Chapter 61

 

Troy scooped me up with a hand under my arm and gave me a quick nod before he turned to face a blade swinging past his head. I stood there, watching for all of a second, feeling like I was an ant in a horse race. Tall bodies and weapons were all around me and I couldn’t see anything for the bodies that towered over me. Glancing at a dumpster against the wall, I moved over and climbed up on it so I could see where everyone was.

When I straightened up, I wished for a camcorder to capture what I was seeing. The brothers and guards were kicking some serious ass and it was so pretty to watch I wanted to weep. Shopping excited some females, not this one, a well-executed fight was better than a fifty percent off sale in my mind.

When I glanced in Marcus’s direction I noticed he was waving his arms around like he was trying to do tai chi but just with his hands. I didn’t know a thing about magic, but the intense look of concentration on his face told me he was whipping up something that wasn’t good for us. I waited until he glanced in a direction and then jumped down and headed that way as fast as I could manage through the scuffling bodies.

Dodging a stray swing, or one that may have been aimed at me, I ducked around Arius and a man wearing a steel plated jacket as they tried to give each other a haircut with some sort of razor thin blades. I was in front of Victor laying a serious beat to yet another contestant for the scariest award. Turning to see Marcus looking at me and not at all pleased, I knew I had found the target he was after. Take out the justice and things would go to pot fast.

I couldn’t exactly interrupt Victor to tell him he was in serious peril in the middle of a one on one, so I tried to stay in the direct path between him and the purple eyed psycho waving his hands in my direction. I really, really hoped all the talk of his powers being useless on me were true, because unless he was conducting an invisible orchestra I was about to find out.

When I heard a familiar pop behind me, I knew Victor had sent his tango partner to a holding cell. “Vic, get back. Marcus is targeting you.” I didn’t have time to turn around and see if he was listening.

Marcus raised his hands in the air, and everything around him blew in a wind that only seemed to surround him. He glared at me and dropped both hands toward me. I don’t know what he was supposed to be doing, I could feel pressure brushing over me but nothing that would make me worry too much.

A confused and then angry look flashed over the magician’s face, telling me one thing. His mojo was useless against me. I’d breathe a sigh of relief later. “You didn’t think we were going to make it easy for you, did you, Marcus?”

Out of nowhere the one with the red shirt stepped in front of me. Crap was the first thing that entered my mind. I was running on pure hearsay through all of this and wasn’t in the mood to see if my huntress power was impervious to this guy. I didn’t know how exactly this one fed and wasn’t about to find out.

He advanced on me like I was a huge bug that needed terminating, stepping around him I ducked under his arm and tried to get behind him. My luck, the big guy had moves that were faster than the rest of the oversized Alterealm mutants.

Almost kissing the dagger he jabbed out toward my face, I dropped down to one knee and then kicked out trying in a poor attempt to take out his knee cap. My boot met solid leg that didn’t budge at all. Double crap seemed the appropriate thought.

This time when he swung his arm in my direction, I reacted with an upper swing of my Sai, barely skimming it along his arm. His eyes turned this eerie washed out white and my brain said to run away but my damn body wasn’t willing to throw in the towel. He lunged at me again and my foot caught something as I tried to step back. Landing on my side, I didn’t stop to assess if any damage was done before I rolled and got to my feet.

Damn he was fast and I was running out of moves. I worked to stay out of his reach and not make eye contact with him long enough for him to see mine as I sheathed the one Sai and grabbed the knife at my side. For this I needed something I was comfortable with.

He came at me again and I tried a jump kick to his chest, but again it was like bouncing into a solid tree. When a new strength flooded into me, I almost stumbled in my step to stay out of his reach. My veins were suddenly over loaded with adrenalin and it took three more swipes and dodges for me to realize somehow Chase was using our connection to lend me some assistance. It also meant he could see the deep shit I was in but was a little on the busy side to lend any physical aid.

With sheer determination, I tried the kick again and actually made him stumble back a half step. It wasn’t much but I’d take it. Changing tactics, I twisted around, jabbing at him with my knife to distract him so I could get beside him. Charging at him, I dropped down and attempted to take out his knee once more at the same time I poked at him with my knife. I connected with flesh, but not enough to even make him pause.

What did I have to do to give him a clue? There was no way in any life or realm he was taking a taste of anything me. Another wave of strength flooded into me and I soaked it up this time and did the exact move again hoping to catch him off guard with a repeat performance. The knife grabbed into some meatier flesh this time and he stumbled to the ground. Dropping my Sai, I pulled the scanner off my waist and aimed it at him. Before he could blink I sent him home. “We’re going to need a medic for that one,” I said mostly to myself.

Chase was standing over me when I looked up from retrieving my weapon off the ground. He glared at me and I wanted to laugh. “So sue me. He came to me I was trying to stay the hell out of his way.”

He pulled me to my feet and gave me a quick once over. The pressure shoving at me was back and I knew that dick Marcus was at it again, this time he was hitting on Chase. Giving me an odd look, Chase looked over to where Marcus was and grinned. The wind burst through the alley sending garbage and anything not tied down scattering all around us.

“I think we pissed off magic boy up there,” I said under my breath.

Before he could reply five guys came out of nowhere, swinging Bo’s like they were nothing more than ribbons.

“Shit,” Chase muttered.

“What?” I looked around at him.

“I think he just found a way around your charm.”

I looked back to Marcus and then checked the guys moving slowly toward us, boxing us in. “What?

Chase put his back to me to cover behind us. “The guys are powered via Marcus magic and I’d bet my ass they’re stronger than a freight train.”

I groaned. “That is so cheating. I am going to kick his ass just for being a weenie.”

The chatting was done as the first Bo was swung in my direction. What I wouldn’t give for a taser right now, alfalfa with the bad hair-do and long stick needed a zap to adjust his personality. Ducking down, I slid and attempted to kick his legs out. It was like a fly kicking an elephant in the ass and less than effective.

Flipping, I came up practically under him and thrust up with both Sais, I connected and from the sound he made I was pretty sure he wouldn’t be procreating any time soon, if ever. I actually had a very brief flash of guilt for that move; it was almost too low even in this fight.