Page 50 of Synnr's Ride

He was dead.

All Jori felt was the hollow satisfaction that he wouldn't need to take another punch.

He sagged against the nearest row of shelves and startled when it wobbled a bit. He wrapped his fingers around one of the metal rods that held it up to keep on his own feet.

The floor looked nice and comfortable. He could slide down and sit in a nice heap until the very blood in his veins stopped hurting. That would be nice, wouldn't it?

A blast of a stranger's spark took him in the back of his arm, and Jori jerked around.

Jursor.

Where had he come from?

Jori wrapped his wings around himself to stop more direct hits and pushed himself back into a fighting position.

He could do this all day.

He had to.

Jursor's eyes slid over to Rexx's body, and he let out a bellow of rage. His spark danced on his arms, flecks of lightning growing brighter by the second.

Jori wouldn't be able to dodge, not even with the full force of his spark set to defense. And if Jursor unleashed that power, he'd bring the building down on them, there was no avoiding it.

Not with a fight.

Jori ran.

Or, he tried. His first step was right into a pool of Rexx's blood and he went down hard, right onto his knee and then his bad side.

He couldn't give up. He wrapped his wings around himself tightly and hoped he could absorb enough of the blow to minimize it.

He strained hard, every muscle tensed as hard as it could be. He heard Jursor bellow, felt the air crackle with an explosion of power.

But the blow never came.

Jori cautiously unfurled his wings and saw Hanna standing over him, wings flared wide and bright, hand held out to help him up.

He took it and struggled to his feet, trying not to wince at the pain in his side. He feared he might have a broken rib, but that was a problem for later.

"You were supposed to get out." It wasn't exactly an accusation, and he couldn't make it a question.

"I saw Jursor's bike. I had to warn you." She vanished her wings and wiggled in under his arm to support his weight.

Jori pulled his wings in tight to keep from shocking her. Then he realized she was his Match. He didn't need to be so careful. His spark was hers.

If they bonded.

Still, a lifetime of discipline kept him in check as Hanna started to shuffle towards the end of the row.

"Weapons aren't the only thing Kark's involved with," she told him as they got to the stairs.

"Isn't the exit the other way?" With the way Jori's body was aching, he didn't want to climb stairs. Riding the bike back home would be bad enough. "Punt. We need to do something about the bodies."

Hanna tugged him towards the stairs. "There's something more important."

He could argue. If Rexx and Jursor were found, there would be no doubt their cover was blown. Then again, the contents of the warehouse were enough to put Kark in the loving hands of Synnr Military Intelligence. They'd throw him in a hole and never let him out again.

"What did you find?" he asked between panting breaths. Hanna took even more of his weight, but short of letting her carry him up the stairs, which was not going to happen, he wasn't going to move any faster.

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