Master crouched down and made sure he was in the man’s line of sight. He smiled, and it sent a chill down Nyght’s back. The look in Master’s eyes rivaled those of a demon lord.
“It’s good to see you again,” Master said coolly.
The man reached for Master, and Nyght didn’t even have to react. Blade was there in a flash, stabbing a kitchen knife through the man’s hand and into the floor. It wrenched a screech from the man that turned into a growl as he tried to pull his head away from Nyght’s grasp.
Master sighed, tucking a dark strand of hair behind his ear.
“You shouldn’t have tried that. I need you to be in perfect shape,” Master said.
“He will heal,” Dox said, leaning against the wall.
Master nodded. “You’re right, so what’s a few more.” Master held out his hand, and Smooth grabbed a few more knives from the kitchen. He passed them over to Master. With no hesitation, Master drove three knives into the man’s arms, each one resulting in shouts and a scream from the woman in the middle of the circle.
“Stop, why are you doing this?” she cried out.
No one answered her; all their eyes were solely focused on their master. He wiped the blood that splattered on his hand on the carpeted floor. Sweat made his hair cling to his face, and at that moment, Nyght couldn’t think of anything more beautiful than Master.
“Gavin,” the woman called out, tears streaking her cheeks.
The man named Gavin groaned and tried a few times to speak. He tried to shift his shoulders a few times, and each time Nyght pushed them back into the socket.
“Let her go,” Gavin wheezed out.
Master stood up and moved closer to the hysterical woman pinned down by Gunner.
“I can’t do that,” Master said. “She is my payment, and it would be sloppy of me to leave her alive.”
Gavin growled. “If you hurt her, I wi—”
“You will do what? There is nothing you can do. You want to glare at me and bare your teeth, but you brought this on yourself.” A faint smile appeared on Master’s face; it was devoid of any happiness. “You took a job to kill me, and as you can see, I am very much alive.”
Gavin growled. “I can fix that.”
Master smiled at him. “I’m sure you think you could, but you’re currently pinned to the ground by one of my dogs, and I doubt we will ever see each other again. But I wanted to make sure you felt as much pain as you put me through. I nearly died, fucking begged for it at one point or two. I want you to feel the same.” Master turned away from them and faced the woman in the circle.
“She had nothing to do with it,” Gavin pleaded.
“Oh, I know, but I also know hurting you or pushing you close to death won’t be as satisfying. You won’t truly understand my pain,” Master said.
Master glanced over his shoulder, his deep brown eyes meeting Nyght’s.
“Make sure he doesn’t miss any of it,” Master said.
Master spread his hands in front of the woman, and the air grew heavy and made Nyght’s nose tingle. The circle lit up.
“Let her go, Gunner,” Master said.
Gunner did and stepped out of the circle. The woman tried instantly to shift. The sound of breaking bones and low growls stopped as she got stuck halfway through. Her face was elongated, her human skin stretched too thin; her shoulders were out of their sockets, and her arms were broken at strange angles.
Nyght was happy they didn’t have to deal with that issue when shifting. For them, it was like taking off a shirt. One moment man and the next a wolf. The woman made a distressed noise, something between a cry and whimper.
Black smoke appeared near the circle, taking the form of a tall man. Power instantly flooded the too-small room and the urge to shift into his wolf form made Nyght tighten his grip on Gavin, putting more of his weight into the man’s back. The demon lord appeared, and the smoke dissipated. Master breathed heavily, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“What do you have for me this time? I hope for another child’s soul. The last one was delicious. The more innocent the soul, the better, although I enjoy a good tainted one too,” the demon lord said.
“This one,” Master said, pointing to the half-shifted woman.
The demon lord walked a circle around her, never breaking the demonic circle. His eyes landed on Nyght and the man pinned under him.
“Oh, you seem to be having fun,” the demon lord said.
Master shrugged. “You could call it that.”
A deep, eerie chuckle came from the demon lord. Nyght avoided his eyes, looking away when he tried to meet his gaze.
“Very well. I will take this as payment, but per usual, I won’t need her body.” And with that, the woman’s body returned to her human form and the demon lord was gone, taking away the heavy power that accompanied him.
All of them took in a deep breath once he was gone.
“I hate when he appears,” Wolly muttered.
Smooth moved close to Master, wrapping his arms around him and holding him up. Master got light-headed after summoning the demon lord. Each time he’d be left trying to catch his breath and fighting to keep his eyes open.
“Emma,” Gavin shouted.
But the woman didn’t budge. He called her name again and again, but she never answered. She blinked at him, but her eyes were empty; she was just a body with no soul.
“Say something,” Gavin whispered. He sounded so desperate.
Nyght was tempted to tell him she wasn’t there anymore but held his tongue, knowing Master wasn’t done with him yet. Master cleared his throat, still leaning against Smooth.
“I’m sure you want to save her, so I’ll make a deal with you,” Master said.
Gavin didn’t answer, but it didn’t matter. He was listening and most likely would take whatever deal Master offered.
“I won’t slice her neck and make you watch if you tell me where I can find the rest of your team,” Master offered.
The room was silent as they waited on Gavin’s answer. Arnold had provided them with a list, but most of the information was lost, soaked in blood. It had been a disaster, but at least Master had the chance to get the information again.
“Emma,” Gavin squeezed out.
“Fine, have it your way,” Master said.
“Wait,” Gavin shouted. “You promise not to hurt her?” he asked.
“I give you my word that I will not hurt her,” the Master said.
Gavin growled and his body relaxed as he gave in.
“Fine.”
“I thought I’d kill you. Your face is the one I remember the most,” Master said. The color was returning to his face, and he looked a little less exhausted as he stood on his own.
They got the address from Gavin of the remaining members of his team.
“Here, drink this, Master,” Dox said, holding a glass of water.
Master took it, giving Dox a sweet smile. “Nyght, hold him up.”
Nyght did just that as Master turned to Gunner, Blade, and Joker, who were more than ready for his next command.
“Tear her to shreds,” Master said, his voice completely devoid of emotion.
They shifted in a blink of an eye and attacked. Blood splattered, some landing on Nyght’s shoes. Gavin screamed and tried to pull away, but he was no match for Nyght. Master walked over the bits and pieces of flesh that lay on the floor, the once-grey carpet now soaked with blood. The carpet squished under his feet. Master stood an inch away from a bawling Gavin.