Mistress of the Night - Don Bassingthwaite [61]
"Take care of Drik!" Feena hissed at him.
"You take care of Drik. Stag's mine."
Keph circled around the bandit, hard eyes locked on him. Stag froze, not sure which opponent to focus on. Growling, Feena took the choice away from him. She dived past Keph to throw a punch at Stag.
He got an arm up and blocked her blow, then swung his other in a backhand that forced her to leap away.
"Hey!" snapped Keph. "I said he's mine!"
He started to move in. Out of the corner of her eye, Feena caught movement and tried to shout a warning as Drik jumped into the fray, but she was too slow. The second bandit wrapped his arms around Keph's chest and heaved him off his feet. The crowd cheered wildly.
The moment of distraction cost her as well. Stag's fist seemed to snake out of nowhere and snap into her jaw. The punch spun her halfway around and knocked her to the floor.
"You're a lot of trouble, red bird!" Stag growled as he drew a foot back to kick her.
Feena threw herself away and came up beside Drik and Keph. The young man was struggling ferociously against Drik's embrace, but the bandit just kept squeezing tighter. Feena rolled up to her knees and drove a punch hard into Drik's kidneys. He gasped and stumbled. As soon as Keph's feet touched the ground, he hunched forward sharply, tumbling Drik over his shoulders. Drik didn't loosen his embrace, however. For a heartbeat, the two men stood twined, then Drik went over, pulling Keph after him. They sprawled across the floor, both stunned, as the crowd jeered. Feena scrambled to her feet and swung around to face Stag once more. The bandit was circling her, fists ready. She took a slow step away from where Drik and Keph lay.
"Trouble?" she asked. "You don't know the half of it." She gestured for him with both hands. "Come and get me."
Stag took a cautious pace forward. Feena glanced down.
"Keph! Yours!"
On the floor at Stag's feet, Keph looked up. He grinned viciously and his hands snapped out to grab at the bandit's leg. Stag stumbled, surprised. Feena darted forward, grasped the fabric of his shirt, and slammed her knee into his groin. Stag let out a horrible rattling gasp and stiffened.
"Bitch!"
Still holding Stag upright, Feena spun around. Drik was up in a crouch, one leg stretched out, the other bent in front of him. Sharp metal glinted in his hand. A throwing knife. His arm drew back…
Keph twisted over onto his side, pulled a leg in, then kicked out hard. His booted foot hammered straight into Drik's bent knee with a bone-splintering crunch. Drik shrieked and the knife tumbled from his fingers as he toppled over, clutching his leg.
For a moment, the crowd held its breath, then erupted in a roar of appreciation for the brawl.
Keph pushed himself up and rose to his feet. Feena glanced at Stag. The bandit's eyes had rolled back and he was making rasping, choking noises that flecked his lips with foamy saliva. She shoved him into Keph's arms.
"I'm done," she said over the noise of the crowd. "Your turn."
The young man pushed Stag to the floor, grabbing her instead and pulling her close.
–– --
Keph felt the red-haired wildcat's body stiffen in alarm as he drew her in.
"Easy!" he hissed before she got the wrong idea-he didn't want to try fighting her on his own. "We're not out of danger yet."
He spun her around toward the door of the Cutter's Dip. Between them and it were big Kor, wily old Noyle, half-mad Lahumbra, and a few other thugs. None of them looked happy.
"Those are Stag and Drik's friends," he whispered in the woman's ear. "They'll cool down later, but if we want to get out of here now, we'd best go together."
The woman's eyes narrowed and she nodded. Keph led the way toward the door. The woman didn't try to challenge him. Hands reaching out to touch and congratulate them, the crowd parted easily. The woman flinched back-after a round of Dip's Stagger, Keph thought, who could blame her?-but he accepted the congratulations