Page 93 of Silent Lucidity

Snarling, the Master abruptly released Tenthil and staggered away. Black blood oozed from his nostrils. Its scent deepened Tenthil’s crimson haze; he needed to smell more, to see more, to feel that blood coating his claws.

Red eyes burning with fury, the Master stepped forward, swinging two of his arms in a fresh attack.

Tenthil leapt at him head-on. The blows struck him in the abdomen and chest,thwackingagainst his armor, but Tenthil’s charge prevented the Master from putting his full force behind them. Tenthil’s shoulder hit the kal’zik’s chest. The momentum knocked them back several paces, but the Master held his footing. Tenthil threw his arms around the Master’s middle and buried his claws into the Master’s sides.

Releasing a pained cry, the Master rained blows onto Tenthil’s back and head. The pain registered distantly for Tenthil; it wasn’t a concern.

Kill.

Planting his feet on the floor, Tenthil sank his claws deeper and lifted the Master up, heaving him overhead. He arched his back to bridge the throw. The Master hit the floor on his back with a grunt, and Tenthil dropped his weight atop him.

Tenthil rolled aside, but one of the Master’s hands snagged a fistful of his hair. The Master threw two quick punches, hitting Tenthil’s nose and mouth; on his third strike, Tenthil opened his jaw wide and caught the Master’s fist between his teeth. He bit down as hard as he could, sinking his fangs through tendons and muscle, feeling them scrape against bone. Bitter blood mingled with the venom he forced out of his glands.

“I will not succumb to your poison, you—”

Tenthil caught two of the kal’zik’s wrists, shredding the combat suit and the flesh beneath with his claws. The Master punched Tenthil on the ear with his free hand.

Numb to the pain and unfazed by the ringing in his ear, Tenthil scrambled atop the Master. He planted a knee on the kal’zik’s abdomen and leaned on it. The Master strained against Tenthil’s hold, sinking Tenthil’s claws deeper and causing more damage to his flesh. Two more rapid blows struck Tenthil’s cheek, breaking the hold of his teeth on the Master’s hand. He felt a gush of warmth along the seam of his right scar. His red blood splattered onto the kal’zik’s face.

The Master writhed beneath Tenthil, craning his neck back and exposing his throat.

Tenthil tore his claws free and thrust his fingers to the underside of the Master’s chin. Baring his sharp teeth, the Master clenched Tenthil’s wrists just as the claws pierced his skin, halting their progress. Black ichor welled beneath Tenthil’s fingertips.

Venom dripped from Tenthil’s fangs and onto the Master’s face as he leaned over his prone enemy, forcing more and more weight and strength behind his hands. The Master punched and clawed with his free hands, but the power of his blows was waning, and Tenthil’s bunched shoulders shrugged off the attacks.

Tenthil’s nostrils flared at the aroma of the kal’zik’s bitter blood. Staring into those eight red eyes, he roared and shoved down. His claws sank deep into the Master’s flesh. Something crunched beneath Tenthil’s fingers, and the Master’s hold further weakened.

Hatred contorted the Master’s face as he dug his fingertips into Tenthil’s forearms and released a wet, choking cry. Blood bubbled from between his lips.

Icy, alien tendrils slithered through Tenthil’s mind, but there was nothing for them to latch on to, nothing for them to extract.

Dropping his face close to the Master’s, Tenthil roared again, spraying blood and venom on his enemy’s face as he forced his claws deeper still and pressed his thumbs into the Master’s throat.

“For Abella!” Tenthil shouted and squeezed with all his might.

The Master’s neck crunched, and a fresh flow of blood burst from his lips with the release of his final, gurgling breath. His hands fell away one-by-one, splaying around him amidst a growing pool of black.

Tenthil tugged a hand free, curled it into a fist, and hammered it down on the Master’s face repeatedly, snarling as he did so, releasing all his hatred, bitterness, dissatisfaction, and rage until the red eyes and white skin were an unrecognizable mass of glistening black.

He shoved himself up from the corpse and onto his feet, grabbed the Master by the ankles, and dragged him as far to the edge of the room as he could—as far away from Abella as possible. He drew a knife and stabbed it into the Master’s stomach, cutting open a slit. He dropped his left hand, still dripping with black blood, into his explosive’s pouch and withdrew a fusion charge. After activating the charge’s timer, he stuffed the explosive the slit and hurried to shield Abella with his body.

The slightly muffled explosion was punctuated by the sound of wet chunks of flesh splattering on the walls and floor, several of which struck the back of Tenthil’s armor harmlessly.

Ensure your target is dead. It was one of the Order’s lessons, one of its tennets.

Tenthil knelt in front of Abella and looked her over for injuries before collecting the Master’s robes from the floor. He used the garment to wipe away as much of the blood and gore clinging to his clothes and skin as he could. It was only as he did so that his injuries made themselves known. The dull aches suddenly permeating his body were nothing compared to the sharp, pulsing stings at the right corner of his mouth and on his right forearm.

He forced himself to take a moment to ease a self-sealing bandage over his cheek and retrieve his fallen blaster—dropping it in its holster—before he returned to Abella. He knelt again—this time beside the chair—and slipped one arm behind her knees and the other behind her back.

Her soft, warm breath brushed over the skin of his neck as he lifted her against his chest. She seemed so slight, so delicate.

Tenthil bowed his head to place a kiss atop her hair. For several seconds, he remained on one knee, lips pressed to her hair, and inhaled her scent, fighting a strange stinging in his eyes. His exhalations were shaky. The pressure in his chest hadn’t subsided, though its source had changed; this wasn’t rage and hatred, this was relief and love, this was a gratefulness so overwhelming that words could never encompass it.

He shifted his head, pressing his chin to her hair, and squeezed his eyes shut as tears flowed from them. His throat burned, but it had nothing to do with his mutilated vocal cords. In that moment, he’d felt more than he’d ever felt before, and he knew beyond any doubt that he would go anywhere for this female. He would do anything for her. Wouldgiveanything for her.

Blinking away the moisture from his eyes, he forced himself to his feet. “Just a little farther.”

He didn’t cast a single glance toward the Master’s remains as he carried Abella out of the room.

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