Free Tales Of The Sazi 02 - Moon's Web by C.t. Adams . Cathy Clamp Page A

useless now. I was going to need a healer myself pretty soon. Sadly, I was still fit to travel. I needed to find a way to end this quickly. I didn't know when someone would yell stop. How much damage would Nikoli think was enough? I did know there was no way I was going to actually defeat Asri. She was just toying with me. I needed an advantage. I looked up and around as I sprinted around her again. The room was pretty empty with the exception of the few chairs against the wall where Bobby sat, and the tables on the platform by Nikoli.
    Think, Giodone! The knife was no good. The push blade wasn't much more than three inches long. It probably wouldn't even make it through her armored scales.
    I heard Sue's tired and pained voice in my mind. I don't think dragons can see in the dark. That's right! It's why Nikoli turned up the lights. I looked up again and when I did, Asri struck. She moved forward in a blur and knocked me off my feet. I rolled hard to the side. Her teeth snapped in frustration as my stomach moved away from her strike.
    With my good left arm, I heaved the knife upward as I stood and moved again. My aim was good, thanks in large part to years of practice in intentionally adverse conditions. The silver blade penetrated the ballast of the twin overhead fluorescent and shorted it out. It sparked and sputtered, sending blue fire to rain down on us. With a few choice swear words of his own— primarily in Russian, Nikoli reached over and started frantically clicking screens. In a moment, he had turned off the circuit through his computer, leaving only the light over his platform remaining.
    "Nikoli!" the dragon exclaimed with annoyance.
    He raised his hands in innocence. "He's allowed to defend, Asri. I will not burn down this hotel for your convenience. Perhaps he is more of a challenge than you thought. Even I did not expect that." She hissed— an angry, vicious sound. Her massive head turned this way and that, searching for me in the dim room. Her tongue flicked out over and over as her head swayed from side to side. Just when she'd found me by scent, I would move. I stayed in the shadows of the corners. With the knife gone, I had little left in my arsenal.
    Her tongue continued to flick out in rapid succession. Spittle dripped from her jaw in long strings. The forked yellow whip flashed as she walked through the light.
    "You can't hide from me forever, Anton. I can smell your blood. You're over… HERE!" She moved with preternatural speed, knocking Bobby off his chair in the process. But I was already gone. I'd deliberately wiped blood on the carpet and then used the elastic of my inner pants holster as a tourniquet to stem the flow while she was searching the room.
    Nikoli's eyes followed me carefully. A small smile played over his lips. He was enjoying the cat and mouse game. Asri still hovered near the chairs by Bobby. No good. I needed to be there. Nikoli didn't stop me when I carefully reached onto the table next to him and removed a tray filled with fruit. His glowing amber eyes looked amused and he smelled of oranges and cookie spice. I darted to the other corner before Asri saw and tossed a large orange into the opposite corner of the room with the injured arm. There wasn't much feeling left because of the tourniquet, so I wouldn't be able to do that more than once or twice more. She didn't respond at all. Oh, that's right. A dragon's hearing sucks in the low and high ranges. I aimed the next piece of fruit at one of the overhead fixtures in the corner. The sharp clang of metal attracted her attention. Her head snapped around and she pounced on the fruit in a blur.
    "Come out, little wolf," she called when she realized my trick. "It'll hurt a lot more if I have to keep chasing you."
    I almost laughed but held back. I didn't really think the pain would be proportional to whether I delayed the capture.
    She quickly moved to the corner and I ghosted her until I was behind Bobby. He glared at me, leaving the