A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 64 The Warriors Way

Chapter 64 The Warriors Way

Carmen heard them before she saw them. Two men walking through the shadows, not trying to move quietly. Confident, firm footsteps echoing down the shadowy alleyway, the drumbeat of impending violence. She sighed and rose to her feet, stepping out into the fitful light that attempted to pierce the scummy blackness of the narrow, brick alley. Intentionally letting the men see her.

They didn't falter. They cast quick, gleeful glances at each other, their pace quickening.

"See? Told you I saw her come down here!" The one on the right whispered excitedly, as if he were afraid speaking out loud would break the fantasy playing out in front of him.

He was a whip-thin man, in his thirties, the corded muscles in his arms and his extensive facial tattoos giving him a dangerous look, no doubt very intentional. His eyes were filled with a dark hunger Carmen was all too familiar with. It was a look that in the past would have reduced her to nearly helpless fear, a look straight out of the nightmare that had been her life for so many years. Now, it was a look that made her hatred burn so hot that she wondered how it was that these fools didn't recognize they were walking headlong into the jaws of death.

The man on the left looked strangely out of place in this dark, dirty alley at three AM. For as much a rabid rat as his skinny partner looked, he looked like a huge, jolly Wall Street executive. His clothes were clean, expensive, and custom fitted. His haircut was impeccable, every individual hair in its place, the perfect shine of fake silver at the temples adding to his dignified look. But his eyes burned with a hunger darker, more foul, than his partner.

"She is your best one yet." He said, his booming voice smacking into the walls and rebounding around and past Carmen. He flexed his massive, rubbery hands as if in anticipation of wringing her neck, and licked his lips, advancing quickly now.

Carmen hadn't moved. She stood perfectly still, staring at them with golden fire just beginning to glitter in her eyes. She fought her powers back, forcing them to stay behind the wall of her control. She didn't want her power to flare out from her eyes and scare her prey away.

"Look at her! Too scared to move." The skinny one laughed, reaching one hand out to grab her shoulder.

Carmen almost casually reached up and latched onto one finger, bending it back and twisting her wrist as she did so. It was a fluid move, executed quickly. Far too quickly for the skinny man to react. There was a clearly audible "SNAP!" in the air as his finger broke. She let go and took one step back, spreading her stance, lightly bouncing on the balls of her feet, her expression bland.

The skinny one shrieked and took a shambling step back, cradling his hand against his chest, his face white with shock.

"What....!?" He yelled.

The flabby executive had seen what had happened. He had watched her hand curl around the finger and apply perfect geometry, perfect leverage. And now he could see the stance she held, the total coldness in her gaze as faced them. And he was intelligent enough to know he needed to be away. He spun in place and sprinted back the way he had come, moving with impressive speed for a man so large.

The skinny one looked after him, his lip curling in disgust. He looked back at Carmen, his visage twisting up in hate, and reached into a pocket, producing a long, double-edged knife.

"Gonna cut you up slowly for that, you stupid, stupid girl!" He snarled, beginning to edge towards her.

He moved with a new level of caution, his eyes more focused on her torso and her feet than her face. He knew how to fight, that much was obvious. Carmen smiled. It was a look that would have made a demon flinch. Then she pulled her thin, cotton gloves off.