Levi looked at him with a smug smile.

  Kai brought his left hand to his face. His glove’s pinky and ring fingers drooped. A chill ran down his spine. How long until the rest of him decayed into nothing?

  He glanced at Alira, chest tightening. The urge to hide his weakness was strong. But she knew his worst secrets and stayed. Why bother hiding this?

  He removed the glove, assessing the damage. Two fingers gone. Blackened stumps remained. Dark lines spread from the stumps to other fingers, crawling toward his wrist.

  The price of being dead - or undead. He faced the glowing pedestal. He needed the Frozen Tear now.

  He reached toward the artifact with his decaying hand, then stopped. Traps on the pedestal. In his haste, he’d neglected one of his most powerful tools - caution.

  “Levi,” he said.

  Levi sighed and stepped beside him. “Finally. How Death God knew your needs in advance astounds me.”

  All part of his Father’s plan. Kai’s jaw tightened.

  Levi brought a finger to his mouth, bared a fang, and bit down. Blood welled up. He placed his hand above the pedestal, letting the scarlet droplet fall. The blue glow became red.

  A domed barrier revealed itself before cracking and vanishing. The glow surrounding the pedestal faded, revealing the Frozen Tear.

  Metal links formed a chain. The links sparkled like they’d just been polished. At the end of the chain hung a clear, thumb-sized gem with a blue tint - like the purest water Kai had seen. Levi grabbed the chain, careful not to touch the gem, and thrust it towards Kai like dirty underwear.

  Kai ignored his impoliteness and grabbed the gem with reckless hope. Levi avoided touching it for a reason, probably painful for vampires. But Kai came for this artifact - being overly cautious wouldn’t serve him here.

  He grasped the gem. A tingling sensation shot through his fingers, up his wrist, throughout his body. The black lines dimmed but remained visible. Frozen in place. The stagnant air of the cave shifted. Warmth blanketed his body. His chest thumped with vigour.

  His body regained a semblance of life, but it was false. His fingers hadn’t healed, but the decay stopped. He wasted no time lifting the chain over his head and hiding the gem beneath his shirt. He’d bought himself time, but remained undead. His missing fingers a reminder of his ticking clock.

  Still, relief washed over him as he hid the decay beneath his glove. He could return to Earth and repay Renzo in blood. But he couldn’t do it alone. Renzo’s Gift was a mystery; an impressive commitment to secrecy. And though Kai was powerful, a blade or bullet would kill him.

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  Whether returning to Earth would weaken him like before was unclear. He was stronger now, Marked. He hoped it’d make a difference - but hope was a cruel mistress.

  He needed allies. Rusk and Shadow would follow. Levi too, reluctantly. Alira wanted Renzo’s intelligence and Kai’s partnership. Worth a try. Her Curse was invaluable, but that wasn’t all - she’d learned his darkest secrets and stayed beside him.

  Levi glared at him. “Good?”

  Kai nodded. “For now.”

  Levi clapped his hands. “Let’s get going now, shall we?”

  Kai’s eyes narrowed. “To where?”

  “Anywhere. I’ve been stuck in this cave far too long. I’ll follow you wherever, as long as it’s not here.”

  The vampire turned to Alira, a smile as bright as day curling his lips. “It will be my pleasure to travel alongside you, my lady.”

  Alira scoffed and turned to Kai. “You’ve got what you need - are we done here?”

  Her cold blue eyes entranced him. “Just like that? You don’t mind me taking your House’s artifact?”

  “We never had much use for it. Father got it cheap from some old merchant, and we never got it to do anything but purify water.”

  Some old merchant. Noll got the Black Book from some old merchant too. Whose tear was this? Who did his Father steal this from?

  The vastness of Death God’s schemes overwhelmed him.

  Was everything planned? How many of his choices did his Father predict? Did he have any choices?

  Kai shivered. His attention returned to Alira. “Ready to meet the Ashvales’ new Dusk supplier?”

  She smiled. “Of course.”

  Perfect.

  With Rusk, Alira, the vampire, and Shadow, he had a team of powerhouses. Who could stop them? In a straight fight, Renzo was a mere pebble in their path. But straight fights were for the stupid and desperate.

  “We make a great team,” he said.

  Renzo couldn’t match him in power, not with the Serpent Mob’s lacklustre lieutenants. And without Dakas, the Carver Mob’s Marked weren’t much of an obstacle.

  But intelligence and strategy? Kai couldn’t say. Renzo had finally absorbed the Carver Mob from the look of things. His power, influence, and intelligence network all exceeded Kai’s.

  Information won wars, and Kai was out of the loop.

  A wail of pain reached Kai’s ears. He turned. The insufferable vampire’s pale face twisted in a grimace. A bloody tear crawled down his cheek.

  “My sins have damned me,” he said. “I must watch a cretin like you frolic with a beauty you don’t deserve.”

  Did this bastard think Kai would swallow his disrespect like a starving rat and do nothing?

  Kai swung his deathly blade at Levi. “Enough.”

  The malignant blade stroked the vampire’s throat. Ruthless and terrible desire emanated from its dark material.

  “Your distaste was amusing, if a little annoying at first. But I won’t tolerate insubordination. You pledged yourself to me, didn’t you?”

  Levi raised his chin, giving the blade an easier target. “I honour my oaths.”

  “Honour it without complaint,” Kai said, “or I’ll introduce you to true death and command your agreeable corpse.”

  The vampire swallowed and nodded slowly, careful not to touch the dark blade with his chin.

  Kai didn’t know if he could raise an undead from true death, but he was Death God’s heir. If he didn’t know the details, Levi’s chances of knowing were slim.

  “Do we understand each other?”

  “I understand,” Levi replied, shoulders slumping.

  “Good.”

  Kai sheathed the black sword and turned to Alira. “Let’s regroup with Rusk and Shadow. We’ve left them long enough to get into trouble.”

  A howl rang out. Shadow. Something was wrong. Kai redrew his blade and rushed toward the sound. Alira and Levi’s footsteps echoed behind him.

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