Cal sprinted down the alleyway hearing his armor clank across the ground. He could hear the barking behind him, quick on his tail. Splashing through the puddles he jumped onto a dumpster, landing on the back of it. Turning around he dragged his hand across the blade of his sword casting a pink glow around him.
Thrusting his sword forward his clones leaped forward. They collided with a pair of foxes mid air in a tangled mess of bodies. The clones did their best to fight them off, their swords flashing in the dark alley but the foxes were faster and tore at their throats. Cal winced watching them go down but he had to keep moving.
Landing he started running again crossing around the corner to a fork. Glancing left and right he went right and after a few minutes longer he ran right into a dead end. Skidding to a half he couldn’t help but laugh to himself. Turning around he heard the foxes bound forward and corner him.
Flipping his sword around quickly he waited as the mechanical animals approached. They bounded forward and finally jumped. Stepping forward he slashed with the sword cutting one down in midair. His sword cut through it like butter initially but then got caught at the spine and dragged his arm down.
The second fox came flying forward jaws out stretched and he ducked his head down. The claws scraped past his head as it sailed to the other side and hit the wall. Kicking at the one stuck in his sword he stumbled backwards staring at the other fox. Raising the sword, he took a step back and glanced over his shoulder.
“Oh, you caught up to me,” he said as Vixen approached raising a hand, slowly turning it into claws. “Guess it makes sense. You probably got a killer sense of smell.”
“It’s not bad. My babies are better at that than me,” she said as another fox came from her side, snarling protectively. “But I don’t need a good sense of smell to gut you. My foxes need to be fed.”
The fox sprinted across the ground, Vixen directly behind it. Cal stepped to the side letting one of his clones takes the hit for him but instead of getting hit the fox passed straight through it and into the wall. Raising his sword, he blocked the swings from Vixen stumbling back under each swing but he kept his footing.
The distance between himself and the wall closed very quickly and instead of stepping back he deflected her claws into the wall creating deep gouges in the brick. Yanking her arm free she jumped forward slashing at his face. Cal tried to move but she was too fast for him to dodge properly.
The blow dazed him and the fox lunged at the back of his ankle. It chomped down tugging him backwards. Flipping his sword around he stabbed the fox in the back as it let out a shriek. Looking up he stared at Vixen as she pounced on him. But he looked fast her and saw the arc of lightning in the air.
Crossing his arms in front of his face he blocked her arm, seeing the claws inches from his mask. But she flinched backwards and writhed as the bolt of lightning slammed into her. Another axe crashed into her back and Sarah came forward yanking both weapons free.
“You know you took your sweet time,” Cal said pulling his sword free and pointing it at their opponent.
“I had to catch up. You’re a fast runner,” she replied. “Not so tough when the odds are on even.”
Vixen looked at the two of them and their her itched as she flexed her shoulders and arms. The smoke lifted slowly and the cowl that had rested comfortable at her head dissolved into dust at her feet. Standing taller she raised her head to the air taking a deep breath before shuddering.
“You think that by surrounding me like this you have some form of an advantage? Clearly you’ve never dealt with a cornered animal before.”
Holding one hand up the fox that Cal had killed began to vibrate and then finally disintegrated into the dust at his feet. That dust shifted and flew back towards her and around her feet. Sarah stepped to the side watching as another cloud of dust surged toward her. Circling around it merged into one shape, a fox with coals for eyes and nine thrashing tails.
This fox stared calmly at each of them and then crouched low as Vixen did the same. Their movements were in sync in a different way than before. When Vixen tilted her head, the fox flicked an ear. When Vixen took a step so did the fox. Vixen looked over her shoulder at the animal as it looked back at her and both nodded.
“Kill them,” she said softly and both jumped forward in a blur of movement.
Cal blinked and suddenly the fox was in his face. Its jaws locked around his shoulder and dragged him down to the ground. It claws pressed and dug into his armor slashing and tearing at him. He swung at the animal and it jumped over him skidding across the ground.
It hissed and spread its tails as the tips of them glowed. Electricity crackled before flying at him. He blocked it with his sword but the weapon cracked and sent him flying down the alley.
“Cal!” Sarah shouted but had to focus as Vixen came after her with her claws extended. Each swipe was a blur of motion, gouging stone out of the walls. Sarah stumbled around another then let her axes do some counter attacking. She swung with them in wide arcs blast of electricity blowing chunks out of the walls.
Vixen jumped over another swing ready to retaliate when Sarah shoulder checked her out of the air and into the wall. Winded she looked up and then dropped low as both of Sarah’s axes slammed into the wall tearing the wall asunder with a boom of thunder. The sound echoed inside her helmet and she stumbled down to her knee.
Turning on her toe Sarah clanged both axes above her head lightning charging the edges. Vixen looked up, the lightning flashing off the visor of her helmet, and another light flashed behind the visor. She surged forward, faster than the lightning that raced across the blades of Sarah’s axes.
Her claws dug into Sarah’s armor and she was blown backwards by an explosion of fire. Both axes flew from her hands as she lifted off the ground. Colliding with a fire escape, she broke a few iron bars, falling down the stairs and collapsing. Yellow light flashed and she fell against the fire escape barely clinging to consciousness.
Vixen stood up slowly and stood very still, listening for movement, sniffing the air for good measure. But she couldn’t hear her move again or stand. “She’s done,” She dragged her fingers across the air and another fox appeared at her side. “Let’s go finish the other.”
The Harlequin Library 