A basic stun weapon. Korum kne
w it with sudden certainty. The guardians’ scanners were designed to catch anything dangerous, but this kind of stunner used an older, simpler technology – one that was much more difficult to detect from a distance.
Reflexively clutching the back of his neck, Korum felt himself sliding off Loris’s body. His back hit the ground, leaving him lying there helpless, unable to move for a few precious seconds. To the spectators, it would look like Loris had delivered him a hidden blow of some kind; the stunner possibility would not occur to anyone right away.
Despite the danger – or maybe because of it – Korum’s mind operated with crystal clarity, analyzing the situation in an instant. There was only one person motivated enough to risk doing something like that.
Saret. He was here at the fight.
The hit had been to the back of Korum’s neck. He knew what a basic stunner felt like, had experienced its sting before. Just like a human gun, it was a weapon that had to be aimed from a specific location.
A location that could be triangulated.
Ignoring the pain and weakness racking his body, Korum sent a mental query to his internal computer . . . and then he knew.
His enemy was only steps away from Mia.
Fear, sharp and gut-wrenching, slithered through Korum’s veins, followed by a rage so intense his entire body shook with it.
He couldn’t save himself right now, but he’d be damned if he failed to protect Mia again.
Closing his eyes, Korum focused on connecting to the guardians’ private communication network.
* * *
Mia stifled a scream as she saw Korum jerk convulsively and then slide off Loris’s body. Up until now, he had seemed invincible, utterly in control of the situation. She had even begun to relax, some of her fear ebbing as she’d witnessed her lover’s effortless display of skill in the Arena.
Until everything changed in an instant.
What happened? She could see Korum clutching the back of his neck as if something bit him there. He seemed dazed, weakened by something.
What the fuck happened?
She could see Loris rising to his feet. He was already moving better, his Krinar body recovering from the injuries Korum had inflicted on him.
And Korum was still lying there, like he couldn’t move. Even his eyes were closed, preventing him from seeing his opponent.
“No!” Mia heard her own scream echoing through the Arena. Delia grabbed her arm, keeping her from jumping from her seat as Loris attacked Korum’s prone body.
She could see the glee on the other K’s face as he struck again and again, could smell the metallic odor of blood that turned their painted bodies a brighter red.
It was Korum’s blood.
“No!” Another agonized scream tore from her throat. Now there was a sickening sound of fist connecting with flesh, over and over again. “No, stop!” Mia wrenched her arm out of Delia’s hold and jumped to her feet.
“Mia, don’t! You can’t interfere –” The Greek girl tried to grab her again, but Mia shook her off like a fly, desperate to get into the arena.
She managed to take two steps before a steely arm went around her waist, pressing her against a hard male body. Mia clawed at that imprisoning arm, heedless of all but the slaughter happening in front of her eyes. “Stop the fight! It’s a setup! Can’t you see? He can’t fight! It’s a setup!” The arm only tightened further. “Let me go! Let me fucking go!”
Mia was vaguely aware that she was screaming like a banshee, yelling out anything that came to mind, but it didn’t matter. Arus was holding her now, and she was furiously fighting him, trying to twist out of his grasp. It was impossible to win against a Krinar, but it didn’t matter.
Mia was past any semblance of rationality.
* * *
Korum could feel the blows from Loris’s fist, his body shuddering in agony as the Protector’s claw-like fingers gouged out chunks of his flesh.
Emboldened by Korum’s apparent weakness, his enemy was taking his time torturing him before inflicting the killing blow. The pain was shocking, nauseating, but Korum fought the darkness that threatened to pull him under, knowing that all would then be lost. He was vaguely aware that his kidneys and spleen were damaged, that his ribs were crushed and his left collarbone broken, but it didn’t matter because he could feel the effect of the stun shot starting to wear off.