Fate's Edge

and marched onto the porch.
    “Ling, I swear, if you don’t appear this instant—”
    A familiar figure stood by the car. Denis.
    Audrey planted the arm of the bow into the porch boards and strung it in one swift movement. How the hell . . .
    “Leave, or I will kill you.”
    He gave her a bright predatory grin. “Now, you know, I can’t do that.”
    She notched the arrow and let it loose. The arrow sliced through the air with a long whine and buried itself at the man’s feet.
    “A warning shot. Just one. That’s all you get.”
    He spread his arms. “Audrey, let’s talk.”
    “Let’s not.”
    She notched the arrow, took aim, and shot. He spun out of the way. The arrow glanced off the door with a screech. Damn it, now I’ve dented the Honda’s door.
    “I’m beginning to suspect you don’t like me.”
    “Really? What gave you that idea, I wonder?”
    “You don’t want to kill me. I’m your ticket out of this—”
    She fired again.
    “—mess. Could you stop shooting at me for a moment?”
    “No.” That last one had to have nicked his thigh. She plucked another arrow from the quiver.
    He swiped the first arrow off the ground. “I bet you this arrow against the knife you took from me that I will make it onto your porch unharmed.”
    There were sixty feet between him and the porch, and she had a full quiver. “I’ll take that bet.”
    He grinned. Clearly the man was some sort of deranged lunatic with a death wish. Audrey shot again. The arrow pierced the air, heading straight for the man’s chest. At the last moment he jerked out of the missile’s path with unnatural quickness, almost as if he had a rope attached to his waist and something had yanked him out of the way.
    He took two steps forward.
    “Oh no, you don’t.”
    Fire. Miss.
    Missed.
    Missed.
    Missed, God damn it.
    Missed again.
    He put his left foot onto the first porch step. Panic swelled inside her, a feverish stupefying jitter that threatened to turn off her brain. Audrey stared past him at the line of arrows neatly puncturing his trail.
    “My knife,” he said.
    “You cheated.” It had to be magic.
    “I did no such thing.”
    She pointed at the trail with the arrow in her hand. It shook in her hand. “Yes, you did.”
    “You are a lousy shot.”
    Audrey jerked the bow and fired an arrow point-blank into his chest. The string snapped in her fingers. The arrow went sideways. It was magic.
    She pointed the bow at him. “Cheated.”
    In her head a tiny voice cried, Run, run away! He could be anyone. He could be the Hand, he could be a California robber baron. He could be a slaver. Run!
    For all she knew, Alex had told him that she still had the West Egyptian box. Or worse, her brother had sold her to him, just like he had before. Audrey felt a phantom hand squeeze her throat. She would not be anyone’s punching bag again. Never again.
    He stepped onto the porch. “I’m still waiting for my knife.”
    She pulled the knife out. The beautiful black blade curved from her hand. “Come and take it if you can.”
    “If I can, huh.” The man rolled his eyes and lunged for her.
    She sliced across his arm, cutting the heavy fabric of the sweatshirt rolled up at his sleeves. Red stained his sleeve. Audrey reversed, sliced again, quick. Somehow she missed. His fingers clamped her wrist. She rammed her knuckles into his throat. He stumbled back and turned sideways, falling into some sort of fighting stance.
    His left hand snaked out, too fast. A punch rocked her shoulder. He punched again, quick combination, left, right, left. She lunged into it, aiming to cut his forearm. If she bled him enough . . .
    His fingers clamped her wrist like a steel vise. Audrey swung to punch, but he caught her other arm, stepped forward, and drove her back, tripping her. She knew exactly what he was doing; she just couldn’t stop it. A moment, and he was on top of her, pinning her to the boards.
    “Let’s review,” he said. “So far, you Tasered me, tied me to a chair, shot me, cut me, and punched me. Did I miss anything?”
    She pushed against him, trying to throw him off, but he outweighed her by at least sixty pounds, and those pounds seemed to be made of steel because he wasn’t budging.
    “Have I hurt you in any way? Did I threaten you?”
    She tried to kick him, but he clamped her leg with his thigh.
    “Audrey, I just want to talk like two civilized people. If I let go, will you gouge my eyes out?”
    “Probably.”
    His face was too