[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Fighting off the instinct to curl into a wheezing, gasping ball, he elbowed
himself onto his side. His spine felt severed, but he knew it wasn't because he
could still move and still hurt.
Gombo stood over him, both hands gripping a sword, and he lifted it for another
downward stroke. The man's ravaged face was a clot of cooked tissue, peeled
raw and covered by leaking blisters. His hair stood in charred, stinking clumps
over his burned head. His clothes hung in smoking rags from his heat-seared
body.
Only the coat had saved Grant from being cleaved in half, but his head was
unprotected, and the next chopping stroke of the sword would mercilessly split
his cranium. He brought up the Sin Eater and a crushing weight slammed it
down again, grinding his wrist bones into the floor.
Sverdlovosk stood on his gun hand, bringing all his weight to bear on his right
foot. His left foot swooped up and smashed into the side of Grant's head like a
club. He snarled something in Russian, a command.
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Outlanders%2002%20-%20Destiny%20Run.html (352 of 368)16-2-2006 16:57:49
Axler, James - Outlanders 02 - Destiny Run
Gombo scuttled close, sword held at a right angle to his body, positioning
himself for a decapitation. He laughed, an animal, guttural sound like a throaty
gargle.
Grant drew up his knees in a protective gesture. He shot both heels upward with
a pistoning force into the Mongol's crotch. Lifted in the air, Gombo sailed
backward. He hit the floor hard on the back of his head and neck, sword blade
chiming against the deck plates. He made a convulsive effort to rise, then fell
back and made no movement after.
Making a hissing noise, Sverdlovosk dropped, driving a knee into Grant's
diaphragm, pushing the air out of his lungs. He wrapped his fingers around
Grant's neck, thumbs pressing relentlessly against his windpipe. He was
exceptionally strong, his strength pumped up to new levels by panic and terror.
Grant tried to free his right hand, still pressed beneath Sverdlovosk's foot, and he
struggled to prise open the fingers digging into his throat. The Russian's sweat-
sheened face twisted in a soundless snarl of exertion and a mad determination.
Piotr Sverdlovosk's expression suddenly changed, molding itself into a rictus of
wonder and pain. A neat blue-rimmed hole appeared magically above his right
eyebrow, and the back of his head broke apart. Through the pounding of blood in
his ears, Grant heard that single, telling shot.
Sverdlovosk's fingers clamped down hard in a death spasm, then fell away.
Grant hurled him aside with an open hand, turning over to see Kane clinging to
the open door of the armaglass enclosure. His finger kept pressing the trigger of
his Sin Eater, producing only the dry clickings of a firing pin striking an empty
chamber. Behind him bolts and arcs of energy flashed and coruscated wildly.
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Outlanders%2002%20-%20Destiny%20Run.html (353 of 368)16-2-2006 16:57:49
Axler, James - Outlanders 02 - Destiny Run
Gasping for breath, Grant scrambled to his feet and rushed to Kane. His blood-
smeared face was blank with shock, with something beyond shock. He held
himself with an unnatural stiffness, as if he were afraid to move, but he allowed
Grant to support him and lead him, one baby step at a time, away from the door.
In a clear, distinct voice Kane announced, "I'm hurt."
"How bad?"
"I don't know." He spoke very quietly. "If I drop dead in the next second, I guess
we'll find out. If that happens, leave me and get yourself and Brigid out of here."
Kane's words and his tone frightened Grant, but in a different way than mere
fear. He tightened his grasp around Kane's waist. "We'll leave together."
"What about the Avenging Lama?" asked Kane hoarsely. "We can't leave him to
seed."
"Forget about him."
"Forget, hell." Kane's voice thickened with emotion. "He tortured Brigid, did
something unspeakable "
Without warning, the man with the jade mask exploded from behind them. He
raged between them in a whirlwind flurry of spinning kicks, elbow thrusts and
hammer blows with the boss of his saber. He screamed and shrieked, and though
neither outlander comprehended a single word, they understood him perfectly.
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Outlanders%2002%20-%20Destiny%20Run.html (354 of 368)16-2-2006 16:57:49
Axler, James - Outlanders 02 - Destiny Run
Grant reeled, caught himself and whirled. In an inhuman blur of speed, the
Tushe Gun bent and pivoted gracefully. His foot caught Grant under the chin and
sent him sprawling.
A laugh went up, mirth that was half an animal scream of sheer savagery. The
jade face turned toward Kane, and he fancied its flat planes were sculpted into a
mask of malignant glee.
The blade of the saber slashed out, like the razored tongue of a monstrous
serpent. The tip bit into his coat sleeve. He lashed out with his combat knife and
missed his target completely.
Off balance, Kane didn't try to recover. Instead, he let the momentum carry him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]