Ti seed to pass at glacial speed. With each minute that ticked by, more of her body incorporated a Radiant furnace. An idle look showed that each one basically replaced another essential part of the human cell, the mitochondria, if mory served correctly. The knowledge matched Astorian education and what this body knew.
Yuriko decided to wait. It had only been another five minutes since the voice outside left. She needed another twenty-five or so to replace the mitochondria with Radiant furnaces completely. Radiant Physique would probably take another hour to properly set up. The latter could not be done if she were mobile, but then again, neither was the replacent. She could halt the process anyti, though interruptions ant starting over when it ca to establishing her Radiant Physique. However, even without the physique, having a full replacent ant she could produce Radiant energy, and given that she was currently limited in strength, that ability was sothing sorely needed. Even now, she could produce so Radiance, but with less than a hundredth of a percent of her cells converted, she wouldn’t be able to gather much of it to begin with. Perhaps a couple of motes, but at the cost of a couple of minutes’ progress.
She was currently dry of Radiance, and considering how it turned out to be fatal to her assailant, she hoped it would have the sa effect on whoever was on the other side of the door…
However, was it worth it to waste ti like that? If her body were fully converted, she’d be able to produce a sizable amount of Radiance every mont, not just the dregs she’d produce if she did so now. Every minute that passed saw more and more of her body embedded with furnaces, and it was easy enough to switch to producing Radiance. She didn’t think she’d be inept enough to be unable to defend herself during that transition.
Still, better safe than sorry, eh?
At the twenty-fifth minute, the number of Radiant furnaces within her body increased to more than thirty million, but that was only a rounding error to the amount of cells this body had. In the process of forming her Radiant Physique, Amalia’s old body would transform into a combination of the old and Yuriko’s true body. She’d have to grow six or so inches taller, several inches broader, and put on significantly more muscle. At the end of it, most of Amalia’s features would be lost, and this ti, Yuriko wouldn’t strive to hold on to the girl’s identity. It would be a rcy, she supposed. Amalia had died to the blood devourer, and let it be so.
At the thirtieth minute, she heard heavy footsteps outside the door. With the loud, rhythmic music that covered the nightclub, it was only because she had improved her senses that she was able to hear. She had a few seconds’ warning before loud thuds ca from the other side.
It was enough ti to pause the production of Radiant furnaces and switch over to gathering Radiant motes. She created barely enough to coat a finger or the switchblade’s edge with it.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Oi! Stop dallying! The eting’s in an hour!”
She supposed the late Jacob and his cohort would need that hour to get where they needed to go. Rakkisgrad was a large city, apparently—more than a hundred longstrides across, and ho to twenty million peole. The state of the city ant that making their way through it would definitely take more than an hour, if they took automobiles, anyway, rather than public transporation. Of course, since it was the middle of the night, travel tis weren’t as bad.
“Oi! Don’t tell that skank managed to do you in?” The voice had turned from chiding to serious in a matter of monts and Yuriko had gotten up to approach the door. She stopped well short of where the door could hit her if it was suddenly swung open, though if the man kicked it off its hinges…
Yeah, she stepped off to the side and just in ti, too, since the man did kick the door off its hinges.
The man was taller than she was, even if she had been at her normal height. He was lanky, though because he was clad in a leather jacket and black pants, she couldn’t gauge his musculature. Either way, he was skilled enough that the force of his kick didn’t cause his foot to go through the door, but channeled all of the force into the hinges and the door knob.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his dark hair looked greasy. It was gathered at his nape, and he had a neatly trimd goatee around his mouth. His skin was pale, though not in a healthy looking way. It was pasty, and his veins stood out like wires under his skin. Those eyes imdiate zeroed in on her position, but she was already moving even before his foot returned to the ground.
Her Anima was wrapped tightly around her fra. She couldn’t express is outside of her skin, but it sat securely just under it. A significant amount of force would be needed to pierce through it, hopefully. Most of her reach was tied up in keeping her body stable. She was unused to her current stature, and her bones would probably break if she moved at full power. This ant that about eighty percent of her Anima was devoted to protection, while the remaining twenty percent was for movent, scouting, and offence.
As soon as the door opened, her perception aura spread out. The man flinched when it washed over him, which gave her another point of reference. Perception auras weren’t undetectable by any ans, but the ease with which he found out ant that being able to detect her might be a common thing, or that the man was unusually perceptive. Considering that it took him this long to realise sothing was wrong with his friend…
“You bi—!” the man spat out, before his words ended up in a squawk as Yuriko struck. The switchblade was held in reverse grip, and her punch was aid so that the blade would graze the man’s eye. He flinched, of course, and she quickly adjusted her trajectory, turning her punch into a stab.
The blade sank into the man’s right bicep, but instead of penetrating, the point glanced off against skin. She’d intended to drag the blade down his arm to damage as much as she could, but his toughness precluded that. She wasn’t able to judge how tough he was, but clearly, she either had to infuse Radiance or strike at other weak points.
“Heh!” He snorted and reared back to punch. He wasn’t that quick or agile, but from how he moved, Yuriko surmised he had enhanced strength. His fist moved quickly enough, however, and the air hissed as it passed. She absently noted that his canines were elongated and stuck out even when his lips were pressed into a line.
His eyes widened in surprise when she casually deflected his fist. It contained a surprising amount of force, but now she was able to judge his ability to hurt her. She doubted he could puncture her reinforced skin, but he might be able to break her bones if she fumbled her defences. Undaunted Bulwark helped her deflect the attack, but without a sword in hand, she was unable to reroute his punch to hit his own face. Instead, she channelled Radiance into the knife blade, flipped into a forward grip, then stabbed upwards into his sternum. The knife was too short to hit his heart, so she aid at his diaphragm to limit his breathing.
The man flinched at the burst of light and let loose an incoherent curse.
Shuck!
The point slid into his ribs like a hot knife through butter. Flas erupted from the entry point, and Yuriko pulled the knife out. Her left hand darted towards his neck, and while he gasped in pain, she grabbed him, pulled his head towards her, and her knife point slid up his neck, then under his jaw. She finished the attack by releasing the Radiant energy up into his skull. His eyes burned out. His body collapsed, then burst into ashes. Most of his clothes went with him, but the leather jacket sohow stayed intact. She eyed it with so interest, but ultimately left it behind.
She did, however, pick up the man’s wallet and divested it of its contents. Just the bills, as she had no use for IDs or credit cards. The bills were worth about three hundred…Weyrmarks? Yes, that was the na of the legal tender, though there were vague mories of it being worth less and less than the face amount over the past couple of decades. Still, three hundred would secure food for at least a week…or they would have if Amalia were still alive. As it was, Yuriko anticipated the need to consu as much food as she could stomach to help with her growing pains. Ah.
She spun on her heels, and the boots ca with two-inchers, kicked at the first bloodsucker’s ashes to reveal another scorched wallet. That one had a fifty and a ten that she quickly purloined. She debated closing the door again so she could finish building the Radiant furnaces, especially considering the two n would have been on their way to another location, but it was too risky. She shook her head and decided to leave. She’d find a better hidey-hole to finish her preparations, then she’d head straight to where her kids were.
The door had opened into a hallway lit by harsh white lights that hung from the ceiling. The space looked unfinished in a sense. The walls were bare concrete, and the pipes and wiring were exposed. She spread her Anima down both sides of the hallway. The music was louder towards the left, but the hallway ended with a turn on either side.
To her left was another door that presumably led to similarly shaped rooms. To her right were another three doors, and past the turn were a set of comfort rooms, while to the left were a set of stairs heading upwards. Well, that determined the direction she’d go.
As she turned left, her left hand brushed against the wall, and the spike of pain made her wince. She might have yelped, but the loud music drowned out her voice. For that matter…how did that second guy expect to hear the first one? Enhanced senses, she assud.
Huh. Her wrist was broken. Felt like it, anyway, and the flesh was starting to swell. She channelled Recovery while she realigned the bones. Unfortunately, Amalia was rather undernourished, and most of her fat reserves had already been drained to create blood. She used her Anima reinforcent to hold the bones steady, and she shoved her hand into her cardigan’s pocket. She could recover the damage while creating her Radiant Physique.
The wound revealed that the bloodsuckers were stronger than they looked, albeit they weren’t as skilled as expected. Well, these two, anyway. It was likely that there were more of them, and she didn’t know how they would react to the two’s deaths. With any luck, they wouldn’t find out until she was long gone.
She climbed the stairs slowly while she carefully extended her perception aura. Any hint of a reaction would have her imdiately pull back. Thankfully, none of the people, club security, or staff reacted in any way, from the looks of it. The stairs led to another hallway where the other end was covered by a pair of heavy, black curtains.
She swept them aside, and the music slamd into her face. The chamber beyond was the nightclub proper, and the dance floor was crowded to such an extent that if anyone tripped, they would be held up by the press of the crowd. She stared at the sea of bodies for a mont before she took a deep breath and pushed on.
User Comments
0 comments from readers