Kaliesha moved.
Not toward the group.
Not toward the formation we were desperately trying to hold together.
Straight at me.
Of course she did.
"…figures," I muttered under my breath just as she closed the distance.
Fast.
Too fast.
Her hand came first...no, not her hand...the blood extending from it, sharpening into a blade mid-swing.
Clang...
I barely caught it.
The impact rattled straight up my arms.
No follow-up pause.
No reset.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Relentless.
"Trying to single me out?" I grit out, stepping back, blade rising just in time to catch another strike.
Kaliesha smiled like that was the point.
"Obviously."
The blood behind her shifted...
Then split.
Multiple appendages formed, stretching out from her back like grotesque spider legs, each one sharpening at the tip before snapping toward me in staggered timing.
Great.
Now she's multitasking.
I twisted, ducked, blocked...
One came low, I kicked it aside.
Another from above, I raised my sword....
