I kept my face stone still, but inside I was in pure panic mode. Please, don’t let this happen.
“No.”
“Never get to touch the pretty ones.” The way he looked at me let me know exactly what he wanted to touch, too.
The relief of that being taken off the table made me cockier than I should’ve been.
“You guys are a bit overdressed for a beat down, aren’t you?” And those ties might come in handy for me. Kitty or not, I knew myself. There wasn’t a chance in hell I could do this without instinct kicking in and fighting back. Everyone has a fight or flight instinct in them, but the day I was created, they must have been handing out a double dose of the fight part.
My body went loose and limber without me even thinking about it. It was strange actually. In my mortal form, I would’ve had no idea what to do. Now, it was somehow instinctual. I’d heard that once someone’s mortal skin had been shed, what they truly were released without any constraints. Apparently, deep down, I’d always been a fighter.
I eyed up my opponents, waiting to see who’d be the first to step up. The largest of the three made a move, separating himself from the others and coming just close enough for me to nail him with a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. No one had instructed me about leaving their faces unmarked.
The other two didn’t look so smug now that their friend was holding his head, unsteady on his feet. I wasn’t unrealistic. The odds were still stacked against me, but I’d give them some souvenirs before it was over.
“Get her!” The one I’d struck said to the other two, though he wasn’t anxious to come at me again himself.
The guy I’d already hit was still keeping his distance, but the other two spread out slightly, preparing to come at me from different sides and limit my maneuvering room. They were big but slow. It was invigorating to know if it had been a fair fight, I would’ve taken one of them down with ease. As a mortal woman, more often than not, you’re at a physical disadvantage in a fight with a man. Not anymore, though; not in my case.
They inched a bit closer in conjunction. I needed to make a move soon, before they pinned me down. I wouldn’t be able to strike without being within reach of the other if I gave up another foot.
I made a quick move to the right and dropped down low. I leaned against my left hand while kicking out with my right leg. Thug two hit the ground. I quickly jumped to my feet again, like I’d been making that move since before I’d learned to crawl.
“Your turn,” I said in a singsong voice as I turned to thug number three, the only one unscathed so far. There was a chance I might walk out of this place in one piece, after all.
The other two were taking steps away from me as I eyed up my next victim. Hopping back and forth from foot to foot, I slowly inched my way closer to him. Adrenaline pulsed through me, making me feel more alive than I’d ever felt in life. I wasn’t sure if I was getting off on the physical exertion or just being able to kick these guys’ butts. But something felt really good.
Thug three would be expecting a kick to the head or a shot to the legs. The midsection wasn’t as good a target if he had a lot of muscle. It was advantageous that this guy looked the softest.
I moved in quickly, relying on the stronger strength of my legs to deliver the blow but didn’t realize my mistake until it was too late. Leg already extended and in a forward motion, I couldn’t do much when the target’s eyes shifted right above my shoulder, alerting me to the danger too late.
I tried to abort the kick and drop to the ground, planning on rolling to the side but the lamp hit my skull before I could.
My head was reeling but I still tried to get up, pushing on my hands beneath me. Unfortunately, this just made it easier for one of them to kick me in the stomach. The force of it pushed me upward and flipped me over.
I was quickly losing all ability to defend myself, when I heard one of them warn the other to stay away from my face.
“They won’t see the bruise through her hair.” The kick to my skull finished me off.
***
A scratchy cat tongue licked my eyelid, bringing me back in to reality. The tile under my face was cool and sticky with blood. It was also tan, just like the front hallway of my condo. How nice. They drove me home. I’d have to remember to thank them, next time I saw them, right after I kicked in all their teeth.
“I hope you had a better night than I did,” I said to the cat, sitting on her haunches appraising me.
Her “meow” led me to believe it had been so-so.
My right wrist folded under the pressure of my weight as I tried to use it for leverage. Good thing I had a spare. My body creaked in strange places as I pushed to my feet and limped into the kitchen.
Everything seemed to still be functioning, if not quite to the same caliber it had. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge to wash away the taste of blood in my mouth and looked down.
Smoke had fed herself, as demonstrated by the two bowls of cat food in the kitchen. In truth, she was more like having a roommate than a pet, especially when she was hogging the bathroom.
Smoke, content I was alive, went over and settled onto the couch to watch her soap operas. I wasn’t sure how much she actually understood, but I had a feeling it was quite a bit. Sometimes I’d hear a tirade of meows being shouted at the screen when they did something she didn’t care for.
Stripping down, I made my way to the shower while the bathroom was still free. I avoided the mirror as I stepped under the hot water.
There had been a price for yesterday, but the scoreboard had a one under the home team. Or were they the home team? I really hoped not. It felt better to think of them as the visitors.
The water started cooling before I would’ve gotten out and forced me into reality again. I made a large pot of coffee to recharge my battery. I was a little worse for wear today, but caffeine and a hot shower could get me pretty far. We’d see who won in the end.
“I’ll see you later,” I yelled to Smoke on my way out the door. The cat raised a paw as I left.
Chapter 21
Anything but Coal
“I need you in my office.” Harold was standing next to my desk five minutes after I’d gotten there.
“Sure.” The red headed bane of my office existence—if we didn’t include Fate on his bad days—had some sick sense of exactly when I wanted to speak to him the least.
His pace was brisker than normal as he walked back. I strolled while he waited. He shut the door behind me, a little firmer than I deemed necessary; it didn’t do my headache any favors.
I took the extra chair and reclined as much as I could, but it was a fairly cheap model with limited movement.
“I’ve heard about the manual.”
I debated whether I should just tell him now that I didn’t care or should I wait and leave him in some suspense?
“I’m guessing you don’t like it?” That was definitely stating the obvious.
“It’s against the rules.” His face was becoming tinged with pink.
“How was I to be aware of that? If I’d had a manual, I would’ve known.” Speaking to him as if he were five wasn’t my smartest move, but something about Harold brought out my most immature self.
“You can’t write all this stuff down!” He was quickly turning from pink to red.
My eyes made an obvious scan of the room. Stacks of papers were everywhere I looked. It was a ridiculous argument and I said so silently.
He stared back at me, refusing to take my hint, so I stood and grabbed a stack of written down papers and waved them in front of his face.
“You’re really going to make me spell this out?” I dropped the pile in front of him.
“A manual hasn’t been approved.” He was completely unbending.