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The woman had large eyes awash in dark blue and a defiant set to her jaw. Dried blood streaked down her face, peeling over her lips.
Slowly, Feyd-Rautha approached.
“You killed nine of my men with one single blade.”
It wasn’t a question.
He hoped for some kind of reaction. Some evidence of a fierce warrior hiding beneath the surface.
With each measured step, the weight of his side blade shifted in his armor. Machines are not warriors.
His hand flexed over her weapon, measuring the weight and balance. Then his eyes raked over her. Calculating, weighing her as an opponent.
She leaned minutely away as he advanced, instinctively. A deep-rooted survival to create space between herself and a predator.
A pleasurable heat hummed up his spine.
He waited, looking down on this fighter, her knees biting into the hard floor of the cave.
She was grossly outnumbered and there was nothing in her posture to suggest she would launch an attack. And yet, she did not cower under the weight of his gaze.
Fire burned in her eyes as she met his stare, arching her neck up from where she had been thrown on the ground. Blackened, charred birds encircled her.
Had this desert rat really killed nine?
A rising ache to fight pulsed through him, up and down his arms and legs.
His thoughts raced with possibilities. What if he kept her? He could have her thrown in the brig of the ship. Take her back to Geidi Prime, maybe get a training session or two out of her.
He could put her in the arena. The crowds would thirst over a female opponent, especially one who could fight back properly.
She held his gaze and boldly raised her chin.
Feyd-Rautha stared down into those hard eyes and knew. Saw the lethal hatred harbored there. Truly, it excited him.
This was not a filthy desert rat or sacred winged bird. She was a viper. And she’d kill them all if she got the chance.
No, he couldn’t keep her. He could not lose focus. Momentum was a crucial.
“She won’t talk.” A deputy to her right shifted forward.
Feyd-Rautha glanced at the deputy, at the dark streak of blood slashing down his side. Likely her work.
The ache to combat her intensified. His jaw clenched with restraint.
“Tell her that’s fine.”
Feyd-Rautha handed her blade over to a deputy. It was a shame he wouldn’t get to test her fighting skill for himself, but at least she would suffer at his hand for the death of his men.
“I know everything I need to know.”
He held out his hand for the torch handle and, for the first time, her proud chin faltered. A tremble swept down her spine.
Feyd-Rautha wetted his lips, “Pleasure is all that remains.”
Her dark eyes watered and the hatred in them intensified.
Finger resting over the trigger, he directed the spout end towards her chest, “Does the viper have a name?”
Oddly, this is what made her finally speak up.
“What difference does it make to you!”
A furious snarl erupted between her teeth as she climbed to her feet.
Three deputies lunged forward to force her back down, but he held a hand aloft to stop them.
His black teeth gleamed at her. “None.”
Standing now, she tipped her chin and glowered. The woman was taller than he expected, lithe. Balanced forward on her feet. Surely she moved with rapid efficiency in hand-to-hand.
Feyd-Rautha tilted his head, waiting. “Nothing else?”
He shrugged, raising the torch once more.
“I am Shishakli.” The dried blood cracked over lips as she spoke.
Feyd-Rautha paused, fixated on the specks of red. Shishakli. Shishakli.
With renewed determination, the woman stood to her full height.
“Shishakli Modun of Sietch Tabr. A child of the Zensunni Tribe. And we will not be defeated by you,” she snarled.
Then she reared back her head and spit at him. He watched it land on his boots.
“Shishakli Modun,” he narrowed his eyes at her now, "of Sietch Tabr. Prepare for death.”
Suddenly, a blast sounded from outside and the mountain shook. Chaos erupted. Dust and sand vibrated in a cloud around them. Feyd-Rautha glowered as his commanders scrambled to run outside.
The woman though, she held his eyes and smiled. ____________________________________________
Shishakli escapes and Feyd-Rautha gives furious chase.