A warrior of nearly seven feet stood with his arms at his sides. A helmet with a visor obscured his face, and the black, sleek armor left no identifiable marks, but Ace knew this was Scorpantheon.
Ace dropped his overcoat to the floor, his hands hovering over his guns.
"Run when I draw my guns," Ace thought at Darec. He saw Darec nod in his peripheral vision.
Scorpantheon drew two blades from their sheaths on his back.
"Oh, swor—" Ace began.
Red energy erupted along the blades. Violent arcs of crimson light lashed outward, scorching the dirt wherever they struck.
"Oh, this is gonna hurt," Ace muttered.
Ace inhaled, held his breath, and exhaled. Then he drew his guns and fired rapidly at Scorpantheon.
Scorpantheon raised his blades, destroying the bullets, and charged forward. He reversed his grip on the blade in his left hand and swung his right blade first.
Ace dodged the right blade, then struck out with the butt of one of his guns. Scorpantheon ducked under the blow and brought his left blade up to sever Ace's arm.
Ace moved his arm at the last second with a grimace and a small yelp. He jumped back to create distance, but Scorpantheon closed it just as quickly, driving both blades through his chest.
"Yup. Definitely hurts," Ace gurgled.
He grabbed Scorpantheon's wrists and held him there to let the kids escape.
Scorpantheon tilted his head and dragged the blades up and down Ace's body. When Ace let go, Scorpantheon pulled them free, cut him in half, and severed his head.
A scream echoed. A wave of telekinetic force slammed Scorpantheon into a boulder. Darec pushed harder, crushing him against the rock.
Scorpantheon flexed his wrist. A high-pitched ring cut through the air.
It felt like a shard of glass stabbing into Darec's brain. He dropped to his knees, and Scorpantheon fell free.
Scorpantheon rose to his feet and started toward Darec.
Alessa drew eight knives from their sheaths and hurled them at him. He deflected all eight, sending them spinning in different directions around him.
Alessa smiled and snapped her fingers. The runes on the knives detonated.
The high-pitched ringing stopped. When the smoke cleared, Scorpantheon was still standing, his left arm raised. From what Alessa could tell, his arm was projecting an energy shield.
"He reacted so fast," she said.
All at once, the rocks lifted off the ground, even the largest boulders. They compressed into sharp spikes.
Scorpantheon took a step back, then darted aside just before the first spikes struck where he'd been standing.
Scorpantheon sprang off a large boulder and hurled a small explosive at each cluster of spikes. Mimicking Alessa, he snapped his fingers. The explosives detonated.
Darec and Alessa threw up their arms to shield themselves.
Scorpantheon rushed forward. He was nearly on them when Darec lifted him off his feet and slammed him through the roof of the base.
A sudden shove caught Darec off guard.
"Run, you moron!" Ace shouted. He was fully healed.
As they ran toward the ship, Darec looked back at Ace.
"I slammed him through a building! Isn't he dead?"
"He could be." A red dot appeared on Darec's back. "But I wouldn't count on it."
Ace threw his arm in the way. The shot blew it apart.
"Son of a—"
"What's the matter?" Alessa asked.
"My arm was blown off! It hurt!"
Before long, they reached Enzion. Once they were aboard, Ace closed the ramp.
"Enzion, it's time to go."
"Alrighty. Getting off this planet like you owe somebody money."
The engines revved, and they left the planet and the most dangerous assassin in the known universe behind.