Page 123 of Only Cold Depths
My eyes narrowed, and my gaze locked on Pollux’s hammers. “Do you trust me?”
“Never.”
I glowered at Zane.
He huffed. “Fine. I suppose I can make an exception this one time to keep from dying. What do you have in mind?”
I stabbed my stormsword at Pollux. “Separating that bastard from his hammers, and then his head from his shoulders.”
Zane’s eyes brightened. “Just like that maneuver Julieta and I pulled off on Magma 17 last year?”
“Just like that.”
Zane’s eyes dimmed, probably at the mention of Julieta, who had been his best friend until she had betrayed us by working with Rowena Kent to crash Imperium ships. But after a few seconds, he perked up. “Fine. But you’re the bait.”
Before I could protest, he let out a loud yell and charged forward. Pollux stepped up to meet Zane’s seemingly reckless charge.
At the last moment, right before Zane would have plowed straight into Pollux’s hammers, he dropped into a slide and used his telekinesis to spin himself around, zipping right past Pollux and coming up behind the other warrior.
I charged forward, but Pollux was expecting the move, and he tossed one of his hammers at me, even as he turned to block Zane’s attack with his other weapon.
The first hammer zipped straight toward me, propelled by Pollux’s telekinesis. This time, instead of trying to avoid the blow, I spun to the side, braced myself, and let the weapon slam into my left shoulder.
Thwack!
Pain exploded in my shoulder, zinging up into my neck and all the way down into my fingertips, and fire boiled up, singeing my jacket and burning my skin. The stinging, burning blow knocked me back, but I managed to stay on my feet, even as I swallowed a growl.
Fuck. That hadhurt.
But the hammer had hit its target, having won its battle with my battered shoulder and blistered skin, and the weapon clattered to the ground.
Pollux swung his other hammer at Zane, making the Arrow twist to the side to avoid getting the sharp spike rammed into his stomach. Then the mercenary whirled around in my direction and snapped out his hand. A wave of telekinesis surged off him, and the hammer at my feet slid across the rocks in his direction.
At the last moment, right before the hammer lifted off the ground, I threw myself down and out and latched onto the hilt with my left hand.
Pollux growled and stretched out with even more of his telekinesis, but I was a lot bigger and heavier than his hammer, and he wasn’t prepared for the added weight. He hesitated, giving Zane enough time to dart forward and slice his sword across Pollux’s left arm.
The mercenary howled and staggered back. Zane kept right on attacking, swiping his sword across Pollux’s body and inflicting deep wounds on the mercenary’s right arm, right thigh, and left calf.
Pollux fully turned his attention to Zane, swinging his remaining hammer back and forth in a desperate effort to keep the Arrow from cutting him to pieces. Since he was distracted, his telekinetic grip on the other hammer broke, and the weapon finally clattered to the ground.
My arm was still burning, and my fingers were still stinging from Pollux’s previous attack, but I gripped the hammer’s hilt and got to my feet. I hefted the hammer in my left hand, getting a feel for its weight, shape, and balance. Then I drew my arm back as far and as high as I could.
“Hey!” I yelled. “You arrogant bastard! Catch this!”
Pollux lashed out with his weapon, making Zane stagger back, then the merc spun toward me. I snapped my hand forward and used my telekinesis to throw the war hammer at Pollux the same way he had thrown it at me.
I put as much psion power into the throw as I could, and the hammer picked up speed as it flipped end over end, whistling straight toward the merc’s head . . .
Pollux cursed and jerked to the side, and the hammer flew past him—just like I wanted it to.
Smack!
Zane reached up and snagged the hammer out of midair. The hilt slapped up against his palm, and he caught the weapon as easily as a child would catch a hoverball in a schoolyard game.
For a moment, Zane stood there, holding the hammer high, and the lunarium weapon glowed an icy blue in a reflection of his psion power.
“Show-off!” I yelled.
