The Selkie of San Francisco by Todd Calgi Gallicano

Author:Todd Calgi Gallicano
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2018-06-18T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

Sam London had never read The Epic of Gilgamesh, but he was about to witness the epic fight of Gilgamesh and the Guardian Tashi. He didn’t imagine Guardians got nervous, but that was okay. He had enough butterflies in his stomach for the both of them. Iaira gripped Sam’s arm, eyeing him with distress, while Sam looked to Vance for his reaction. The doctor sighed heavily and shifted his gaze back toward the impending spectacle.

Tashi didn’t waste any time getting started and propelled herself forward into four front flips. She threw her arm out to strike Gilgamesh but managed only to land a glancing blow on his right temple. A warning shot, Sam thought.

“Speed will not win the day,” Gilgamesh warned. But Tashi was already in front of him again, sliding across the slick stone floor. She moved to strike a second time, and Gilgamesh thrust out an open palm that caught Tashi in the upper chest, sending her staggering back from the force. She shook it off and aimed for Gilgamesh again, successfully dodging a jab from him. But he had anticipated her adjustment.

His other hand hooked in and landed solidly on her back, sending Tashi careening into a wall. Iaira gasped and tightened her grip on Sam’s arm. The Guardian deftly flipped herself over and pushed off the wall with her legs. Springing back toward her opponent, she took a shot at his face before spinning in the air and landing back in her fighting stance. This shot had connected hard, and a shocked Gilgamesh rubbed his jaw.

“Let’s end this nonsense, Ranger,” Gilgamesh said in a frustrated tone. “You will remain here a few days until it is safe to travel. I myself will arrange for your accommodations to stay in our finest hotel.”

“As tempting as that sounds, we can’t. Not now. Not with what’s hanging in the balance,” Vance told him.

Gilgamesh pivoted back to Tashi with a determined look. He began to take full advantage of the length of his arms and legs, deflecting the Guardian’s attacks and keeping her at bay. Tashi repositioned herself and seemed to be eyeing her opponent more carefully, choosing her moments to move in and take calculated shots. The fight raged on and involved wrestling, boxing, and several martial arts fighting styles, many of which Sam didn’t even recognize.

Gilgamesh was the quintessential unmovable object, and Tashi was the unrelenting force. Nothing seemed to faze her for more than a second—she just kept attacking, looking for weaknesses and testing his endurance. They appeared to be perfectly matched, until Tashi hung a spinning kick that nailed Gilgamesh in the face.

Not wasting a moment, the Guardian next came down hard on his foot, smashing it with a fist. Gilgamesh grunted and instinctively pulled his foot up off the floor. Tashi seized the opportunity and swept at the other leg. The big man crashed to the ground, and Tashi pounced, grabbing him in a sleeper hold. Gilgamesh grabbed at her arms, but she was already locked in.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.