if he was still breathing. Hanging inches away from his face in the
regular darkness of night, she saw it was Creon, but it was too late.
The moment she recognized him he opened his eyes and grabbed
her to his chest in a deadly bear hug.
Helen screamed and struggled. She reached down into her belly
looking for the current, but all that was left was weak static. She
had already discharged all the voltage stored up in her muscles.
The release of all that energy had left her weak and vulnerable. Her
arms and legs had no strength, and she crumpled under Creon?s
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renewed attack like a paper bag. He fell on top of her, pinning her
to the ground as he pulled a bronze knife out of his belt.
?Such a shame, preciosa. You?re the most beautiful girl I?ve ever
seen. Almost too perfect to cut,? he grunted into her ear. ?But
Atlantis . . .?
She squirmed her neck away from his lips, shivers of disgust running
across her skin. Then he pushed off of her, raising his knife up
high over his head. He paused, and for a brief moment Helen
thought he wouldn?t do it, but she saw his eyes harden. He brought
it down directly over her heart.
Creon?s knife made a dozen pinging noises as it shattered and
scattered off of her skin. He had just a moment to register what
had happened before a foot connected with his head and sent him
flying off of Helen.
Lucas jumped on Creon with a vicious snarl, and the two of them
began to fight so fast Helen could barely see their hands move.
They punched and grabbed and gouged at each other, both of them
changing from a rapid-fisted boxing to some kind of strange wrestling
in which they tried to bend each other?s joints in the wrong
direction. Helen barely had time to roll onto her knees before it