The Alchemists of Loom (Loom Saga #1)(55)
Cvareh winced, covering his ears. But Arianna had a different kind of instinct. Her gun was already drawn. The trigger was pulled before the Revo had time to lower his.
But he was well trained, and he predicted her shot, falling to the ground at a diagonal. Arianna dropped her gun, reaching for her daggers. The man stood, bringing a fist covered in brass knuckles into her gut. Her stomach collapsed, expending the air in her. She curved forward and used the momentum to bring the dagger into his throat, tearing through his windpipe.
“Grab my gun!” she shouted to Cvareh, pushing through the door to engage with the other guard at the top of the Tower.
The woman knocked the knife from Ari with the side of her revolver, then grabbed for Ari’s wrist, holding it away as she tried to lock the muzzle of the gun onto her face. Ari spun, slamming her opponent into the wall, the other dagger in her hand. The woman twisted her grip.
Gunfire echoed through the small, barren room, a pockmark steaming in the ceiling from an incendiary round that narrowly missed Arianna’s head. The woman slammed her foot into Arianna’s heel, trying to trip her. Ari held fast with a grimace.
A steely blue hand jutted over her shoulder, grabbing the woman’s neck. Ari felt the heat from her Dragon at close proximity. She watched the muscles in his forearm tense as they pushed his claws through the woman’s throat, killing her instantly. He withdrew, shaking the red blood off his hand with a grimace and then held out her gun.
“Thank you.” Arianna accepted her weapon from the man and trusted he’d hear the words in more ways than one.
“Lead. I’ll have your back.” He glanced back toward the hall. Both their sets of Dragon ears were picking up fast-running footsteps, men and women alerted to their presence by the commotion.
“I’ll trust you with it, then.” The words were cumbersome. Her lips didn’t want to form them, but Arianna discovered that something could be right and uncomfortable at the same time. Her footsteps stalled as she rounded the staircase leading down the central watchtower.
He looked at her in confusion. That same emotion was reflected in her every thought. She had left someone behind before. She had done so knowing they would die for her sake, for the sake of their mission.
Arianna held up an accusatory finger. “Dragon, don’t you dare die on me.”
Cvareh was visibly taken aback at the proclamation.
“I want my boon,” she added hastily, and disappeared further down the Tower.
There were five guards, of this she was now certain. Two sets of footsteps from watchers in the Towers. The two they’d killed in the central guard tower. And one below her still.
But time was still of the essence. The explosion from their skiff was likely to draw attention on the shore, assuming none of the guards had fired some kind of signal flare she and Cvareh missed from being indoors since time stopped. Logically, reinforcements were coming, and Arianna gave them six minutes across the stretch of water between the floating prison and the mainland, and perhaps another ten to get themselves and a boat in order—she’d round down to fifteen.
It meant she had ten minutes left to kill the remaining guards, find the cell she needed, break out Florence’s friends, steal a boat, and evade any pursuers on the water. Ari grinned wildly, flashing her teeth as a volley of gunfire rang out between her and the guard before her, echoed by shots above. Plenty of time.
The man ahead used a single round shotgun, powerful but slow. He knew it too as he reached for the saber strapped to his hip. Swords. Now there was something she didn’t mess with. Swords were archaic and only two types of people used them as a result: arrogant newbie Revos who wanted to show off, and masters. Since the man bore a black circle, she wasn’t betting on the former.
The slightly curving blade echoed against its scabbard, its single edge gleaming wickedly in the lamplight. Arianna grabbed for her cabling, quickly clipping her dagger to it. Her weapons wouldn’t stand up; she knew when she was bested. So it was time to throw a skill of her own into play. Magic.
Her dagger fluttered around him like an annoying fly. He batted it away with his sword, dodging and half-stepping closer. Arianna tuned out the sounds of the battle above her and targeted the Revo. Malice burned through her, ignited by frustration. She didn’t want to kill this man or his allies, she had no delight in it. Their deaths were a means to her end, more bodies sacrificed upon the altar of the lost future she had been striving to build alone in the years following the collapse of the last resistance.
He didn’t stand a chance against the beam of pure energy that fired right through his chest.
Ari holstered her gun and leaned against the wall, catching her breath. She was killing Fenthri for a Dragon. It was a truth so insane she had no other option but to believe it was real. Yet she couldn’t muster the same hatred for Cvareh. There was a desperate sort of survival in him too.
She shook her head with a breathless laugh at herself. I actually believe he’s fighting against the Dragon King. What was the world coming to?
The commotion above quieted as Arianna reached the central office of the prison. A shelf of large ledgers directed her to exactly what she needed to know. There were only a few things to monitor in a prison, after all: the scheduling of the guards, general maintenance, food, and who was where.
“Glad to see you could manage two Revos,” she remarked as a familiar set of footsteps treaded down the stairs.