A Prologue Part Two ~ Growing Up(sample)

Chapter Thirteen ~ Valhalla's Fangs:

Reine smiled at her crew and felt like they had bonded for the first time off the field. On the way back, Alexia led them down a shortcut through a back alley towards the elevators. The young leader was elated and thought, 'Father was right - celebrating our victory together was the right call.'

Three teenage boys she did not recognize stepped out from behind the shadows, as her crew rounded the corner; the one in front spoke with a malicious grin across his shadowy face, "Okay, little girls - hand over the hoverboards and no one gets hurt!"

The other two boys lit up beam knives hidden in their palms. She cocked her head to the side, as her girlfriend let go of her arm. Alex and Acovis stepped back, as she yelled.

"Run!"

Reine dropped her hoverboard and pulled her saber hilt from her inside jacket pocket, before she pressed the buttons required to power the shield and blade on; her jacket fell from her shoulders, as she prepared herself. Before she could act, Deytria took a drunken step in front of her and gave the muggers an attitude.

"Do you even know who you're messing with?"

The boy in front laughed, as he raised his gun and shot her girlfriend in a flash of red light. She had not even noticed the laser pistol and snapped, as Deytria fell to the ground. Reine let out an echoing wail, as fury gripped her; she jumped over her girlfriend's body and blocked laser fire with her force-shield instinctively.

The bigger boy took a step backwards, but it was too late; Reine cut him down in an instant, swinging her beam-sword from side to side. The boy's body fell in two pieces, as blood sprayed across her chest. The other two began to turn and run, but she was unsatisfied. She charged forward with blinding speed, and cut the second boy from shoulder to hip soaking her face and dress in crimson.

At this point, she was not even registering things as they happened; rage turned to bloodlust, and she had an empty stare. The third boy turned and stuck his knife into her shield-arm shoulder; however, she completely ignored the searing hot blade and turned to cut him down as well. She slashed him side to side, and he fell backwards with a scream.

She stood lax and lightly panted, as she attempted to catch her breath still holding her beam-saber loosely at her side. She dripped head to toe with the blood of her victims, while her white sundress was now ruined with crimson across the front and sides like some abstract painting. It was Alexia that spoke from behind her.

"Holy crap, Reine!"

All she could hear was a muffled yell and a loud pounding in her skull. Acovis came up behind her and attempted to touch her on the shoulder. She spun on him lost in rage and took a wild swing at him.

The only thing that saved him was jumping backwards, as she finally spun out and fell to the ground. She blinked emotionless, as she lay on the cobblestone floor of the alleyway. The last thing she saw before everything went dark was Deytria, who lay on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

When Reine woke up in the hospital again, the first thing that happened was quite different than the last time. Pushing herself up with her arms, she opened her eyes. She immediately started screaming.

"Dey!"

The first person she saw was her father, who did not look very worried; instead, he cocked an eyebrow at her and spoke firmly, "Don't even think about getting out of that bed - the second time I let you out of the house with your crew alone, and you almost get them all killed."

The serious tone of voice did not shock her as-much-as his words. They stung, and she cringed filling with hurt. She replied softly, quieted by his words.