They ran out towards the doors, but the fleeing crowd slowed any progression outside. Melinoe and Keith turned to see the woman closing on them. Worse, the seemingly unkillable man followed behind her. Melinoe glanced back behind her. They had no chance of escaping before both assassins were upon them.
Keith raised his gun, but Melinoe simply closed her eyes. She reached into their minds and searched their thoughts. Echoes of images flashed through her head. She wasn’t sure she could use them to stop her foes, but she certainly could slow them down if only she had time to work her power on them.
“Stop!” Her voice echoed over the din of the crowd. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”
The woman smiled. Melinoe felt the yearn for the lash of her whip again, but she pushed the urge back as she focused on the images in her mind.
“I suppose you should know the name of your killers. They call me Pleasure and my partner is called Pain. Our job is simple: kill you girl.”
“What did I ever do to anyone?” Melinoe tried to sound innocent as she said it, but she doubted the assassins believed her and wasn’t sure about the cop either. Not that it mattered anymore.
The half-naked man—Pain—charged towards them. His fears were simpler and easier to evoke. Never-ending agony scared him, pain that his body would keep him alive to take forever. A simple thought caused flames to blast out of his skin, instantly blackening his flesh.
Keith recoiled, but Melinoe only watched him burn.
Pleasure looked at her partner and then back at her and Keith.
“Stop it. Stop it or I’ll kill you!”
Melinoe stepped back as Pleasure closed. “Stop? I’m not doing anything. Stop him before he burns this place down!”
Pleasure turned back to her partner. She clearly didn’t know what to do, but her worry for her partner at least gave her pause from the job at hand.
Keith’s training kicked in. Even if he wanted to ask Melinoe about the situation, his need to get her to safety overwhelmed it. He yanked her back towards the thinning herd pouring through the doors. Again, she let herself be pulled along.
But her mind was already racing. Clearly these assassins weren’t working under their own accord. Clearly someone wanted her dead. Who even knew she was here in this gods forsaken city? The answer to that question seemed necessary to her continued survival.
No comments:
Post a Comment