Page 55 of Ruin

Ruin straightened and glanced up. Those piercing yellow eyes locked on to her position with unerring accuracy, as if he could see right through the ceiling.

He couldn’t. She knew that. But that didn’t stop her heart from skipping a beat.

The initial shock in his expression gave way to fierce pride and approval. His lips curled in a small, impressed smile.

“Damn good shot, little bird,” he purred, just loud enough for her to hear.

The giddy pleasure she felt at the praise was tempered by the knowledge that, if the Kii’mian hadn’t already alerted Gaius to their presence, she damn sure just had with that loud shot.

As if they’d just had the same thought, Ruin and Hush took off running, smoothly sheathing their knives in favor of large, powerful rifles.

Before they were out of earshot, she heard Hush say admiringly, “Godsdamn! She just keeps gettin’ better and better. I’m serious. If you don’t ask her to be your… ”

Chapter 18

Ruin's ears twitched, picking up the sound of multiple beings running toward them. “Incoming.”

He’d no sooner voiced the warning when a metallic sphere zipped around the corner. Recognition was instant and wholly un-fucking-welcome.

“Ah, fuck!” Hush cursed.

Throwing himself to the floor, Ruin rolled hard to the side just as blaster fire erupted from the drone. Plasma bolts sizzled past, singeing the air just above him.

Knowing damn well the only weapon he owned that was powerful enough to take out the heavily armored, and heavily armed, drone was the pistol Lira had, he reached for a shielding disk instead of a gun.

He quickly activated the shield, tucking his large frame into as small a target as possible so it’d cover him and Hush both.

“Hush!” he called, hoping his friend had something strong enough to take it out, or at least damage it enough to make it vulnerable.

This shield wasn’t gonna last long against the drone’s firepower, and as good as their armor was, it didn’t stand a fucking chance.

“Got it!”

Something sailed over his head and stuck to the ceiling directly above the drone. The sticky grenade immediately fired off a bright red streak of energy just as his shield started to flicker out. It sliced through the sphere in a burst of sparks and screaming metal.

The barrage of plasma bolts abruptly ceased, only to be replaced with an explosion of superheated shrapnel as the drone blew up.

Ruin sent a quick thanks to Hush’s luck moon that his shield hadn’t failed before that detonation, else he and his friend would’ve been pincushions.

The metal orb crumpled in on itself and dropped to the floor with a reverberating clang, but there was no time for a reprieve. The thundering of heavy boots was right around the corner.

“Aww! I think they’re comin’ to welcome us onto their ship.”

Ruin snorted. “Yeah, by tryin’ to shoot holes in us.”

Half a dozen Onyx Corp guards rounded the corner, with more on their heels. In an instant, Ruin catalogued weapons, armor, and weak points.

The first mercenary swung his weapon up, but Ruin was faster. He fired off a plasma bolt that sent the male stumblingbackward into the being behind him, smoke curling from his scorched breastplate.

Fuck!

They had better armor than he’d anticipated.

Increasing the power on his rifle, he yelled at Hush to do the same. “Dial up!”

Ruin dove into the fray, shifting aim from one target to the next, each shot punctuated by the satisfying thud of impact. Projectiles and streaks of fiery orange whizzed past him. The air rapidly thickened with the scents of burnt ozone, overheated metal, and blood.

The rhythm of the fight drummed through him like a second heartbeat; a familiar, dangerous dance that got his blood pumping and sharpened his focus to a razor’s edge.

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