Page 113 of Fractured Souls

What an asshole.

“Devil-killer. Light in the darkness. They think she’s a fucking hero. Now they all want to bag themselves a Kordolian. Don’t you understand anything, warrior? That is why the dark-skinned human bitch must die.”

“What?” Nythian spoke for the very first time, his voice a low, dangerous hiss.

“Ah, so she is important to you?” The noble laughed. “You’ll be dead soon, so let me share a little confession with you. You see, I like the look on your face when I tell you truths you don’t like to hear.” The noble leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low hiss. “I’ve sampled a few humans, but never one like her. She intrigues me. When I capture her, I will use her as my pet for a while, and when I get bored of her, I will strip her naked and parade her on her knees around Zarhab Groht until every single moron in that place understands that she is nothing. She will die slowly, painfully, on the floor of the main trading hall, and I will…”

The Kordolian’s voice faded into the background again.

Something inside Nythian snapped.

He’d lost his temper many times before, but never quite like this.

Madness took over. He forgot all his training.

All he knew was that he had to kill this creature. This pathetic Kordolian didn’t deserve to wield this power.

Make it disappear.

The dark particles left his body.

For a heartbeat, Nythian was without his power, completely defenseless and vulnerable.

Mortal.

Ah, it was too easy to forget what this felt like.

His enemy froze, his yellow eyes widening in horror as the nanites invaded his hand.

A terrible scream erupted from his throat.

Nythian smiled. “Idiot. You know nothing about us.”

He could still feel the nanites, only they weren’t in his body anymore.

They were devouring the noble’s blue hand, surging halfway up his arm, eating the flesh off his bones and then the bones themselves, leaving him with a bloody stump.

Return. Then Nythian pulled them back inside his body and with a great shuddering gasp he rolled to his feet naked, half his guts hanging out. It didn’t matter. The tiny black machines went to work in his lower belly, repairing the badly damaged tissue.

Nythian yanked the Xargek claw from his right shoulder and threw it to the floor.

Clutching his severed arm, the noble dropped to his knees, shrieking in pain.

Behind him, two figures moved, but Nythian was faster. His claws flicked out and he caught one in the face, tearing out his eyes, then his throat.

The second one fired, and plasma hit Nythian right in the face, burning away his skin, his lips, his hair, even the thin membrane covering his eyeballs.

His vision went completely dark. Blind and furious, he spun, relying on pure instinct. His attacker thrust a blade into his side, but that was his fatal error, because it brought him inside Nythian’s reach.

Nythian wildly swung his arm and connected. The Kordolian stabbed another blade into his chest. With his lungs burning and agony spreading through his belly, Nythian roared and did the only thing he could.

He sank his fangs into his enemy’s neck.

He was a beast, a wild thing, reduced to his basest instincts.

Bitter blood entered his mouth. The Kordolian flailed a little then went still, blood gushing from his neck.

Thud! He dropped the bastard to the floor. Suddenly, he was able to see a little as the nanites went to work on his eyes.

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