Kat felt one paw-like hand leave her shoulder and the Alpha guard began groping at its belt. A weapon, she thought dismally. It’s looking for some kind of weapon. She squirmed in the guard’s grasp, trying to get loose. But though she twisted until it felt like her entire arm was about to break off, she still couldn’t free herself.
Deep wrapped both muscular arms around the guard’s neck and squeezed harder. At the same time, another one of the guards went down, its limbs jerking and thick boots drumming the floor as though it was having a seizure. From the corner of her eye, Kat saw Xairn taking aim again. She didn’t know what his weapon did exactly but the results were impressive—the guard wasn’t getting up.
Above the shouting and shooting, she could hear the high, evil screech of the enraged AllFather. She couldn’t tell what he was saying but he was coming closer, the floating blood bubble throbbing like a vein in an angry man’s temple. Have to get out of here before that thing pops! she thought, her skin crawling with fear and revulsion. If we’re still here when he gets free of it, there’s going to be hell to pay! And we—
“Deep, be careful! The knife—it’s got a knife!”
Lock’s desperate cry dragged her attention back to the dark twin and what she saw nearly froze her heart. In the split second she’d been watching the AllFather, the Alpha guard had somehow managed to draw a knife from its belt. To Kat, a confirmed Lord of the Rings fan, it looked like something an orc might carry. The blade was long and curved like a scimitar and the metal it was made of was gleaming, polished black with rust-red streaks running through it.
The kusax! she thought numbly. Oh my God! Lock said even a scratch would poison him. And it looked like the guard was intending to do a lot more than scratch. Though it was obviously getting woozy from lack of air, its grip on her shoulder remained firm—as well as its grip on the knife.
As she watched, the Alpha guard raised its arm, obviously aiming to take a stab at the warrior still clinging to its back. Looking up, Kat could tell that Deep saw it too. But though she and Lock both shouted at him, he refused to let go.
“No,” Kat screamed as the knife made its slashing descent. It seemed to happen in slow motion—she saw every inch of the black blade as it entered Deep’s side, heard the guard’s grunt of effort as it thrust the knife home. Then, at the same time, the soulless eyes finally closed and it slumped to its knees, releasing her.
Lock pulled her out of the way just in time. The huge, heavy body of the Alpha guard came crashing down right where she’d been standing, with Deep still clinging to its back.
Kat didn’t care. She shook loose of Lock’s restraining hand and ran to Deep. “No…oh no,” she whispered as she saw the extent of the damage. Only the handle protruded from his side—the entire wicked, black blade was buried in his body.
Then, to her utter surprise, his eyes fluttered open and he sat up.
“Don’t try to move, Brother.” Lock was suddenly there too, putting a hand on Deep’s arm. “You’re badly wounded.”
“I’m fine.” Deep hauled himself up, swayed, and then steadied himself to Kat’s amazement.
“You’re not,” she blurted. “Lock is right—you’re hurt. Look at your side!”
Deep looked down, saw the knife handle sticking out of his body, and shrugged. “Looks worse than it feels. I’ll leave it in until we get back to the ship though—keep it from bleeding.”
How he could stand and talk, let alone move around and get back to the ship with a foot long blade buried in his guts, was more than Kat could understand. But it didn’t seem to surprise Lock as much as it did her. “We have to go.” He nodded at the other guards, all of whom were on the floor. “They may be wounded but they’ll get back up soon enough.”
Indeed, the huge Alpha guard was stirring at their feet already. And the AllFather…wait a minute—where is the AllFather? Kat wondered uneasily. Her shoulder ached fiercely and she was still horribly afraid for Deep but the fact that she could no longer see the slimy blood bubble and its foul occupant scared her to death.
Then she heard Xairn’s deep voice behind her. “Ware!” he bellowed. “Ware the dravik—it’s going to burst!”
Turning her head, Kat saw that the ball of black-red blood containing the AllFather had moved out into the middle of the cutting lab floor, directly opposite the psychic-knife. The dravik was pulsating rhythmically now—faster and faster. Within it the AllFather had his arms raised and his crimson eyes were blazing with fury.