Kai briefed his crew on Lilith’s intel. They didn’t care. Rusk wanted to kill. Levi wanted to feed. Silas did as told. They were ready.

  Who was he to stand in the way of their bloody desires?

  Lilith’s information bothered him more than it did his crew. Questions gnawed at him. How did Renzo know he was a steward? Did he have a puppet spying on him?

  His thumb stroked the silver ring through his glove. Renzo had seen him coming and massacred a village to deny him any advantage. What else did he know? Merek’s mother, the blacksmith, the priest - none of them had earned this.

  But people rarely got what they deserved.

  Mourning them wouldn’t help anyone. But their deaths gave him justification to take the village. He’d planned to build a power base in Nivis Village. That was off the table. But the land was in a perfect position. Bordered by the wilds, close to a cave.

  The despicable forest had ample wood. Abominations deterred invaders and doubled as food. The cave promised minerals, maybe more if they dug deep.

  The only obstacle was Nivisara Castle at their rear. A weak House that would struggle to oppose him - especially if he got Alira’s support. Lord Nivisara commanded few troops - nothing Rusk couldn’t handle. If he couldn’t defend against Renzo, he had no chance against Kai’s crew.

  The village blocked the only route from the castle. Worst case: he’d starve them out and recruit the deserters. The lord would play nice, or become a corpse.

  Alira’s ambitions aligned with his, but that didn’t mean she’d betray her father. Unlikely she’d help him kill Lord Nivisara. But her surname offered a path to smooth and complete usurpation. Not an impossible ask.

  He’d give her the money, power and armies she wanted.

  Renzo wasn’t here in the flesh. Kai’s revenge remained on Earth. But he couldn’t leave yet. Alira wouldn’t leave the village to those who’d massacred her people.

  Killing Renzo’s goons would hurt his forces and prove Kai a better protector than Alira’s father. Might be enough to win her support for the takeover.

  Why settle for steward when he could be a lord?

  He’d pay in blood and profit from it. He couldn’t save the villagers, but he could avenge them.

  Kai sent Silas ahead to burn any plants in their path. The wraith didn’t spare a blade of grass.

  They moved through the burnt husk of the outskirts toward the main village. Renzo and his goons had burnt most buildings to their foundations. A few stone structures remained standing. Smoke lingered, but the fires were out.

  The church tower loomed over the wreckage.

  They passed the square where Kai had saved Merek’s mother from Demon Hunters. The streets were grey with ash. A few burnt corpses decorated the rubble. Too few bodies.

  The rest had become walking skeletons or ash. Levi eyed the corpses. Alira eyed Levi. Her chilling glare kept him in check. They kept moving toward the tower.

  Seven red-armoured mobsters stood in front of the church gates. Helmets hid their faces.

  Two barefaced goons accompanied them. One had a blue rose in his black hair. The other had a sunken face that made him look like a fellow undead. A corpse wrapped in vines and punctured by plants hung from a church tower.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  A corpse Kai recognised - Pietre, the priest. The church failed to protect him from monsters roaming in daylight.

  Dakas and Renzo were nowhere to be seen. But Kai sensed two bodies inside the church. And something else. A flat entity, like his dark wolf’s shadow form, coiled around both bodies’ arms.

  Like a snake coiled around prey.

  The same thing he’d noticed on that Ashvale soldier back at the castle.

  That’s how he’s doing it.

  Renzo had always been secretive about his Gift. Kai had respected his prudence. Concealing your best weapon was how you surprised your enemies. Now Kai glimpsed the weapon. He rifled through his memories.

  How long had Renzo been watching? How much did he know?

  The Dusk House. The sacrifice. He couldn’t sense space then, but he saw it. The snake wrapped around a Carver goon’s arm. He’d thought the goon was a spy. He was both right and wrong.

  Kai would have laughed if he weren’t facing seven henchmen, two Marked, the monster who killed him, and a puppet of the man who betrayed him.

  The discovery was vital. But Lilith said Renzo had multiple Gifts. He couldn’t afford complacency.

  At least he understood how Renzo controlled Dakas, even as a monster. The snake entity probably transferred information back and forth. Renzo knew what his puppets knew, and they did as he commanded.

  No way to know how deep the control went or its limits. His fingers wrapped tighter around his sword.

  Letting Renzo reveal more tricks was tempting but too dangerous. Too many unknowns. Better to kill them all before they could strike.

  The one with the flower turned to his sunken-faced companion. “Is that the steward?” Probably Sybil and Vincent. Vincent didn’t respond.

  Sybil kept talking. “He looks weak, doesn’t he?” Sybil and Vincent sized up the crew.

  Sybil scoffed. “Why do they follow this weakling?” The flower didn’t complement his armour at all. Blue and red clashed like mortal enemies. The sight would pain Thread God’s eyes.

  Kai glanced at the yellow flower in Alira’s blue hair. Maybe they shared a curse?

  Rusk glared at the men, lips pressed into a line. Kai grabbed his shoulder. Rusk looked at him. Kai shook his head.

  “Shouldn’t I kill them all?” Rusk asked.

  “Too dangerous,” Kai replied. “Remember Dakas’s Gift. You decapitate all these bastards and Dakas jumps in the way - what happens to you?”

  The fire in Rusk’s eyes didn’t dim.

  “And look around,” Kai said. Rusk’s gaze swept the area. “Isn’t it selfish to keep all the fun to yourself?” Kai tilted his head towards Levi. “You’re not like that greedy bastard, are you?”

  “My appetite is perfectly normal!” the vampire retorted.

  Rusk lowered his head. “No, I’m not a greedy bastard like that vampire.”

  Levi scowled. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kai raised a hand.

  His gaze locked on the two Marked. “You get one chance.” His hungry blade rose, aimed at the Marked.

  Sybil’s Gift was mostly useless - Silas had burned every plant around them. But he couldn’t account for plants the Marked carried. Or plant stockpiles hidden inside the church. Still, he wouldn’t be an issue.

  Vincent had a raised chin and stern expression covering his pale face. His Gift was harder to deal with. How do you kill a man who controls fear? Kill him before he uses his power - simple, effective.

  “Who do you—” Sybil’s brow furrowed as his gaze found Silas. “Is that the ashen prick who torched my plants?”

  The Marked squandered the generous chance Kai had offered.

  “Soldiers,” Kai said, “or whatever you are - I’ll give you one chance to lay down your weapons if you want to live.”

  Laughter spread among the seven mundane humans. Made sense. They saw Kai as easy prey, even with the heavy hitters beside him.

  They assumed their hitters were heavier.

  Kai shook his head. “Levi.”

  Levi’s eyebrows rose. “Me?”

  “You haven’t done a single useful thing since I got you.”

  “How dare you!” Levi replied.

  “All you’ve done is stare at Alira and complain about your hunger.”

  Kai shrugged and gestured to the armoured suits before them. “There’s dinner. Leave some blood for me though.”

  “Hey, I asked you a question,” Sybil said. Kai ignored him.

  The vampire’s grimace softened as his hungry eyes swept over the armoured goons. He licked his lips. “You make a good point.”

  “Rusk, be careful. Kill one at a time. Alira, I assume you know what you’re doing.”

  Alira scoffed as she assumed a battle stance, raising her icy blade.

  Sybil scowled and plucked the rose from his hair. “Vincent! This prick thinks he can take us.”

  Vincent unsheathed his steel blade and stayed silent. A man of few words.

  “Hey, Sybil,” Kai said.

  Sybil’s gaze locked on him. Kai tilted toward Silas beside him, his hand gripping his shoulder. “Let me introduce you.”

  Sybil opened his mouth, but Kai had already vanished, bringing Silas with him. He sent the order through his soul bond:

  Burn.

  Kai emerged behind Sybil, in front of the church gates. Silas seized Sybil’s skull. Flames devoured his body and the rose at a wicked pace. Whatever the flower man meant to say became screams.

  One Marked down. Three to go.

  As the pompous bastard burned, adding to the ash coating the cobblestones, Vincent moved. The pale man opened his mouth. Darkness surged forth.

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