| |
A few minutes earlier, upon his separation from Ripper, Gifford realised he no longer had the Demon's power within him.
He stood for a moment, disoriented, his eyes moving as he weighed the odds. They appeared too great for him. He had no sword skills and no sword, and he had seen how his four adversaries fought. The fact hit him hard. Ripper was powerful and capable of doing terrible things to him, but the others would do worse if Ripper failed too. He couldn't match that. So he did what any other coward does when things look bad.
He turned and ran.
But Brianna caught his movement. Before Gifford could take more than a dozen steps, she tackled him to the ground. He squirmed on the ground, rolled to his back and scored a lucky hit to her head. By luck, Brianna had turned her shoulder, so most of the blow's power glanced. But it was strong enough to push her back.
Too late, Brianna saw the pistol, its barrel pointed at her chest. Time slowed for her as adrenaline coursed. She knew Gifford stood too far away for her to stop him. Her limbs tensed to dodge.
Too late. Cordite ignited. It exploded. The gunshot's thunderous boom filled her ears.
She knew her time had come. She couldn't dodge in time.
But Khan moved faster. Blood showered Brianna as Khan's throat exploded. The bullet continued its passage, tore through the sleeve of Brianna's leather jacket as it passed her, and thudded into a crypt's wall. Pieces of stone exploded, stinging her face as they scattered and fell.
Khan's body thumped to the ground at her feet.
Brianna barely noticed Gifford's footsteps thump away in flight as she screamed Khan's name and dropped to hold his bleeding body. His eyes displayed a curious mix of pain, recognition, and calmness, which Brianna couldn't understand. Memories flooded back, including when she watched Craig take a bullet to the face. Craig had caught that bullet between his teeth. But Khan's teeth had caught nothing. And Brianna saw another man from her past, a lover long dead. For a moment, the shock grabbed her. Khan's lips trembled as he struggled to speak. But no sound came. Khan's eyes closed in death.
Brianna sat and cradled Khan's head close for a moment. A movement to the side caught her attention. It was Emily standing beside her.
The Scottish spirit allowed a smile as she placed her hand upon Brianna's shoulder. "Relax, lass. Khan needs no comfort, and you don't want to give him the wrong impression when he wakes."
Brianna's jaw dropped. "Wakes?"
Emily chuckled. "He has lived long, and died many times... and lived again."
Brianna moved from underneath Khan and gently lowered his head to the ground. Part of her wanted to kick him, but she realised she had tricked herself. "Is that true?" She looked at Melody who fought beside Craig against the Demon still. Melody flung herself into the battle with vigour. Had she noticed Khan's fate or...?
"I'd forgotten!" Brianna stood, checked her own pistol was in its shoulder holster. "I'd better get Tony then."