Sandworms of Dune - Brian Herbert [106]
Murbella allowed herself a cool smile as she faced Kiria. Her voice dripped with acid. “I thought we finished this nonsense years ago.” She had fought off numerous challengers, killing each one. But Kiria was ready to put it to the test again. “Choose your time and place.”
“Choose? That’s just like you, Mother Commander—putting off what must be done now.” In a flash as swift as nerve impulses could travel, Kiria leapt and lashed out with one foot. Murbella spun away, her spine bending backward with a suppleness that surprised even her. The deadly edge of Kiria’s foot came within a hair’s breadth of her left eye. The attacker landed on her feet, poised for further combat in the council chamber. “We can’t choose a time and place for fighting. We must always be ready, always adapt.” She lunged forward again, both hands outstretched, fingers rigid as wooden stakes to gouge Murbella’s throat.
She writhed out of the way as Kiria thrust. Before her opponent could yank her hand away, Murbella grabbed the woman’s arm and added her own momentum, pulling Kiria off balance and slamming her into the council table, scattering Ridulian crystal sheets. Tumbling off, Kiria crashed into a chairdog. In angry reflex, her fist broke through the placid animal’s furry hide and spilled its blood on the floor. The piece of living furniture died with only the faintest peep of alarm and pain.
Murbella sprang onto the tabletop and kicked a loose holoprojector at her opponent. The sharp edge of the device caught Kiria on the brow, making a cut that bled profusely. The Mother Commander crouched, ready to defend herself from a frontal attack, but Kiria ducked under the table and heaved upward with her back, knocking the table over. When Murbella fell, Kiria dove over the capsized table and dropped onto the Mother Commander. She wrapped wiry hands around her throat in a primitive but effective method of assassination.
With rigid fingers, Murbella jabbed Kiria’s side with enough force to fracture two ribs, but at the same time she felt the sickening snap of her own fingers breaking. Instead of withdrawing as expected, Kiria snarled in pain, raised Murbella’s neck and shoulders, and slammed her head against the floor.
Murbella’s ears rang, and she felt her skull crack. Fluttering black spots of unconsciousness circled her vision like tiny vultures waiting for fresh carrion. She had to stay awake, had to keep fighting. If she faded now, Kiria would kill her. And if she was defeated here, she would lose not just her life, but the Sisterhood as well. The fate of the entire human race could be decided in this moment.
Janess watched her mother with anguish, but Laera and the other Reverend Mothers were well trained and would not interfere. The unification with Honored Matres had required certain concessions from the Bene Gesserits, including the right of anyone to challenge the Mother Commander’s leadership.
Kiria continued to choke her, while Murbella strained to draw a breath. Blocking the pain of her broken fingers, she clapped her palms hard against Kiria’s ears. As the deafened woman reeled, Murbella gouged out her right eye with a crooked forefinger, leaving blood and jelly all over her face.
Kiria writhed away, pushing to her feet, but Murbella followed with a flurry of hand blows and kicks. Even so, her challenger was not defeated yet. Kiria hammered her heel into Murbella’s sternum, then struck her abdomen with a side blow. Something ruptured inside; Murbella could feel the damage but didn’t know how bad it was. Digging into her energy reserves, she drove Kiria aside with her shoulder.
The Honored Matre’s lips were drawn back to expose bloody gums and teeth. Rallying, Kiria gathered all of her strength to strike, ignoring her mangled eye. But as she planted her foot, she slipped on a smear of the chairdog’s blood on the smooth floor. This threw off her balance for an instant—just long enough to give Murbella the advantage. Without hesitating, the Mother Commander struck a blow so hard that her own wrist shattered—as did