NaNoWriMo excerpt

Grave Tidings, excerpt 2

      The man in the hotel room had been dissected, laid across the bed like an illustration in an anatomy textbook. No, vivisectioned, Justina realized as her Nethersenses caught echoes of the man's pain and ... joy? She frowned.
      The door opened behind her. Justina turned, a throwing knife in her hand.
      "So you're my daughter." A tall man walked into the room. The air temperature dropped fifty degrees. The lights flickered.
      "Only by blood," Justina said.
      "That will be sufficient for my purposes, my cherished daughter," he said, smiling. He seemed to glow, and she could feel the need the fall on her knees and worship him. He was a god, every woman's dream; he would care for her and keep her safe and be the father she had always needed.
      "Turn it off, Warbucks," Justina said. "My quota for crap is filled today."
      He looked surprised, then pleased. "My blood truly runs through your veins."
      "I’ll get a transfusion," Justina said.
      "You should not be dismayed," the man said. "You have been chosen for a great purpose."
      "Like he was chosen?" Justina indicated the dead man on the bed with a toss of her head.
      "It was the most joyous moment in his miserable life," her father said.
      "Why did you kill him?"
      ”I was hungry. He had served his purpose.”
      ”Who was he?”
      He shrugged. “A scientist, I think. I never asked his name. Why would I?” Energies gathered around him like heat from a furnace. "I am Renarr, Aspect of Mamon, Warrior of the Endless Void--"
      "Blah, blah, blah," Justina said. "I'm not impressed by your resume."
      "I see, daughter, you need a lesson in courtesy," he said advancing on her.
      Justina leapt, twisted, and kicked him in the face. As soon as her blow landed, she knew she had made a mistake. He was iron under that Italian suit. He didn't move an inch. She used the force of her kick to back flip across the room. She threw the knife at him.
      Renarr slapped the knife away and smiled at her. "You'll have to do bet--"
      Justina pulled her .357 and emptied the clip into his body.
      He staggered back, then laughed. "Is that--"
      She dropped her gun and called her soulsword. She blazed power down its length and hurled eldritch fire to engulf him.
      He stepped forth, unharmed.
      "Finished?" he asked. "Or will you test your sword against me? I assure you that it will not ..."
      Justina turned and threw herself against the window. It shattered. She was out and falling, her arms wide, the ground ten stories below.

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