The penthouse of the Azure Hotel smelled of expensive ozone and gun oil. Vixen did not breathe through her nose as she adjusted the dial on her long range rifle. The yellow of her eyes was not a natural hue. It was the result of a forbidden beast blood transfusion she had undergone years ago in the pits of the Northern Waste. It allowed her to see the heat signatures of a soul and to track the very flow of blood through a targets veins from three miles away. She was a ghost in the world of assassins and she had never missed a mark.
She watched the silver haired woman through the scope. Lyra Valerius looked fragile in the window frame. She looked like a bird trapped in a cage made of glass and inherited debt. Vixen felt a flicker of something resembling pity but she crushed it instantly. In the world of the High Regents pity was a disease that got you buried in a nameless trench.
The target is in position. Vixen whispered into her pearl earring. Her voice was as cold as a winter grave.
Take the shot. The voice in her ear commanded. It was a voice that sounded like grinding stones. The High Regent Malphas wants the Commander to feel the loss. He wants him to know that no matter how many chains he breaks he cannot protect the things he loves. Kill the wife and the Commander will lose his focus. That is when we move in.
Vixen adjusted for the wind speed. The air over Oakhaven was turbulent this morning and it was still vibrating from the massive energy discharge of the previous night. She felt the heavy kick of the rifles spirit stone battery charging up. The weapon did not fire lead bullets. It fired condensed spikes of pure gravity. At this distance the projectile would travel faster than the speed of sound and it would leave a hole the size of a dinner plate in whatever it touched.
She placed the crosshairs directly over Lyras heart. She took a slow and shallow breath. She waited for the rhythmic beat of the targets pulse to align with her own.
On the ground two miles away Caspian stopped.
He was standing near the black car that Thorne had prepared for him. His hand was on the door handle but he did not pull it open. The world around him suddenly slowed down. To a master of his level the universe was not a collection of solid objects but a web of interconnected intentions. He felt a sudden and jagged rip in the fabric of the morning. It was a sharp and poisonous needle of killing intent. It was aimed not at him but at the window he had just walked away from.
Commander. Thorne appeared beside him and his hand was already on the hilt of his obsidian blade. He felt it too. It is a Long Range Stalker. At least two miles out.
Protect the gate. Caspian said. His voice was a low growl that caused the pavement beneath his feet to spiderweb.
In the penthouse Vixen pulled the trigger.
The rifle did not make a sound. There was only a faint shimmer of blue light as the gravity spike was launched from the barrel. It cut through the air with a supersonic hiss and it vaporized the raindrops that were beginning to fall from the grey clouds. It was a perfect shot. It was a trajectory that led directly to the center of Lyras chest.
Caspian did not run. He did not leap. He simply ceased to be where he was and reappeared where he needed to be.
Inside the bedroom Lyra was reaching for the tea tray she had brought down earlier. She was lost in a fog of confusion and she was wondering how the man she had fed and sheltered for three years could be the same person who had crushed a sect leader with a single look. She heard a sound like a distant crack of thunder.
Then the world turned gold.
A hand made of solid light reached through the glass of the window before the gravity spike could even touch the pane. Caspian appeared in the air outside the second floor balcony as if he had been born from the shadows themselves. He did not use a weapon. He did not use a shield. He simply caught the invisible projectile in his bare palm.
The impact sent a shockwave through the room that shattered every mirror and every picture frame on the walls. Lyra was thrown backward onto the bed as the windows of the manor exploded inward in a thousand shards of crystalline dust.
Caspian landed on the carpeted floor of the bedroom. He was still shirtless and his skin was glowing with a faint and rhythmic light that pulsed in time with the nine dragons etched into his soul. In his hand the gravity spike was still vibrating and it was trying to push through his flesh. He squeezed his fingers and the projectile hissed before dissolving into a handful of black sand.
He looked at Lyra. She was gasping for air and her eyes were wide with a terror that went beyond anything she had felt at the banquet. She looked at the hole in the wall where the bullet should have been and then she looked at her husband.
Stay down. Caspian said. His voice was not a request. It was a divine decree.
He did not wait for her to answer. He turned and walked toward the broken window. He did not look for the sniper with his eyes. He looked for her with his spirit. He felt the yellow eyed woman in the hotel. He felt her shock. He felt her fear.
Thorne. Caspian spoke to the empty air. I want her alive. I want to know who gave her the gravity rifle.
Already on the way sir. Thornes voice echoed from the shadows of the hallway.
Three miles away Vixen was staring through her scope in absolute disbelief. Her yellow eyes were dilated with a primal fear. She had seen him. She had seen the target move across the city in a literal blink of an eye. She had seen a man catch a gravity spike with his bare hand. That was not cultivation. That was not magic. That was the power of an Ancient Sovereign.
She scrambled to pack her gear. Her hands were shaking for the first time in her career. She had to get out. She had to tell the High Regents that the Commander was not recovering. He was whole. He was more than whole. He was a god in human skin.
She turned toward the door of the penthouse but she stopped. The temperature in the room had dropped forty degrees in a single second. Frost was beginning to form on the glass table and the luxury furniture was covered in a layer of white rime.
Standing in front of the door was a man in white and gold armor. His face was hidden behind a mask that depicted a weeping dragon. In his hand was a curved blade that seemed to drink the light from the room.
The Sovereigns Shadow greets you. Thorne said. His voice was a metallic rasp that caused Vixens teeth to ache. You should not have aimed for the lady. The Commander is very fond of his silence but he is very protective of his debts.
Vixen did not hesitate. She pulled a short jagged dagger from her belt and she lunged at the armored warrior. She was a Beast Tier master and her speed was enough to leave afterimages in the air. She aimed for the gap in the armor at the neck.
Thorne did not even draw his sword. He simply moved his hand in a slow and circular motion. The air in the penthouse solidified into a wall of force that slammed Vixen back against the glass windows. The reinforced panes shattered and she found herself dangling sixty stories above the pavement of Oakhaven with nothing but Thornes hand around her throat.
You are going to tell me everything. Thorne said as he leaned over the edge. Or I am going to see if a Beast Tier body can survive a sixty story drop without a core.
Back at the Valerius Estate the Patriarch and Silas were running toward the stairs. They had heard the explosion and they had seen the golden light. They burst into the bedroom and they saw the wreckage of the windows and the shards of glass covering the floor.
Lyra. The old man screamed. Are you hurt. What happened. Was it a gas leak.
Silas stopped dead when he saw Caspian standing by the window. He saw the scars on Caspians back and he saw the way the air seemed to bend and warp around the mans body. He felt a sudden and violent urge to vomit. The power coming off Caspian was so intense it felt like standing next to a sun.
It was not a gas leak. Caspian said without turning around. It was an invitation.
He walked over to Lyra and he offered her his hand. His touch was no longer the soft and tentative touch of the man she had known. It was firm and as steady as the earth itself. He pulled her to her feet and he brushed a stray shard of glass from her hair.
They are coming for you because of me. Caspian said and his eyes were dark with a cold fury. I thought I could hide in your shadow until I was ready to leave. I thought I could keep the war away from your door. I was wrong.
Who are they. Lyra asked and her voice was finally beginning to steady. Who are the people who can shoot through a building from miles away.
The people who own this world. Caspian replied. The people who think they are the masters of the Nine Dragons. They call themselves the High Regents but they are nothing more than thieves who stole a throne while I was sleeping.
He turned to the Patriarch and Silas. Both of them were now trembling so hard they had to lean against the wall.
You wanted to be a great family. Caspian said. You wanted the Storm Sects assets. You wanted a seat on the High Council. Well you have it now. But you will pay for it in blood if you stay here.
What do you mean. Silas stammered. Are we in danger.
You are a target. Caspian said. From this moment on the Valerius Estate is the most dangerous place in the city. If you want to live you will do exactly as I say. Silas you will go to the city guard and you will tell them that the Storm Sect tried to assassinate your sister. You will make a scene. You will be loud. You will draw every eye in the city to yourself.
Why. Silas asked.
Because while you are being the distraction I am going to find every hidden cell of the Regents in Oakhaven and I am going to burn them to the ground. Caspian looked at the Patriarch. You will call a meeting of the other major families. You will tell them that the Valerius family is now under the protection of a secret patron. Do not give them my name. Just give them the sign of the Black Dragon.
The Patriarch nodded and his eyes were wide with a mix of greed and terror. Yes. I understand. The Black Dragon.
Caspian looked at Lyra. You are coming with me.
Where. She asked.
To the only place in this city where the Regents cannot see us. Caspian said.
He reached out and he touched the Frost Jade pendant at her neck. The stone began to glow with a deep and ancient blue light. The air in the room began to swirl and the shadows on the walls began to rise up like ink in water.
I spent three years being your husband Lyra. Caspian said and a faint and sad smile touched his lips. Now I am going to be your Sovereign.
The shadows swallowed them both.
A second later the bedroom was empty. The Patriarch and Silas were left standing in the wreckage of the room with only the sound of the wind whistling through the broken windows to keep them company. Silas looked down at the floor and he saw the pile of black sand where the gravity bullet had been. He reached down to touch it but the sand evaporated before his finger could reach the grain.
We are all going to die. Silas whispered.
No. The Patriarch said as he straightened his spectacles. We are going to be the kings of Oakhaven. Or we are going to be the fuel for the fire. Either way the Valerius name will never be forgotten.
Deep beneath the city in a forgotten bunker made of lead and enchanted iron Caspian and Lyra appeared in a flash of blue light. The bunker was filled with screens and maps and banks of ancient computers that were huming with a low and rhythmic power. In the center of the room was a massive stone table with a map of the entire continent carved into its surface.
This is the Command Center of the Sovereign. Caspian said as he walked toward the table. It has been silent for a thousand days. It is time to wake it up.
He placed his hand on the stone table and he channeled a spark of his energy into the carvings. The map began to glow. Small red dots began to appear across the city of Oakhaven. Each dot represented a hidden signature of a High Regent agent. There were hundreds of them.
Lyra walked up to the table and she looked at the map. You knew they were here. You knew this whole time.
I knew they would come. Caspian said. I just did not expect them to move so fast. They are desperate Lyra. They know that if I fully recover my core they will lose everything they have built in my absence. They will burn this city to the ground just to stop me.
And what are you going to do. She asked.
I am going to give them exactly what they want. Caspian said. I am going to show them the Commander.
He turned toward a large metal vault at the back of the room. He whispered a word in an ancient language and the heavy doors groaned as they swung open. Inside was a suit of armor made of obsidian and starlight and a long heavy sword that seemed to vibrate with the heartbeat of a dragon.
Thorne. Caspian spoke into the air.
A holographic image of Thorne appeared in the center of the room. He was standing in the penthouse of the Azure Hotel and he was holding a bloodied Vixen by the hair.
She has talked sir. Thorne said. The Regents have a base in the industrial district. They are preparing a chemical strike to draw you out. They have enough poison to kill every man woman and child in Oakhaven.
Then we have no more time for games. Caspian said. He reached into the vault and he pulled out the heavy sword. The blade hummed as it touched his hand and the golden light in his eyes flared with a new intensity.
Lyra watch the screens. If any of the red dots move toward the estate you tell Thorne immediately.
You are going alone. She asked and her voice was filled with a sudden and sharp concern.
I am never alone. Caspian said.
He stepped back into the shadows and he vanished.
In the industrial district of Oakhaven the air was thick with the smell of sulfur and wet coal. Inside a massive warehouse six men in grey robes were standing around a series of large metal canisters. They were high tier cultivators and their auras were sharp and jagged like broken glass.
Is the mixture ready. One of them asked.
Almost. Another replied. Once we vent this into the sewers the city will be a graveyard. The Commander will have no choice but to use his energy to shield the population. That is when the High Regents will strike. He will be drained and he will be vulnerable.
They did not hear the door open. They did not hear the sound of footsteps on the concrete floor.
The only thing they heard was the sound of a dragon waking up.
I wouldn't do that if I were you. A voice said from the darkness.
The six men turned as one and they flared their auras. The warehouse was filled with the light of fire and lightning and ice. They looked toward the far end of the building where a man in black robes was standing with a heavy sword in his hand.
The Commander. One of the men hissed. You are earlier than we expected.
And you are more foolish than I remembered. Caspian said. He began to walk toward them and every step he took caused the metal canisters to groan under the weight of his intent. You thought you could use the people of this city as a shield. You thought I would let you poison the air I breathe.
Kill him. The leader of the group roared.
The six men lunged forward at the same time. They were masters of their respective elements and the warehouse was suddenly filled with a chaotic storm of energy. A massive wave of fire roared toward Caspian and a bolt of black lightning descended from the ceiling. A wall of jagged ice rose from the floor to trap him.
Caspian did not move. He simply raised his sword and he swung it in a wide horizontal arc.
The sound was not a clash of steel. It was the sound of the world being torn apart. A wave of golden energy erupted from the blade and it erased the fire and it shattered the lightning. It cut through the ice as if it were nothing more than paper. The shockwave hit the six men and it threw them against the walls with enough force to dent the reinforced steel beams.
Caspian stood in the center of the destruction. He looked at the leader of the group who was currently coughing up blood on the floor.
Tell the High Regents that the Nine Dragon Lock is broken. Caspian said. Tell them that the Sovereign of Shadows has returned to claim his throne. And tell them that I am starting with Oakhaven.
He raised his sword and he brought it down onto the metal canisters. The golden energy flooded the containers and it neutralized the poison in an instant. The warehouse was filled with a bright and purifying light that burned away the smell of sulfur and death.
Caspian turned and he walked out into the night. He looked up at the sky where the shimmering ribbon of energy was still glowing. He knew that the war was just beginning. He knew that the High Regents would send more assassins and more armies. But he did not care.
He had spent three years in the dark. He had spent three years being the trash of the Valerius family. Now he was the fire that would burn the world clean.
He reached into his pocket and he pulled out a small pearl earring. It was the one he had taken from Vixens room. He crushed it in his palm and he let the dust fall to the ground.
I am coming for you Malphas. Caspian whispered to the wind. And I am bringing the shadow with me.