Chapter 30 #2
Before I could formulate what I should do next, a loud snarl sounded behind me.
Too close. I turned and Talus was on me before I could do more than lift a knee to try and kick him in the leg.
Instead of resisting his momentum, I went with it, grabbing his elbows as I planted my foot in his belly.
We went down and I tucked my chin into my chest, trying to protect the back of my head.
The air rushed out of his lungs with a grunt when his weight hit my foot.
His snarling face was blackened on one side, the skin peeling away. The light bomb must have burned him when it went off.
Fucking hell, he was heavy. My leg nearly collapsed beneath him. I brought my other foot up and pushed as hard as I could as I shifted my grip on his upper arms to shove his shoulders to my right. As I hoped, his weight slid in that direction and landed on his side.
I didn’t let go of him, letting my body roll so I was over him. Then I dropped my weight onto his gut, leading with my knees. Another grunt escaped him and his body curled inward. Spreading my fingers, I aimed a fast jab toward his eyes.
Instinctively, he jerked his head back, closing his eyes. With my other hand, I spread my thumb away from my other fingers and slammed the inner edge of my palm against his throat in an arc hand strike.
He gagged, lifting his hands to protect his face.
I took the opportunity to drag the small knife out of my bra and unsheathe it.
The short double edge blade didn’t have a traditional hilt.
The T-shaped was created to fit between two fingers and be gripped in a fist. In the human realm, I’d heard it called a push knife or punch knife.
They were illegal in a lot of places because they could do a lot of damage with little effort.
The only downside was that I would have to aim for the few soft spots on the daemon body. I slashed at him with the knife, catching the outside edges of his forearms.
He jerked and moved to cover his face completely when he realized I was armed.
Instead of trying to get behind his guard, I shifted off his body and aimed a swift punch to the side of his body, just below his ribcage.
There was a narrow space that ran down his side that wasn’t protected by his thick abdominal muscles.
The knife sank into his flesh, going too deep. When I tried to yank it out, it was stuck. I twisted my wrist, breaking the vacuum the blade created when it sank into him, and pulled hard.
Talus howled in agony and blindly threw an arm out. His backhand caught me on the shoulder rather than the face, but it was a solid hit. I flew off him, rolling several times. I got my feet beneath me, crouching into a fighting stance.
“You cunt!” Talus roared, climbing to his feet as well.
His movements were much slower than mine had been. He cupped his side with one hand, trying to staunch the blood. I moved, shifting my feet so I moved sideways but still toward where Bokkan’s property should be. I wanted to create more space between us.
He reached down and drew his dagger from his boot. “I planned to make your death quick when I was done with you, but now I think I will enjoy watching you bleed to death while I fuck you.”
I forced myself to laugh even as sick fear threatened to empty my stomach again. I could not throw up. I had to remain in control.
“That didn’t go so well the last time we fought, did it, Talus?”
“I was trying not to harm you then. Now, I hope you bleed.”
I snarled at him in return. “I want to kill you, so same here, asshole.”
He darted toward me, lifting his dagger to slash. While he was faster than he’d been in the training ring that day, he still wasn’t quite fast enough. I ducked below his swing, my hand flashing out to slice a deep cut across the inside of his thigh.
When his arm swung back, I was already moving around behind him and repeating the cut to his other inner thigh.
Since the choke I used on Venna and Bokkan had been effective, I assumed that the arteries in daemon legs were similar to a human’s.
The cuts would have severed both of his femoral arteries.
He spun around, kicking out with a leg. I moved back, but not quickly enough. The kick caught me in the hip and sent my flying several feet until my back crashed into a tree. The air left my lungs, and I couldn’t get it back.
Black dots danced in my eyes. Shaking my head, I fought off the faintness threatening me and tightened my grip on the push knife. I glanced down at the ground beneath Talus. The blood was pooling on the ground, the puddle growing quickly, but Talus seemed completely unaffected.
Shit. He was so big, it would take him twice as long as a human to bleed out.
Though I still couldn’t draw in a full breath, I stumbled to my feet and took a fighting stance, the bloody knife still clenched between my fingers. Talus took an unsteady step toward me, his black eyes rimmed with red.
He swayed but remained on his feet. Before he could charge at me, I heard a roar from the trees and something large burst out of the undergrowth to my right. A massive, dark shape shot straight at Talus, sweeping him off his feet.
Blood sprayed as they slammed into the ground.
Talus howled as his attacker literally ripped into him with claws and teeth. Bits of flesh and cloth flew. Loud snarls fill the air as the shape tore Talus apart.
I realized that the massive shape on top of Talus was Bokkan when he reared back and raked his claws across the other daemon’s throat, tearing it open.
Talus jerked, a choking sound emerging from his mouth before he began to gurgle.
Blood bubbled in the wound, spilling over his neck to the ground.
His body shuddered again as his feet drummed on the ground.
Talus reached out for Bokkan, grasping at his forearms.
Bokkan brushed his hands away and got to his feet.
He looked down at Talus, derision written all over his face.
He stood in silence and watched as the male on the ground shook within the throes of death.
When the final raspy breath rattled out of his lungs before he went completely still, Bokkan backed away, still staring at the prone body.
It was like I wasn’t even there.
Taking a shaky breath, I leaned back against the tree behind me. The knife in my hand scraped against the bark and Bokkan’s head whipped toward me.
I saw it then… the jagged red streaks through his eyes.
He called it the mating rage before, and it was clear he was feeling it now.
His head cocked as he stared at me. The movement was so alien that fear slithered down my spine.
“Bokkan?”
“Yes?” His voice was deeper than I’d ever heard it before. Full of gravel and bass. It resonated from his chest and vibrated deep within me.
“This might be a stupid question, but are you okay?”
He nodded but didn’t speak.
“What about Masu? Is she hurt?”
Bokkan shook his head, this time, answering me verbally. “She will be fine. There was a healer nearby.”
My legs wobbled at his answer. I hadn’t realized how worried I’d been about the imp. She’d become important to me in the short time I was here. It was impossible not to like her or care about her.
His chin tilted down as he studied me from beneath his heavy brows. I doubted he missed the sudden weakness in my knees. “Come here.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I replied, inching to one side.
His demeanor was odd. I couldn’t quite place my finger on what was bothering me.
“Why?”
I realized then why his mannerisms were peculiar to me. He seemed detached and his responses to me were terse and unemotional. He’d never acted like this before. His words were flat and monotone, but every inch of his body screamed that he was moments away from pouncing on me.
“You don’t seem to be yourself,” I answered.
“I am fine. Come to me.”
I inched to the side of the tree, keeping my hands on it. “I already told you I don’t think it’s a good idea, Bo.”
His body tensed when I took a step back, putting a bit more space between us. “Do not do it.”
“Don’t do what?” I took another step back.
“Don’t. Run.” The last word was nothing more than a low, rolling growl.
“You’re freaking me out, Bokkan.”
“Stop moving.”
When I crept back another step, he crouched slightly and glided forward, mirroring my motion.
“You stop moving,” I retorted.
He paused, obviously fighting with himself. “I cannot.”
“Why?”
“I need to touch you. To be sure you are unharmed.”
“Will that calm you down?” I asked.
Bokkan’s answer was a shrug. “I do not know.”
“Then maybe we should both take some space.”
He shook his head. “I know you do not understand, Leda, but I cannot let you out of my sight right now. I am very close to losing control.”
“Control of what?” I asked.
I retreated a bit more, and once again, he followed, gliding smoothly. His movements were predatory, and I wondered if this was how prey felt when it was being stalked.
The wild urge to run away gripped me then. I wasn’t truly frightened of him. In fact, now that my body was settling down, I noticed the way his muscles flexed and bulged as he moved. He seemed broader and bulkier than he had this morning. As though the mating rage made his muscles fuller.
“Control of myself,” he answered. “If you run, I will chase you. When I catch you, I will fuck you hard.”
A wave of heat crashed over me. My heart thumped fast and hard in my ribcage. I thought about everything Guldan had said to me earlier. About how I would feel if I could never see Bokkan again.
Then, I decided what I wanted to do without weighing every single consequence. It was based solely on my gut instinct.
Whirling away from Bokkan, I ran.