Dark Game (Merikh Book 1) Read Free

alright?” Mouse said, worried.
    I pushed myself up on my elbow and waited for the world to stop spinning. There had been power in that hit, strength far out of proportion to even Trevor's build. He'd been trained, taught how to attack properly. Like a fighter. Like a warrior. Like me.
    “Are you done?” said Claire. She stood behind the counter, cradling her wrist. There was a thread of anger in her voice, though it was drowned by fear.
    “That's up to the banker boy.” Trevor took one step forward and stopped.
    I held up my hand. “Hang on a second,” I said as I pushed myself up off the floor. I kept my breathing even, calming myself, preparing myself.
    “You're going to try again, aren't you?” Trevor grinned at the thought.
    “Of course I am,” I said. I managed to get my feet under me and shook my head. The world swam around a little more than I’d like. “We can't let bullies like you just walk around and do whatever they want. You people need to be put down.”
    “And you're going to do that then? Boy, you’ve never met a bully like me.”
    “I never did like bullies.”
    Trevor attacked first this time. I was still dazed and I barely followed what was happening, but years of training took over where my conscious control had failed. I dropped and rolled to the side, coming to my feet and launching my own counterattack in one move. Muscle memory drove my elbow into the man's face, crushing his nose and forcing him back. I danced away, smiling through the heat on my face as blood erupted from Trevor's nose.
    “You shit—”
    Before Trevor could finish the thought, I was back. I chopped at his already broken nose before driving my fist into his kidneys a moment later. Trevor went down, crashing to his knees and lashing out blindly. I easily stepped out of the way before moving in for the kill. My knife was in my hand and ready to slice open the target's neck when Trevor suddenly came to life.
    He rose like a storm, like an unstoppable force of nature, bashing me aside with ease. A moment later, as I came to rest on the floor again, Trevor was standing over me and breathing heavily through the veil of blood dripping down his face.
    “I knocked the smile off your face, at least.” I tried to smile but it hurt too much.
    Trevor got a puzzled look on his face for a moment before smiling and stepping away. “I was going to stomp on your head there. Crush you, like a bug, but I have a better idea.” He raised his right hand and clicked his fingers.
    A faint line of energy shot from his outstretched hand, over my head and out the window. It brought with it the beginnings of nausea in my stomach, and shaking in my hands. No one else would be able to see the energy, feel the nausea. That was something just for me, some remnant of my training that let me see the impossible and know when magic was active in the world.
    Bloody magic, again.
    “Okay, I'm done,” I said quickly, scrambling to my feet.
    “You don't get that choice anymore, boy.”
    “Leave him be,” Claire tried, a quiver in her voice. Trevor's smile just grew broader. “He doesn't deserve this.”
    “The goons are coming,” Mouse said anxiously in my ear. “It's like a siren went off.”
    “It did,” I said. I was on my feet, wobbly but upright. Thoughts of helping Claire or finishing the job and killing Trevor were erased. Magic changed things. It was a force I couldn't understand, let alone fight. “Kill the lights.”
    “What?” Trevor said a second before the lights went out.
    This was my escape plan in case the police turned up before I could run, in case, for some reason, Claire pointed the finger at me as she stood over a dying Trevor. I ran for the exit out back, dodging tables and the counter before my eyes could adjust, going off the image in my head. I made it to the back room and threw the door open, which led me to the alley behind the diner and freedom. I dashed for the road running parallel to the direction the goons