She use to drive saints to madness and kings to their knees. Now, a fugitive, wrongfully branded with a mark of a traitor. In order to regain her status and prove loyalty to the crown, she must complete 8 impossible labours.
With the odds stacked ag...
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I leapt from rooftop to rooftop, adrenaline coursing through my veins as I yearned for action. The night sky was clear, yet a rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. Intrigued, I tracked the sound to a nearby building. Peering inside, I caught a flash of ominous red light. What dangers lurked within? My shoulder tensed, ready to spring into the fray. The thrill of the unknown beckoned me closer.
Without hesitating, I crashed through the window in a shower of glass. The room was trashed, like a hurricane had blown through. A little girl lay motionless on the floor, soaked in the same weird substance from the other crime scenes. I whipped out my radio to call the cops. I walked closer to her placing my fingers gently on her wrist, feeling for a pulse. To my relief, I could feel the steady beat of her heart beneath my fingertips. She was alive. I watched the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed in and out, taking in precious gulps of air. Though she appeared fragile lying there, each breath seemed to whisper of her resilience. I was not late. There was still hope.
Just as inhuman sounds erupted from the hallway - hissing, grunting, the sounds of a vicious brawl. I raced out of the room, sticks raised, and skidded to a halt. There was the woman from last night, clad in form-fitting black leather and scales that hugged every curve, locked in combat with a monster straight out of a nightmare - half woman, half snake, with a face so demonic it chilled me to the bone. The serpent had the woman in its coils, choking the life out of her.
Acting on instinct, I lunged forward and jammed my electrified escrima sticks into the creature's back. It shrieked in pain, whipping around to face me, its slitted eyes burning with rage. It flung the woman aside like a ragdoll, her body crashing through the wall in an explosion of plaster. Now its attention was fixed on me, and me alone. I steadied my stance, escrima at the ready. This was going to get ugly.
The beast's claws raked the air as it tried to tear me apart, but I deflected its attack. I didn't see its spiked tail whip around and slam into my ribs, driving the breath from my lungs and bringing its snarling maw inches from my face. It let out a bone-chilling screech and I felt my soul shudder as oblivion beckoned. My vision dimmed as I clung desperately to the last shreds of consciousness.
Through the haze I saw the woman leap, a flash of silver as her dagger plunged into the creature's chest. She ripped the blade free and the monster howled, black blood bubbling from the sizzling wound. It retreated, trailing foul smoke, but I knew this was far from over. The hunt had just begun.
"I told you to stay out of this," she said as she knocked me unconscious with my own escrima stick. My vision went dark. Not again. I was out cold. The last thing I saw before blacking out was her cold, emotionless eyes staring down at me.
