out of this, I won’t mess with you. Just tell yourself you barely know her.”
From the start, she’d been someone D barely knew. But if someone had been able to peer into his mind at that moment, they’d undoubtedly have seen something quite interesting.
The man whose beauty shamed the very sunlight stared silently at the other man. A heartbeat later, Nogia leapt out of his seat like a shot from a gun.
“Well, surprise, surprise! I’d heard D was a loner, through and through. Since when do you side with a woman that’s got nothing to do with you? Oh, I get it. She hired you, did she?” Nogia’s tall frame trembled fiercely. “Now that’s a real look you’ve got in your eye. I’ve come across a ton of assholes saying they’ve been through hell and back, but you’re the real deal. It’ll be an honor to fight you!”
“What happened to the people in this town?”
Nogia furrowed his brow. The Hunter’s gorgeous, steely voice had suddenly changed to the hoarse tones of a geezer.
“You practicing your ventriloquism or something? Well, as for the townsfolk, my pet doggie got ’em.”
“They were gobbled up?”
“Pretty much. My buddy only needs to eat once a month, but you wouldn’t believe how much he packs away. Swallowed everything from cyborg horses to housecats, but in the meantime the stagecoach bolted. If it weren’t for that, we’d have lured that girl in here with you. Not a problem, though. Sorry, but you’re gonna drown in the sea of acid in my buddy’s stomach.”
“Here it comes!” the hoarse voice said.
D stood there quietly. It was as if he hadn’t even heard the voice.
Perhaps frightened by that blossom of black ice, Nogia shouted loudly, “Come on out, buddy!”
D’s eyes reflected something white gushing from the man’s mouth. A shadow passed across the sun. In midair, the form spread like a pink parasol. The umbrella looked to be more than thirty feet across, and a split second before its lower rim could touch the ground behind the Hunter, there was a silvery flash from D’s back. The blade he drew slashed at least six feet into the thing. And then D bounded into the air.
He landed a good six feet from the rim of the umbrella.
“Not good,” an urgent tone from the vicinity of his left hand told him.
D’s body was tinged with white. The brim of his traveler’s hat, the hem of his coat, and more than anything the blade of his sword were giving off a whitish smoke. The instant the umbrella was cut, a transparent liquid had poured like rain from inside it. It was acid strong enough to melt the steel blade of the Hunter’s sword.
“That thing—it’s his stomach,” the left hand whispered. “And that acid could dissolve iron. You’d do well to avoid it!”
D discarded his sword. Before him was a rippling mass of digestive organs the size of a small bog, which quickly began giving off the same white smoke.
From a distance, Nogia called out, “I should expect as much from the man known as D. Will we take each other down now, or call it a draw—aargh!”
He ended in a cry of pain. A needle of stark wood, hurled by D, had pierced the white smoke—and Nogia.
“You—you son of a bitch—I can’t believe you . . .”
As he groaned in a tone of astonishment and despair, the pale pink ground rose up.
Leaping more than fifteen feet away from the thing bearing down on him like a tsunami, D went for the dagger on his hip with his right hand.
The white smoke suddenly pulled back. As it was sucked into the theater seats with surprising speed, it called to mind a deflating balloon.
There was no sign of Nogia.
“You threw a second needle at him, but it missed all his vitals? He’s not too shabby, either.” Sniffing loudly, the hoarse voice continued, “From the scent of blood, I think you might’ve nailed him in an artery. He won’t be moving for a while. But if Mitterhaus of all people is gunning for her, that girl sure must have a hell of a
From the start, she’d been someone D barely knew. But if someone had been able to peer into his mind at that moment, they’d undoubtedly have seen something quite interesting.
The man whose beauty shamed the very sunlight stared silently at the other man. A heartbeat later, Nogia leapt out of his seat like a shot from a gun.
“Well, surprise, surprise! I’d heard D was a loner, through and through. Since when do you side with a woman that’s got nothing to do with you? Oh, I get it. She hired you, did she?” Nogia’s tall frame trembled fiercely. “Now that’s a real look you’ve got in your eye. I’ve come across a ton of assholes saying they’ve been through hell and back, but you’re the real deal. It’ll be an honor to fight you!”
“What happened to the people in this town?”
Nogia furrowed his brow. The Hunter’s gorgeous, steely voice had suddenly changed to the hoarse tones of a geezer.
“You practicing your ventriloquism or something? Well, as for the townsfolk, my pet doggie got ’em.”
“They were gobbled up?”
“Pretty much. My buddy only needs to eat once a month, but you wouldn’t believe how much he packs away. Swallowed everything from cyborg horses to housecats, but in the meantime the stagecoach bolted. If it weren’t for that, we’d have lured that girl in here with you. Not a problem, though. Sorry, but you’re gonna drown in the sea of acid in my buddy’s stomach.”
“Here it comes!” the hoarse voice said.
D stood there quietly. It was as if he hadn’t even heard the voice.
Perhaps frightened by that blossom of black ice, Nogia shouted loudly, “Come on out, buddy!”
D’s eyes reflected something white gushing from the man’s mouth. A shadow passed across the sun. In midair, the form spread like a pink parasol. The umbrella looked to be more than thirty feet across, and a split second before its lower rim could touch the ground behind the Hunter, there was a silvery flash from D’s back. The blade he drew slashed at least six feet into the thing. And then D bounded into the air.
He landed a good six feet from the rim of the umbrella.
“Not good,” an urgent tone from the vicinity of his left hand told him.
D’s body was tinged with white. The brim of his traveler’s hat, the hem of his coat, and more than anything the blade of his sword were giving off a whitish smoke. The instant the umbrella was cut, a transparent liquid had poured like rain from inside it. It was acid strong enough to melt the steel blade of the Hunter’s sword.
“That thing—it’s his stomach,” the left hand whispered. “And that acid could dissolve iron. You’d do well to avoid it!”
D discarded his sword. Before him was a rippling mass of digestive organs the size of a small bog, which quickly began giving off the same white smoke.
From a distance, Nogia called out, “I should expect as much from the man known as D. Will we take each other down now, or call it a draw—aargh!”
He ended in a cry of pain. A needle of stark wood, hurled by D, had pierced the white smoke—and Nogia.
“You—you son of a bitch—I can’t believe you . . .”
As he groaned in a tone of astonishment and despair, the pale pink ground rose up.
Leaping more than fifteen feet away from the thing bearing down on him like a tsunami, D went for the dagger on his hip with his right hand.
The white smoke suddenly pulled back. As it was sucked into the theater seats with surprising speed, it called to mind a deflating balloon.
There was no sign of Nogia.
“You threw a second needle at him, but it missed all his vitals? He’s not too shabby, either.” Sniffing loudly, the hoarse voice continued, “From the scent of blood, I think you might’ve nailed him in an artery. He won’t be moving for a while. But if Mitterhaus of all people is gunning for her, that girl sure must have a hell of a
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