Page 35 of Sway's Peace
“Should I?”
He chuckled, the sound deep and rumbling. “Name’s Loyalty.”
“Sway.”
“Are you two mocking me?!” The baemoth male roared, finally raising the pistol again.
Sway and Loyalty moved at the same moment. Sway went right. Loyalty went left. The baemoth panicked.
His eyes and aim darted quickly between them as he tried and failed to decide who he was going to shoot first. Another sign of his inexperience
Both males came around in a wide arc, approaching him from either side. The baemoth finally seemed to decide that Loyalty was the greater danger, and he turned his pistol on him.
Far too late. The brief moment of indecision cost him. Loyalty was already there, teeth closing around his forearm, hand covering the back of the pistol, forcing him to aim it down. When it went off, a scorch mark was burned into the floor, through the rug. A smoking, black stain left behind that was immediately flecked with the dark teal blood of the thrashing baemoth male.
Completely focused as he was on the agony of having his arm bitten and crushed by such large, powerful jaws, he didn’t remember his other opponent.
As Sway came in from the other side, he brought his leg up then slammed it down, right against the elbow of the arm holding onto Grace. The bone cracked. His grip loosened. Grace cried out as she started to fall to her knees.
Sway grabbed her by the back of her dress and moved her, forcing her out of the way. He planted his foot and turned, swinging the other leg up and around.
The crack of the ribs of the right side of the baemoth’s chest vibrated up through the heel of Sway’s boot. The male grunted, mouth open on a scream he had no air to produce. Sway continued forward with the movement, grunting with his own effort. On his other side, Loyalty twisted his head, assisting him in yanking the big male to the floor.
He hit the ground hard. Before he could move or try to catch his breath, Sway brought his foot down –crack!– against the other side of his chest. Not hard enough to drive his bones into his lungs, but certainly enough to break a few of them.
Loyalty stood straight, releasing his grip on the male’s arm. The baemoth male stared up at the ceiling, eyes wide in shock, all six limbs limp, stunned from pain and the sudden lack of air. As Sway watched, Loyalty grabbed the pistol and turned it off before tossing it aside.
The purple male then turned and gave him a long look before snickering. “A farasie with a penchant for violence. And here I thought I’d already seen everything.”
Sway ignored him as he leaned over. He grabbed the baemoth by his horn, jerking his head up and forcing him to look at him.
There was fear in his eyes. Shining brightly. Pure and strong. The kind of fear that didn’t need words to plead for mercy. For life.
Good.
“I am taking Grace,” Sway said, his tone low and even. “You will finish repairing my ship because we are under contract, and you do not want to anger my captain. You will leave us be, and this can end right now. Agreed?”
His lips moved, but no sound came out.
“You will agree, or I will cut out your tongue.”
“Y-Yes! Yes!” He babbled quickly, shaking as he tried to cringe back. The words were breathy and weak from his broken ribs, but the response was sufficient.
“Good. Do not make us come back, or my captain might give me permission.”
“For…wha…wha… f-…”
“You don’t really want to know, do you?” Sway asked kindly before dropping his head. His skull cracked against the ground. “You should comm emergency services. That was a terrible fall you took just now.”
Turning from him, he walked over to Grace. She was sitting on the ground, staring up at him, lips parted, expression stunned but not quite fearful. She didn’t seem afraid as he approached, just confused and shocked.
Bending down, Sway took her hands and pulled. She didn’t resist as he lifted her up to her feet. He gave her a smile as he laced his fingers with hers.
He then tugged her back towards the lift, pleased when she didn’t try to resist. Less pleased when Loyalty came with them, grinning as he crossed his arms over his chest.
They rode the lift down, back into the dock master’s office. The ratchi female was still there, though she was the only one. All the other dock masters were notably absent. Sway didn’t know or care where they had gone. The ratchi female gave Loyalty an uncertain look as she made sure to step back as they passed, giving them plenty of room. She tried to say something to Grace, but Sway didn’t stop.
And still, Grace didn’t pull against him.
