Sundown came too fast.
Kael stood outside the warehouse in the gathering dark. The building was old, three stories, windows broken or boarded up. Light leaked from cracks in the walls.
Voices inside. Laughter. The Red Vipers didn't think they had anything to fear.
"Twenty to thirty men," Soulrender said. "More than you've fought at once."
"I've fought twenty-one."
"Who weren't expecting you. These will be ready the moment you walk in."
"Then I won't walk. I'll run."
"Confidence. I like it. Try not to die."
Kael approached the main entrance. Two guards outside. Big men with clubs and knives.
"Hey," one said as Kael got close. "This is private property. Move along."
"I'm here to see Vex."
"Vex don't see nobody without an appointment."
"I'll make an exception."
The guard stepped forward. "Listen, kid. I don't want to hurt you. Just turn around and—"
Kael drew Soulrender and cut him down.
The second guard shouted and swung his club. Kael blocked, slashed, moved on.
The door was thick wood. Locked.
Kael kicked it. The wood cracked but held.
"Use me," Soulrender said.
Kael drove the black blade into the lock. The metal melted like wax. He kicked again and the door burst open.
Inside was a large open space. Crates and barrels everywhere. Men sitting around tables playing cards and dice.
All of them turning to look at him now.
"Who the hell—" someone started.
"Red Vipers," Kael announced. "Julian Voss sent you to die. I'm here to deliver."
That was a lie. But they didn't need to know that.
A man stood from the back table. Huge. Bald. Covered in scars and tattoos. Had to be Vex.
"You got balls, kid," Vex rumbled. "Coming in here alone."
"I'm not alone. I have this." Kael raised Soulrender.
Vex laughed. The other Vipers laughed too.
"Just a sword," Vex said. "We got twenty swords. Plus axes, hammers, and my personal favorite—" He pulled out a huge cleaver. "This beauty. Killed fifteen men with it."
"About to be zero," Kael said.
That stopped the laughter.
"Get him," Vex ordered.
The Vipers moved in from all sides.
Kael met them head on.
The first Viper swung a sword. Kael parried and countered. The man went down clutching his throat.
Two more from the sides. Kael spun, blade moving in a circle. Both fell.
"FEED ME!" Soulrender roared in his mind.
The sword drank their strength. Power flooded into Kael. His reflexes sharpened. His movements got faster.
Four Vipers attacked together. Coordinated. Better than the others.
Kael ducked a hammer, blocked a sword, kicked one man into another. Soulrender moved like it had a mind of its own. Cutting. Stabbing. Drinking.
More power. More strength.
The Vipers were backing away now. Fear in their eyes.
"What are you waiting for!" Vex shouted. "There's twenty of us and one of him!"
"Nineteen now," Kael said.
Because six were already dead.
The Vipers charged together. Desperate. Scared.
Kael moved through them like smoke. Every strike was perfect. Every block precise. The sword guided his movements. Showed him where to cut. Where to dodge.
Bodies fell.
The sword drank and drank and drank.
Kael felt himself changing. Growing stronger with each kill. This was what Soulrender promised. This was power.
Ten Vipers left. Then eight. Then five.
The survivors broke and ran. Fled out side doors and windows.
Kael let them go.
Only Vex remained. Standing with his cleaver. Not running.
"You're not human," Vex said.
"Not anymore."
"What are you?"
"Someone who's tired of answering questions." Kael raised Soulrender. "You work for Julian. That means you die."
"I got nothing against you, kid. This is just business."
"So is this."
Vex roared and charged. Fast for a big man. The cleaver came down like a guillotine.
Kael sidestepped. Soulrender flashed. Cut through Vex's arm. The cleaver and the hand holding it fell to the floor.
Vex screamed. Stumbled back. Clutched the stump.
"Please," he gasped. "I'll leave the city. You'll never see me again."
"Julian sent assassins to kill me. Sent guards. Now sends you." Kael walked forward. "Everyone who works for him dies. That's the new rule."
"Wait—"
Kael drove the sword through his heart.
Vex was strong. A real fighter. The sword drank deeply. Power flooded into Kael like a river.
He gasped. It was almost too much. Too intense. Like lightning in his veins.
"YES!" Soulrender roared. "This is what you're meant for! This is your purpose!"
Kael pulled the blade free. Vex's body hit the floor.
Silence in the warehouse. Just Kael and the dead.
Fifteen bodies. Maybe more. Hard to count in the dim light.
He'd killed fifteen men without taking a single serious wound.
The sword was right. This was his purpose now.
Footsteps at the door.
Kael spun, blade ready.
Lyra walked in. Looked around at the carnage. Raised an eyebrow.
"Efficient," she said.
"Job's done."
"So I see. Vex?"
"Dead."
"Good." Lyra stepped over a body. "The survivors will spread word. The Red Vipers are finished. Julian will know someone's moving against him."
"Let him know."
"Confident. Or did the sword make you reckless?"
Kael looked down at Soulrender. The blade gleamed. Satisfied. Full.
"Little of both," he admitted.
"Come on. We need to leave before the city guard shows up." Lyra headed for the door. "You're covered in blood again. That seems to be your default state."
"Hasn't failed me yet."
They walked out into the night. Behind them, the warehouse stood silent. A graveyard.
Kael had sent his message.
And somewhere in Voss Hall, Julian Voss was about to receive it.
* * *
END OF CHAPTER 7