Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1)(106)
“Never.”
“You’re as weak as your sisters, turning your back on greatness as they turned their backs on the mortal world.”
“Come closer and speak again of my sisters.”
“No, Diana. I have other plans for you.” He turned to the soldiers standing at attention beside the Humvee parked on the sand. From inside the vehicle, Diana heard harsh chittering, like a beetle clicking its wings, and then a wet, hungry sound like…like something smacking its lips. Jason’s eyes glittered as he gave the order. “Open the cage.”
“Stay behind me,” Diana commanded Nim and Theo, trying to keep her eyes on Alia and on the Humvee. There was a loud clatter as the vehicle seemed to rock on its mighty wheels, and the soldiers stepped forward, one with his gun raised to offer cover, the other with a long metal stick attached to some kind of collar. He threw open the rear doors. For a moment they were caught in shadow, and then they were backing into the sun, calling orders to the other soldiers as they dragged a huge shape from the depths of the Humvee.
“I call her Pinon,” said Jason. “The Drinker.” She had the head and torso of a woman, her breasts bare, her arms muscled, her red hair a ropy tangle. But her lower half was the segmented body of a glossy black scorpion, and a massive tail curled grotesquely behind her. “Part warrior, part arachnid, part parasite. She can drain an opponent’s blood in a matter of minutes, but she won’t digest it. Not until she needs it. Or in this case, I do.”
One of the soldiers used a hook to throw something at Pinon—a T-shirt emblazoned with “I NY.” Enjoy the best, prepare for the worst. He’d been planning this from the start. Pinon caught the shirt in one fist, breathed deeply of the scent, and cast it aside. Her vibrant green gaze fastened on Diana.
Jason signaled to a soldier, who tossed a sword at Theo’s feet in the shallows.
“Seems like a fair fight,” said Nim bitterly.
“Jason,” Alia pleaded. “Don’t do this.”
“You’ll grow stronger without these crutches to lean on, Al.”
“Jason—”
“Drain the Amazon,” he ordered. “Kill the others.”
His guards fell into formation, dragging Alia up the hill as she began to scream.
“Alia!” Diana cried, but Pinon skittered forward to block her path. The creature’s movements made her skin crawl. There was something unnatural in the creeping of her legs, the slither of that segmented body, but worse were her intelligent eyes.
“Find cover!” she yelled at Theo and Nim as she took her lasso in hand. But the remaining soldiers had fanned out in a half circle, cutting off their retreat and forming a kind of arena in the shallow waters of the river. They carried no guns, only swords and shields at the ready. Apparently, this was the kind of clean fight Jason thought the world needed.
Nim knelt to pick up the sword, but it looked almost as heavy as she was, and Theo took it from her, holding it awkwardly out before him, his narrow shoulders bunching with effort.
They crowded together, back to back, and edged deeper into the water, the river cold around Diana’s sandaled feet as she herded them toward a cluster of boulders that might provide cover. Pinon followed, her tail curling and uncurling behind her.
“On a scale of one to ‘we’re definitely going to die,’ where would you put this?”
“Shut up, Theo,” murmured Nim, her voice breathless with fear.
But they did not cower, did not weep. These people Jason discarded with such contempt, whom he could sentence to death with a few brief words, stood at her back, stubborn and courageous as they had always been.
Neutralize Pinon. Deal with the soldiers. Find a way, she told herself. Find a way to keep them safe.
Diana feinted left, and her hand shot out, hurtling the lasso at Pinon’s tail in a bright lash. Too slow. The creature dodged in a blur of speed, far faster than her leisurely approach had indicated. Pinon reared up, forelegs waving hideously. She ducked her chin, her smile small and close-lipped, almost coy. She launched herself forward.
“Get down!” Diana shouted, hoping Theo and Nim would comply. She swept the lasso out, hooked it over a boulder, snapped it tight, and swung the rock. Pinon tried to dart away, but the boulder caught the edge of her shoulder, knocking her backward with bone-shattering force.
The monster gave a high, mewling shriek, her tail lashing the air as she turned back to Diana. There was that intelligence again, a gaze that promised punishment.
“Get ready to run,” Diana instructed.
“Born ready,” said Theo.
Diana yanked the boulder back to her, swung it once to build momentum, then sent it barreling into two of the soldiers. She hooked it back, attacked with it again, the rock shooting forward like a missile, knocking two more of the men to the ground.
“Go!” she shouted. Nim and Theo scrambled to their feet, but the soldiers closed ranks quickly, blocking their escape and drawing the circle tighter.
Pinon was creeping forward, flexing her injured shoulder, tail twitching. Diana whipped the boulder toward her, and the creature slithered back onto the sand.
Diana tightened her grip on the rope and swung the boulder wide, launching it at the soldiers again, trying to make a way out. Two fell easily, but the next soldier braced himself and blocked the impact with his forearms. A chunk of the boulder flew free.