The night air at the eastern docks of Oakhaven was freezing and thick with gray fog. The dark water slapped against the wooden posts. The smell of old fish and salty sea filled the area.
This was where the Valerius family kept their largest supply warehouses. These buildings held all the goods that kept their business alive. Tonight, those buildings were in great danger.
Twenty men walked quietly through the thick fog. They were the Blood Axe Pirates.
They were known as a group of dirty and cruel fighters who did terrible jobs for rich people. They wore dark leather clothes and carried heavy curved swords.
The leader of the pirates was a large man with a thick beard and an ugly scar across his nose. He held a wooden torch that burned with a bright orange flame.
"Pour the gas everywhere," the pirate captain ordered with a rough voice. "Make sure every wall is covered. I want these buildings to burn so bright that the whole city wakes up."
His men laughed as they splashed strong smelling gasoline onto the wooden walls of the warehouses. They thought this was an easy job. They thought nobody was coming to stop them.
They were wrong.
Footsteps echoed softly on the wet wooden boards of the dock. The sound was very calm and very steady.
The pirate captain stopped smiling. He turned around and held his torch higher to see into the fog.
A single man stepped out of the gray mist. It was Thorne.
He was not wearing his heavy white armor. Instead, he wore a very clean and expensive black business suit. His black shoes shined in the firelight. He looked like a normal businessman going to a meeting.
"Who are you?" the pirate captain shouted and pointed his curved sword at Thorne. "Are you lost? Walk away right now or I will cut you to pieces."
Thorne did not stop walking. His face was completely calm. He did not look scared at all.
"You are making a mess on property that belongs to my master," Thorne said. His voice was smooth but as cold as ice. "I am here to clean it up."
The pirates laughed out loud. They thought it was a joke. One man against twenty men with swords.
"Kill him and throw his body in the water," the captain ordered.
Three pirates ran forward. They raised their heavy curved swords high in the air. They planned to chop Thorne down in one second.
Thorne did not even pull out his own weapons. He simply stepped forward. He moved faster than the pirates could see. It was like watching a shadow pass through the light.
Thorne grabbed the wrist of the first pirate. He twisted it sharply. A loud snapping sound echoed across the docks. The pirate screamed and dropped his curved sword.
Thorne used his other hand to strike the man in the chest. The pirate flew backward and crashed hard into the water.
The other two pirates swung their blades. Thorne ducked smoothly. He kicked one pirate in the knee and hit the other pirate in the throat. Both men fell to the wooden ground and did not move again.
The laughter of the remaining pirates stopped instantly. Their eyes went wide with pure fear. They realized this man in the suit was a true monster.
"Attack him together," the captain screamed in a panic.
Seventeen pirates rushed forward at the same time.
Thorne moved like a dark ghost. He stepped between their attacks with perfect timing. He did not waste any energy. Every punch and every kick found a weak spot.
He hit shoulders, knees, and chests. The sounds of breaking bones and loud screams filled the cold night air.
In less than one minute, the fight was over.
Nineteen pirates were lying broken on the wet wooden docks. They were moaning in pain or completely asleep. Not a single drop of blood or gasoline touched Thorne. His black suit was still perfect.
The pirate captain was the only one left standing. His torch shook wildly in his hand. He looked at his ruined crew and then looked at Thorne.
Thorne slowly walked up to the captain. He reached out and grabbed the burning torch. He squeezed the fire with his bare hand and put it out completely. Thorne did not even blink.
The captain fell to his knees. He dropped his curved sword. He was shaking from head to toe.
"Please spare me," the captain cried. "We were just hired to do a job. Desmond Caldwell paid us a lot of money to burn these buildings. It was not personal."
Thorne looked down at the pathetic man.
"I will let you live," Thorne said coldly. "But you are going to deliver a message to Desmond Caldwell for me. And if you run away, I will find you."
The captain nodded his head quickly. He agreed to do anything to stay alive.
The bright sun rose over the city of Oakhaven. Inside the damaged Valerius Tower, the air felt much better.
Caspian opened his eyes slowly. He was lying in his simple guest bed. He took a deep breath and smiled. For the first time in a very long time, his chest did not hurt.
The Frost Soul Lotus had done its job perfectly. The cracks in his core were sealed shut. The massive power of the Abyssal Heart was quiet and stable.
His spiritual energy was still very low. His body needed time to rest and fill up again. But the worst danger was finally gone. He could safely live as a normal person while he got his strength back.
Caspian put on a fresh gray sweater and plain pants. He walked out of his room and went upstairs to the main dining room for breakfast.
When he walked through the door, the room suddenly got very quiet.
Lord Valerius was sitting at the head of the big wooden table. Silas was sitting near him. They were both eating eggs and drinking tea.
The moment they saw Caspian, both men jumped up from their chairs in a panic. They remembered the auction. They remembered the black card and the fifty million spirit stones. They were terrified of the man in the gray sweater.
"Good morning, Caspian," Lord Valerius said loudly. He quickly moved away from the main chair at the head of the table. "Please sit here. This is the best seat in the house. It has the best view."
Caspian raised an eyebrow. He gave them his usual lazy smile.
"That is your chair, Lord Valerius," Caspian said politely.
"No, no, I insist," Lord Valerius answered. He wiped sweat from his forehead. "You are the most important part of this family. Please, take my seat."
Caspian decided to play along. He walked over and sat down in the big comfortable chair at the head of the table.
Silas rushed forward holding a silver teapot. His hands were shaking so much that the teapot rattled.
"Would you like some tea, brother in law?" Silas asked with a huge, fake smile. "It is perfectly warm. Can I get you some more sugar? Or maybe a fresh pastry? I will run to the kitchen myself if you want anything else."
Lyra walked into the dining room just in time to see this. She stopped by the door and stared. Her arrogant brother was acting like a nervous servant. Her proud father was standing near the wall like a frightened child.
Lyra looked at Caspian. He was sitting in the boss chair with a lazy smile.
Lyra covered her mouth to hide a huge laugh. She knew exactly why they were acting this way. She sat down next to Caspian and picked up her own cup.
"Thank you, Silas," Caspian said calmly as Silas poured his tea. "You are being very helpful today. You must have slept very well."
"Yes, of course," Silas said quickly. He stood behind Caspian like a guard. "Anything for you."
The quiet morning did not last long.
The heavy front doors of the tower suddenly opened with a loud bang. The sound echoed into the dining room.
Desmond Caldwell walked inside. He wore a bright red suit. Two large bodyguards followed closely behind him. Desmond had a massive and arrogant smile on his face. He looked like a man who had just won a grand prize.
Desmond walked right into the dining room without asking. He looked at the Valerius family.
"Good morning, everyone," Desmond said with a joyful voice. "I am so sorry to bother you during breakfast. But I heard some very sad news this morning. I had to come and see how you were doing."
Lord Valerius looked confused. "What news are you talking about?"
Desmond put his hand on his chest and pretended to look sad. "The rumors in the city say that there was a terrible accident last night. I heard that a massive fire burned down all of your supply warehouses at the eastern docks. Everything turned to ashes."
Lord Valerius turned pale. His eyes went wide. The eastern docks were their last hope for making money. If the goods were gone, the family was truly finished. He reached into his pocket with shaking hands to find his phone. He needed to call the dock manager right away.
Silas looked absolutely terrified. He slowly turned his head to look at Caspian. Silas wondered if Caspian was going to pull out his black card to fix this new problem.
Caspian did not look worried. He just took a slow sip of his warm tea. He knew exactly what was going to happen next.
Desmond smiled proudly. "Since your family has lost everything, I am a nice person. I will offer to buy the burned land at the docks from you. I will pay a very small price, but it will help you buy some food for the week."
Desmond turned his head to look at Caspian. He pointed a finger at him.
"You might have tricked people at the auction with a fake black card yesterday," Desmond sneered. "But fake money cannot put out a real fire. You are nothing."
Right before Lord Valerius could panic any further, his phone rang loudly. It was the manager of the eastern docks.
Lord Valerius answered it quickly. "Hello? What is happening? Is there a fire?"
"A fire?" the manager asked through the phone. He sounded very happy. "No sir. There is no fire at all. The docks are perfectly safe. Everything is normal. In fact, someone cleaned the place up for us. You do not have to worry about a thing."
Lord Valerius let out a massive sigh of relief. He lowered the phone and looked at Desmond. "My manager says the docks are fine. There was no fire."
Desmond frowned. His arrogant smile disappeared completely.
"That is impossible," Desmond said angrily. "My men went there last night. I know they went there."
Suddenly, a loud noise came from the front doors. A very heavy wooden box was thrown inside the tower. It crashed onto the marble floor and broke open into pieces.
Everyone in the dining room ran out to the hallway to see what happened. Caspian walked slowly behind them.
Inside the broken wooden box was the captain of the Blood Axe Pirates. He was tied up tightly with thick ropes. His face was covered in purple bruises. He looked absolutely terrified.
Pinned to the front of the pirate's dirty shirt was a clean white piece of paper. The paper had elegant handwriting on it.
Silas walked forward slowly and read the note out loud so everyone could hear.
"To Desmond Caldwell. The Valerius Docks are under the protection of the Obsidian Vault. Try this again, and we will buy your life next."
The entire room went completely silent.
Desmond read the note and his face turned as white as a ghost. He looked at the broken pirate captain on the floor. He finally realized his huge mistake. He did not just fail to burn the docks. He had angered the true owners of the Obsidian Vault. He had picked a fight with the most dangerous and wealthy people in the world.
Desmond began to shake with real fear. He did not say another word to the Valerius family. He turned around and ran out of the front doors as fast as his legs could move. His two bodyguards ran after him in total confusion.
Lord Valerius stared at the open doors. He was completely shocked. He slowly turned to look at Caspian.
Silas also looked at Caspian. He grabbed the silver teapot again and held it tightly with both hands.
Caspian smiled lazily at them. He pointed at his empty teacup.
"Silas," Caspian said calmly. "My tea is getting a little cold. Could you please pour me another cup?"
Lyra watched her husband completely control the room. She felt a deep sense of pride and joy. The Caldwell family had tried to destroy them, but Caspian had ruined their plan without even leaving the house. The Shadow Commander had taught them a very hard lesson.
The morning continued, and it was the best breakfast the Valerius family ever had.