straight into his eyes. She tried to look away, but she could not. Something was happening inside her head. She was seeing things and hearing voices chanting, and once again, in words she didn’t understand.
They stopped as suddenly as they began. As always when she felt his magic, she staggered, like someone had almost pulled a rug out from under her feet. She dropped the backpack from her shoulders and replaced it with the quiver of arrows.
“Move out into that open space,” Niyol said, pointing to the widest part of the gorge. “He will come low to verify it is you. Aim at the bottom where you think he would be sitting.”
“I can’t shoot an arrow that hard or that far,” she said.
“You can now,” Niyol said. “Go now, and hurry. He is already descending.”
“Whatever,” she muttered, and held tight to the bow as she moved in long, angry strides, pissed that this was happening, and beyond pissed that she’d become the target for a variety of fools.
****
Maurice was smiling as he came in low. This was exactly what he’d hoped would happen. The first pass had scared them out of hiding, and the second pass would be a verification of target. After that, all he had to do was follow overhead until they got to a place in the gorge wide enough for him to land. The plane was rigged for crop dusting. He would spray them with a little of his special concoction and they would be flat on their ass unconscious in seconds. Then he could land, load up the woman, and fly out the same way he’d come in. Her guard, whoever he was, would wake up with a headache, but by then they’d be gone, and he would be five million dollars to the good and ready to begin a well-deserved retirement.
When he saw the motorcycle go into a spin, he thought they were about to wreck. He cursed anxiously. His fee depended on a living breathing woman, not a body. But to his surprise, they dismounted on the run.
“What the hell?” he muttered, watching as they suddenly separated.
The woman was running out into the middle of the gorge, and the closer he got, the clearer it became what she was about to do. He had to give it to her. She wasn’t going down without a fight, but she damn sure needed to update her arsenal with some twenty-first century weapons, not the wild-west bow and arrow he saw in her hands.
He waggled his wings at her as he swooped down. He knew it was a taunt, but even from up this high he could see she was a tasty piece of tail. She was stripped down to what looked like a bra and long pants and had her hair in a braid. All she needed was a horse between her legs and a feather in her hair.
He was less than a hundred yards from where she stood when he saw her notch the arrow. He laughed as he swooped down, intending to knock her on her pretty ass.
“Give it your best shot, Pocahontas, because you’re already mine. You just don’t know it yet.”
He didn’t see the arrow fly, but he heard a scrunch of metal as it tore through the plane’s belly. When it shot up through the floor into his thigh, he was so startled by the sight that for a second, he didn’t feel the pain. And then it hit him in a hot, searing jolt, ripping through his brain and out his mouth in a high-pitched scream.
He was reaching for the arrow when the plane went into a dive. He’d fallen forward on the controls, and by the time he saw it, he was only seconds away from impact.
“Well fuck.”
****
Layla saw the arrow pierce the shell of the plane as he flew over her head, and spun on her heel to see what happened next.
The plane wobbled, then went into a dive so fast that she didn’t have time to run. She knew it was going to explode and she was going to get burned. In a frantic effort to save herself she fell down on her belly with her arms over her head, and prayed for a miracle.
The plane went nose first into the narrow ribbon of water running through the gorge, shaking the ground beneath on impact. The air above
They stopped as suddenly as they began. As always when she felt his magic, she staggered, like someone had almost pulled a rug out from under her feet. She dropped the backpack from her shoulders and replaced it with the quiver of arrows.
“Move out into that open space,” Niyol said, pointing to the widest part of the gorge. “He will come low to verify it is you. Aim at the bottom where you think he would be sitting.”
“I can’t shoot an arrow that hard or that far,” she said.
“You can now,” Niyol said. “Go now, and hurry. He is already descending.”
“Whatever,” she muttered, and held tight to the bow as she moved in long, angry strides, pissed that this was happening, and beyond pissed that she’d become the target for a variety of fools.
****
Maurice was smiling as he came in low. This was exactly what he’d hoped would happen. The first pass had scared them out of hiding, and the second pass would be a verification of target. After that, all he had to do was follow overhead until they got to a place in the gorge wide enough for him to land. The plane was rigged for crop dusting. He would spray them with a little of his special concoction and they would be flat on their ass unconscious in seconds. Then he could land, load up the woman, and fly out the same way he’d come in. Her guard, whoever he was, would wake up with a headache, but by then they’d be gone, and he would be five million dollars to the good and ready to begin a well-deserved retirement.
When he saw the motorcycle go into a spin, he thought they were about to wreck. He cursed anxiously. His fee depended on a living breathing woman, not a body. But to his surprise, they dismounted on the run.
“What the hell?” he muttered, watching as they suddenly separated.
The woman was running out into the middle of the gorge, and the closer he got, the clearer it became what she was about to do. He had to give it to her. She wasn’t going down without a fight, but she damn sure needed to update her arsenal with some twenty-first century weapons, not the wild-west bow and arrow he saw in her hands.
He waggled his wings at her as he swooped down. He knew it was a taunt, but even from up this high he could see she was a tasty piece of tail. She was stripped down to what looked like a bra and long pants and had her hair in a braid. All she needed was a horse between her legs and a feather in her hair.
He was less than a hundred yards from where she stood when he saw her notch the arrow. He laughed as he swooped down, intending to knock her on her pretty ass.
“Give it your best shot, Pocahontas, because you’re already mine. You just don’t know it yet.”
He didn’t see the arrow fly, but he heard a scrunch of metal as it tore through the plane’s belly. When it shot up through the floor into his thigh, he was so startled by the sight that for a second, he didn’t feel the pain. And then it hit him in a hot, searing jolt, ripping through his brain and out his mouth in a high-pitched scream.
He was reaching for the arrow when the plane went into a dive. He’d fallen forward on the controls, and by the time he saw it, he was only seconds away from impact.
“Well fuck.”
****
Layla saw the arrow pierce the shell of the plane as he flew over her head, and spun on her heel to see what happened next.
The plane wobbled, then went into a dive so fast that she didn’t have time to run. She knew it was going to explode and she was going to get burned. In a frantic effort to save herself she fell down on her belly with her arms over her head, and prayed for a miracle.
The plane went nose first into the narrow ribbon of water running through the gorge, shaking the ground beneath on impact. The air above
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