Destiny

She was speeding along the trail, standing on the pegs again as she slitted her eyes against the rain. Her face stung and her vision occasionally blurred, but she held the motorcycle to the course. She gained ground quickly, but knew she was going to arrive too late when she saw Roux lose the motorcycle. Roux and Avery tumbled across the ground, trying to get up even as Lesauvage and the remaining rider bore down on them.

Roux stood but appeared dazed. Avery didn't get up.

Lesauvage and the other rider roared past them and came around in tight turns, putting their motorcycles between Roux and the one he'd lost.

Roux fumbled for the assault rifle draped over his shoulder. Somehow he'd managed to hang on to it.

Lesauvage pulled his pistol from his shoulder holster and took aim. At that distance, there was no way he could miss.

"Lesauvage!" A

The other rider raised his assault rifle, bringing it up on a sling.

A

The motorcycle went airborne. Throwing her body sideways, A

Not wanting to be trapped under the weight of the motorcycle, A

A

The motorcycle rider rose up on his knees, cursing foully. He pulled the assault rifle to his shoulder.

Without thinking, A

Glittering in the sudden flare of lightning, the sword seemed to catch fire as it looped end over end. It struck the gunman full in the chest, driving him backward, his heart pierced by the blade.

For a moment, everything was frozen.

Lesauvage stared at the dead man in disbelief. Then he started laughing. "That was stupid!" he roared. "You threw away your weapon!"

From more than thirty feet away, A

The sword was in her hand.

The confidence drained from Lesauvage's features. He lifted his pistol and took a two-handed grip on it.

A

She thought about Joan of Arc dying on the pyre. A

"You brought a sword to a gun fight," Lesauvage sneered. He fired.

A

But her hands moved instinctively, tracking the projectile. Incredibly, she saw sparks as the bullet hit the sword, felt the vibration race through her hands, then heard the bullet whiz within inches of her ear.

A

The kick drove Lesauvage from his feet, knocking him backward. He lost the pistol before he slammed against the boulder behind him.

When A

He stared at her over the blade as lightning blazed and burnished the steel. The sound of the rain drowned out everything but the hoarse rasp of their breathing.

"Kill him," Roux directed, limping up. Blood threaded down the side of his face, diluted by the rain.

"I can't," A

"He would have killed you."

"He didn't."

"He tried to kill you."

A

Roux gri

"Like you did with Garin?"

"No, that's different," Roux said. "Garin made an enemy of me. If he had the chance to kill me, I truly think he would." He nodded toward Lesauvage. "This one, if he gets the chance, will kill you someday."

A

"There are," Roux said, "worse things to be." He shot Lesauvage between the eyes.

Lesauvage pitched forward onto his face. The back of his head was blown off.

"Thankfully," Roux continued as if he hadn't a care in the world, "I'm none of those things."

A

Roux tossed the pistol away and spread his arms, leaving his chest open to her attack. He smiled benignly. "Lesauvage still has other drug-crazed fools in the mountains tonight. Do you want to argue about this right now?"

A

"I look forward to it," Roux said. "There's a lot you're going to have to learn. If you want to survive your destiny."

Ignoring him, A

Avery Moreau sat huddled in a ball and looked consumed with fear.

She righted one of the motorcycles, threw a leg over, started it and looked back at the young man. "Come on. Let's get you safe."

Slowly, Avery climbed onto the motorcycle with her. He wrapped his mud-covered arms around her, shaking with terror as he held on.

A

Epilogue

ANNJA CREED SWAM with an easy stroke. As soon as her feet touched the sandy bottom, she stood and walked out of the ocean. She was conscious of dozens of male spectators watching her, maybe wishing she'd gone topless instead of wearing the bright red bikini she had on, and for a moment she luxuriated in the harmless attention.

She crossed the beach, basking in the heat after the cool of the sea, knowing that her tan was unblemished by scratches or bruises. She had healed quickly from her minor injuries.

A

Roux was sitting in a chaise longue near hers when she returned to her seat. A large, colorful umbrella shaded both chairs.

"Enjoying the afternoon?" Roux asked.

"Yes." A

"Ah, well," Roux said. "That only means the evening and all the nightlife won't be far behind."