Page 20 of Shadow's Chosen

Elise glared up at him a second longer then started again to rise. Slowly, she got to her feet and steadied herself. The dizziness had lessened this time, though her balance was a little off. That didn't stop her from trying to walk. She started forward, making her way over to what she assumed was an exit, when the hunter appeared from nowhere and got in her way. She frowned and tried to move around him, but he blocked her.

"Get out of my way," she snapped.

"Make me."

Stunned at first, Elise could see he was serious. No smile played on his lips, no amusement sparked in his eyes, and his expression only darkened. Frustrated, Elise tried to push through him and found herself gripped by the collar of her suit and flung away. She fell to her knees and looked back at him with shocked fury.

"You can't force me to stay!"

"I can't?" he said. Then he came at her. Elise barely had time to swing herself around before he stood above her and pushed her down as she tried to stand. Elise scrambled back, trying to distance herself from him, yet, still, he followed her.

"I'm one of them. One of those masked men. Or just a stranger. I've found you resting in some building all alone." He picked up her gun which she had left carelessly on the ground like a damn fool, thinking only of her need to get away from him. "I've found you defenseless, your gun,"—he raised it then tossed it aside out of reach—"useless. You are weak from the attack and have no way to fight me." He leapt at her, catching her leg and dragging her toward him. Elise shouted and kicked but it did nothing. "I'm either going to kill you or take you. And you can't stop me." He tried to pin her, and Elise struck out, wrenching herself out of his grip only for him to take hold of her again. "Which will it be?"

She cried out with rage, her headache worsening, her body growing heavy. She hated him for stopping her and for fighting her, but most of all, she hated how right he was, even if she didn't want to admit it.

"Well?" he said, keeping her in place.

"Get off me," Elise whispered.

He studied her for a long moment and must have seen the defeat in her eyes because he released her quickly and let her sit up. He walked off without looking at her. "I'm glad you could finally come to your senses."

"Asshole," Elise cursed under her breath. But in the end, she was ashamed of only herself. She should be smarter than this. Better than this. Not acting on her emotions. It must have been that hit to the head but also the deep anger she felt at her predicament, of the fear she had for her team, if they were even still alive.

I should have known something was wrong.

She had felt that odd feeling, but because she couldn't explain it nor had any evidence at the time for its cause, she had decided to let it go, knowing it would have done nothing good for her team to mention it and they wouldn't have believed her anyway. Now she was alone in the undercity with the last person she would have chosen to be with.

Elise looked over at the hunter as his back was turned then over to her gun and knew she should just be grateful he hadn't been one of the ones to betray them because she'd most certainly be dead.

"If you want to survive...we will need to join together." He turned back to her. "I have a working map and information on how the city is run. You want out and a chance to find your team, you'll have to come with me."

Elise didn't respond, and he started to walk away.

"I'm going out," he said. "If you wish to try to leave again, I won't stop you. But it would be...good for you to stay. When I return, we'll talk over a plan."

"Why are you helping me?" Elise asked before he slipped out of sight.

The alien stopped and looked back. "Because you're going to help me finish my mission."

Eight

It didn't take Nezka long to find others. The small gang sitting out in one of the abandoned buildings nearby didn't notice his presence nor did they notice him take a few of their provisions, namely a pair of metal canteens and two bags which he stuffed with packaged food and a ragged set of clothes. They were clearly a harmless lot, possibly a lowly band of thugs or thieves. They were not like the masked men who had attacked them. Those men he was sure were part of a much larger, more complex gang, maybe even the one he had been tasked to hunt—the Red Blades. They hadn't fought with blades, but he had a feeling they were them.

They hadn't put up much of a fight but likely they didn't expect someone like him to be teamed up with the city officials. Likely, there were many more skilled in combat within their stronghold. Their attack had been well coordinated but that was because they had had a lot of time to plan, meaning someone knew many days before about the mission.

If he was pissed about it, he didn't show it. Was it a major inconvenience? Yes. But it wasn't going to stop him. There was still the possibility that the team of human soldiers might have survived. The tunnel had collapsed right at the exit, true, but the car built like a tank might have sheltered them. It was a low chance but a chance all the same. Even if they were dead, there was still the original team of humans still being held somewhere within the undercity.

And even if they were also found eliminated, there was still her...

Yes, he had saved the human woman from being crushed and was keeping her close now for the very purpose of his mission, or so he told himself. But he hadn't lied about needing her help. Assuming the other humans still lived, she could be useful in finding and getting his way to them...if he played this right, and if she behaved.

He smiled at the thought. No, she likely wouldn't.

But she would need his help, and he knew now it wouldn't be hard to convince her to follow him. Getting her to do what he wanted might be another issue, but if she was adamant about surviving, she would need to trust him.

His smile faded. Of course, once they got out, he would have to take her back to Xolis, back to Vesra. She would trust him only because he could get her out of the city, and he would betray that trust to take her to another, all so she could be sold off to the nillium—the rulers of Xolis—to be nothing but a breeder. If she was all that survived...

He would find the other humans, even if he had to do it all alone now that his team was separated. Where they were, he didn't wonder nor care at the moment. If they survived, they would contact him in time, and they would continue on as usual. He was confident some of them must have gotten out some other way, and he would know of it soon enough.

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