<b>Chapter </b><b>148 </b>


    <b>91 </b>


    Warren’s eyes narrowed, calcting. In one swift motion, he grabbed his walking stick and lunged at me. I dodged easily, but was impressed by his speed–not bad for a man his age.


    “You think you can kill me?” Warren sneered, twirling the walking stick with practiced ease. “People better than you have tried. The assassins who could kill me haven’t even been born yet, little girl.”


    I circled him slowly, a predator sizing up wounded prey. “Is that what you think?”


    He attacked again, the walking stick transforming into a deadly weapon in his hands. I blocked his strikes, our movements creating a deadly dance across the cabin. The rich scent of polished wood mixed with the acrid smell of gasoline as we fought, furniture splintering under ourbined force.


    For a few minutes, we were evenly matched. Warren’s decades of experiencepensated for his age, each strike precise and efficient. No wasted movement. ssic Shadow Organization training.


    Then I noticed it–a slight tremor in his left hand. The poison was beginning to work.


    “Feeling a bit sluggish, Warren?” I taunted, easily sidestepping his next attack. “Maybe you should have checked your drink more carefully.”


    Rage shed across his face. He redoubled his efforts, but his movements were bing increasingly uncoordinated. His walking stick swung wide, missing me by inches. I caught it mid–swing and yanked, sending it flying across the room.


    “Too slow,” I said,nding a precise strike to his kidney.


    Warren grunted in pain but recovered quickly, throwing a punch that would have shattered my jaw if it had connected. I ducked and swept his legs from under him. He managed to roll away and stagger back to his feet, but his breathing was bingbored.


    “Still too slow,” Imented, delivering a series of rapid strikes to his torso.


    Warren stumbled backward, his face contorting as he fought against the poison’s effects. “You’ve been… trained,” he gasped, recognition dawning in his eyes.


    “By the best,” I replied,nding a crushing blow to his right knee. The crack of bone breaking echoed through the cabin.


    Warren copsed to one knee but refused to scream. Even now, his training held. He attempted to grab me, but I easily avoided his grasp.


    “Not fast enough,” I said, breaking his left arm at the elbow.


    This time he couldn’t suppress a howl of pain. I circled behind him, snapping his right arm next. He fell forward,


    face contorted in agony.


    91


    “You know,” I said conversationally, “this is nothingpared to what I endured in thatb of yours for six months.”


    I methodically broke his other knee, then stood over him as hey helpless on the polished floor.


    “You… who…” Warren’s eyes widened in sudden recognition as he stared up at me. “That fighting style… you can’t


    be…”


    “Can’t I?” I knelt beside him, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at me. “Don’t you recognize me, ‘Father‘? I was your proudest child, after all.”


    Horror dawned in his eyes. “Shadow? Impossible… you died in the explosion.”


    “Oh, but I am,” I whispered. “And I’m going to make sure you and every other old guy of Shadow Organization pays for what you did. You’re just the first, King of Hearts.”


    With surgical precision, I crushed his throat, watching as the life drained from his eyes.


    I stood up, surveying the room. Umbra and Silhouette had already stopped breathing, their faces frozen in expressions of agony.


    “Bad luck, guys,” I murmured, unscrewing the cap from the gasoline container. “Wrong ce, wrong time.”


    I methodically sshed gasoline around the cabin, making sure to soak Warren’s body thoroughly. I struck a match, watching the me dance for a moment before dropping it onto his chest.


    Fire exploded across his body, hungry mes licking at the expensive furnishings. I backed toward the door, watching as Warren Mitchell was consumed by fire.


    “Goodbye, King of Hearts,” I said to the inferno. “Tell the devil I sent you.”


    I slipped out of the cabin, closing the door behind me. Already I could hear shouts of rm as the crew noticed the smoke. Perfect timing–we’d just docked.


    I made my way to the fourth–floor deck, ncing at my watch. One minutes until the first explosion. Guards were rushing toward the smoke, barely noticing me as I moved against the flow of traffic,


    Chapter Comments


    Write Comments


    SHADE