“I'm telling you I smell blood,” someone shouted as they descended the stairs.

  Viessa ducked behind the world's longest sectional sofa while I lurked in the middle of the lounge, focused on watching the backside of the staircase.

  “You're making us look stupid again,” a voice whined.

  “When have I been wrong?”

  “Every time I answer that question honestly, you hit me.”

  A bulky shadow emerged down the steps, accompanied by a delicate outline behind it. Heavy armor clanged as the brute trotted down the last stretch of stairs, shortly followed by a rail thin man dressed in silk robes.

  Just from their gear alone, I could tell the short guy was most likely a mage and the heavily armored goon was a warrior of sorts.

  Target: Shion

  Level: 6

  Karma: -2155

  Additional Data: Rank four of the Sanguine Syndicate. Stands at 6’5” and currently weighs 315 lbs. Age 36. Male. Also known as Killbash. Is deathly afraid of spiders.

  I automatically opted for more information, spawning another line of text in the air.

  Bonus Data: His secret ability catches 90% of his opponents off guard. Enjoys reading romance novels and baking bread.

  What's the point of bonus data if it's this useless?

  Target: Abdo

  Level: 5

  Karma: -1390

  Additional Data: Rank eight of the Sanguine Syndicate. Age unknown. Male. Visits brothels more frequently than his family.

  Yes, more data, please.

  Bonus Data: His top ten favorite prostitutes are...

  I blinked away the useless text as the pair reached the landing on the first floor.

  Shion stopped at the front door, staring down at his gargantuan sabatons. “Did one of those sorry bastards track mud in here? I told those useless pricks to shit in the barracks.”

  Taking a knee, Abdo swept a finger through the tracks. “You were right, there's blood.”

  “You daft arsehole. I told you so.”

  Abdo pivoted on his feet and saw me watching them from the distant reach of the lounge. Shion only caught on after Abdo tapped his arm and pointed me out. Shion grinned, showing off a mouthful of crooked teeth. He cupped his hands around his mouth.

  Shadow Weave.

  “Hey, shit for brains. This isn't Thunder Fang, you can't just—”

  Abdo dove to the side, tackling Shion as I brought forth a jagged shadow that pierced up through the marble floor, nearly puncturing the brute’s groin.

  I sighed, disappointed by my inability to finish one of them off before the actual fight began.

  “What's your problem?” Shion shoved Abdo off him and slid on a pair of spiked knuckles, completely oblivious to my attack.

  “Idiot, he almost got you. Be careful, his magic is unique,” Abdo said, a blinding light shining out of his palm. “Try that again, interloper.”

  The level five mage seemed more formidable than his comrade. I regretted going after the big guy first and attacking at such a distance had also felt too sluggish, even more-so because of the abundant amber lighting. In one attack, Abdo had figured out my trick, and his illumination spell was now reducing the already sparse shadows, making a second Shadow Weave attempt fruitless.

  “I'll offer you what I offered Thunder Fang. Leave now if you wish to live,” I shouted down the walkway.

  “Cocky little freak,” Shion said. “You’ll regret ever entering our domain.”

  For being such a heavy guy, wearing at least 100 lbs in plate armor, Shion was fast. He jolted down the straightaway toward the lounge like a lightning bolt. Despite his disturbing agility, I concentrated on Abdo, who stayed on his flank, watching me for a potential opening.

  I snapped four throwing knives at the little mage, but Shion intercepted each one, effortlessly swiping them out of the air with his knuckle dusters.

  I activated Invisibility and dashed forward, planning on assassinating the mage before they knew what happened.

  “Not so fast.” Abdo snapped his fingers, dispelling Invisibility in an instant.

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  My boots scuffed the floor as I screeched to a halt. A moment before Shion was about to be on top of me, I outstretched my arm and shouted, “Dreadshade!”

  I wasn't sure what to expect from an ability with zero mastery points that I had never used before. My heart skipped a beat, feeling a quarter of my stamina instantly vanish as the ability activated.

  A buzzing energy vibrated through my chest, then branched down into my legs. A pitch-black aura radiated from beneath me, expanding outward at an exponential pace.

  The darkness swarmed the lounge, covering the floor and shooting up the walls, shattering the crystal lights on contact.

  Shion canceled his attack, dodging backward instead as he raised his guard. Shadows swallowed him as the aura rapidly took over the entire first floor.

  Abdo raised his glowing hand, attempting to fight the darkness as it encroached on his space. Suddenly, the light inverted back into his hand, and his palm exploded. The shockwave knocked Abdo off his feet as Dreadshade finished popping the last of the amber crystals with a satisfying series of bursts.

  Shion glanced over his shoulder, stunned by his comrade’s condition. Then he examined himself closely. Despite being shrouded in darkness, nothing had happened to him.

  “You had me worried for a second,” Shion said, jumping back into the fight.

  He fired a left hook, followed by a straight, which I dodged easily. Sweat stained his brow as he launched a flurry of fists. But simply avoided them while my stamina gradually recovered a portion of Dreadshade’s initial cost.

  Shion unleashed another series of aimless blows. I bobbed and weaved, conserving my energy, waiting for an opening.

  Is this all you have for me?

  “Shion, listen to me! We must get out of here and gather the others,” Abdo shouted, voice drowning in desperation.

  Although the brute matched my level, his swings were no more precise than those of an amateur boxer. His lacking assault continued for two minutes straight. Exhaustion further reduced his speed, gassed out from his armor's weight.

  “Shion,” Abdo screamed, clutching his blown apart hand. “There's something very wrong here. We have to inform Geben.”

  I could hear Abdo's teeth chattering over the brute's flurry of strikes.

  “Sweeper,” Shion said as he jumped high into the air and threw a surprise kick at me.

  Was that his secret move? I watched as his sabatons whisked by an inch away from connecting with my mask.

  Suddenly, he pointed his gauntlets in my directions and a mechanism inside of them they clicked.

  “You're dead!”

  Shrapnel engulfed in flames shot out point blank. A second explosion went off as the projectiles connected with the floor. Shion landed and pumped his fist overhead. “Arrogant prick.”

  “He's behind you,” Abdo cried.

  Dagger Step saved me at the last second, teleporting me when the flames burst from his gauntlet. I swiped my crescent dagger as Shion turned his head just in time to catch the blade's glint before it ripped through the gap in his plate armor and cleaved into his chainmail collar with sickening ease.

  He looked completely surprised as blood sputtered out of his neck. Shion clutched the gnarly flap of torn skin, stumbling back.

  The acrid stench of urine wafted through the foyer, where Abdo lay with his back up against the wall. He held his decimated right hand close to his chest, wrapped in a bloodied silk bandage.

  I wondered where the cavalry was after so much commotion. Yet, there was nothing but silence aside from Abdo's pained moans. As I towered over him, he shoved himself further up against the marble wall. I gripped my crescent dagger in my left hand, prepared to finish him.

  “I'll do anything if you let me live,” Abdo said, voice cracking.

  I stared into his beady eyes; dagger raised.

  “Wait, please!” Abdo's left hand trembled as he slowly removed a three-inch blade from a sheath on his ankle. He held the knife between his teeth and rolled up his right sleeve, revealing the letters 'SS' branded on his blood-streaked forearm.

  He grabbed the knife, clenched his teeth, and howled as he cut off a flap of branded flesh and tossed it aside. “I quit. I swear to the God's, I'll tell you everything I know. Just spare me.”

  Finally, one of these scumbags was taking some initiative. I weighed the benefits of keeping the weasel alive. Killing a level five would provide decent experience points, but I was starved for reliable information, especially concerning the criminal underworld I planned on upending. And from the short time I had known him, he seemed clever—smart enough to recognize Shadow Weave's weakness in a second. Although that alone was a valid reason to kill him.

  “I worry you're too smart for your own good,” I admitted, leaning toward a swift execution.

  “My intelligence is an asset. I would've never made it on the council with my combat prowess alone,” he said, the blood loss sapping the color from his face.

  “You have one minute to convince me,” I said, knowing truthfully he’d bleed out sooner than that.

  Abdo gulped. “The ten council members are the heart of the syndicate. You just cut rank four's throat, and I suspect you already killed rank seven, since Dresdok always does the opposite of what's instructed. He probably ran into you outside, so I assume he’s already dead. Rank nine and ten are on a mission in Vaulter. They won’t be back for days. Five and six are sleeping in their rooms upstairs in the west wing. Ranks one, two, and three are in the council chamber. I'm certain they're still discussing their new agreement with The Slaver's Union.”

  “Hmm... You betrayed them quite easily,” I said.

  Abdo sputtered with fear and rage. “Because I'm bleeding to death. Listen, I don't know who you are or what you're trying to accomplish, nor do I care. But everything I've been through... It can't end here. I don't want to die.”

  I crouched across from Abdo, meeting him at eye level. “You'll be unconscious soon and visiting the abyss shortly afterward. “

  “I have ledgers and journals, money, information. Please...”

  “Sell me your soul.” I grabbed his shaky left hand and put a silver coin in his palm. “I'm not in the business of mercy.”

  Tears edged out of the corner of Abdo's eyes as he nodded, loosely shaking my hand before tucking the coin into his pocket.

  “It's done. Your soul is mine,” I bluffed. “Disappoint me or disobey my instructions and you'll die a miserable death.”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  I retrieved one of the pink potions from my combat supplies, popped the cork, and splashed half of it over what remained of his tattered hand. The blood congealed on contact, clotting off.

  The mage leaned his head back in temporary relief. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t do that yet. I still have questions.”

  Fear resurfaced, etching concerned lines across the mage’s face. “What else do you want from me?”

  “I want to know what I’m walking into,” I said.

  Abdo looked past me, up at the staircase, and sighed. “Scythe is in command. He’s a skilled swordsman, but I’ve never seen him in combat. Cobra is an expert in fortification magic and can summon barriers at will. I know little about the rest of them. We rarely interact, since I only worked closely with Shion.”

  I mulled over his words, taking them with a grain of salt. Without seeing their statuses first hand, the new information was hardly trustworthy.

  “You can leave, but remain in Oarwin. Every night, at the moon's highest point, go to Thunder Fang's tavern and wait for an hour. If you fail to appear even once, I'll rip you out of Anastasia's arms and shred you to bits.”

  Name dropping one of his top five hookers elicited a sense of fear that transcended dimensions.

  “I swear I won't let you down,” Abdo cried, standing up on shaky legs as he headed for the front door.

  +400 XP

  +100 Karma