Regret (Lady of Toryn Trilogy) Read Online Free Page B

exasperatedly jumped over Kou
again, who was now tenaciously trying to draw a knife from its sheath at his
hip.
    “Points for effort,” Ashlyn
snapped, yanking the knife from his hands and giving him a satisfying kick to
the face. She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. In such cramped
quarters, it would be difficult to defeat the four soldiers coming from the
opposite direction- on the other hand, if she went back to the cavern, there
could be dozens more waiting for her.
    Either way, she didn’t want to be
trapped in this corridor.
    She took off at a dead sprint for
the cavern.
    Her mind was racing. The ice stane in her shuriken was powerful
enough to cause some real damage. She could create a wall of ice across the
cave entrance to prevent the army from getting in. If she made it thick, it
might hold long enough for her to take out whatever soldiers were already in
the cave and then use reveal to find
her father.
      A masked ninja came running down the corridor
towards her, brandishing his katana. Ashlyn didn’t bother slowing down. She brought
her shuriken up and wrenched her wrist, catching the blade between the prongs
of the weapon. The katana snapped in half. She twisted her hand, still running,
and the shuriken caught the soldier in the neck, dragging him with her three
paces before he finally fell.
    Ashlyn rushed out of the
corridor, wielding both Kou’s knife and the shuriken. Two soldiers met her as
she came out, and she spun, lashing out with both weapons. The first ninja was
caught by surprise and managed a gurgle before collapsing to the floor of the
cave, but the second one was quick enough to duck under the blades. Ashlyn
glanced over her shoulder, seeing a third ninja just behind her, and danced
backwards as the second one advanced, the puddle on the floor soaking her boots
uncomfortably. She spun to the side as the third one charged from behind. She landed
a swift kick to his back that sent him stumbling straight into the second
soldier’s sword.
    She dropped into a crouch to
avoid a barrage of tiny shuriken, and flung out her right hand, fingers
splayed, using an ice spell to freeze
her assailant into a very statuesque ninja-sicle before he could toss anything
else in her direction. There were soldiers pouring in from outside, and Ashlyn
realized with a sinking feeling that it was much too late to ice over the cave
entrance, and that she was outnumbered. As in really, really, really outnumbered.
    She took a running start and
launched herself at a small, jutting ledge on the cave wall, and latched on
with just three fingers as she called up the lightning stane in her shuriken. Ashlyn dangled precariously,
holding on for dear life as the bolt of electricity split the room, instantly
delivering a not-so-pleasant jolt to the two dozen ninjas milling about in the
shallow pool of water at the center of the cavern. Several of them screamed while
others simply collapsed in a trembling, steaming heap of limbs, and as the
magic died out, Ashlyn dropped back to the floor and delivered an uppercut to
the closest soldier.
    Kou chose that moment to come
stumbling out of the corridor, yelling garbled orders, and Ashlyn paused mid-maiming
to look over at the man who was attempting to command his army. The right side
of Kou’s face was already swelled up, and blood was dripping from his split
lower lip. And- hoo boy, he looked angry .
    Ashlyn took several steps back,
putting some distance between her and the confused ninjas. Her adrenaline was
starting to kick in now, and though she still wasn’t quite at the stage of mindless
invincibility yet, there was a plan of
action formulating in her wee ninja brain.
    She yanked at the mask, tearing
it so that it fell away, exposing her face. “Still determined to take control
of Toryn, Devlyn?” she snapped at
Kou. “Do you honestly think you can defeat the true Elder Heir? I don’t care
how many soldiers you send after me. I
kicked the crap out of Lord