Read Online Ruled by Steel (The Ascension Series #3) by S.M. Reine - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: S.M. Reine
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heard a clatter of metal.
Handcuffs?
She scissor-kicked the third as he rushed her, using the grip on her arms as leverage. She had enough momentum to flip backwards, over her captors, and land on the street behind them.
Elise grabbed their heads and smashed them together.
An electric sizzling noise reached her ears. She turned to see another nightmare holding a black box—not a gun, but something long and square. Lightning arced from the metal prongs at the end, dancing in snakelike cords.
A Taser.
She fired the gun at his hand twice, trying to hit the device and break it. She missed. The bullets smacked into the building behind him.
“Fuck it,” she grunted, tucking the pistol away.
The nightmare swung it at her, and she ducked under it, pushing off of her rear foot to drive her shoulder into his gut. He grunted, absorbing the impact of the blow without staggering. He drove the bony spike of his elbow into her back.
Elise hit the ground. She felt a boot connect with the back of her head—not nearly as much of a worry as the growing sound of electricity above her.
Twisting onto her back, she flipped onto her feet again.
He thrust the Taser at her, and she leaped away, watching its prongs come within inches of her stomach. The sight brought sweat to the back of her neck. She had used electricity before to deliberately injure herself and knew that a strong enough shock could drop her like nothing else could.
The nightmare swung again. She slammed her forearm into his, knocking him off-target.
Elise wrenched the Taser out of the nightmare’s grip and shoved it in his mouth.
She hadn’t used such a device before, but it wasn’t hard to figure out how it operated. Push the button. Watch the fireworks. A low buzz crackled through the air, muffled by spongy cheeks. The nightmare somehow screamed around the Taser. It was an ugly, gurgling noise.
It exploded into a sticky smoke that reeked of brimstone.
Elise didn’t wait to see if it might return to its corporeal form. She swung the Taser, still electrified, at the next nightmare.
Her close-range combat skills were far better than her abilities with a gun. She buried it in the nightmare’s gut and watched it dissipate, too. The scraps of remaining ichor splashed at the ground and vanished at the contact.
“Help!” Devadas cried. The useless fuck had fallen to the sidewalk, arms covering his head as another demon kicked and stomped at him.
Elise rolled her eyes and jammed the Taser in its back. It disappeared as quickly as the first two had. It also had a Taser, which clattered to the ground at her feet.
There were still two remaining—but they were backing away now, eyes wide and hands raised.
“What do you want from me?” Elise asked, holding one Taser in each hand. “Who sent you?”
They turned and fled.
Devadas picked himself up slowly, coiling his tail tightly around him. Even upright, he was still tiny and shrunken with fear, barely to her shoulders. “Insanity,” he groaned, holding his ribs. He was covered in welts that would soon become terrible bruises. Unlike the nightmares, he was very corporeal and had plenty of bones to break. “Assault on another demon within blocks of the market. In the days of the Council, that never would have happened.”
“Will you die?” Elise asked.
He blinked in confusion. “No, but…”
Then he was fine. She turned from him to focus on her newest acquisitions—a pair of matching Tasers, which fit neatly into her palms. They looked like TV remote controls that only had an on-off button. One of them hummed when she pressed it. The other didn’t react.
One down, one functioning. It would have to be good enough.
Elise turned the Taser that still worked over in her hands. She didn’t know much about such devices, but she thought it looked too expensive to be a consumer-grade device. It was sturdy. Very well built. Maybe something the military or police used.
Where a group of demons could have
Handcuffs?
She scissor-kicked the third as he rushed her, using the grip on her arms as leverage. She had enough momentum to flip backwards, over her captors, and land on the street behind them.
Elise grabbed their heads and smashed them together.
An electric sizzling noise reached her ears. She turned to see another nightmare holding a black box—not a gun, but something long and square. Lightning arced from the metal prongs at the end, dancing in snakelike cords.
A Taser.
She fired the gun at his hand twice, trying to hit the device and break it. She missed. The bullets smacked into the building behind him.
“Fuck it,” she grunted, tucking the pistol away.
The nightmare swung it at her, and she ducked under it, pushing off of her rear foot to drive her shoulder into his gut. He grunted, absorbing the impact of the blow without staggering. He drove the bony spike of his elbow into her back.
Elise hit the ground. She felt a boot connect with the back of her head—not nearly as much of a worry as the growing sound of electricity above her.
Twisting onto her back, she flipped onto her feet again.
He thrust the Taser at her, and she leaped away, watching its prongs come within inches of her stomach. The sight brought sweat to the back of her neck. She had used electricity before to deliberately injure herself and knew that a strong enough shock could drop her like nothing else could.
The nightmare swung again. She slammed her forearm into his, knocking him off-target.
Elise wrenched the Taser out of the nightmare’s grip and shoved it in his mouth.
She hadn’t used such a device before, but it wasn’t hard to figure out how it operated. Push the button. Watch the fireworks. A low buzz crackled through the air, muffled by spongy cheeks. The nightmare somehow screamed around the Taser. It was an ugly, gurgling noise.
It exploded into a sticky smoke that reeked of brimstone.
Elise didn’t wait to see if it might return to its corporeal form. She swung the Taser, still electrified, at the next nightmare.
Her close-range combat skills were far better than her abilities with a gun. She buried it in the nightmare’s gut and watched it dissipate, too. The scraps of remaining ichor splashed at the ground and vanished at the contact.
“Help!” Devadas cried. The useless fuck had fallen to the sidewalk, arms covering his head as another demon kicked and stomped at him.
Elise rolled her eyes and jammed the Taser in its back. It disappeared as quickly as the first two had. It also had a Taser, which clattered to the ground at her feet.
There were still two remaining—but they were backing away now, eyes wide and hands raised.
“What do you want from me?” Elise asked, holding one Taser in each hand. “Who sent you?”
They turned and fled.
Devadas picked himself up slowly, coiling his tail tightly around him. Even upright, he was still tiny and shrunken with fear, barely to her shoulders. “Insanity,” he groaned, holding his ribs. He was covered in welts that would soon become terrible bruises. Unlike the nightmares, he was very corporeal and had plenty of bones to break. “Assault on another demon within blocks of the market. In the days of the Council, that never would have happened.”
“Will you die?” Elise asked.
He blinked in confusion. “No, but…”
Then he was fine. She turned from him to focus on her newest acquisitions—a pair of matching Tasers, which fit neatly into her palms. They looked like TV remote controls that only had an on-off button. One of them hummed when she pressed it. The other didn’t react.
One down, one functioning. It would have to be good enough.
Elise turned the Taser that still worked over in her hands. She didn’t know much about such devices, but she thought it looked too expensive to be a consumer-grade device. It was sturdy. Very well built. Maybe something the military or police used.
Where a group of demons could have
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