Enchantment (79 page)

“You
m
ust
learn
it,
M
eeka;
y
ou
cannot
be
afraid
of
y
o
u
rself,”
Str
y
k
e
r
said
firm
l
y
.
“
This time,
when
y
o
u
and
Kerrigan
fight,
nothing
is
off
l
i
m
its.
I
expect
y
ou
to
practice
eve
r
y
t
h
i
ng
y
o
u have
learned
tod
a
y
and
also
t
r
y
to
control
him
with
y
o
u
r
m
ind.”

“It
won’t
be
eas
y
,”
Kerrigan
inter
j
ected.

Before
Kerrigan
knew
what
happened,
Meeka
sent
a
pla
y
f
u
l
flame
sizzling
through
the
air, flipping
Kerrigan’s
s
word
out
of
his
hand.

She
laughed
at
hi
m
. “Two
can
play
y
o
u
r
game.”
She
s
m
irked.

“I
don’t
pl
a
y
ga
m
es,
lit
t
le
girl,”
Kerrigan
ground
out,
reaching
down
to
pick
up
his
s
word. “If
y
ou can’t
stand
the
heat,
get
out
of
the
kitchen,”
Meeka
taunted.

The
thrashing
erupted
once
m
ore.
Kerrigan
was
co
m
ing
on
hard—harder
than
their
first practice.
He
brought
his
s
word
up
and
then
crashing
down
as
she
blocked
his
blow.
Meeka stu
m
bled
a
ti
n
y
bit
backward,
but
Kerrigan
kept
advancing
with
renewed
and
unforgiving
blows.

She
s
huddered,
unsure,
but
decided
she
needed
a
bit
of
extra
s
pace.
Pooling
her concentration,
s
he
s
um
m
o
ned
an
orange
ball
of
flame
and
flew
it
straight
for
his
feet.
Th
e
y tangled
his
ankles,
and
Kerrigan
lurched
forward
and
fell
to
the
ground.
But
a
brief
second
later, he
had
sprung
back
to his
feet.

“Touché,
precious.”

Putting
his
advancement
aside,
she
whirled.
Her
steps
sure,
her
booted
foot
connected
with the
thick, hard trunk
of
a
m
assive tree.
Using
her
m
o
m
e
nt
u
m
,
Meeka
grabbed the
largest hanging vine
and
kicked
off. A
s
m
irk
crossed
her
lips
when
he
grunted
as
her
foot
hit
him
squarely
in
the chest.

She was
unsure
of
the
look
in
his
e
y
es.
M
a
y
b
e
it
had
been
a
m
istake.
She
cli
m
b
ed
higher
up the
vine and
began to
swing through
the large
area, heading
for
the jungle.
H
e
couldn’t be too
far behind
her,
but
perhaps
she
could
lose
him
in
the
foliage.
Meeka
reached
the
trees
and
m
oved deeper
into
the
tropical
m
a
ze.
She
was
surrounded
by
dead
silence.
Nothing
m
oved
or
stirred, including
her.
“
M
a
y
b
e
this
wasn’t
y
o
u
r
s
m
artest
idea,
Meeka.
Catz
isn’t
here,
and
this
place
is cree
p
y
.
H
ead
back
to
the
open
field; it’s
safer.”

O
verwhe
l
m
ed,
out
of
breath,
Meeka
sl
o
w
l
y
crawled
her
w
a
y
d
o
wn
a
tree.
Q
uiet
l
y
,
she planted
her
feet
on
the
ground,
with
her
back
pressed
up
again
the
tree
trunk,
and
slid
her
hand d
o
wn
the
side
of
her
leg
until
her
fingers
touched
her
knife.
She
laid
her
head
back
against
the bark
and
closed
her
e
y
e
s.
Her
chest
burned
from
the
exertion.

Like
a
streak
of
lightning, a
long,
lethal knife
blade
appeared
at
her
throat. “Drop
the
knife,
Meeka,”
he
rasped,
panting
in
her
ear.

Her
knife
slipped
to
the
jungle
floor.

“Don’t
m
ove one
little hair
on
y
o
u
r
beautiful bod
y
.”

He
m
oved
with
the
grace of
a
panther,
co
m
ing around
to
face
her,
his
knife
still
poised
at
her throat.
“You
broke
a
warrior’s
nu
m
ber
-
one
rule,
Meeka.
Never
let
y
o
ur
guard
down.”
Kerrigan taunted,
his
breathing
ragged,
harsh,
“
Y
ou’re
just
a
girl,
a
n
y
w
a
y
.
You
could
never
be
a
true warrior.”

* * * *

Kerrigan
traced
the
tip
of
his
blade
down
her
slender
throat
and
leisure
l
y
into
the
vall
e
y between
her
love
l
y
breasts.

He
felt
the
thrust
w
hen
she
entered
his
mind.
S
he
was
so
co
m
p
el
l
ing.
Kerrigan
i
m
me
d
ia
t
e
l
y threw
up a
block
to
prevent
her
penetrating
further.
One
by one,
s
he
knocked
th
e
m
over, until
he couldn’t
stop
her
intrusion.