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CHAPTER 36

Blake Moreno Bowmen

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The North blocked their escape while Xavier wiped the blood off his shoe. Blake grabbed Rhodes by his sleeve.

"Stop playing around," he said. "Our lives are on the line."

"He's too unpredictable to outsmart in a fight. The guy doesn't have a fighting style he sticks to."

"Then we're fucked."

"Can't we make a break for it?" the twins asked.

The group spared a look at the thugs and the door behind them.

They should have seen this coming. The day the North stopped scheming and started acting. They should have been more prepared.

"We have to win." Rhodes turned to Amber. "A good luck kiss?"

Blake opened his mouth, but the girl beat him to it.

"Not a chance."

"But wouldn't it piss Xavier off so much?"

"Then maybe I should kiss him instead." She crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow. "You might land a hit this time."

The boys tensed. Rhodes said what they both were thinking.

"Don't even consider it."

Amber rolled her eyes as the pimp approached his opponent again. Regardless of their determination, it was already apparent after the first half who would win. Their only chance at victory would be if the devil got worn out, but even that seemed unlikely now. All that was left was their backup plan.

The fight resumed with a barrage of punches, all of them either dodged or caught. Fists against flesh, bones cracking, and erratic panting filled the room. Blake squinted his eyes at his rival's bloody face. Not that long ago, he found joy in fucking up that moron. Now his dinner threatened to splatter all over the floor.

"We have to go," he whispered.

"Go? What about Owen?" Amber asked.

"If we want to get out undetected, we can't take anyone with. And Owen is our distraction."

"We can't leave everyone behind."

Blake pressed his lips. There was no chance of him using reason to get the girl to safety. He would need to take a page from his mother's book.

"The unknown informant messaged me. He's got a plan and is meeting us outside. The guy's finally revealing himself."

"What? Really?" Her eyes widened, shone, and he had to glance away for a moment.

"Yes."

"Alright. Let's go. He'll know what to do."

Everyone stayed glued to the fight. The bloody massacre Xavier conducted. He was like a cat playing with its food. A crack broke across the room, followed by a hair-raising scream, and Blake turned away. He swallowed. Hand holding onto Amber's arm, the cyng stepped back, and they fell behind the crowd. The scream kept going, and with it, they snuck out of the room.

"This doesn't feel right. Owen's hurt in there."

They ran down the hallway. He still had a grip on her arm and glanced back. Her hair flew behind her, her dress was torn, and her feet were bare. He slowed down, but as they got to the stairs, the worst siblings in Tygerwel walked up. They stopped.

"Look who we've got here," BD said, licking his lips.

"Oh, if she's with Blake, Xavier must have gone easy on her."

Camila held a metal bat angled over one shoulder. The bandage on her neck was replaced with a thin red scar which she wore like a choker. Her brother rubbed at his pants while he watched Amber.

Blake felt her shiver and gave a reassuring squeeze before he let go and stepped forward.

"Xavier told us we can go," he said. "The fight's over."

"I smell a liar," Camila sang.

"Try stopping us then. You'll be disobeying your own cyng. And I think your scar should be a fresh reminder of what happens to people who act out in the North. Take your gamble."

She narrowed her dark eyes.

"I'll gamble with you." BD flashed a rotten smile. He approached them as he spoke. "I bet Xavier wouldn't let any of you go just like that. And even if he did, I still got to repay the lil' lady for the broken wrist she gave me. It still hurts when the weather's bad, and I haven't got a lucky hand since."

"Your luck won't improve with this either."

They stood face to face. His knife was a reach away...

A hand flew past the cyng.

BD choked and stumbled back, clutching his throat with tears in his eyes. Amber walked past him in his coughing fit.

"We don't have time to waste here." She took out her earrings and handed them to Blake. "Hold these while I shut that one up too."

"You hurt my brother!" Camila yelled, charging with her bat.

Amber ducked under the swing and followed through with a kick, sweeping the girl's legs out from under her. Crash. She crouched to the gasping girl and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her back up from the ground. Blake angled away from the screeching.

A fist charged, and he stepped out of its way in time. BD's face was red, the veins in his neck bulging. He barrelled towards the cyng, entirely out of his mind. Scrape. Click.

Blake swiped with his knife. The brute was quick enough to hold back and missed getting his throat sliced. He retreated with each lash the blade threw until he was pressed to the wall. Out of ground and out of breath. BD dived, tackling the boy hard enough for his weapon to fly. He cannoned into the floor and winced.

"Get the fuck off, you moron." Blake flailed and clawed. His nails met skin, and he scratched down as hard as he could. BD yelled and clutched his bloody face. The boy used the moment to buckle and turn, desperate for room to escape. His eye caught a glint of silver, and he reached. Grabbed.

Another scream tore from the thug. Blake pulled, but the blade was lodged into BD's arm too deep to get it out. He crawled out instead and ran to where Amber held Camila in a chokehold. The girl's face was blue, and her eyes rolled back.

"Jack, you there?" the cyng asked.

"Everything's a mess."

"Make sure you and Seane wait down the road. I'm getting Amber out of here. We've lost."

"What?"

"Cariño, we have to get out right now."

She let go of the unconscious girl and stood up, sweeping her matted hair back and wiping her nose with her arm.

"Alright. Let's—"

"Leaving so soon?"

They froze.

A shiver took hold of Blake. They turned back.

"When I haven't had a round two?" Xavier asked. He stood in the hallway, his gang of thugs right behind. There was something in his grasp, a bloody mess he dragged out of the room. Blake went colder than he ever had. He clamped a hand over his mouth in fear of what might come out. The thing was Owen William Rhodes. He was limp, his chest barely moved, and his leg was twisted at a sickening angle.

"You can't go backing out on me now," Xavier grinned.

Blake stood like the slightest move could have his legs buckle out from under him. How could he fight a monster like that?

"I really will kill you tonight," Amber promised.

She walked past Blake, and something instinctive made him hold his breath. With every step she took towards the devil, it felt like the floor shuddered. Her eyes were darkened, her pupils as small as pins. Even after what was done to Rhodes, at that moment, the cyng of the West thought he would rather face Xavier.

"As flattered as I am, my duel is with your two boys."

"No one said you're fighting West and East. The condition was that you fight two cyngs in exchange for your life. If one loses, the other gets to have a go. And according to you, I qualify."

"I suppose I can't deny you," Xavier sighed with a shrug. "But you'll lose, and I'll feel bad beating someone with a disadvantage."

Amber stopped right in front of him. She had to crane her neck to glare at him, but nothing about her felt small.

"What disadvantage?"

Blake gathered the strength to move again. He went after Amber and put a hand on her shoulder. Even if it costs him his life, he cannot let her fight this devil.

"You're just a girl, Amber," he said. "Look what he did to Rhodes. I'll fight him. You make sure that pimp is still breathing."

A large hand removed his hold from her. Xavier stared from under his lashes, as cold as a blade in snow.

"I'm sorry to ruin your moment, Blake Bowmen, but you'd be worse off than this girl," he said. The boy stopped himself from retreating, but the devil smirked like he had noticed. "I'd be worried about fighting her if I didn't lace her dinner with blitz poison."

In an instant, the cyng of the West felt smaller than a mouse. How did they ever think they could beat him? Xavier was not a cat. His grin was that of a snake ready to swallow them whole.

They never once stood a chance.

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