Chapter 226: The Awakened Beast

  Anelia’s muscles tightened. Self-conscious thoughts made her joints seize up, and she could feel some blood rushing into her cheeks as Denisoa insisted she “twirl” in tandem to the music, which had become even more festive and somewhat chaotic. The live musicians were even dancing as they played.

  “Come on!” Denisoa shouted over the music. “Twirl!”

  Anelia refused. She didn’t “twirl.” She wasn’t that kind of person. The fact that she was even dancing at all was something that took her so far outside her comfort zone it was almost unbearable. And yet, even as her body locked up, she couldn’t deny the smile working its way onto her face.

  Denisoa, she thought, watching her partner’s laughing face, you’re perfect in every way.

  The song ended, and so too did the music. A few moments later, a man in dark blue overalls came on stage and stood in front of the microphone. “How’s everyone doing tonight?” he asked, his voice booming from the speakers positioned all around the town square. A loud, happy cheer came from the crowd, who threw up their arms and shouted various things back to him, all of which were positive and affirmative.

  “Great to hear it! I’m Melvon Tinabar, as most of you already know, and I am the current head of Den of Ziragoth’s board of community outreach. I just wanna say…” The man took off his hat and placed it against his chest, holding it there as his words turned emotional. “I just wanna say how honored and grateful I am. And I ask all of you to give an earnest round of applause to our wonderful, beautiful queen and her equally beautiful daughter. Without them, none of us would be here today. On our feet. Surviving. Holding strong despite all that we’ve had to endure.”

  At this, the town roared in approval, and Anelia watched as Kalana blushed and her mother smiled. The two of them were standing together just outside the dance floor. The queen was holding a glass filled with wine, and Kalana was holding hands with two very young children. The little ones all seemed to love her, and she seemed to adore them, too. They flocked around her whenever she came to town.

  “Although he is not here with us today, I would also like to extend my thanks to Sir Zachys Calador of the Royal Roses, whose heroic actions on that tragic day saved thousands of lives.” Then, unexpectedly, he set his sights on Anelia. “And also to our friend and neighbor, Anelia Hellcrest, who put her life at risk to evacuate the wounded and who stuck around to help us rebuild. We all love you, Anelia. And we thank you for everything you’ve done.”

  Feeling put on the spot and quite a bit awkward, Anelia merely returned a slight smile and a weak wave. She did not crave the attention. Denisoa, however, grabbed her hand, lifted it up like she’d just won a fighting competition, and let out a cheer, which caused the entire crowd to join her. For nearly half a minute, they chanted her name, and she felt increasingly embarrassed yet also touched with each chant. Finally, however, their attention diverted back to the man, who continued his speech, which went on for almost ten more minutes.

  “…and so, having said all that,” he concluded. “We’re going to bring out some of the best desserts and coffee you’ve ever had! And then there’ll be some more music and dancing after the band takes a short little break. Long live Den of Ziragoth!”

  A final round of cheering and applause came and went, and afterwards, the crowd began to slowly disperse and head over to the massive line of dessert stations that Kalana and her mother had organized. There was everything from cookies to cake, to pastries and pies. There was even a soft-serve ice cream machine with an entire section dedicated to toppings.

  And of course, there was Adim and Peter, both atop Ruby’s back, rushing to get in line with the other children. Anelia smiled. And for just a moment, she allowed herself to relax. To really relax. Her shoulders, which were always tensing, began to loosen, and her hands, which had a tendency to ball into fists, became unclenched.

  How can anyone even think about eating ice cream in this weather? Anelia wondered. Although today happened to be one of those rare, unseasonably warm winter days, it was still only a few degrees above freezing, and if not for the outdoor space heaters positioned all over the town square, it would be extremely uncomfortable right now.

  Anelia chuckled. This was just such a beautiful town, and it was becoming more beautiful by the day. “Denisoa, do you want me to get you something?” she asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m not really in the mood for anything sweet.” She shifted her hips into Anelia. “Except for you, babe. Hey, you should go and get yourself something nice. You deserve a piece of cake or some ice cream.”

  Anelia barked out a laugh. “Me? Standing in line for ice cream? Never.”

  “There’s a first time for everything.”

  “Maybe. But not today.”

  Denisoa laughed. Then she leaned in closer and said, “I almost forgot. Princess Kalana wanted your opinion on an idea she had. Something about the market she wants to build. You should go talk to her. I completely forgot to tell you.”

  Anelia shrugged. “I’m sure it can wait for tomorrow.”

  “Just go,” Denisoa said, practically shooing her.

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Anelia turned around and scanned the large, mingling crowd for the princess, who had been moving about it and greeting people all night. There she is, Anelia thought, spotting her near the back of the town square. With the children having run off to the dessert station, she was now free to shake hands and give some of her attention to the adults. Having found her, Anelia began heading her way.

  “Pardon me,” she said, stepping around and in some cases between people in this massive, tightly enclosed crowd. As Anelia worked her way over to where she’d been standing, she noticed that the princess was already heading off in a completely separate direction to speak with an entirely different group of people. But with such a big crowd slowing her down, it felt like playing catch-up, and Anelia was not about to chase her around all night. Besides, there would always be time for this kind of conversation later.

  I’ll just see her tomorrow, she thought, turning around and struggling her way back through the crowd towards Denisoa. But then, abruptly, she stopped short, having only turned halfway around. Her eyes widened.

  What the hell? Isn’t that…?

  She held her breath a moment. There was a face blending in with the crowd. A face she recognized. A face that didn’t belong here. A face that caused her entire body to tense apprehensively. It belonged to a man wearing a black suit with a blue tie and a white undershirt, a man with short brown hair and an ugly face that revealed several gold teeth from his overbite.

  Now, with a much greater speed, and even a degree of rudeness, she began shoving confused people aside as she stormed her way over to this man—this cutthroat son of a bitch who had no reason to be in Den of Ziragoth. And as she neared, a look of surprise came upon his eyes.

  “A-Anelia?” he asked, choking and then spitting out wine while the glass was still touching his lips.

  “Shawnim Dole,” she growled, coming right up to him and getting in his face. “What in the name of the Gods are you doing here?”

  Shawnim’s lips parted, but no words exited. Something was off. Something wasn’t right. Why would he be here? She needed to know. Now. “Don’t make me ask you again.”

  The man’s surprise faded, and anger replaced it. “I could ask you the same shit,” he replied. “I heard you bitched out on a job and went into hiding. Never would’ve expected it to be here, though. Guess the rumors were true after all.”

  Anelia grabbed the front of his white undershirt and tugged on it, causing his face to pull within inches of her own. “Why are you here, Shawnim?” she asked again, placing more threat in her words this time.

  “To enjoy the party,” he said, obviously lying. “The same as you.”

  “Bullshit. You’re working. You’re on a job. Who is it? Who’s the target?”

  Anelia glanced over her shoulder to where Princess Kalana was making conversation with some of the townsfolk on the opposite end of the square. Anelia sighed with relief. That girl had really grown on her, and despite having beaten the hell out of her, Anelia had come to care for the princess. If anyone tried to hurt her, Anelia would make them suffer.

  “Is it the princess?” she demanded.

  “It’s nothing that concerns you, Anelia,” he said, swatting away her hand, backing up a few steps, and then straightening his white undershirt.

  “It does concern me. This town is off limits. Whatever it is you’ve come here to do, I suggest you reconsider. I want you out of here. Now.”

  Shawnim backed away another step. “I’m not up to any trouble. Just mind your own business and walk away, Anelia. You’ll create a scene.”

  Anelia balled her hands into fists, squeezing them tightly. “You better not attack that sweet girl.”

  Her words seemed to shock him more than threaten him. “You’ve changed, Anelia. You’re softer now.”

  “Say that again, and I’ll show you how wrong you are. Now get the fuck out of my town. I better not see you around here ever again. I’m serious!”

  “Relax,” he said in a far-too soft tone of voice. “I was just on my way out of here, anyway.”

  Anelia spun back around and waded her way back through the thick crowd until returning to Denisoa, who sent her a questioning look. “Babe, what’s wrong?” she asked. “You look upset.”

  “It’s nothing,” she said. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

  “Are you sure? Did something happen between you and the princess?”

  “No. Didn’t get a chance to speak to her, actually.”

  “Then why do you look so—”

  “Don’t wanna talk about it,” she repeated, this time with a grunt. Then she narrowed her eyes as she stared at the dessert station behind and across from Denisoa. “Where’d Adim and Peter go?”

  “Oh. Hm?” She turned around and looked at the crowd of children swarming their way through the various sweets before joining their parents or friends at one of the many tables. “I guess…I guess they must’ve run off.”

  Anelia immediately and instinctively snapped her head in the direction of the various tables, her eyes working quickly to search for the boys. Given that they were with Ruby, they should have been easy to spot. Yet as she glanced from table to table, her heart began to beat faster, and the overall sense of wrongness intensified.

  Something isn’t right.

  “Denisoa, where is he?” she asked again, this time more nervously than she’d intended.

  “Like I said, they must’ve run off playing.”

  “That makes no sense, Denisoa. They were just in line for dessert. Why aren’t they sitting with the other children and eating?”

  “That…” Although a brief flicker of alarm did appear to cross her features, it did not last. “Babe, it’s so cute how you’re so protective of Adim, but you’ve got to—”

  She released a yelp of surprise as Anelia rushed beyond her and almost accidentally knocked her over. “Out of my fucking way,” she said to a man a bit in front of her who was taking too long to step aside. This time, she did knock him to the floor with a shove, causing the glass he was holding to hit the fresh new pavement and shatter. Two nearby women gave her odd looks as she hurriedly fought her way through the crowd to the tables where the children were seated.

  “It’s Anelia!” one of the children said happily.

  “Hi, Anelia!” said another.

  “Can you show us more of your strength?” yet another asked. “Lift us all up in the table!”

  “Yeah!” a cute little girl with pigtails and freckles agreed.

  Anelia smiled at them, forcing the expression onto her lips. “Where’s Adim and Peter?” she asked.

  The young children all looked at one another. “Umm, I dunno,” the girl with the pigtails said. “I saw them getting the dessert and then, umm, umm, I dunno. I’m sorry.”

  Be calm. You’re talking to children.

  “That’s all right, sweetheart. Did any of you see where they went? Anyone at all?”

  A boy, perhaps only five or so years old, raised his hand. “Anelia, I did see them but umm…but I think that they were going to go to the park.”

  “The park?” she asked. “What park?”

  “Onbert’s maybe.”

  “The one all the way across town?” she asked with a shout, causing several of the children to flinch fearfully and their mothers to come hurrying over.

  “I don’t really know,” the boy said. “There was a man who said that, th-that there was a hidden treasure and that whoever got there first gets to have it. But none of us could go as fast as Ruby ‘cause that’s cheating and…and that’s why they go there and we don’t. He didn’t say which the park was.”

  “There’s a treasure in the park?” the little girl with the pigtails asked, her eyes lighting up.

  “Yeah,” the boy said. “That’s what the man said. I swear he said that.”

  “It wasn’t the park,” another interjected. “I saw everything. The man said it was the field near the corn.”

  “No!”

  “Yeah, I heard him.”

  Why would someone say this to the children? she wondered. Then she felt a kicking sensation in her chest as she began to put two and two together. Oh no. Gods, please, no!

  As the crippling realization befell her, an argument began taking place between the children, but Anelia ignored it, because in truth, she’d already heard enough. Right now, she was stricken by a level of fear that she’d never before experienced. Even when she’d been running for her life through Shadowfall Coast with Princess Kalana hot on her tail…even when she’d been about to take her own life with the poison pill…none of it compared to the sheer depth of the terror she now felt.

  With both fear and rage boiling inside of her, she spun around and once again scanned the crowd. And now, just on the outskirts of the town square, not all that far from the princess, she saw a man strolling casually away with his hands in his pockets. But even from this distance, and even in the dark of night, she could tell it was Shawnim from his ugly face and his overbite. He appeared to be leaving the area.

  “Anelia, what’s going on?” a concerned mother asked. “Why are you shouting at our children?”

  “Anelia, is everything okay?” someone else asked.

  “Anelia!” Denisoa yelled to her. “What’s gotten into you? Why are you acting like this?”

  Anelia ignored all of them. With her heart kicking faster and faster in her chest, she took about ten backwards steps while her body remained pointed ahead towards Shawnim. And then she sprinted as fast as she could forward, covering those same ten steps in a fraction of a second. Yet at the last possible moment, she bent her knees, and with all her strength, she leapt up and into the air, causing head after head to turn and people to call out in fear and confusion as she sailed over them.

  One head after the next, she flew over the crowd, propelled by her forward motion and crossing most of the distance in that single leap. Moments later, she landed on top of a brawny-looking man, who nevertheless crumpled to the floor. Without even bothering to apologize or help him back up to his feet, she launched herself forward yet again, this time at a run, causing several people to be thrown aside and a general panic to erupt in the town square as she made a mad dash towards Shawnim, who didn’t seem to see her coming.

  “Anelia!” Kalana shouted at her as though in shock. “What are you doing? Why are you running? What’s going—”

  Anelia shot right past Kalana, bypassing and ignoring her completely, and then she opened her mouth wide, and with a thunderous fury, she roared, “SHAWNIM DOLE!”

  Spinning around in her direction, he only just had time to defensively hold out his hands as she slammed into him. He made a loud “guh” sound as the wind was knocked out of him and he was slammed onto the ground. Every other person nearby began to cry out and back away as the pavement split and cracked upon impact.

  “Anelia!” he shouted. “Wh-what’re you doing to me? Why are you—?”

  Anelia, straddling his chest, balled her right hand into a fist and then slammed it down into his face so hard that one of his golden front teeth was knocked clean out of his mouth. Then she hit him a second time, snapping his face in the opposite direction and causing him to spit out blood.

  “Where the fuck is he?” she roared. “What did you do?”

  He didn’t reply. At least not fast enough. So she grabbed the front of his shirt, stood up, lifted him above her chest with both hands, then raised her arms above her head before bending forward and slamming him again onto the ground, this time with enough force to leave a small hole in the pavement that framed his entire body.

  “I asked you a question, you son of a bitch!”

  She picked him up a second time, now with her fist wrapped tightly around his throat. With one fast, intense motion, she twisted her hips, spun her body, and threw out her arm, sending him hurtling towards the crowd, which dispersed as he nearly struck several of them.

  “S-stop!” he cried out as his body crashed into a wine cart, shattering dozens of glasses and causing liquor to pour all over the floor.

  She stormed over to him as he tried to pick himself up, his face bloodied. Yet she briefly stopped as she passed a farmer. “Give me that. Now!”

  “Anelia,” the kindly old farmer said. “What’s gotten into—”

  “Give me!” she yelled, pointing at his waist.

  “Okay, okay!” The man had a decent amount of rope spooled around him. She took it. Then she made her way the rest of the distance towards Shawnim, and before the ugly mage could so much as yelp, she tied it tightly around his throat, then hoisted him up by grabbing the opposite end of the rope, dangling him like a piece of meat for sale in a market.

  With her one hand holding him up by the rope wrapped around his throat, she used her opposite hand to punch him twice in his gut. He gargled and choked. “Tell me where he is now, you mother fucker!” she screamed at him.

  And it was at this point that Princess Kalana and her mother finally intervened, both of them looking at her with horrified, confused expressions of sheer disbelief. Denisoa, too, was coming over, tears in her eyes.

  “Please don’t hurt her!” Denisoa begged of Kalana and the queen. “I don’t know why she’s doing this!”

  “Anelia, you have to stop now!” Kalana shouted. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but we can help you, and we can—”

  “Princess Kalana!” Anelia yelled. She turned her head to look over her shoulder at the girl, even as she continued to suspend the man in the air by the rope around his neck. “This piece of shit right here is named Shawnim Dole, and he’s a bounty hunter. But more importantly, he’s just kidnapped Peter and Adim!”

  Everything changed upon those words. Denisoa’s face seemed to drain of color, and Princess Kalana’s mouth opened widely. Both seemed stunned into silence. But not the queen. The queen’s eyes lit up with an immediate, unmatched fury.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Queen Vayra, I swear in the name of every God and Goddess that this shitbag took the kids.”

  “That’s impossible,” the queen replied. “Peter and Adim were right over…” She turned her head to look towards the dessert station. “…they were just there.” Now, the fury seemed to double, and from her side, she removed a gladius. Rushing forward, she placed it against the man’s throat.

  “Are you certain about this?” she asked Anelia.

  “I am.”

  “Is this true?” she asked Shawnim. “Tell me right this moment, human, or I will cut your heart out. Have you taken the children?”

  Shawnim tried to reply, but with the noose so tight around his neck, all he could do was gargle and choke. Kalana, seemingly finding her strength, darted over to join the two of them, and then she shoved both Anelia and her mother out of the way and immediately loosened the rope around his throat.

  “You’re killing him! His face is turning blue!”

  The man fell onto his ass, gasping for air in big, heaving breaths. “I…I didn’t take ‘em,” he said. “I was just on recon.”

  “Wait, what?” Kalana asked.

  “Please don’t kill me. I’m just the recon guy. I didn’t take ‘em. The others did.”

  With those words serving as confirmation, it now seemed to sink into Kalana, the queen, and Denisoa that the boys really had been taken. Until just now, they had all regarded Anelia as though she might have gone mad. But with this, there could no longer be any doubt.

  “Where?” Queen Vayra hissed, her entire body trembling with rage. “Where have you taken my son!”

  “I don’t know. My only job was to spot and report.”

  “How many of you are there?” Anelia demanded.

  “Around twenty.”

  “Let me guess. Vaz?”

  “Yeah, this is his op.”

  Anelia, too, was now trembling with rage. “Oh, you’re fucking dead. You’re dead now. Stand up.” He didn’t move, so she yelled it louder. “I said, stand up!”

  He scrambled back to his feet. The moment he did so, she threw a right jab into his nose, causing blood to spurt out. He was immediately flung onto his back from the force of the punch. Caught in a rage, Anelia lifted her right leg, ready to stomp on his face and crush his skull. However, a moment before her boot found his face, a powerful force pushed her in the opposite direction.

  “Stop it!” Kalana shouted as Anelia found herself planted on her own back.

  “Princess! Did you not hear what he—”

  “I don’t care! You can’t kill him! Nothing you do to him now is gonna change whatever he did. We gotta find the kids. Seiley! Trelvor! Where are you?”

  “We’re over here, your Highness!” they shouted, the two of them running over. “What happened?”

  Kalana pointed at the man. “This man is a bounty hunter. And I think he and his friends kidnapped Peter and Adim.”

  Seiley’s face immediately darkened, mirroring the queen’s expression and the expression that was probably on Anelia’s face as well. “He did what?” she asked, reaching into her robe and producing a staff, the end of it beginning to burn and release flame.

  “No!” Kalana said urgently. “No killing! I want you two to arrest this human and take him to the city. Please. Promise me you won’t kill him.”

  “Of course, Your Highness,” Trelvor said with a bow, his white cloak fluttering behind him. Seiley also nodded, though she appeared to do so reluctantly. And the queen, for her part, had already spun around and had begun barking orders to the Elvish guard mobilizing around her.

  “Call in the Elvish peacekeepers from the city,” she said. “I want a full team over here immediately.”

  “At once!” a green-cloaked guard replied, bowing.

  Anelia, becoming more fearful by the second, turned around and grabbed Denisoa, who let out a yelp of surprise as she picked her up and then began sprinting off. “What’s going on?” she called out. “Where’s Adim? What’s happening? Where are you taking me?”

  By this point, the entire town square had erupted into panic and confusion, and now several Elves as well as human peacekeepers were working to restore order. Anelia, refusing to answer the question just yet, ran with Denisoa to the opposite side of the town square and then into town, all while carrying her in her arms.

  “I’m getting you home,” she said. “In case something happens.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “In case what happens?” she asked. And now, tears were flowing out of her eyes. “Anelia, where’s my baby. Where? Tell me!”

  “I don’t know,” she said as she sprinted down the same street lined with homes that Zach had once leapt across during his duel with the dragon. At a speed far faster than a galloping horse, she bolted down another two blocks, took a sharp left at the end of a third, and then at last made her way through the garden and to the front door of the home she now shared with Adim and Denisoa. Carefully, she set the woman down. Then she hurried into the house, slamming open the door with a bit too much force and likely damaging it.

  “Where are you going?” Denisoa cried, desperation and misery in her voice. She continued to call out questions as Anelia hurriedly made her way into the kitchen, through the living room, and then into the master bedroom. “Anelia, please, baby, talk to me. I’m begging you.”

  Anelia grabbed the handle to the walk-in closet and yanked it open. Then she moved inside. Once there, she squeezed her right hand into a fist, and she bashed it into the wall, causing the entire section of it to crumble as plaster and drywall spilled all over the carpet.

  “Anelia!” Denisoa cried. “What are you doing? Please, I don’t understand what you—”

  Her words ended in an even louder cry of surprise as, from within the wall, an entire suit of grey-colored scale armor and several ether cannons emptied onto the carpet on top of the mess she’d made. Denisoa stared at it, and then the tears began to flow even more heavily. She looked at Anelia as though Anelia had somehow betrayed her.

  “You…you’re not supposed to have this,” she said.

  “I know. And you’re not supposed to know I still have this. No one is.” She tore off her clothing until she was nearly naked before the love of her life. And then she picked up the breastplate, putting that on first. “I surrendered everything in my Bank and Storage. But my best equipment, I hid here.”

  “Anelia…”

  “I know how this looks,” she said. “But I really didn’t intend to ever…this wasn’t supposed to happen. It was just supposed to be so that I would be ready on a day like today. But I never thought it would come.”

  She grabbed her helmet last and then placed it on top of her head and over her face. Lastly, she scooped up her guns and sheathed them by her hips. Now, she faced Denisoa, and she grabbed her, pulling her into a hug. “I love you, Denisoa,” she said. She released the woman and then turned around.

  “Where are you going? Anelia!”

  “I’m going to get our boy back,” she said. “And Peter, too, if I can.”

  “But the deal! They’ll throw you in prison!”

  “I don’t care. I’m getting our kid back.”

  That was the first time she’d ever referred to Adim using the word “our.” And at this, Denisoa nodded, her eyes soaked with tears. “Please find him, Anelia. Please!”

  “I will.”

  Anelia took off immediately, hurrying out of the front door. Then she stopped in her tracks, shocked to see the princess there, waiting at her front porch. “You here to arrest me, Kalana?”

  “No,” she said, her voice determined. “I’m here to make sure you don’t kill anybody. Let’s go.”

  She shook her head. “You’d better not come along, then. I intend to spill a whole lotta blood. There’s nothing in this world that can change that now.”

  “Nah-uh! I’ve heard Zach say the same kinds of stuff, too. And it doesn’t work on me when he says it, either.”

  “Kalana,” she whispered, meeting the girl’s eyes. “Do you have any idea the level of disrespect I’ve just been dealt? To take my boy? I’m going to blast holes in every single one of Vaz’s crew.”

  “No, you’re not,” Kalana said. “And just so you know, my brother’s been taken, so this isn’t easy for me either. I’m so scared! Don’t you get that? All this happened so suddenly, and I don’t know why they did it or who they’re working for. But, Anelia, if I can control myself, then you can, too.”

  Before Anelia could reply, two voices called out to the princess, and then from beyond the tall stalks of grass to the east, Trelvor and Seiley popped out and came running her way. Those two always seemed to trail her, almost as though they were her shadow. “The prisoner has been sedated and handed off to my father, Londril,” Trelvor said. “But we have even bigger problems now.”

  “Bigger problems?” Kalana asked, sounding worried.

  Trelvor nodded. “As soon as we described the situation, Elvish patrols immediately scrambled to every corner of the town. I don’t think the enemy was prepared for such a fast response time. They underestimated us. We’ve cornered ten bounty hunters in a hotel, but they’ve barricaded themselves in and have hostages, and they’re threatening to kill them if we don’t allow them to walk free.”

  Kalana scowled. “Those creeps!”

  Anelia grabbed the young Elvish man’s shoulder, drawing his attention. “Is Adim with them? Or Peter?”

  “We don’t know,” he said. “Probably.”

  Anelia thought on it, then shook her head. “No, I doubt it. This is just a diversion. I know Vazzal. He won’t have made things that simple for us.”

  “Vazzal?” Seiley asked.

  Before Anelia could reply, Kalana’s eyes suddenly rose to the top of her face. “Where’s Ruby?” she asked. “Is she okay?”

  “Thankfully, yes,” Trelvor said. “We found her poisoned, bleeding, and near death. She had just 800HP when we stumbled across her. Thankfully, we had a healer on hand to patch her up.”

  Kalana’s eyes dampened. “My Ruby got hurt?”

  “Yes. But she’s okay. Actually, right now, she’s crisscrossing the entire town looking for Adim and Peter. As soon as we healed her, she darted off and said she would help find them. We also found three corpses near her. At least we believe it’s three, as they were in several pieces. We’re taking them back to the city to identify them, but they’re likely part of the gang that kidnapped the children.”

  “Bounty hunters,” Anelia corrected. “Not gang.”

  Kalana exhaled. “I’m just so glad she’s okay. And I’m so sorry she had to…” Kalana let the words trail off. Instead, she turned her attention to Anelia. “What do we do? How do we get them back?”

  Anelia pursed her lips a moment before replying. “Luckily, I know exactly how to handle this situation.” She grunted. “Vazzal miscalculated. Badly.”

  “Who’s Vazzal?” Kalana asked, mirroring Seiley’s earlier question.

  “He’s the man who’s almost certainly behind this. Shawnim doesn’t take a piss without Vaz’s permission. The guy’s full name is Vazzal Shelen, and he runs a bounty-hunting team. But he made a huge mistake during the intelligence-gathering phase of this operation.” She pointed to herself. “He doesn’t seem to know that I’m here. And that I would recognize Shawnim. He likely calculated a much-slower Elvish response time, and the time that he’s lost will cost him dearly.”

  Kalana nodded. “Do you know how to find him?”

  “Yeah, but to do that, I need to go at it alone. You’ve gotta let me do what I do best, Kalana.”

  “Tell me what you’re planning.”

  “You don’t need to know.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “If you want the kids back, you’d be better off not knowing. You don’t want to know. Trust me, kid.”

  “Tell me!” she demanded. “Anelia, please.”

  She sighed. “I need to find Vazzal Shelen. And to do that, I need to head to Slopes of Dal’Zarrah.”

  “Why? What’s there?”

  Anelia hesitated, then said, “His wife and children. I’m going to cut off a few fingers to show I mean business, then have the wife call her husband and—”

  “Absolutely not!” Kalana shouted, interrupting and glaring at her. “Are you serious? Tell me you’re not.”

  Anelia glared right back at her defiantly. “Of course I’m serious. This isn’t a fucking game, Kalana. If you ever want to see Peter again, you’d better be ready to beat, kill, or burn alive anyone who stands in our way.”

  Kalana furiously shook her head. “Nah-uh. That’s not happening.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Anelia said. “I’m getting my boy back. You’re not stopping me.”

  “I don’t gotta stop you. Because there’s a way easier and better way of doing this.” As the princess said these words, the porch light came on, and Denisoa stepped out into the cold, wintry night. Her beautiful dress was now swapped for a winter coat.

  “Please don’t hurt anyone’s children!” she begged. “I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but please, my love. Please don’t.”

  Anelia looked over her shoulder. Her heart ached at the sheer devastation she saw in the woman’s eyes. “I have to do whatever it takes to find Vazzal. And trust me, Denis, he doesn’t give a rat’s fucking ass about hurting your child.”

  “Ours,” Denisoa said. “And I don’t care how evil he is. You’re talking about killing his wife and children.”

  “No. What I said was I might cut off a few of her—”

  “Stop!” Kalana demanded. “Like I said, that’s not gonna happen. I already know a better way.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Nope.” Kalana took out her phone. “Watch this.” She dialed a number.

  *******

  Maniza had just finished tucking her children into bed when the doorbell rang. Although it was still early in the night, it was nevertheless late enough that nobody should be knocking at this hour. Hurrying down the stairs, she made her way to the foyer, but she did not open the door.

  “Who’s there?” she asked.

  “Peacekeepers,” replied a gruff-sounding voice. “Ma’am, open the door immediately or we will be forced to break it down.”

  Terrified and confused, she undid the top latch and then the bottom lock, granting them entry. Then she nearly fainted as, surrounded by about twenty armed peacekeepers and adorned in the cloak and insignia of the Lords of Justice, was none other than High-Lord Alex Oren of the Lords of Justice, the second-in-command of the guild and one of the most powerful men on the planet.

  The sight of him defied belief. She blinked. Then she blinked again. She was so caught off guard that she began to feel lightheaded. She opened her mouth to speak, but she had no idea of what words to say. Could this have something to do with her husband?

  Oh, Gods, she thought. What has he done this time? What could that bastard possibly have done to bring Lord Oren to our doorstep?

  “Ma’am,” High-Lord Oren said, entering her quiet suburban home in a community located about fifteen miles southwest of the city. “Forgive me for disturbing you and your family. My name is Alex Oren, and I’m hoping I could speak to you about an urgent matter.”

  “It’s about Vazzal, isn’t it?” she asked. “My husband.”

  “I’m afraid so. Are you alone?”

  “No. My children are asleep upstairs.”

  “Do you have any weapons in the house?”

  “No. Er, well, I think there’s a hunting rifle in the basement.”

  The man nodded. Then he smiled warmly as the peacekeepers entered and began rummaging through her stuff. She glanced nervously over her shoulder as several of them ran upstairs and towards the room where her young children slept.

  “Don’t worry,” the man said. “No one here is going to harm you or your family. But we do need to conduct a search.”

  The sound of crying came from upstairs. Both her children seemed to have been roused from sleep, and they sounded afraid. To one of the peacekeepers, High-Lord Oren said, “Bring the children downstairs so they can be with their mother.”

  “Of course.”

  Twenty minutes later, a second pot of coffee was brewing on the stove, and the first pot was being emptied into several cups as Maniza sat at her kitchen table with one of her children on her lap and the other by her side. High-Lord Oren was sitting across from her, along with three uniformed investigators from the peacekeepers.

  With tears streaking down her face, Maniza sobbed and, for what had to be the fiftieth time, apologized. “I’m so sorry,” she said, barely able to get out the words. “My husband is a very bad man, but even I can’t believe he would go after children.”

  High-Lord Oren placed his hands on top of hers. They were warm. She was still a bit intimidated. She still struggled to understand how her husband had done something so heinous, so…so incredibly evil that a man of Lord Oren’s fame and repute had personally gotten involved and had come to pay her a visit. Still, he did seem kind, empathetic, and unthreatening, for which she was grateful.

  They say Vaz kidnapped children, she thought to herself, her heart breaking. Kids!

  Meeting High-Lord Oren’s eyes, she asked, “If I admit that I knew my husband was a bounty hunter and did not report him to the Lords of Justice, will I be arrested and lose my babies?”

  “No,” the man replied. “You have my word. We’re not here for you. And honestly, I don’t see what good it would do anyone to punish you. We just want to know what he was up to and why.”

  “I don’t know anything, High-Lord Oren. I swear I don’t.”

  “We believe you,” said the detective to his right. “But you gotta help us find him. And if you help us, we can help you.”

  “Help…me?”

  High-Lord Oren handed her a napkin, and she used it to dry her eyes. The poor children were terrified. They kept asking about “daddy” and where he was. “We can protect you,” High-Lord Oren said. “I can protect you.” As if to explain himself, he leaned forward and gently touched her face right near her eye. “How did you get that bruise?”

  “I…”

  “Does he hit you?”

  Terrified, she said nothing. Vaz would kill her if she did. For some reason, this prompted High-Lord Oren to turn around and whisper something to a peacekeeper behind her. Alarmed, she asked, “You’re not gonna say nothing to social services, are you? If you do, he’ll—”

  “He won’t do a thing to you.”

  “He’s not level 1,” she whispered. “He’s high level. Nobody knows. But he’s really strong. And he only makes us live here as a cover to conceal his operations. He’s very powerful and connected.”

  “I’m aware. That much, I already know.”

  “None of you are gonna be able to stop him.”

  “I can,” High-Lord Oren said. “Easily. But I need you to call him and deliver a very specific message.”

  “What message?”

  “Tell him that a bounty hunter named Anelia Hellcrest showed up to your home, and that she’s threatening to kill you. Claim that she says he owes her money and—”

  ****

  “—says you never paid her,” Maniza’s panicked voice stated over the phone.

  Vazzal swore. Of all the fucking times for this to happen. “That job was two fucking years ago, honey! Let me talk to that evil bitch! If she touches you! If she fucking—”

  “You’ll do what, asshole?” said the unmistakable voice of one of the greatest bounty hunters in North Bastia: the voice of someone who was supposed to have been retired or in hiding.

  Anelia Hellcrest.

  “Anelia,” he said. “Think carefully about what you’re doing—and who you’re fucking with. You’re making an awfully big deal over a job from two years ago.”

  “You’ve had two years to pay me,” she said. “I’m done waiting.”

  “I didn’t even know where to find you these past few months! How was I supposed to know you were sitting around waiting for payment?”

  “I don’t care. I might kill your wife just for the fun of it if you don’t get your ass down here and square things up with me right away.”

  Vazzal again swore aloud. He was furious and upset at so many different things at once that it was scrambling his brain.

  For starters, he was infuriated with the Guild of Gentlemen for making him do this job at such a bad time. He wanted to wait until after the party was over. But no, they had wanted to make a big, stinking scene, and boy, they sure had. Right now, ten of his people were holed up in some hotel with hostages and would probably end up in a fight to the death against fucking Elves.

  And as for himself? He was hidden in one of the many crop fields of Whispery Woods with his best men and his two gagged, teary-eyed child-hostages. For the moment, the dark of night was the greatest thing he had going for him. The farmlands in Whispery Woods were massive, and the chance of them being caught before daylight was slim to none.

  They were so much faster to respond than we had gamed out, he thought. Those fucking Elves are way more organized than our intel suggested. How were we identified so fast? Did someone there recognize us?

  These questions burned a hole in his head. And on top of it all, his own children had just been taken hostage completely unexpectedly. Of all the days for Anelia Hellcrest to get back into the game, why did it have to be today?

  As he tried to process all of this, he found the two little hostages increasingly annoying as they struggled and cried. “Shut the fuck up,” he hissed at one of the two children, who was sobbing and flailing. For some reason, this caused the intensity of anger from Anelia to skyrocket in a way that was bizarre and extremely confusing.

  “You get here right now, you spineless piece of shit, or I’ll rip every fucking limb off your kids and make your wife watch!”

  The rage in her voice—it came across clearly and ferociously. Vazzal paused, caught off guard. Then he lowered his eyes at the boy he’d just hushed. Wait a minute…

  “One second, Anelia,” he said.

  Could it be that…?

  There was only one way to find out. Calmly, he spoke into the phone. “Sorry about that. There’s just some little shit over here that I’m dealing with. Some punk kid I got saddled with. Don’t really need him. His name’s Adim or something. I’ll probably snuff him out and then head over to you, and then we can settle up.”

  How will she react?

  The absolute torrent of anger and fear that came across as she barked out even more vulgar threats his way confirmed his suspicion. It made little sense. Or really, it made no sense at all. But all the peculiarities here began to finally order themselves in a way such that, if nothing else, at least the what of things were beginning to make themselves clear even if the why of them were beyond comprehension.

  This boy, he thought. That’s why she’s really barged into my home. It’s because of him. Not because of money.

  “Anelia,” he said, sending his men reassuring looks as he now felt a bit more in control of the situation. “Why don’t you cut the shit. I know what you’re really after is Adim.”

  Silence.

  Good.

  He had her—even if he had absolutely no idea why. He’d quickly deduced the game she was playing. He now knew her objective and her weakness all in one. And through this, a clear path to steadying the ship began to manifest in his mind.

  I don’t need this boy. I only need Peter. He’s disposable. I can trade the other one.

  “I don’t know who this boy is to you or why you give a fuck, but I love my children. So, I propose a trade. My kids and my wife for this one.”

  “Don’t fuck with me,” she growled. “I’ll kill them both along with your wife!”

  As a father, the threat alone would normally be enough to rattle him to his core. But he realized he now had a much better hand to play than he’d initially thought. “No, you won’t,” he said. “Because if you do, Adim dies. So here’s what I suggest. I send my people over to you. You meet them alone with my children and my wife. They take my wife and kids, and then they give you the boy, unharmed. After that, you leave. I don’t even need the little fucker anyway, so there’s no reason for me to fuck you on this deal. Just take him back, get away from my family, and we pretend that this never happened. Sound good?”

  “One second,” she said, putting him on hold. “I’m thinking it over.”

  “What’s there to think about?” he asked, surprised.

  “I’ll call you back. Make sure you pick up.”

  *******

  The argument turned heated much faster than she had expected. Kalana held Anelia’s trembling shoulders as the intensity in her eyes only seemed to grow. Right now, she and her mother were seated with Anelia and Denisoa in Denisoa’s kitchen while a two-way call had been set up between her and Alex in the Slopes of Dal’Zarrah. Trelvor and Seiley were here as well, along with several Elvish peacekeepers and white-cloaked guards. And although this was a fast, rapidly developing situation, word of it had already spread to the other guilds as well.

  Tonight, all of North Bastia was on high alert. Only minutes ago, the man they had captured, Shawnim, had confessed that they were working on behalf of the Guild of Gentlemen. Initially, Kalana had thought that this was some kind of ransom situation. But no, it was far worse than that. They were intending to smuggle Peter all the way to Tomb of Fire, and it was something that turned this crisis into a diplomatic and political nightmare in addition to everything else.

  Kalana watched as her mom whispered something to one of the Elves, who quickly relayed it to another. It regarded the hostage situation at the hotel. For the time being, Kalana put that out of her mind. She couldn’t deal with every problem at once.

  If they manage to get Peter into Tomb of Fire, mom’s gonna go to war. So many people are gonna die.

  If things weren’t bad enough, this latest development had really thrown a wrench into stuff, and it was definitely no good! Because Anelia seemed to only care about Adim, not Peter. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to save Peter, too. Of course she did. But after hearing what that evil man had to say, she was focused almost exclusively on getting Adim back, even if it meant losing Peter.

  Kalana refused to sacrifice either of the boys.

  “Anelia,” Alex’s voice said through the speaker on Kalana’s phone, which she’d placed in the middle of the table for all to hear. “When we last met, you saw that I was a genuine person. So I’m asking you to trust me when I tell you that I feel your pain. You and Denisoa’s. I swear to you that the Lords of Justice are prepared to do everything in our power to get your child back. But we cannot allow the Guild of Gentlemen to take Peter Brayspark and use him as propaganda to fan the flames of another war.”

  Anelia was clad in her armor that she definitely wasn’t allowed to have. But since she’d been behaved really good for almost a year, Kalana didn’t mention it, and neither did her mother. It probably wouldn’t be brought up at all until all of this was over and dealt with, and even then, Kalana didn’t think she’d be punished for it. They’d probably just take it back and make her swear she didn’t have any other bounty-hunter stuff hidden.

  She’s really upset, Kalana thought.

  Anelia was holding Denisoa’s hand and squeezing it. But not tightly enough to hurt her. Given that she was high-level and Denisoa was level-1, the fact that she could restrain herself to such a degree showed just how much she loved her. Because right now, she was really, really mad.

  “Look,” she said. “I realize I fucked up.”

  “You didn’t,” Alex replied. “This man is just crafty, and there were enough clues for him to piece things together.”

  “Whatever. My point is that he knows I care about Adim. I let too much slip. But what he doesn’t know is that I’m not actually over there. I’m here. This means I can help you find him. I’m good at that. It’s what I did for most of my life. I’m better at that than all of you combined.”

  “That’s still a risky and inconsiderate move. Believe me, Anelia. I’m a friend here. I’m not trying to harm you. But you have to trust me.”

  “How can I trust you?” she demanded. “Adim has nothing to do with this. How can you call yourself a friend when you’re asking me to reject a deal that would save Adim’s life?”

  “Because if you make this trade, we lose all our leverage, and Peter is gone.”

  Anelia tensed up, and Kalana tightened her grip on the woman’s shoulders. She was scared. She tried to hide it so hard, but Kalana could tell. She was really, really scared. “Please, Anelia,” she whispered. “I care about Peter just as much as you care about Adim. I don’t wanna lose him.”

  The argument had started the moment Vazzal had made his offer. He was willing to make an exchange: his wife and family for Adim. And Anelia had been just about to jump at this offer when Alex, Kalana, and her mother had all put a stop to it and asked her to speak with them first. And the reason was simple: their only shot at getting Peter back was to find this guy. They needed to draw him out, not one of his lackeys. Or, conversely, they needed to free Peter through negotiation, the latter being the preferable option.

  But Anelia didn’t seem to see things that way. In her view, Adim was an innocent victim caught up in something that had absolutely nothing to do with him. And the part that all made it super hard was that she was right! Everybody knew she was right. But that didn’t mean that it was okay to sacrifice Peter. And nobody was better at articulating this than Alex.

  “Peter is the same age as Adim. He’s a little boy, and he’s scared. And I know you don’t care about the politics of the situation, so I won’t waste time appealing to you in that regard. But just know that if Peter makes his way to Tomb of Fire, the world Adim grows up in will be a much more dangerous place.”

  Anelia didn’t look like she knew how to respond to that. But her mom did. Speaking up for the first time in a while, she said, “I grow tired of this.” Despite her choice of words, there was real pain and hurt in the way she spoke. Kalana looked at her, and so did Denisoa and Anelia.

  “All my life,” she continued. “From the moment I was born into this world until now—every horrid thing that has ever befallen me or my kin has all been because of the Gods-cursed Guild of Gentlemen. And it feels as though no matter how often we beat them down, they simply find a new venue with which to inflict pain and suffering on us.” Her lower lip quivered as she continued. “I made a vow to my sworn brother that should he be slain by his own kin, I would raise, protect, and love his child. And I have, and I will.”

  She met Anelia’s eyes, and Kalana watched as the two stared at one another unblinking. “I also do not care for the politics at play here. I only want my child back. In this, I am no different from you, human.”

  Of all the people capable of appealing to the emotions of a woman like Anelia, Kalana never would’ve expected it to be her mom who broke through to her. “What would you have me do?” she asked.

  Alex chose this moment to cut back in. “Negotiate for the release of both children.”

  “That won’t work. He won’t give up his bounty. Not even if it means his kids are killed. His reputation as a bounty hunter is more important to him. Trust me, I’ve been in that situation.”

  “And you chose Denisoa and Adim, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, but…that’s not how it usually goes. And it won’t this time.”

  “We have to try.”

  Anelia grunted. “Negotiating isn’t my thing, kid. I do things. If you would all just let me, I could find them. Alone. I’d kill Vaz and whoever he’s got with him and bring back both of the kids.”

  “I cannot allow that. The risk is simply too high. Also, please do not call me ‘kid.’ I am the second-ranking member of the Lords of Justice.”

  “Whatever,” Anelia said dismissively. “You think I give a shit? I want Adim back, and you’re standing in my way. I don’t even understand why you care so much. I get why the queen cares. But you? What’s it to you?”

  “As I’ve told you, if Peter falls into enemy hands, it will be disastrous for North Bastia.”

  “Why, though? He’s a good kid. If they make him king, he’ll just order them to—”

  “He will be brainwashed,” Alex said, cutting her off. “By the time he takes the throne, he will not be the boy who befriended your son. He will rouse the guild into starting another war or worse.”

  Anelia’s lips peeled back, baring her teeth. “Whatever. I’ll try it your way. But if it doesn’t work, I’m going on my own and getting them back. Now, patch us back in.”

  A few moments of silence went by, and then a voice spoke to her. “Anelia?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.”

  “So, do we have a deal?”

  “I want both kids.”

  “Both?” he asked, making it sound as though her request was preposterous. “You mean Peter as well?”

  “Yeah. I want both.”

  “I cannot do that.”

  “Then I’ll kill your wife and kids.”

  “And I’ll kill Adim in retaliation. And both of us will lose those we care about out of spite.”

  Anelia rubbed her forehead as though frustrated. Then, placing both her palms on the table, she said, “I’ll pay you.”

  “It’s not about the money. I’ve taken the contract. I’m honor-bound to complete my mission. You of all people should understand that. Besides, why do you even care? What’s it to you, anyway? Something about this doesn’t seem right. For you to care so much about some whelp from Den of Ziragoth…”

  There was a brief pause, and Kalana felt her nerves begin to rise. “Where exactly are you, Anelia? Do you even really have my wife and kids?”

  Anelia met Kalana’s eyes. She could see uncertainty in them. She didn’t know what to do or say. And Kalana didn’t, either.

  “You don’t, do you? You know, I keep wondering how this whole operation turned to shit. Even executing the op during the ceremony like we did…it still shouldn’t have collapsed this way. Someone there must’ve made us. Someone must’ve recognized Shawnim. It…it was you, wasn’t it? You’re not even in Slopes of Dal’Zarrah, are you? It’s all starting to come together now.”

  He made a dark, evil-sounding chuckle. “You must be in Ziragoth. That’s the only reason you’d care about this little shit. Or the heir. Or any of this. Which means…” Another chuckle came over the line. “It means my wife and kids are in guild custody, and they can’t do shit to them. So you had nothing to begin with, and now I can kill Adim without any fear of retribution. Are they listening in on this call?”

  Anelia jumped out of her seat. She opened her mouth as though to threaten or shout at him. But before she could say a word, a woman’s voice shouted over the line.

  “If you kill either of those children, what will your own children think? They will never forgive you for it, Vaz!”

  “M-Maniza?”

  “I’m here, Vazzal. Don’t you dare harm that child. Don’t you dare!”

  “Where are you? Who has you?”

  “I do,” Alex said. “I’m High-Lord Alex Oren of the Lords of Justice. And you’re right: I won’t harm your wife or children. Nevertheless, you’d be wise not to anger me.”

  Vazzal’s laughter turned from genuine to spiteful and mocking. “Trying to turn my family against me, huh? What a pathetic shit you are. But today’s your lucky day. You see, I’m such a kind man that I’m still willing to negotiate for the Adim boy, only now we’re talking in terms of gold and some other favors. But Peter is off the table.”

  “Nothing is off the table,” Alex said.

  “Nah, he is. And what’s more—”

  “Anelia, where are you going?” Kalana whispered to her, perhaps a bit too loudly, as it caused the conversation to grind to a halt.

  Loudly enough so that all could hear it, Anelia replied, “I’m going killing. I’m done negotiating. Vazzal, you’re dead. I’m going to parade your corpse around town when I find you. You’re dead, and you don’t even know it yet.”

  With that, she stormed out. Trelvor and Seiley leapt out of their seats as if to apprehend her, but Mom held up her palm, gesturing for them to stop, and so they sat back down, though they did so hesitantly.

  And just like that, the conversation resumed, only now it was between Alex and this mean, evil Vazzal guy. Kalana wanted to go after Anelia, but Mom stopped her, too.

  What’s she doing?

  *****

  Lights flashed, and sirens blared from what looked like twenty peacekeeper DEHVs surrounding a lone hotel: a massive force for a town of this size. At the same time, a voice called out to the hostage takers over a megaphone.

  As Anelia, clad in her scale armor, strode her way over to the hotel’s front entrance, dozens of level-1 human peacekeepers taking cover behind their DEHVs turned and began shouting at her. Several even tried to grab her, but she sent them flying into their own DEHVs, with one smashing through a windshield.

  This prompted the five Elvish officers to turn around and regard her. Anelia extended her right arm, her gun pointing in their direction. “Don’t even try it, human,” one of them said. “You will only get hurt.”

  Anelia ignored them and activated Sleep Shot. She began sweating slightly from the Medium-High exertion cost, and then she pulled the trigger. In their arrogance, they did not even bother to dodge, nor did they seem to appreciate what was coming their way. The bullet exploded a moment before impact, creating a cloud of purplish gas. All five Elves fell to the ground, snoring.

  Seeing this, the growing crowd of human peacekeepers all released cries of alarm and began backing away from her.

  In front of her was a barricaded entrance, but above that was an awning, and a bit above that was a second-floor window that led to one of the rooms. Anelia leapt into the air, tucked her knees into her chest, and smashed through it with a loud crack. She entered into a roll, then used the forward momentum to spring herself back up into a standing position. Immediately afterwards, she extended her forearm, lunged forward, and rammed a tall man wielding daggers into a wall.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he shouted. “Did you people not hear what we said? You pull this shit, we kill the hostages. What part of that didn’t you get? Leave now, or we start killing.”

  “Don’t care,” Anelia said, raising her pistol, pressing it directly against his forehead, and pulling the trigger. His brains exited the back of his skull and decorated the other side of the room, with some of it splattering over a painting showing green apples inside a wooden basket.

  “What the hell was that?” cried two voices from the hallway.

  The door slammed open, and a woman came inside—only to be blasted through the chest. Anelia then dashed forward, kicked the dying woman in the stomach, and sent her flinging outside into the hotel hallway, where she collided with a bounty hunter wearing chainmail and wielding a two-handed sword.

  Before he could react, she shot him, too, a loud pop echoing in the hall as his head exploded.

  With her scale boots stomping down on the ruby-red carpeting that adorned the hotel hallway, Anelia extended both her arms then fired off a left, then right gunshot, lethally wounding two more men who darted up the stairs at the end as if to investigate the cause of the commotion. One of the men failed to die outright; he dropped his staff, clutched his chest, and fell backwards. Now, he was squirming and writhing on the floor, with blood coming out of his mouth, his lungs clogging up as he asphyxiated.

  Anelia pointed her gun at him, but then stopped and lowered it. She decided not to finish him off, because that way, he’d suffer more. She merely spat on his dying face as she made her way down the wide stairwell that connected the second floor to the first.

  They took Adim, she thought, her boots stomping down. They’ll pay!

  Marching angrily down the stairs, she heard panicked voices coming from the hotel lobby.

  “…so fucked up, man. It wasn’t supposed to go down like this.”

  “I know, but relax. Boss has a plan.”

  “And what’s that commotion going on upstairs?”

  “Just shut up!”

  Strolling into the lobby, Anelia raised her gun to the ceiling and fired a shot, causing five faces to immediately turn her way. Four men and one woman began drawing various weapons, but two of the men halted and released terrified-sounding groans as their eyes scanned her face.

  “Th-that’s Anelia Hellcrest!” one of them shouted. He dropped his sword and raised his hand in surrender. “Don’t fight her, you idiots! That’s fucking Anelia!”

  She killed him first. A powerful crack filled the hotel hallway as she struck him right between the eyes, causing his head to snap back and his body to drop to the floor lifelessly. Another man, who had also dropped his weapons, quickly bent down to pick them back up, but she took care of him immediately after.

  “Don’t do this,” a woman begged. Anelia recognized her. Her name was Cocoa. She had a pretty face for a bounty hunter, though right now, it contorted in fear as she began to plead. “Anelia, we did a few jobs together back in the day, hun. Remember? It’s me, Cocoa. Please don’t kill me. Please. I don’t want to—”

  The woman wouldn’t stop talking, so Anelia shot the lips off her face. This left just two. The two who hadn’t cried out, dropped their weapons, or begged. Exactly who Anelia needed.

  The one on the left was tall, powerfully built, and removed a katana from a scabbard on his back. He wore all black, and glowing blue swords began to revolve around his body as though orbiting it. The other was a short, pudgy little feller, but he produced something that was closer to a cane than a staff, and he began waving it in the air.

  “Whichever one of you talks first gets to live,” Anelia told them.

  She was lying.