It's just another day at the office for Cali Pendleton. Until she finds herself on a rescue mission to retrieve her brother from a Parallel Reality.
Time is running out, and Cali will do anything to find him. Including join forces with a man who l...
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"Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue"
Ichabod Crane - Sleepy Hollow (1999 Film)
"No one can lie, no one can hide anything
When he looks directly into someone's eyes."
Paulo Coelho
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I register that Sergeant Winters is running toward me, in reaction to Diesel's sudden challenge.
Moving with lightning speed, Diesel uses the flat of his sword to slap the wrist that is not holding the knife. I cry out as it smarts and drop my hand.
He follows through by moving to hit the top of my shoulder with the pommel of his sword. Again I yelp, and I stagger sideways. Then he brings the blade up to my neck.
I go motionless at the threat of what that blade can do. With the sword at my throat, one handed he manages to get the knife out of my grip.
I squeak in surprise at how quickly I have been disarmed, and stumble back a step when he releases me. My heart pounds hard in my chest. I'm uncertain of what he'll do next.
He steps away from me, bringing the knife's edge to the skin just below the gold band on his right bicep and presses it until a thin line of blood appears.
It's not a big or deep cut, and he smears the blood from it onto the blade.
Expertly flipping the knife so that he has it by the blade, he hands the weapon back to me. I look at the blood on the steel and my hand trembles as I tentatively reach for the handle.
He lets go of the blade, puts his sword back in its scabbard, and stands with his back straight and shoulders squared.
"You have drawn first blood in our challenge," he says formally.
Challenge? What the...?
"Among my...people...that means I am subject to answer a command, if you choose to make one. You have commanded me to answer your questions about your brother, and to share with you what I know of this...place." His eyes roam around the serenity of the glade, and he sneers at what he sees.
His eyes return to mine, and he says proudly, "I will do so at the end of this day."
Leaning slightly closer to me, and narrowing his eyes, he stresses in a firm tone of voice, "On my honor."
