PANTERA - Sara Reinke

SARA REINKEThe soldier on the ground sprang forward, attackingAbdes. Abdes swung his feet up wildly, punting him in the faceand chest, sending him stumbling, crumpling to his hands andknees. Abdes let his feet drop to the ground again and rammedhis elbow back into the gut of his attacker. He felt the hot rushof the man’s breath as it whoofed against his ear; he buckled,folding at the waist and twisting sharply, sending the mancrashing over his shoulder and against the ground.Abdes backpedaled in alarm. Both men had reclaimedtheir wits, and scrabbled to their feet. The first was upon himalmost at once, springing like a cat, tackling Abdes andknocking him back into the wall. Abdes yelped, his cry cutshort as his head smacked against the bricks, his breathmomentarily lost at the harsh impact. He fell clumsily, takingthe man with him in a tangle of thrashing limbs and swingingfists. Abdes shifted his weight, rolling over, pinning the manbeneath him. He reared up, drawing his fist back and letting itfly, plowing his knuckles into the man’s face. He felt the man’snose shatter at the blow. The man shrieked; as he threw up hishands in a vain effort to defend himself, Abdes swung hisother fist, punching him mightily in the mouth.He swung his left fist back to whip around again, andthen the second soldier rushed him from behind. Again, hisarm clamped about Abdes’ throat, and Abdes’ eyes flew wide,his breath forced from him in a strangled wheeze as he felt asharp, screaming pain lance through his spine. Something hadpierced him; the man had stabbed him, shoving somethinglong and sharp deep into the meat of his shoulder, punchinginward.Abdes caught a wink of pale light against metal infront of him, and then the man he straddled sat bolt upright,ramming the length of a dagger into Abdes’ gut, just to the leftof his navel. He leaned so near to Abdes, sinking the dagger sodeep that the cuff of his fist smacked against Abdes’ belly; sothat when Abdes uttered a breathless, strangled cry, the mancaught it nearly against his ear, as if Abdes had offered it forhis intimate and exclusive review.Abdes felt the arm loosen and slip free of his throat asthe man behind him stumbled backward. The man in front of12