In The Beginning by Gail Daley (top 100 books of all time checklist .TXT) 📕

to warn Brinna and the others. Juliette how many messengers do we have left?"

"We have three—and me," she replied. "Uncle Vernal is closest. If I take the one to him, the others can go to Papa, Brinna and Lolli since they know the barn better."

Katherine frowned. She would have to let her go. Juliette had cleverly cut off her objection about not being familiar enough with the Barn to sneak around.

"All right, but take this with you along with your Force Wand." Katherine pulled a short knife out of her boot and showed her how to attach the sheath to her belt. Juliette nodded and slipped down the stairs with the other messengers.

"You have to let her go, Katherine," Corrine commiserated. "I know it’s hard but she can handle it."

“How did you do it? You didn’t have you to say it was time to let go."

"Sometimes I didn’t," Corrine retorted, "when I should have, I suppose. You will too."

Suddenly all the screens came back to life, and a cheer went up from those watching them.   "Somebody's found the jammer!" cried Mia and everyone’s attention became riveted on the various battles going on.

Lolli and Zack were trussing up the attackers that had come in at the ground level barn entrances. Vernal and his group were chasing the invaders back down the tunnel to the Lodge.

Katherine was watching Juliette move toward the tunnel after Vernal when she unexpectedly spotted the dead guard by the door to the living quarters and watched in horror as a shadow flitted after Juliette.

“It’s Lister!" she said. "She's going for Juliette! Corrine I’m going down. She’s tried twice before. I told her there wouldn’t be a third time."

“Katherine!" Corrine called, tossing her own knife to her. "Take her down girl."

By the time Katherine reached the tunnel, both Lister and Juliette had disappeared. She forced herself to take a deep breath to calm down, and sent her third eye outward. There! She could feel both of them ahead of her. Juliette’s anger and fear and Lister's hate and contempt as they faced each other were clear.

Katherine came around a corner and saw them exactly as her third eye had shown her.

"You think you can take me?" Lister gloated at the child. "I will enjoy cutting your throat, kid. You’re history."

"No, she isn’t," Katherine said from behind her. "But you are. I warned you there would be no third time. Stand away from my daughter and face me."

Slowly Lister turned to face her. "You? You’re nothing but a soft piece of tail. I’ll cut you to ribbons," she said, drawing her knife.

"Juliette," Katherine didn’t take her eyes off Lyster. "Go down the tunnel to Vernal and stay with him."

Juliette hesitated and Katherine said firmly, "Go Daughter."

She calmly drew her own knife and waited for Lister to come to her. Something in Katherine’s expression caused Lister to hesitate, and then she laughed and lunged at Katherine, taking a wide swipe with her knife.

The air from the swipe whooshed as Katherine jumped back, slashing out with her own blade. She caught Lister’s knife on the backswing with her own, sparking steel as the knife-edges met.

Both women kicked out, each hoping to knock the other off her feet. Lister dodged and Katherine caught her with a glancing blow on her calf, but took a full kick to her thigh. It hurt, but she struck out with her left fist, hitting Lister hard enough in the stomach to make her gasp.

While bent over from the blow, Lister still lunged wildly and cut a gash in Katherine’s upper thigh.

Knowing she would soon be over-matched by the woman’s combat training, Katherine stepped inside Lister’s reach, and thrust up with her knife into the other woman’s body. Blood spurted as she pulled the knife out. Then she stepped back and considered Lister’s surprised eyes.

Lister looked down at the blood in astonishment and then at Katherine. "You killed me, you bitch," she said as she sank to the ground.

Katherine stood over her watching her die. "I told you there would be no third time. You should have listened."

"Mother you’re bleeding!" cried Juliette, the knife Katherine had given her clutched in her hand ready for use. She had disobeyed her and not gone down the tunnel to safety.

Katherine slid down the wall and looked up at her anxious daughter. "I’m afraid so, sweetie. Since you already have your knife out, cut a piece of my sleeve..."

"Unnecessary," said Zack, having run down the tunnel in time to see Katherine sink down. "I've got a medic field pack here. Katherine, I swear, if you ever risk your neck like that again, I’ll—"

"Don’t let her die," whispered Juliette.

"Oh, honey I won't die—Oww!" Katherine gasped. She sucked in a deep breath as Zack sprayed the wound with disinfectant and then used the flesh sealer. Despite his angry tone, his hands were gentle as he finished bandaging the long slash on her leg and went to work on her arm.

As soon as he finished, he grabbed her in a bone-crushing hug. Katherine extended her uninjured arm to Juliette and pulled her into the embrace.

Coming back down the tunnel with his prisoners, Vernal found the three of them sitting next to Lister’s body holding each other.

A New Beginning

CORA insisted that Katherine remain in bed to recover from her leg wound. Once her children and all the extended clan had walked through her room in the infirmary to make sure she would live, Zack ran everyone out and shut the door.

Katherine looked him over. "Well, you look as though you didn’t even get a scratch," she observed.

"That’s because I know what I’m doing," he retorted. "What in the Hell is wrong with you — taking on a combat-trained veteran in a knife fight? I nearly had a heart attack when I realized what was going on. I knew I was too far away to help you."

"She was going after Juliette. Did you think I would stand for that?"

"Why didn’t you shoot her?