What Darroch didn’t know was we had our own leveler. Two, actually if they managed to get their asses here before Darroch chopped me into little pieces or whatever it was the ritual required. Apparently the peace-loving Atlanteans had a barbaric side.
Darroch waved to his goons and they hustled across the floor toward me. I guess I was going to find out sooner rather than later. They stripped me of my weapons then dragged me back to Darroch. The only ones they missed were the knives in my wrist sheaths. Not too bright.
“Stop!” Jack bellowed, playing hero again. “You need Atlantean blood, fine. But take me instead. I will be your blood sacrifice.” In that moment I could see in him the Templar Knight he’d once been so long ago. It kind of choked me up, actually.
Sounded like a good plan to me. Except for the whole part where Jack would probably die. Jack could survive pretty much everything from what he’d told me earlier, but I wasn’t sure massive blood loss coupled with the activation of the amulet was one of them. And I really didn’t like the thought of Jack dying. But I shouldn’t have worried because rather than taking him seriously, Darroch roared with laughter.
“Oh, you stupid, pathetic man. How weak you’ve become since I saw you last. No longer the proud warrior of legend.” He leaned forward right into Jack’s face. I wondered how Jack managed not to head butt the man. I would have found it an irresistible temptation.
Then I felt something cold and hard pressing against my temple. Oh, yeah, goon with gun threatening to kill me. That would put a damper on things. Jack might be willing to risk himself, he was immortal, after all, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt he wouldn’t risk them hurting me.
Darroch tilted Jack’s head up as Clive yanked my arms back and tied them behind me. “Yes it’s true, isn’t it, Jackson? You’re in love with her.”
Say what?
Darroch shook his head in mock pity. “I almost feel sorry for you. Almost.” He let go of Jack and surrounded by his goons, headed toward the hall with me in tow.
“Darroch!” Jack roared, yanking against the rope, “Don’t you dare harm her. Take me!”
Darroch turned around. “Don’t you understand, Jack? I don’t want you. Your blood isn’t strong enough, either. Otherwise I would have killed you years ago. Instead you led me to exactly what I needed. You led me to her.” He stroked my face and it took all I had not to throw up on his shoes. “Blood calls to blood, after all.”
“What does that mean? Darroch! What does that mean?” But Darroch didn’t answer him. Instead, he swept out of the room with his entourage and me behind him.
We were nearly to the stairs when the shadows shifted and a woman dressed all in black with midnight hair in a long plait behind her stood in front of us, a silver dagger in one hand. Her smirk was nothing if not sardonic. “Hey Morgan. Got yourself an interesting situation, I see.”
I grinned back. “Hey. Kabita. How’s it shakin’?”
Darroch snarled. “What the hell is this? Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” He waved his goons forward.
One of them raised his gun and fired. I was sure Kabita was a goner, but then the bullet stopped midair. We all stared at it in confusion as it dropped to the floor with a little thunk.
What followed was a barrage of bullets, the sound nearly deafening me. Not a one found its mark. Instead they all slammed up against some sort of invisible shield before falling harmlessly to the ground. I’d had no idea Kabita had such power. It was seriously cool.
Finally the shooting stopped. Either the bad guys were out of bullets, or they’d finally realized bullets weren’t going to work.
Kabita may not have been very tall, but her anger made her formidable. “Do you know what I hate, Darroch?” She twirled the dagger between long supple fingers. “I hate liars. I hate people who try to use me. And I really hate people who try to hurt my friends. I’m your worst nightmare, Brent Darroch. You do not mess with me or my friends and get away with it.”
Before the goon squad could grab her she’d whipped out a long knife and slashed one across the face while nearly taking a hand off the other one with her dagger. I wanted to jump up and down and clap my hands like a little kid, but my hands were still tied.
Instead, I kicked out behind me catching Darroch right in the family jewels.
He went down howling. I just laughed. Brent Darroch and his minions had one or two things to answer for.
Kabita paused long enough to slash the bindings from my wrists so I could use the knives in my wrist sheaths. With a quick backward thrust, I stabbed the guy coming up on me from behind so fast he was on the floor holding his stomach before he could even think about firing his gun, if he had any bullets left. I looked around and discovered Inigo had popped out of nowhere and started thrashing goon ass. Awesome.