Matt Archer: Blade's Edge Read Online Free Page B

with sudden, overwhelming rage that wasn’t my own, I stood up straight and glared at her. The knife throbbed in my left hand. How dare she attack the two of us?
    Wait...the two of us ? The two of who?
    Uncertainly flickered in the Kali’s golden eyes. She shot her last arrow straight at my chest. This close, the arrow should have pierced my heart in a fraction of a second and come out through my back. Instead, my left arm yanked upward in a blur, knocking the arrow off course and cutting the shaft in two. The pieces flew to either side of me.
    I raised my eyebrows. When did I get so fast? “You missed.”
    She drew her sword with a shaking hand. My pinpointed vision zeroed in on the pulse beating in her throat. No sound but the roaring in my ears, no scent but Kali blood. The instinct to fight overrode everything, until nothing remained but that artery. The Kali swung her sword, and I deflected it with my blade. Sparks flew, but I couldn’t have cared less. Light flickered and everything got blurry around the edges…
    Matt left the building.
    Through a haze, I could feel my body moving faster than it should. The knife’s voice became louder than my own.
    Oh, listen how the demon screams for her master. My boy will send this dark agent home.
    The Kali was panting as she backed up against an ice wall. Cornered, she lifted the sword one last time, barely able to hold it up. A final swing and I caught her left arms, twisted, yanked her close. Something cracked, bones; then her sword fell. The artery in her neck beat and beat and beat, calling.
    Strike her down.
    I obeyed.

    “Damn scary, I’m telling you what,” Schmitz was saying. “You guys remind me never to piss off Archer.”
    I sat, back against a rock, covered up by a foil survival blanket. I still gripped the knife, not able to put it down. Its power continued to zap my veins; letting go would’ve hurt and my head throbbed enough as it was. Patterson and Curtis were taking care of Johnson, who was sprawled out to my left, and they were using snow to reduce the swelling in his nose. He had come around, but was pretty groggy. He kept trying to bat the snow-filled bandage away, saying something about his mama. I felt bad about the whole thing. If I hadn’t gotten pinned down by those archers, maybe his nose would be okay. Next time I’d have to be more aware of the terrain.
    Uncle Mike came over to survey the damage. I tried to stand but my head felt like it might explode so I gave up.
    “We get them all?” I asked.
    Uncle Mike knelt at my right side. “Sure did.”
    “I do anything weird?” Dumb question. Of course I had. Just because the knife had ridden shotgun in my head didn’t mean I couldn’t remember that I’d gone all loco.
    “Matt, you decapitated that last Kali,” Mike said, his voice full of concern. “Then you walked over to me, shaking like crazy, and said ‘Mission accomplished, sir.’ After that, you sat down right here and didn’t say another word.”
    “Well, it worked anyway,” I said, feeling defensive. The villagers who could sleep tonight wouldn’t care that I’d turned into some kind of monster-killing machine on their behalf. And I’d sat down because my head hurt when the knife released me. He couldn’t blame me for that, right?
    Mike looked away for a bit. “It worked, that’s true, but you acted like you were possessed. Scared me to death.”
    The knife buzzed in my hand, almost like an apology.
    I smiled; that hurt too. “We got carried away. We’ll try to behave next time.”
    “You just said ‘we.’” Uncle Mike stared at me, his face stern. “Next time, try to remember where the blade ends and Matt begins, okay?”
    “Yes, sir,” I said, squirming a little. I must’ve looked like a freak. How had the blade gotten so much control?
    “Good.” He dropped the Major Tannen bit and squeezed my shoulder before heading off to organize the team.
    I watched him go, then whispered to the blade, “Next time,