-eyed
usurper…you need to know your place. You’re not here to be king. You’re
here to be consort.
“Do you really want to know who I am?” My words cut through
clenched teeth, echoes of ladies long gone
What just happened
Gasping, I realize not everyone in the crowd is running away. Not all of them are afraid, or even confused by the outburst of violence. They move differently, with purpose, motive, a mission. Black pistols gleam, flashing as they dig into a guard’s back or stomach. Knives glint in the growing dark. The screams of fear become screams of pain. Bodies fall, slumping against the tile of the square.
I remember the riots in Summerton. Reds hunted down and tortured. A mob turning on the weakest among them. It was disorganized, chaotic, without any order. This is the opposite. What looks like wild panic is the careful work of a few dozen assassins in a crowd of hundreds. With a grin, I realize they all have something in common. As the hysteria grows, each one dons a red scarf.
The Scarlet Guard is here.
Cal, Kilorn, Farley, Cameron, Bree, Tramy, the Colonel.
They’re here.
With everything I have, I butt my head back and crack my skull against Clover’s nose. She howls, and silver blood spurts down her face. In an instant her grip on me breaks, leaving only Kitten. I drive an elbow into her gut, hoping to throw her off. She lets go of my shoulder, only to wrap her arm around my neck and squeeze.
I twist, trying to get enough room to bend my neck and bite. No chance. She increases the pressure, threatening to crush my windpipe. My vision spots, and I feel myself being pulled backward. Away from the Treasury, Maven, his Sentinels. Through the lethal crowd. I trip backward as we reach the steps. I kick weakly, trying to catch on to anything. The Security officers dodge my poor efforts. Some drop to their knees, guns raised, covering the retreat. Clover looms over me, the bottom half of her face painted with mirrored blood.
“Double back through Whitefire. We have to keep
Reklam
The first totally silvers
“This is the first completely Silver legion going into the trenches,” he says evenly. “They’re going to fight with the Reds, dressed as Reds, serving with Reds. The Lakelanders won’t know who they are when they get to the Choke. And when the bombs fall, when the enemy tries to break the line, they’re going to get more than they bargained for. The Shadow Legion will take them all.”
Suddenly I feel hot and cold at the same time. “Original.”
But Cal doesn’t gloat. Instead, he looks sad. “You gave me the idea.”
“What?”
“When you fell into Queenstrial, no one knew what to do. I’m sure the Lakelanders will feel the same.”
Though I try to speak, no sound comes out. I’ve never been a point of inspiration for anything, let alone combat maneuvers. Cal stares at me like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t speak. Neither of us knows what to say.
A boy from our training, the windweaver Oliver, claps a hand on Cal’s shoulder while the other clutches a sloshing drink. He wears a uniform too. He’s going to fight.
“What’s with the hiding, Cal?” He chuckles, gesturing to the crowd around us. “Next to the Lakelanders, this bunch will be easy!”
Cal meets my eyes, a silver blush tingeing his cheeks. “I’ll take the Lakelanders any day,” he replies, his eyes never leaving mine.
“You’re going with them?”
Oliver answers for Cal, smiling much too wide for a boy going off to war. “Going?” he says. “Cal’s leading us! His own legion, all the way to the front.”
Slowly, Cal shifts out of Oliver’s grip. The drunk windweaver doesn’t seem to notice and keeps babbling. “He’ll be the youngest general in history and the first prince to fight on the lines.”
And the first to die, a morose voice in my head whispers. Against my better instincts, I reach out to Cal. He doesn’t pull away from me,
Sayfa 197
“You’re wasting your time,” Doc Daneeka was forced to tell him.
“Can’t you ground someone who’s crazy?”
“Oh, sure. I have to. There’s a rule saying I have to ground anyone who’s crazy.”
“Then why don’t you ground me? I’m crazy. Ask Clevinger.”
“Clevinger? Where is Clevinger? You find Clevinger and I’ll ask him.”
“Then ask any of the others. They’ll tell you how crazy I am.”
“They’re crazy.”
“Then why don’t you ground them?”
“Why don’t they ask me to ground them?”
“Because they’re crazy, that’s why.”
“Of course they’re crazy,” Doc Daneeka replied. “I just told you they’re crazy, didn’t I? And you can’t let crazy people decide whether you’re crazy or not, can you?”
Yossarian looked at him soberly and tried another approach. “Is Orr crazy?”
“He sure is,” Doc Daneeka said.
“Can you ground him?”
“I sure can. But first he has to ask me to. That’s part of the rule.”
That's the Hunting Dogs' most terrifying ability, Teruko-san's 'age manipulation'! Even a warrior hero with a steel body and steel will wouldn't endure being aged or turned into a tuddler and tortured..! Being able to settle her victory in close combat with just a touch, Teruko-san is unrivaled! It's said that by being around, she's reduced crime rates in the city ranked next to the captain, she's a character of legend!
“That is what television journalists do”
“ You have to try and get as close as possible to the people shooting and the people getting shot, and make sure the lighting is right. And more. As a combat cameraman, you actually anticipate fighting and are often almost disappointed if it does not happen. What few admit but secretly hope for is that someone will actually die in front of your lens, because it makes such compelling material.”
Reklam