Page 94 of Love, Nemesis
She saw the flash of movement from the corner of her eye and threw her hand out.
The arrow barreled through it, the soldiers backing off as the arrow drove through her wrist. Ana snapped off the end before drawing it out. The bloodless arrowhead landed at the feet of the other soldiers standing by.
They saw her fingertips stained black by the ink.
She looked for the man with the bow, and they all watched her as if watching a monster. There was no blood on her wrist.
She panted like an animal, body heaving with each breath, the air laden with fire as it left her throat, blasting across her teeth.
She heard someone babble something behind her and she straightened, looking past her shoulder to see a man cowering with blood on his clothes, sword lying loosely in his hand.He looked at her with the raw terror of a child, and as if her eyes crawled for him, he scrambled back, fumbling onto his hands and knees. He disappeared into the darkness. There were no more coming from camp. In fact, they seemed to be withdrawing.
They thought she was a Strike.
Were these all the warriors they had? This small, hesitant group? This was the smallest of the three Mystic forces, but still, that was impossible.
She lifted her eyes, looking past the rivers of blood and sweat, beyond the campground with torches and tents drawn up like an altar. She could hear the subtle flinch of the watch.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Something felt wrong.
She stepped toward the camp as someone called out in Mystic from the tents.
The remaining soldiers watched her but had stopped attacking, eyes focused on her fingertips as they clutched their weapons in balled fists. They backed away.
She pulled up her sleeve, moving her fingers under the mangled synthetic skin of her wrist and removing it to expose the mechanics of the metallic arm beneath.
Still, no smoke from camp. Was Jasper dead? Captured?
Ana searched the eyes of the Mystics around her before walking forward.
Some even stepped aside, clearing the path for her. The crowd of onlookers thickened as she neared the camp, feeling lightheaded.
Still, no smoke from camp.
Feeling strangely disoriented, she stepped between the tents, looking at all of them, soldiers refusing now to attack her. She stumbled over a stone protruding from the campground, wincing as she caught herself, looking down at her pants. Her right pants leg was covered in blood.
“Ana.”
She jolted abruptly, looking to her left to see Jasper standing between two tents. There were several Mystic officers behind him.
He looked horrified, eyes focused on her side.
She looked down to see blood seeping from a wound below her ribs, and she covered it with her hand. Blood poured through her fingers, the adrenaline and shock shielding her from the pain. She used her other hand to grab the fabric of a nearby tent.
He started toward her, catching her hand and helping her ease down on her knees. “It’s bad,” he said, cursing. “You chargedright into camp. Are you insane? Our plan was to meet at the spot.”
“You weren’t back. No smoke. I waited.”
“You were supposed to wait for me,” he replied, frustrated. “Longer.”
One of the Mystics caught her shoulder, and she doubled back, knocking him back with her mechanical arm.
“Hold on!” Jasper shouted as two more Mystics dove for her. He started speaking in Mystic, arguing with one of the officers.
