Cynic's Bridge: Snippet
Ahve screamed.
It vibrated through Edric’s head, into his bones, shattering. He grabbed the gun out of his ankle holster and barreled back out into the spaceport. Bodies, chairs, tables, broken pipes and glass littered the open ground between him and Ahve. Most of the thugs were down, but so was Ham. Tevin was wrestling one of the last m-Knight footsoldiers off of him, and another one-a bald giant who stood almost seven feet tall was picking himself up from the ground with designs on Ahve.
Ahve was up against a wall with his back and his chest literally smoking. Somehow, he was still conscious and holding a gun, but both of his hands had been burned this time, and his aim was shaky. The big thug closed in on him, and Ahve missed his shot. Edric didn’t. He fired twice, the big man staggered, swayed but didn’t fall. He turned toward Edric, re-aimed the pistol in his hand, and Edric emptied a power pack into him. When he fell, Ahve finally slid to the ground and let the gun fall from his hand.
“’Vedi! Edric cried, rushing toward him. He tripped on the dead body between them, staggered, fell, and slid the rest of the way, colliding with the white brick wall when at the other side.
“Told you to stay down,” Ahve wheezed, trying to sound stern and forbidding.
“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Edric sobbed. The all too familiar stench of Ahve’s flesh cooking turned his stomach, and he had to fight down the urge to vomit. There was a gaping, charred hole in the center of Ahve’s chest. Edric had no idea what had happened to his back. It could’ve been a gunshot, but it stank like an electrical burn. “How in nine bloody hells are you still breathing?”
“I don’t know,” Ahve said, his hand drifting up toward Edric’s cheek...