A second later, a deep voice called out to her. “Officer, I’m coming up on your left. I’ll take the male.”
Under the circumstances, she wasn’t going to argue. A dark-haired man moved up beside her. Now that he was so close, it was easy to see that he was Kalith. When he spotted her sword, he gave her a solemn nod and then went to work drawing the attention of her male opponent, leaving her free to deal with the female.
The fighting was vicious. Eli and the other men taunted their opponents, but she saved her breath. The Kalith woman had been a well-trained fighter at some point in the past, but in her disease-driven rage, she was taking reckless chances. That didn’t make her any less dangerous. With little regard for her own survival, the woman attacked Safara with deadly intent. Clearly there would be no quarter given on either side.
The battle between the two Kalith males next to her was over in a matter of seconds, leaving the rogue bleeding out on the ground. His death cry briefly distracted her own opponent. The woman screamed in fury and turned her attack against the warrior who had come to Safara’s aid. She’d always wondered if she had it in her to kill. As much as the idea sickened her, she found the strength to end the woman’s existence. There would be an emotional price to be paid for that, but not right now.
The closest Paladin shouted at the remaining rogues, “Stand down, you sick sons of bitches, and we’ll let you go home.”
No one took him up on the offer, and the battle intensified until Tiel and Eli were the only two still fighting. Sweat poured off Eli’s face as he tried to break through her cousin’s defenses. Tiel had to know that if he succeeded in bringing down Eli, the grim-faced men who surrounded him would make damn sure he wouldn’t escape.
The two Kalith warriors stood on either side of her as they watched the deadly battle continue. She hated to watch; at the same time, she couldn’t look away. The only sounds were the loud clang of sword against sword and the heavy breathing of men quickly running out of breath and strength. In a quick move, Tiel raised his sword and prepared to swing it down in an arc intended to separate Eli’s head from his shoulders.
She bit back the need to scream, not wanting to distract Eli. When he deflected the blow and shoved his blade straight into Tiel’s chest, her cousin’s fury quickly faded into confusion as he staggered back and slowly collapsed. Safara started forward, not sure which man needed her more at that moment. She chose the one she loved.
“Eli, are you all right?”
He had dropped his sword and stood bent over with his hands on his knees gasping for air. When he nodded and straightened up, she checked him over for damage. Other than a few nicks and cuts, he’d survived the fight pretty much intact. His arms surrounded her, offering them the comfort they both needed.
“Safara?”
Tiel’s voice was barely a whisper, but to her it sounded as if he’d shouted her name. Eli immediately released his tight hold on her but stayed nearby as she knelt at her dying cousin’s side. She gently brushed Tiel’s hair back from his face, taking his hand in hers. Using her other hand, she tried to staunch the blood gushing from his chest. It was a vain effort, and they both knew it.
His skin had taken on a bluish tinge, and his pale eyes were dull with pain as he struggled to talk. “Sorry... Couldn’t stop.”
She shushed him as her eyes blurred with tears. “I know, Tiel. Don’t waste your strength.”
“See that... my family knows...”
Those were the last words he spoke, but she answered anyway. “I will. I promise.”
She remained kneeling as she prayed for the souls of all the dead and for their families and friends. All Kalith knew the pain of losing someone to the light disease, but it never got easier to deal with the despair and futility of it all.
Finally, Eli lifted her to her feet. She straightened her shoulders and braced herself to face the age-old enemies of her people and their Kalith allies.
19
This was far from the first time Eli had stood on a field of battle surrounded by the dead. It never got any easier. He hated to end Tiel’s life, but the bastard had left him no choice. Or more correctly, the light disease had brought them both to this moment. At least it hadn’t been Safara who’d dealt her cousin’s death blow. That didn’t change the fact the man had died along with the rest of the rogues.
And typical of such conflicts, there wasn’t time to stand around and contemplate the nature of war. He had to find Mike and Doc to see how the civilians they’d herded away from the fighting were faring. Before that, he needed to deal with the four men who’d appeared out of nowhere to join the battle.
He noticed one of them had found plastic tarps somewhere to cover the dead. At least they treated the fallen with respect. For Safara’s sake, he appreciated their thoughtfulness.
One of the four headed toward Eli and Safara. He was as tall as Eli, and his dark eyes reflected a wealth of experience with this kind of situation. While not openly hostile, neither was he exactly friendly. The fact they’d fought against a common enemy didn’t necessarily translate into them being allies. Having said that, the four men had much in common with those he’d served with for years—a whole lot of attitude and the skills to back it up.
The stranger spoke first. “I’m Lonzo Jones.”
He pointed toward the three men now moving up beside him. “This is Barak q’Young, Larem q’Jones, and Hunter Fitzsimon.”
“I’m Eli Jervain, and this is Deputy Safara Dennell.”
He’d let Mike and Doc introduce themselves later. Next, he pointed toward the pickup truck. “Is that guy a friend of yours?”
Lonzo glanced at his three companions and then shook his head. “We’ve never seen him before. Since we couldn’t tell who he was about to shoot, we took him out of the equation.”
“Good thinking.”
Eli didn’t tell them that if it turned out the guy was part of the bunch who’d run Mike off the road, he’d be joining the rogues under one of those blue tarps.
