“Is he awake?” The first voice asked.“No, I don’t think so.” Another voice replied. “We need to wake him up before the boss arrives.”Luke laid stiffly on the ground, trying not to move a single muscle. Although he could hear the people above him loud and clear, he did not want to alert them to the fact that he was actually awake. “How do we wake him, then? He’s not even moving.” The first voice asked.“Water. We need water.”The ground underneath Luke’s back felt like a collection of sharp rocks. The stones dug sharply through his suit and into the skin of his back, adding more discomfort to the pain he already felt.He took a deep breath but his throat and mouth felt like sandpaper. He finally tried to move but pain erupted from his hands, legs and back, causing him to wrinkle his face in discomfort. He was just about to struggle to his feet when he heard heavy, booted footsteps slowly approach. Before Luke could lift a finger, cold, freezing water rained down on him, soaking thr
Lucas did not bother explaining himself. He turned to his men, his face radiating a cold, dangerous darkness.“The wounds on his face and body. Whose responsible?”Luke rolled his eyes, wondering at the need for all the exaggerated questions when he already knew Lucas had ordered his men to attack him. The man was simply a hypocrite.“I asked a question, damnit!” He roared, causing the men to tremble in fear. “Who did this? I need answers. Now!”Both men bowed their heads in respect but the first msn was the first to speak up.“We b-both did, boss. We’re sorry.”Luke blinked in shock. He’s sorry? For what?Lucas fisted his hands by his sides.“What were my orders? Repeat them right now.”When both men hesitated, Lucas dipped a hand into his pocket and produced a silver object which he aimed at the men.It took Luke a few seconds too long to realize that it was a gun. At the sight of the gleaming metal, Luke took a hesitant step backwards while both goons raised their hands above thei
Luke refused to be intimidated. He raised his chin and stared Lucas down.“What the heck is that supposed to mean? I already told you, that’s my title.”Lucas shrugged and settled more comfortably against the leather seats.“Your title.” He scoffed. “We’ll see.”Luke balled his fingers and focused on breathing deeply to keep himself from flipping out.“I’ll see.” He repeated as calmly as he could. “Is that a threat?”Lucas finally turned towards him, pinning him in place with those cold, sharp grey eyes.“Whether my words will be a threat totally depends on you, brother. Trust me.”Luke opened his mouth to speak but Lucas cut him off with a slight wave of his left hand.“Let it be.” He growled. “Stop trying to pick a fight where there’s none.”Luke blinked, his eyes shining with incredulity.“I was in my lane when you sent your goons to crash my car. I was in my lane when you kidnapped me, made me go through the traumatic experience of watching you literally butcher a human being and
“You both met barely an hour ago and you're already going at each other’s throats.”“Grandpa!” Lucas all but squealed. “What a lovely surprise.”If looks could kill, Lucas would already be six feet under. Grandpa shot him a hard glare.“Show your brother some respect, Lucas George… he’s older than you after all.”Lord George’s words dropped in the room like a perfectly detonated bomb. Without saying another word, the older man turned around and made his way into the lounge.Luke remained completely frozen to the spot, his heart afraid to believe what he’d just heard.Lucas followed after Lord George, whining about something. Meanwhile, Luke was unable to move. Blood whooshed so loudly in his ears, it drowned out the sounds of anything else.He finally snapped back to reality when the housekeeper returned to clean up the broken glass. He shook his head, trying to clear his befuddled brain and finally made his way to the lounge.When he walked in, Lord George and Lucas were already sea
“You said it's not safe for him out here. Why did he come back?” Luke asked his grandfather.Lord George took his seat and stared at his weathered fingers for a few seconds.“Were you ever going to tell me that the Rydlings approached you?” He asked quietly.A pang of guilt reverberated through Luke's chest. He swallowed hard.“The elders said you were not supposed to know for your own safety. They lied to me.”Lord George nodded.“Good. I asked them to.”Luke’s eyes widened in surprise.“Excuse me?”“I tested you and you passed with flying colours. It shows you’re trustworthy. You will never betray the clan. Even for family.”Luke’s anger was slowly returning.“I am not some kind of lab rat, grandpa.” He said through gritted teeth. “I did not keep this secret from you out of any form of twisted loyalty to the Rydlings. I kept it a secret because I thought I was keeping you safe.”“You don't mean that.” Lord George said hesitantly.“I mean every single word, grandpa. Did you ever stop
“How did you kill him?” Luke asked as they both settled down on the Italian sofa.Lucas’ expression became guarded.“Well, turns out, grandpa isn't the only person Edoardo was indebted to. The bastard was involved with a lot of shady people. He gambled a lot and lost loads of cash in the process.Unfortunately, he borrowed money from an organisation that doesn’t believe debtors should walk around scot free.”A slight chill crawled up Luke’s spine at Lucas’ dark expression.“What organisation was that?”Lucas took a few seconds too long to reply and Luke instantly knew that Edoardo had fallen into deep, deep shit before his death.“Edoardo borrowed money from the Russian crime syndicate. The Bratva.”Luke froze as shock shot through his entire system. “D-did you just say…?”Lucas nodded.“Yes. Unfortunately for him, he borrowed half a million dollars from them and couldn’t pay back after a period of six months like he’d promised.”Luke's heart thumped wildly as he asked;“How did they
FOUR MONTHS LATER“It's all about concentration, Luke.” Elder Tomako said for the umpteenth time. “Close your eyes and focus on the power within your amulet. Channel it. If you can do that, the amulet would do anything you want. Close your eyes and feel the magic. Command it.”Luke shot his eyes and focused. Gradually, he felt the familiar energy begin to build. His amulet glowed and throbbed against his chest, sending spurts after spurts of power through his entire frame.He chanted the power codes he was taught throughout his first month of training and the tips of his finger began to burn. “Ancient spirits please arise. Lend your power and your might. Victory over my enemies, I pray thee. Ancient spirits please arise!”Finally, the energy within him became so powerful, shards of dangerous light shot through his fingers and sliced all the targets in front of him, reducing them to puffs of dust.The room erupted into a flurry of explosions and the stench of smoke filled the air.Whe
A month later…Something was coming. Luke could feel it.For the past month, his anxiety rate had tripled. During the day, he felt followed, stalked. At night, he felt watched.. He could barely sleep these days. His amulet glowed all night and he was pretty certain he’d heard whispers in the dark two nights ago. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. His guts burned with suspicion. There was something wrong somewhere.Something was coming. Something dark…and very, very ugly.****“Focus, Luke. Focus! Channel your amulet’s power. If you’re distracted, the enemy will definitely find an opening to strike.”Luke took a deep breath, trying to calm his raging nerves. Today’s training was on mobility. His ability to dodge the strikes of evil spells or possibly, gun shots from the enemy.“There’s an unwritten rule that guns are banned from all supernatural wars but Malcolm’s followers are evil. We should not underestimate their inclination to cheat.” Elder Tomako had said ea