The abandoned steel mill was completely silent except for the sound of grown men gasping for air. The fifty elite Blood Shadow guards were still pinned firmly to the dirty concrete floor. They grabbed their own throats. Their faces turned dark purple. They could not stand up to fight.
General Ghost stood in the center of the room. He was shaking violently. He looked at Caspian walking casually through the broken brick wall.
Ghost finally felt true, deep terror. He was a proud killer. He was a general. But standing in front of Caspian felt like standing in front of a falling mountain. Ghost knew he could not run away. He knew he could not win.
Ghost reached his pale hand into his dark suit pocket. He pulled out a second glowing red pill.
This was not a cheap street drug. It was a Crimson Asura Pill. It was a forbidden enhancement drug created by dark doctors. The pill burned a cultivators own blood and life force to create a massive, temporary surge of crazy power.
"You will not leave this building alive," Ghost screamed loudly. His voice cracked with pure panic.
Ghost shoved the second Crimson Asura Pill into his mouth and swallowed it hard. Taking one of these pills gave a person massive speed. Taking two pills at the same time was an absolute death sentence.
The reaction was instant and entirely horrible.
Thick black veins popped out all over Ghosts pale face and neck. His muscles swelled so fast that his tight black suit ripped open. Dark red blood began to drip slowly from his eyes and his nose. His body was tearing itself apart from the inside to generate the massive burst of unnatural power.
Ghost let out a wild, animal roar. He pushed off the concrete floor so hard that the ground cracked beneath his shoes.
He rushed directly at Caspian. He was no longer just a fast shadow. He was a red blur of pure, deadly violence. He swung his sharp knife right at Caspians neck.
Caspian did not look worried. He did not freeze the air. He did not let out a massive wave of glowing energy.
Caspian simply stood there with both of his hands deep in his casual gray pants pockets.
When the sharp knife was only one inch away from his skin, Caspian lazily took half a step to the left.
The deadly blade cut through empty air. Ghost stumbled forward from his own crazy speed. Ghost quickly spun around and slashed the knife toward Caspians chest. Caspian leaned back just slightly. The blade missed again.
"Are you hungry, Silas?" Caspian asked in a calm, completely normal voice. He kept his eyes on Ghost, but he spoke directly to his bruised brother in law.
Silas was sitting tied to the heavy metal chair. He watched the fight with wide eyes. He could not believe what he was seeing.
"What?" Silas asked quietly. His throat was very dry.
Ghost screamed in total frustration. He swung the knife in a wild circle, aiming for Caspians legs. Caspian smoothly lifted one foot, letting the blade pass right under his shoe.
"I asked if you were hungry," Caspian said casually. He stepped back to avoid another wild attack from the bleeding general. "Lyra is waiting for us at home. Should we stop and pick up some warm food on the way back? Maybe some burgers?"
Ghost could not handle the disrespect. He was burning his own life force to fight, and his enemy was talking about picking up lunch.
"Die," Ghost roared at the top of his lungs.
Ghost threw all of his wild energy into his legs. He lunged forward like a striking snake. He pointed the tip of his sharp knife directly at the center of Caspians chest. He wanted to pierce the Shadow Commander right through the heart.
Caspian finally stopped smiling. His dark eyes turned cold.
"You talk too much," Caspian said.
Caspian finally took his right hand out of his pocket. He did not block the knife. He reached out and caught Ghost directly by the throat.
The massive, rushing speed of the general was stopped instantly in mid air. It was like Ghost had crashed into a solid steel wall. Caspian held the thin man off the ground with just one hand.
Ghost dropped his knife. It hit the floor with a loud clang. He grabbed Caspians arm, trying to break free. The dark blood continued to drip from his eyes.
"I told you I brought a broken neck for the hostage trade," Caspian said smoothly. "A Sovereign always keeps his promises."
Caspian squeezed his hand and twisted his wrist sharply.
A loud, terrible snap echoed clearly through the quiet steel mill.
General Ghost went completely limp. His arms fell to his sides. His black eyes rolled back. Caspian let go of his throat, and the dead general dropped heavily onto the dusty concrete floor.
The leader of the invasion was dead.
The fifty elite guards on the floor saw their general die easily. They completely lost their will to fight. They stopped struggling against the crushing pressure and simply laid their heads down, waiting for their own deaths.
Thorne stepped forward. He put away his twin obsidian blades. He walked over to the heavy metal chair in the center of the room. He pulled out a small black dagger and quickly cut the thick ropes tying Silas down.
The ropes fell away. Silas tried to stand up, but his legs were too weak. He pitched forward, about to fall face first onto the dirty floor.
Thorne reached out quickly and caught Silas by the arm. He held the injured man up.
Silas was a complete mess. His expensive coat was torn to pieces. His face was covered in dark dirt and purple bruises. His lip was split open and bleeding. He was taking shallow, painful breaths.
In the past, Silas would have cried. He would have complained about his ruined clothes. He would have begged to go to an expensive hospital.
But Silas did not cry today.
Silas looked down at the dead body of General Ghost. He looked at the fifty terrified killers lying on the floor. Then, he slowly lifted his bruised face and looked directly at Caspian.
The kidnapping had changed something deep inside Silas. Facing death had burned away his arrogance. He realized that all the money and all the fancy business titles in the world meant absolutely nothing if you were too weak to protect your own sister.
Silas took a deep, shaking breath. He pushed himself away from Thorne and managed to stand on his own two feet. He looked Caspian directly in the eyes. His voice was cracked and quiet, but it was incredibly serious.
"Teach me," Silas said.
Caspian raised an eyebrow. He was genuinely surprised. "Teach you what, Silas?"
"Teach me how to fight," Silas answered. He did not look away. "I am completely tired of being weak. I am tired of hiding behind Lyra while she does all the hard work. I want to protect my family. I want to become a cultivator."
Caspian studied his brother in laws face. He looked for any sign of a joke or a lie. But he only saw true, raw determination. The coward was finally dead. A new man was standing in his place.
Caspian nodded his head slowly. For the first time in three years, he looked at Silas with real respect.
"It will be the hardest thing you have ever done," Caspian warned him softly. "It will hurt every single day."
"I do not care," Silas said firmly.
Suddenly, a loud crackling sound broke the quiet moment.
The noise came from the dead body of General Ghost. A heavy, military style radio was clipped to the generals belt. The radio speakers popped and hissed with static.
A deep, monstrous voice echoed from the radio. It sounded like rocks grinding together.
"Ghost," the voice demanded loudly. "Report your status right now. Did you catch the wife? Is the trap set?"
It was Master Goliath.
Caspian slowly walked over to the dead body. He bent down and pulled the heavy radio from the belt. He brought the microphone up to his face.
Caspian did not yell. He did not sound angry. His voice was calm, chilling, and completely human.
"Your dog had a bad accident, Goliath," Caspian said smoothly into the radio. "His neck seems to be broken."
The radio went completely silent for five seconds.
Then, Goliath let out a massive roar of pure anger. The sound was so loud it made the radio speakers vibrate.
"Shadow Commander," Goliath shouted. "You are a dead man. I will break your bones. I will burn your entire city down to the ground. I will leave nothing but ashes."
Caspian let out a tired sigh.
"I am leaving his dead body on the city border for you," Caspian replied lazily. "If you really want to hunt me, stop hiding in the cold mountains. Come to my front door."
Caspian closed his hand. He squeezed the heavy radio with his bare fingers until the thick plastic and metal completely shattered into pieces. He dropped the broken pieces onto the dead general.
"Let us go home," Caspian said. "Lyra is waiting."
An hour later, the black luxury car pulled into the courtyard of the Valerius Tower.
Lyra was waiting by the front doors. As soon as the car parked, she ran outside.
Thorne helped Silas step out of the back seat. Lyra let out a loud cry and rushed forward. She wrapped her arms carefully around her brother, trying not to hurt his bruised ribs.
"You are safe," Lyra cried into his shoulder. "Thank you, Silas. Thank you for being so brave."
Silas gently patted his sister on the back. He did not make a joke. He did not brag about the fight. He just held her.
"I am fine, Lyra," Silas said quietly. "I am going to get much stronger for you. I promise."
Lyra pulled back and looked at Caspian. She saw the quiet strength in her husbands eyes. She felt a deep, overwhelming wave of love and gratitude. Caspian had kept his promise. He had brought her family back in one piece.
Lyra walked over to Caspian. She reached out to hold his hand. Caspian smiled down at her, feeling a moment of real peace.
But the peace was instantly destroyed.
A loud, piercing sound suddenly blasted through the air.
It was a massive emergency siren. Then another siren started crying. Within seconds, the wailing sound of city wide emergency alarms echoed across every street and building in Oakhaven. It was a sound that warned of total disaster.
Lyra grabbed Caspians arm. "What is happening?"
Caspians cheap phone vibrated violently in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered the call.
It was Bastian. The Shadow Broker did not sound calm or polite anymore. He sounded breathless and urgent.
"Commander," Bastian said quickly over the loud sirens. "The lockdown completely failed. Goliath did not bring a small team of killers. He brought the entire army. Ten thousand elite outcast killers just broke through the main city gates. They are flooding into the streets right now. The war has started."