Then, the sky above her seemed to split into dozens of fragments. Pilar gasped, watching the puzzle pieces cover the stars and nearby buildings. It took her a moment to understand what she was seeing.
“A flock of condors,” she whispered. She tried to count them and came up with at least eight, but it was difficult to be sure in the dark.
“Can you take on eight?” Maverick asked. Pilar laughed, a short sound of pure amusement.
“Of course, I can. I just don’t want others to come sneaking out and surprise you. It’s time for you to go inside and lock the door until I get there.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“Says the man dying of poison,” Pilar whispered grimly.
That thought was all she needed to jump back into the fight. She didn’t want to think. She wanted to kick and punch and rend and tear until every enemy was destroyed.
Pilar screamed as she ran out to the area beside the pool. Four condors dove on her immediately, and she jumped up, kicking in two separate directions. She caught two of the birds right in the chest, and they spun away, tumbling through the air. She managed to grab one with her hand, but the last bird got through her guard and tore at her belly with its claws and beak.
As she landed, Pilar threw the condor she was holding into the pool. It made a pathetic gurgling sound as it sank. One of the others she had kicked was twitching against a roof support with a broken breastbone.
That leaves five.
Pilar looked at Maverick to see him hiding under a table. Four condors were diving at it, trying to reach him. The one that had attacked her was still overhead, threads from her shirt and a faint stain of her blood on its claws.
Pilar ran toward Maverick, shifting as she leapt into the air. She came down on all four paws and roared as she crossed the distance in mere seconds. As she approached, she jumped, hurtling through the air to land on the table.
She spun, her claws and teeth making a deadly whirlwind around her. Two of the condors hit the ground, their wings shredded, and their throats ripped open.
Three left.
She roared, crouching on the table with her tail flicking back and forth. The three condors hovered over the pool, watching her. Pilar waited.
Two of them suddenly curved and dove at her. The last … the one with her blood on its claws … stayed hovering above the pond.
To Pilar’s shock, one of the condors came at her while the other turned in the air to skim the ground and go after Maverick. Pilar sprang up to meet the attack, but the bird was ready for her. It flicked its wings to fly over her head and come down on her back, sinking its claws into her and tearing at the back of her neck with its beak.
Pilar was frantic as she jumped around, trying to dislodge it. She knew this was a distraction, the bird was keeping her away while the other went for Maverick, but there was nothing she could do except fight the bird attacking her.
Pilar heard a yell from under the table and doubled her efforts. In a sudden moment of inspiration, she leapt up in the air, twisting as she fell. She crashed onto the concrete on her back, crushing the condor that had been riding her.
She rolled onto her feet, growling, and snarling as she looked for Maverick. To her amazement, he was on his feet and swinging at the condor with a pool net pole. He wasn’t hitting it, but he was keeping it at bay.
Pilar glanced over and saw the last condor dip in the air and then arrow toward Maverick. She bolted, desperate to get there in time. She knew that Maverick would never see the condor in time. He was too engaged with the one he was already fighting.
As Pilar got close, she roared, trying to warn Maverick. At the same time, the condor he was fighting went for his face. Maverick swept the pole at the bird and hit it, but Pilar saw the shock run through his body.
He isn’t strong enough.
Maverick actually cried out as the impact went up his arm, barely affecting the condor. He wavered on his feet, and the last condor, the leader, shrieked in triumph. Both of them lifted slightly, ready to dive on Maverick. Pilar didn’t know their plan … all she knew was that she had to get there before they hurt him.
I won’t abide even one scratch on him!
Pilar launched, roaring. She was at a bad angle, and it would be almost impossible to hit them both, but she tried. She managed to tackle one of them, and a roar ripped out of her as her claws sank into the beast’s flesh. She swiped for the leader but missed.
The condor was crushed between her paws and the concrete as she sprang up, twisting to go after the other one. It was right over Maverick’s head, shrieking as it snapped at him. Pilar ran, jumping up on tables as she rushed to them.
She knew she was too far away to go for a killing blow, so she leapt wildly, hoping to throw it off before it could dive. As she hurtled through the air, she managed to catch its wing tip, and the bird cried out as it spun toward the ground. With a powerful thrust of its wings and an ear-splitting cry, the condor threw her so hard that Pilar landed on her back, hitting her head on the concrete. She was stunned for only a second, but it was enough for the bird to drop on her and tear at her chest, its beak slashing at her throat.
Pilar roared in pain, her claws flashing out as she tried to get the massive bird off. This one had marked her twice, now, and she was determined to balance the score.
Finally, one of her claws hooked into its wing and caught. With a roar of triumph, she flung the creature hard against the ground, where it hit the concrete with a sickening crack.