Jovan's Gaze

Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

I ducked. The massive metal wrench, obviously designed for large scale work, swung over my head, but just barely. I felt the edge of it brush aside my hair. I leaped to my right, flattening myself against the wall, my back to the hard wooden surface. My back groaned at the effort, muscles protesting this sudden call to action. My skin might have been healed, my blisters gone, but my muscles remembered that not too long ago, mere days, I was a wrecked body. Now, that recent past was challenged by a survival instinct honed by the uniform of the Royal Guard, the war, and the hard years which followed.

The crazed man stumbled forward from the force of his missed swing, but quickly regained his balance. He held me in his gaze. His eyes were angry, wild, and desperate. I could feel the panic behind them, the need to do something. His breathing became wheezy, shallow. I could see that his hands were terribly injured, covered in torn skin and blood. I recognized the wounds, recalling a similar man from my days at the palace. He had torn manacles off himself, stripping away the skin as he slid them over his hands.

"Make it go away!" the lunatic screamed, literally frothing at the mouth.

I looked about for a weapon, anything, but there were none in sight. I grumbled. In the palace, no matter where one went, there was something to use as a weapon. If an actual weapon did not hang upon the wall, a trophy of some great victory, then there was any number of objects to wield. A candelabra, a silver tray, even a chair. Here though, there was none of that. The lights were embedded in the ceiling, there were no silver trays to serve royalty, and the chairs were far too heavy to wield effectively.

As the madman righted himself, Captain Jin stepped forward. He started to draw his sidearm, but the lunatic swung at him, catching his right hand before he could take hold of the holstered weapon. I heard the bones crunch, and Jin spun away with a curse and a howl. He fell against the conference table.

Danlis, weapon raised, stepped forward. He was looking down the barrel of the rifle, leaning slightly forward as he moved. His eyes were sharp, aggressive. He was baring his teeth as though they were fangs. I could hear a low snarl from his throat as he moved into position. His finger went to the trigger, and without issuing a word, he fired.

The weapon spat out a burst of energy with a hiss, like a snake spitting venom. A bright blue ball issued forth from the barrel. It struck the crazed man square in the chest. Tendrils of energy, like lightning, spread out over his chest, reaching up to his neck. The man howled, lurching to his left and slamming into the wall beside me, but he did not go down. Corporal Danlis fired again, two bursts in rapid succession, but again, the man did not go down. The skin on the lunatic's neck was slightly burned from the shots, but he seemed not to notice.

"You can't stop me!" the madman said with a slur. "I have to shut his eyes before they see anyone else."

He turned toward me, now so very close. I heard bones crackle as he moved. Just how much punishment this man's body had taken was beyond me, but obviously, he would not be dissuaded from his course. I moved away from him, bumping into Professor Spoel, who was pressed against the wall, frozen in place.

The crazed, bloodied man spat out blood upon the floor. His eyes stayed on me. "Why did you come here? What do you want from me?"

I gazed upon his face, twisted in rage and torment, and shook my head. "Who are you?" I asked.

Before he could answer, I heard a slight click, and turned to Danlis. I saw his thumb as it moved away from a switch on the side of the weapon. He squeezed the trigger, and the weapon barked as it spat out another ball of crackling energy. This time it was a darker purple, and the angry ball of energy seemed to heat the room as it raced through the air.