Part 1: My first written stuff from last night. Rough and unedited.

 

                                         

Maruk

It was raining heavily again. It always rained in this city. The water seeped into everything. No matter where you were you could smell the rust. Narsis was filled with the stench corroded iron. You could never get rid of it.

I wrapped my long-coat tightly around me as I stepped into the torrent. She would be exiting the finance office now.

She was walking along the street alone. A scarf of red silk wrapped around her face to protect her from the rain. She was tall and muscular, standing well over six feet tall. That scarf was worth more than I earned in a year. I broke in a smile; I didn’t do this for the money.

Without thinking I slipped into her walking pattern, mirroring her steps. With the roaring sound of the rain it was unnecessary. There was no way she was going to hear me. People told me I was a natural.

The wrist-blades slid into my hands. I pressed my thumbs along the blades, enjoying the bite against my skin. My pace increased as the scarf grew larger. Her boots giving a faint clang against the iron street. Mistresses lined their boots with metal for kicking subordinates. I was no longer a subordinate. My heartbeat was still steady, my gaze focused on the red scarf around her neck. She was blooded at B-purity. My highest profile mark yet. I tried unsuccessfully to suppress a slight shiver of excitement that crawled up my arms like a lizard.

Her walking pace had increased. Suddenly feeling a lurch of panic, I realized that she would soon be around the corner, out of the rain and too near her car for me to do anything quietly.

I broke into a run. Trusting in the roaring sound of the rain I sped along towards her, keeping my body low and compact. My wrist-blades sung out to their full length. Reaching her in a few jagged instants, I sprang in the air and swung my arms in a circle, blades arcing around to envelop her scarfed neck, aiming to open up her throat in one motion.

Man, I can be really stupid sometimes.

I felt a metal boot pound into my ribcage with the force of a jackhammer. I tumbled onto the ground in a crumpled heap. My face banging and sliding against the iron surface of the street. I was briefly aware of that terrible taste of rust mixed with blood in my mouth. I tried to move and felt sharp pain, probably something very broken.

Lydia Savar laughed a full throaty laugh amidst the gale of wind and rain. It carried like a song along the street, mocking my previous efforts to silence it. My vision was blurry with pain. All I could feel was water falling on my face. I heard the metallic clang of her slow, measured footsteps coming nearer. My hands gripped my wrist-blades so hard blood started to run down my wrists and along my arms.

Everything slowed down. My pain was still there; my body a broken heap, but it no longer controlled me. My mind felt again the clarity I had when I was stalking her, when I was in control. My pain was just another obstacle. My breathing, once gasping and uneven became smooth and steady. My vision cleared. I saw Lydia walking into view, looming above me, impossibly tall. Her scarf was loose, blowing red trails in the wind. I looked at her; her cold blue eyes looked at mine. I realized for the first time just how beautiful she really was. A cruel beauty. We held each other’s gaze for a moment, the rain falling unheard around me.

Her boot rose as if in slow motion, its destination; my head. All my energy was coiled. I had no fear, no pain left in me. As the boot descended towards my skull I jerked my head out of the way with an inch to spare. The boot screamed against the ground, ringing in my ears. I swung to my feet, trusting my broken body to support me for a few moments. As she whipped around, her fist swung at my chest with years of trained accuracy. I stood and waited, there was no way I could dodge her blow, it was far too fast.

I never planned to dodge it. Grinning manically I gripped onto her shoulders as tightly as I could.

As her fist smashed into my chest. I heard some of my ribs crack. Using the momentum of her strike my body swung up into the air, my wrist-blades smoothly jutting into her neck from either side with incredible force. I heard her gargle as she clutched her neck. She gave me one last desperate look of surprise. Her beautiful blue eyes were alive for one final moment.

Then we both collapsed, our bodies like abandoned dolls. As my consciousness rapidly retreated I was aware of the rain beating relentlessly on my body, the stench of corroded iron and blood in my nostrils. Really, it all smelled the same.

It always rained in this city.