The soft light of the afternoon sun shone through the bedroom window of the Valerius Tower. Lyra slowly opened her bright eyes. Her head was pounding with a dull ache from the toxic red smoke.
She was lying in her own comfortable bed. She turned her head and saw Caspian.
He was sitting on the edge of the mattress, holding her hand tightly. He did not look like a cold and distant master. He looked like a normal, worried husband who had been sitting there for hours.
"You are awake," Caspian said softly. He used his thumb to gently rub the back of her hand. "Drink some water. You are safe now."
Lyra sat up quickly. The warm blanket fell off her shoulders. The memories of the old Caldwell warehouse hit her mind like a speeding truck. She remembered the loud locking doors and the terrible red smoke. She remembered the terrifying thin man dropping from the ceiling.
"Silas," Lyra gasped loudly. She grabbed Caspian's arm with both of her hands. "Where is Silas? The thin man took him away."
Caspian looked down at the floor. His jaw tightened visibly. "Thorne tried to catch him. But the killer used a forbidden pill to escape. They took Silas as a hostage to force my hand."
Lyra started to cry. Warm tears rolled down her pale cheeks. She did not care about looking strong right now. She was completely heartbroken.
"He was so scared, Caspian," Lyra cried. Her voice broke with deep emotion. "You know how much of a coward he is. He is terrified of everything. He was shaking from head to toe."
"But when the killer tried to touch me, Silas stood up. He blocked the man. He offered his own life just to keep me safe. He finally acted like a real brother."
Caspian listened to his wife cry. He watched the tears fall onto her hands. He did not sit perfectly still like a stone statue. The anger inside him boiled over into pure, human rage.
Caspian squeezed his right hand around the thick wooden bedpost. He squeezed it so hard that the solid wood cracked loudly. Large splinters fell onto the bedroom floor.
"I will bring your brother back, Lyra," Caspian said. His voice was shaking with real anger. "I promise you. And I will make them beg for death before the sun goes down."
Lyra hugged him tightly. Caspian held her for a long moment before he stood up and walked out of the bedroom. He left two shadow guards at her door.
Caspian walked down the long hallway to his private study. He pushed the heavy wooden doors open. Thorne was already inside waiting for him.
Sitting on the large wooden desk was a secure laptop. The screen showed a live video call with Bastian. The Shadow Broker looked very serious in his tailored blue suit.
"Report," Caspian ordered quickly. He walked over to the desk and leaned his hands heavily on the wood. He was done playing games.
"I have completely locked down the region, Commander," Bastian said smoothly through the computer speakers. "The Obsidian Vault just bought out every single mercenary contract in the entire province. Master Goliath has absolutely no backup coming to help him. He is completely alone with his outcast army."
"Where is the thin man hiding my brother in law?" Caspian asked.
"Our satellite tracking found them ten minutes ago," Bastian answered. "Ghost took him to an abandoned steel mill just outside the city limits. There are roughly fifty elite killers guarding the building. They are waiting for you to walk into their trap."
"It is not a trap if I am the one hunting them," Caspian said coldly.
Thorne stepped forward. He held a small ceramic cup in his hands. A warm, green steam rose from the cup. It smelled like ancient mountain herbs.
"Drink this, Commander," Thorne said respectfully. "It is a special spiritual tea. It will help refill your empty energy."
Caspian took the small cup and drank the hot liquid in one single gulp.
Instantly, a warm and powerful feeling spread through his chest. The sharp pain in his ribs faded away completely. His healed core began to spin smoothly. The empty tank inside him filled up rapidly with rich, deep energy. He was not at full power yet, but he had more than enough strength to ruin a single general.
Caspian placed the empty cup down on the desk. He cracked his knuckles loudly. "Thorne. Let us go pay the Blood Shadow a visit."
Miles away from the bright city, the abandoned steel mill was dark and dirty. The air inside smelled like rust and old oil.
Silas was sitting in the very center of the large factory floor. He was tied tightly to a heavy metal chair with thick ropes. His expensive coat was torn. His face was covered in dirt and purple bruises. He looked completely miserable.
General Ghost stood right in front of him. The thin killer was holding a small video camera in his pale hand. He pointed the lens directly at Silas.
"Listen to me, you fat rat," Ghost ordered sharply. "I am going to press the record button. You are going to look into the camera and cry. You are going to beg your useless brother in law to come and save you. If you do a good job, I will let you keep all your fingers."
Silas looked at the blinking red light on the camera. His entire body was shaking with fear. He wanted to cry. He wanted to beg. He hated pain more than anything in the world.
But then he thought about Lyra. He thought about how brave she was when she faced the corrupt city director. He remembered Caspian sitting lazily in a lawn chair, completely unafraid of the Caldwell family. Silas realized he was a Valerius. He decided he was completely tired of being the weak joke of the family.
Silas took a deep breath. He looked directly at General Ghost.
Silas gathered a mouthful of spit and blood. He spat it directly onto the shiny black shoes of the deadly killer.
Ghost slowly lowered the video camera. He looked down at his dirty shoes. His black eyes burned with absolute fury.
Silas let out a loud, rough laugh. It hurt his bruised ribs, but he did not stop laughing.
"You are so stupid," Silas mocked loudly. He stared right into the killer's angry eyes. "You think you are setting a trap. But you have no idea who you just angered. My brother in law is going to turn you into a wet puddle on the floor. You should run away right now while you still have legs."
Ghost dropped the video camera. It shattered into plastic pieces on the hard concrete.
"You talk too much," Ghost hissed angrily. He reached into his dark suit and pulled out a very sharp, curved knife. "I think I will cut your tongue out first. The Shadow Commander can have whatever pieces of you are left."
Ghost raised the sharp knife high into the dark air. Silas closed his eyes tightly and braced himself for the terrible pain.
But the pain never came.
A massive, deafening explosion shook the entire steel mill.
The solid brick wall at the front of the factory completely blew apart. Chunks of heavy red brick and twisted metal flew across the large room like deadly missiles. A huge cloud of gray dust and dirt filled the air.
General Ghost stumbled backward, covering his face with his arms to block the flying rocks.
The fifty elite Blood Shadow guards standing around the factory floor immediately pulled out their weapons. They prepared to fight.
But before the dust even settled, a terrifying thing happened.
The first guard dropped his heavy sword. The metal clanged loudly on the concrete floor. The guard fell to his knees and grabbed his own throat. His face turned bright purple. He gasped loudly for air, but his lungs could not pull in any oxygen.
Then the second guard collapsed. Then the third.
In less than five seconds, all fifty elite killers were completely pinned to the dirty floor. They were crying and choking. They could not stand up. They could not lift their weapons. The invisible pressure entering the broken building was so massive and crushing that it literally squeezed the air out of their bodies.
They did not see glowing lights. They did not feel freezing ice. They only felt the terrifying weight of a true god entering the room.
The gray dust slowly cleared away from the broken wall.
Caspian walked through the massive hole. He was still wearing his casual gray pants and soft white shirt. He did not look like he was struggling to breathe. He did not hold his chest in pain anymore. His dark eyes were locked completely on General Ghost.
Thorne walked into the building right behind his master. Thorne held his twin obsidian blades, ready to slaughter anyone who moved.
Silas opened his eyes. He saw Caspian walking through the ruined wall. A huge, happy smile broke across Silas' bruised face. He had never been so happy to see the man he used to hate.
Caspian stopped walking. He stood ten feet away from General Ghost. The thin killer was struggling to stand tall under the massive spiritual pressure filling the room.
Caspian slowly raised his hands. He cracked his knuckles loudly. The popping sound echoed clearly over the gasping breaths of the dying guards on the floor.
Caspian looked directly at Ghost. He tilted his head slightly and spoke with a completely cold voice.
"I hear you are looking for a hostage trade," Caspian said smoothly. "I brought you a broken neck. Will you accept it?"