Lincoln pulls another item out of his pocket. This one looks like a paperclip. He jams it into a crack in the concrete wall. “That ought to do it.” He turns to me. “Shall we?”
“One sec.” Today, I’m wearing my dragonscale fighting suit, which comes with certain necessary accessories for situations such as this one. For starters, there’s a facemask under my collar, which I now pull out to cover up. After that, I quickly slip on my matching dragonscale gloves. Normally, I double and triple-check that the seals on my wrist and neck are in place, but we’ve spent too much time out here already. “I’m all set.”
“Assault Plan Delta?” asks Lincoln. Thrax have different preset scenarios for battle. Assault Plan Delta is a two-person attack where Lincoln turns his baculum into a net made of angelfire.
“Check.” Battle energy whizzes through my system, making it hard for me to stand still.
“Let’s begin.” Lincoln speaks the word to activate the charm. “Displodo.”
The paperclip sizzles like a sparkler, only one made with purple fire. For a few seconds, nothing happens.
After that, the entire wall implodes.
With an earsplitting crack, the concrete before us shatters. Bits of stone fly off into the reception area. A gaping hole opens in the gray wall. Mourn and Dusk stare at us, openmouthed. They have returned to their regular human forms, and damn, do they ever look pissed.
I crack my neck from side to side.
Bring it on, guys. We’re ready for you.
Chapter Three
Dusk and Mourn waste no time getting into battle mode. Mourn raises his left hand; black particles of power appear around his palm. At the same time, Dusk transforms into another humanoid insect. This time, she becomes a massive red scorpion. At least, the back end of her is a scorpion, anyway. That part comes complete with a tail and a poisoned stinger. From the waist up, Dusk is still her human self. Only now, she’s covered in a thick exoskeleton. I hate to admit this, but she looks pretty tough.
On reflex, my hands go to where my hood connects to my fighting suit. The seam isn’t secure because I rushed getting ready. It will just have to do.
Lincoln raises his arms high, a baculum gripped in each hand. A line of angelfire winds between the two silver rods. The flaming cord quickly weaves back and forth until it becomes a full net made of white fire. Lincoln tosses the fiery web toward Mourn, who uses that moment to release his dark spell.
Black particles fly away from Mourn’s hand. The black cloud heads straight toward Lincoln and me. I steel myself, waiting for the magic to strike. Will the igni be able to protect us? The dark mist presses in close around our shield of igni. The tiny black particles vibrate as they try to break past the power that surrounds Lincoln and me.
They don’t get through, however. The igni hold.
I grin. That means it’s time to fight.
Since his baculum is netting up Mourn, Lincoln pulls out a regular short sword from the sheath on his hip. Raising the weapon high, Lincoln leaps through the newly made break in the wall and races straight for the tether cord that links Dusk and Mourn. With any luck, Lincoln’s regular blade will slice right through their connection.
For my part, I have a dual-action scorpion-human bitch to deal with.
I leap through the hole in the wall and rush straight for Dusk. She skitters forward on all her buggy legs, and damn, that woman can go fast. As she closes in, I sock her with a series of body kicks that send her flying. All of which bring up some interesting points.
Number one. Kicking an exoskeleton hurts like fuck.
Number two. Dusk can’t get booted very far before her tether stops her. It looks like she and Mourn have about ten yards of room to play with. Good to know.
Number three. Dusk has some excellent fine motor skills, despite the fact that her hands are covered with insect shells. I know this because the bitch ripped my hood off as I sent her flying over my head.
Damn. I really should have taken an extra minute to get my gear on properly. Something to remember for next time. I actively ignore the little voice in my head that says there may not be a next time. Screw you, voice.
Dusk regains her footing and glares at me, her irises flaring red with demonic power. “Your skin is exposed now, Scala. One scratch from my stinger. That’s all it will take.” Her scorpion tail sways menacingly behind her. “And you’ll be dead.”
My wrath power streams through every nerve ending I’ve got. My mind clears as I go into battle mode. My thoughts turn eerily calm as I calculate the vectors and approaches between Dusk and me. There are a few that seem super promising.
Think you’re taking me down? Think again.