Anachronistic: Endless Masquerade

47 | Let It Be You

- 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.