Alien in the Family

knees next to us, hitting Kyrellis in the head. With his bare fists. He was doing damage . . . and he was growling.
    She released me and shoved me away, presumably to focus on the stronger threat. Martini was high on adrenaline, and he was at “lion takes over the veldt” with his roar. His hands were moving so fast I couldn’t see them anymore. Kyrellis was still in it, and she managed to grab him around his waist and use that to turn herself and get onto her knees.
    Before she could capitalize on this, Martini made a double fist and slammed his hands down on the back of her head. He did this until she stopped moving—then he did it some more.
    I could breathe, and nothing seemed broken. My feet hurt, but I’d run around barefoot in the desert before; I could ignore it. Good. I got to my hands and knees. “Jeff.” He didn’t stop. “Jeff, baby . . . stop. I think she’s dead.”
    He looked at me and his eyes were wild. “I know what she wanted to do to you.”
    “It doesn’t matter now.” My body was shaking. “Jeff, it’s not over.”
    Martini took Kyrellis’ head and twisted. If she hadn’t been dead before, she was now. He threw her body away and grabbed me. His hearts were pounding, and he was shaking. I held him and let him rock me for a few moments.
    A scream rang out. We both turned toward the sound. Tito had, as near as I could tell, just broken Lenore’s neck. Claudia had Wrolph’s arm around her shoulders and was trying to get him back to the others. Queen Renata, Felicia, and Arup were nearby. But the scream was from Uma. She was swinging her ax in a circle, and as Claudia and Wrolph got closer, I could see he’d been slashed.
    “Tito, down!” I shouted as loudly as I could, and he ducked. Uma’s ax whizzed over his head. He rolled away, but she was after him. Queen Renata planted her staff and used it to steady herself as she swung her body toward Uma. She connected with Uma’s side and staggered her enough that the next swing of the ax also missed Tito.
    “GET OUT!” Martini bellowed.
    Tito didn’t argue, he ran. But the other three didn’t. Uma turned and started bearing down on them again. She looked uninjured, and she was still glowing.
    Uma hit Felicia. Felicia screamed, a cat’s shriek of pain. Arup managed to grab her. He lifted her into his arms and ran back to the others. Uma’s ax just missed him.
    “Jeff, we have to get Renata away from her.”
    “On it.” Martini ran at hyperspeed. I couldn’t see him, but I saw Queen Renata go flying just before Uma’s ax cleaved her in two.
    I stood up. “Bitch Leader!”
    Uma looked at me. “You. How dare you still stand!”
    “It’s a human thing. We Americans pride ourselves on it.” I picked up a staff. “We’re all over the scrappy attitudes. The get-knocked-down-and-get-back-up mind-set.”
    She smiled. “You will not get up again.”
    I shrugged and used it as an opportunity to relax my back and shoulders a bit. “Your side’s down. Just the White Queen to protect her king. I still have active pieces on the board.”
    “They can’t help you.”
    We were close to each other. Not close enough for the weapons to hit, but close enough that we didn’t have to scream.
    “They aren’t supposed to help me, are they? Not now.”
    “No. You will face me as your final test.”
    “Babe, you know, you can stop with the My Royal Lord crap, I know the plan. I know what’s inside you and what King Creepola has planned. I also know that you’re going to be very expendable once you send your god-in-the-machine inside him.”
    She laughed. “But that presumes I will let him have this power. We have discussed it—the power is better in a woman. Stronger, more ruthless.”
    “The power doesn’t have to work like that. It can protect and serve and love.”
    “Your planet is weaker than mine, your power is weaker than mine, and you are weaker than me. I will enjoy killing you.”
    “Uma? Got one thing to say to you.” I shifted into a fighting stance. “Bring it.”

CHAPTER 53

    AS I WAITED FOR UMA TO MAKE A MOVE, ACE spoke in my head. Kitty, ACE wants Kitty to know that Kitty and ACE will be fighting together now. Kitty will see things as ACE can see them, do things as ACE can do them.
    Come again? ACE? Haven’t you been helping me all this fight?
    No, Kitty. ACE did not need to.
    Wow. I really was black-belt material.
    ACE spoke again, and he sounded embarrassed. Kitty is very . . . lucky. That is