"You should have known better. We should have known better. My people are nothing but greedy sc.u.m who would stop at nothing to get what they need. Yours were only scared, and rightly so. h.e.l.l, we even kill, slaughter each other for a piece of land. What were we thinking?

"I was naïve to think I could change how things were. I was stupid to drag you into this, but this stops now. I will avenge your death. Bodrick will get what's coming to him, along with every other son of a b.i.t.c.h who dares come in my way. Your death will not go to waste, take my word.

"May you find your peace, wherever you are. Goodbye."

I poured a bottle of strong spirit on the grave I made for Nag, the only friend who ever saw me for who I really was. He never asked for anything in return either. Today marked one week since he was gone. I've only known him for a short period of time, but it felt like a lifetime. Bodrick dragged us into his affairs. He should never have. I clenched my fists and got ready to move.

"Are you ready?" Elsa's gentle voice reached me from behind.

She believed me when I told her about the three tailed fox and our mysterious teleportation to the Aether Spring. She wasn't happy that Beatrix knew of her family secret, but she didn't object to her staying with us. We needed her powers now more than ever.

"Any news of Fischer?" I asked as I got up.

"He's in his office, exactly as you predicted," she said. "Are you sure about this?"

"It's the only way," I replied. "He's the weakest link. He'll tell me what I need to know."

"He's p.i.s.sed," Elsa warned.

A cool breeze swept by her, carrying her hair with it. She s.h.i.+vered and brought her arms together. She looked vulnerable, prettier than I ever remembered her to be. "He's increased his security too. There are shadows all over the place," she said with a slight frown.

"Shadows won't stop me," I said. "Not even Theolonius Stalwart himself can stop me from getting what I want now."

"Zedd," Elsa said in a hushed tone. I could tell she was anxious. "I don't like this reckless plan of yours. You'll get yourself killed."

"We have an opportunity here Elsa," I said, refusing to listen to her arguments for the umpteenth time. "We've been through this. It's the only way."

"Let me help," she said. "I can send some men. They'll at least serve as a distraction."

"No," I flatly said. "We can't let them know you're involved. You know they'll storm this place if they did. You stay put. I'll be back before you know it."

She heaved a heavy sigh. "Just be careful, alright?" she said.

"What's this?" I smiled. "Is Lady Vogel worried about me now?"

"I've worked hard and long for this moment, dumba.s.s," she said. "I'm worried you'll ruin our only chance at getting our mystery man."

"I will get you a name today," I said. "You have my word. Is Beatrix ready?"

She bit on her lower lip then nodded. "Hilda says she has a bad feeling about this."

"Tell Hilda to keep her fortune telling to herself," I said. Anger suddenly crept up on me. "If she has a clear vision, tell her to share. I don't need false intuition to ruin the plan we've worked so hard to execute."

"That's the thing Zedd," Elsa said. She decided to speak in hushed tones today. I knew she was anxious, I just didn't think she'd have so little faith in me. "I don't think your plan is safe."

"We can't keep playing safe Elsa," I said, a little louder than I antic.i.p.ated. "You know Stalwart's coming to town next week. We can't sit on our laurels and play it safe anymore. You want to have the underworld. I'm delivering it to you on a silver platter. Just remember your promise."

Elsa's eyebrows knitted into a pretty frown. I frowned at her too. I knew she was concerned about me, but nothing could quell the anger inside me. I needed blood. I had to kill to quench this thirst inside me. I've killed countless people who worked for the three families in the past three days, but it wasn't enough. They were but operatives. We needed them dead to weaken their business, push them to make a mistake.

We laid a perfect bait for Lord Fischer today. We had one opportunity to get him, and I wasn't going to let that get away from me. He also knew where Bodrick was hiding. I wouldn't rest until I saw that man suffer a thousand deaths.

"Are we going or what?" Beatrix asked. Thank my stars for Beatrix. I didn't feel like arguing with Elsa anymore. My mind was set. There was no going back.

"Yeah," I said, averting my gaze from Elsa. "We don't want to be late for the party."

While Beatrix and I headed for town, I felt Elsa's eyes on the back of my head.

'Don't do anything stupid Zedd,' she reached out to me as we were about to leave her estate.

'Don't come looking for us if things go south,' I said. 'Leave town. Stalwart does not take prisoners.'

'I hope you're wrong, Zedd Darkstar,' she said then her voice vanished from inside my head.

"What was that about?" Beatrix asked as Lady Vogel's estate vanished from the horizon.

"Nothing," I replied in my newfound flat tone. "She just doesn't feel our plan could work."

"She's worried about you, dumba.s.s," Beatrix said. "Can't you see the way she looks at you?"

"Mind your own business B," I said. "You know what to do when we get to town?"

She shot me a dark look but didn't pursue the matter any further. "The new s.h.i.+pment, yes," she said. "I'll destroy it and get the shadows to follow me."

"Don't go into town," I warned her. "Konig's heard of our little plan to steal the s.h.i.+pment. They probably have men stationed all around the city to lead you to a trap."

"I'm not dumb," she defensively retorted. "I know you leaked the information. Elsa might not agree with your methods, but I do. You worry about your part, let me do mine, alright?"

"Don't f.u.c.k it up B," I said. "You know I can't get inside Fischer's office if you do."

"For the last time Zedd," she said, exasperated. "I know the port like the back of my hand. They won't catch me."

There were many things I wanted to ask her but I decided to keep them to myself. I didn't want her to get mad at me right before a crucial mission. We reached the city a little over midday. We got in through the eastern gate and snuck toward the port. We hid by a warehouse and put our sight on the docks reserved for Lord Fischer.

"Fischer's new s.h.i.+pment will arrive in an hour," I said. "I'll provide a distraction. Good luck."

She buried her black eyes into mine and smiled. "Good luck to you too."

I was about to leave when she pulled me by the sleeve. "If anything goes wrong," she said. "Know that I don't hate you. You helped me see reason Zedd, for that, I thank you."

I scoffed. "Don't worry about it," I said then headed for the dark, empty part of the merchant neighborhood.

There was an old abandoned shop in which I needed to meet with an old man whose request I completed three days ago. I found him waiting in the dark, pacing around the room. As soon as I got in, his face lit up.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"I had to visit an dear friend," I replied. "Do you have it?"

He nodded. He took a long black box from his pocket and handed it to me. "Be careful with this little thing," he said. "You don't want to drop it by accident."

I snorted. "That's exactly what I intend to do."

"You know what I mean," he said. "Just be careful with that thing, okay?"

"I do this," I said. "And you'll have a name for me?"

He nodded. "Then I don't want anything to do with you ever again," he said. "I didn't become an old junk shop owner to wage a war against your grandfather."

This old man was scarier than Elsa. He knew things no one was supposed to know. I you wanted to know anything about anyone in Merinsk, you had to pay a visit to the old man in the junk shop. His price for the name of the mystery man was to kill Fischer and retrieve an orb from his office.

Everything I did so far was in order to get that senile old man into his office. I needed his eye to open his safety deposit box. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d had it sealed by magic. If one wanted to open it, they'd need Fischer to willingly, or in my case forcefully, put his right eye in front of the box for a scan.

"Expect heavy resistance," the old man said.

He never shared his name with me. And despite all my efforts to unearth it, I never managed to get anything about him. He was a ghost. n.o.body knew who he was or where he came from.

"If it turns out you're the mystery man…" I growled at him.

"If I were indeed the mystery man," he said. "You'd be locked in some underground chamber, waiting for your dear grandpa to arrive. I hate Theo as much as you do son, maybe even more. I would've delivered you to him long ago otherwise."

I chuckled. "Thanks for nothing old man," I said then disappeared into the streets once more.

My target was the highest building in Handels Market. According to the junk shop owner, it was the underworld's headquarters. I needed to create a distraction big enough to allow Beatrix to make her move uninterrupted. I needed to get the Konigs and the Kohlers out of our way before I had a little one to one chat with Lord Fischer.

There's nothing better than a big explosion and panic in the city to get the mice to scurry to their holes.

"I hope you're ready for this Beatrix," I whispered as I tightly clutched the explosive device the old man had given me.