- 47 -

Pandora batted away the gunsmoke, clearing her view of the hole where a lock once rested. She cycled a fresh shell into her weapon and kicked the door open. Beyond lay an opulent bedroom. Crystal chandlers bathed the ornate furniture and mahogany paneled walls in dim electric light. Across from the door, a fireplace roared between Pandora's twin motivations for coming. To its left, Lily pulled at the lock of the steel cage imprisoning her, and to its right, Gamal sat in a plush armchair with his legs crossed and hands folded.

The confidence of his posture wasn't matched by his face. As Pandora stepped into the room, He jumped to his feet and screamed, "What the fuck is wrong with you? The door was unlocked."

It was a struggle for her not to laugh. It was clear just how much effort he had gone through to set the scene for her. He had left all the evidence of his crimes out for her to see. The open bathroom door, blood-stained porcelain tub just beyond it. The food cart pushed into the corner, smashed blueberries still sitting in their serving dish. They framed him as he lorded over the woman she loved. He had meant to intimidate her, but her entrance had shaken his calm.

Good. Fuck what he wanted. If she took half the pleasure in killing him that she did in ruining his little power fantasy it would be worth it, though she was sure it would feel far better than that. She stepped forward and raised her gun to meet him. Her breath stopped and she willed her heart to skip a beat. She couldn't let anything impede her accuracy. After all, if she missed, she wouldn't get a second chance.

Gamal moved like lightning, or maybe she had slowed to a crawl. Her finger labored against the trigger, its pull like wading through molasses. He reached back and grabbed hold of the chair. In one smooth swing, he launched it at her. Her muscles tensed as she braced for impact; the final pull she needed to overcome the trigger's break point.

The hammer clicked; the primer ignited; black powder burned. But it was too late. The chair struck the gun's barrel, pushing it skyward. For a split second, the flash of fire painted the room white. All Pandora could hear was ringing as charred cotton rained down on her. She crashed back into the wall and slid to the ground. Standing against Gamal's blow had proved impossible, though as weak as she was the recoil from the gun alone may have been enough to put her on her ass.

Footsteps rushed at her. She raised her gun to meet them, a vain attempt to protect herself. Without reloading, her gun was little more than an over-engineered stick. She could wave the bayonet around, but it would be all show— an animal making itself look big. With her speed and strength sapped she would never actually cut Gamal.

He didn't give her the chance to try. His monstrous hand wrapped around the barrel and ripped the gun from her grasp. It tumbled across the floor, coming to rest in front of Lily's cage. It was well out of Pandora's reach, yet she found herself lifting a shaking hand toward it. Her only weapon gone.

Not my only weapon.

Pandora discarded the thought at once. She didn't care if her petrification spread, but she couldn't use her eye here; not with Lily in the room. It was too dangerous. Was there some way to lure Gamal out into the hall? Maybe, but that was ten or twelve problems out. First, she had to find a way out from under him.

Gamal loomed above, fist reared back. At the first sign of movement, Pandora dropped her head to the side. His strike sailed past, catching a few strands of hair as it smashed into the wall behind her. The impact rang like a bell. He had blown through the wooden facade to a steel wall below.

Gamal pulled his hand back and cradled it under his sternum. "AAAGGH, Fuck!" Spit dripped from the corners of his mouth as he huffed through gritted teeth.

Luck had granted her an opening. She still didn't know how she would get him in position to use her eye, but this was the first step. The injured hand seemed the obvious target, but how much advantage was there left to gain? Besides, she would have to contend with his uninjured hand. He had replaced his arms with superhuman proxies, meanwhile she could hardly stand. He didn't need both hands to overpower her. If she hoped to gain any advantage she needed weak points; the parts of him that were still human.

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Pandora gripped Gamal's ankle in both hands. Lily had stolen her strength away but hadn't touched her weight, so she would let physics do all the hard work for her. She kicked at his other ankle, then rolled into him. He struggled, but gravity won out. His breath rushed out in a single pained cough as Pandora crashed down on top of him.

He wasn't the only one to lose something in the fall. The landing knocked her senses loose. For a moment, she couldn't tell which direction was up, but her body moved on instinct. She slid her knee onto Gamal's chest and pushed her weight into it, pinning him down as she raised his ankle to her chest. Grabbing his boot by the toe box, she wrenched his foot sideways. Gamal screamed and so did her muscles. She had hoped to break his ankle, but as his ligaments resisted her assault, she doubted she had the strength. Still, if she could hamper his movement enough she could reach the gun.

Pandora's gut jumped; a sudden change in direction. She lost balance as Gamal drew his leg into his chest, ripping it free of her fading grasp. She never had the chance to dodge. Before she could stabilize herself, his kick landed and she found herself on the bed across the room.

How did he...?

Luckily, the mattress provided a soft landing, because the takeoff was anything but gentle. She was certain at least one rib was cracked. She expected that kind of power from his grafted arms, but his legs were original hardware. Had he taken something before she arrived?

Of course he did. He was expecting me.

Pain shot through her chest as she twisted to face Lily's cage. As she thought, Gamal's kick had pushed her closer to her weapon. She watched Lily slip her arm through the bars to reach for it. Stretched to her limit, she came up not even an inch short. Close, but she would never reach. It was still up to Pandora to win this fight somehow.

In the corner of her eye, Gamal rose. He winced as he tested his ankle, then turned his attention toward Pandora. "You bitch!"

He stumbled forward. The pain slowed him at first, but his limp improved as he gained speed. He rushed toward her, then took to the air, raising his fists above his head mid-leap.

A gorilla ready to strike.

Pandora held her breath and prepared herself for the pain. Her rib screamed as she rolled off the bed's edge and crashed to the floor below. As she landed, a burst of air rushed past; the bed frame collapsing beside her. Her eye darted to the shotgun. It was so close. She dragged herself toward it.

Her skin crawled as unwelcome fingers danced through her hair. Gamal clenched his fist around the strands and dragged her to her feet. She tried to stand; tried to relieve the weight pulling at her scalp, but her legs had given up on her completely.

Gamal laughed at her attempts. "Not that this isn't fun, but why do you keep struggling? It's over. I've won."

"I won't let you steal..." Pandora staggered her answer through clenched teeth, "Another woman from my life without a fight."

The confidence fell from Gamal's face, replaced with a question. "What?"

"This time, I'll leave you with more than a few scars."

Pain exploded in her scalp as he swung her around to meet his eyes. "What did you just say!?"

Pandora pursed her lips and spit in his face.

Gamal's pupils narrowed to points. "Don't play with me you fucking bitch!"

His gaze drifted down to the wounds the kotengu had left in her sides. He shoved a finger inside and started digging around. Pain shot through Pandora's body in white hot bursts. There was screaming, but she was only half sure she was the source.

"Stop! Please!" Lily begged.

A waste of breath. Gamal didn't have any mercy to call upon. Small men like him needed to be appealed to through their ego. Either by stroking it to gain favor, or shattering it to force them into a mistake. Pandora swallowed her screams and willed her lips up into a smile.

Gamal shot his free hand into her stomach. "Wipe that grin off your face!"

She didn't.

"You don't have any idea how bad you've fucked yourself. I never got a clear look at you in the crowd that day. If you had only kept your mouth shut I wouldn't have known. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're incapable of keeping your mouth shut, aren't you?"

"Where would the fun be in that?"

"I was going to kill you, but now I think it would be better to keep you alive." Gamal ripped his finger from inside her and held the bloody digit to her face. "We'll start with paying you back for these scars." He traced a mirrored outline of his scars on her face, painting them in place with her blood. "You're going to look so good."

With a laugh, Gamal started toward the fireplace, pulling Pandora along by her hair. He was intoxicated by cruelty, exactly as she had planned. She needed his attention focused elsewhere, and it had been an easy target. While he reveled in thoughts of revenge, she dipped her fingers into the raw wound at her side; an easy source of blood for one final curse.

"Broken, ruined, fading away. Time and age spell your decay."

Power surged through the traces. Misfortune pooled at her fingertips.

"Shit!" Gamal threw her into the wall and jumped back.

Too late, big boy. The curse shot forward, its tendrils weaving back and forth through the air. They rushed toward Gamal, then slipped between his legs before continuing off into the distance. He paused for a moment, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he started laughing, then climbed on top of her. His fingers pressed into her throat. She gasped in vain for air. Her vision darkened as the last of her grip on consciousness weakened.

"Nice try, but you missed."

That's because you weren't my target. Lily, If only one of us can live, let it be you.