Page 119 of Emperor of Wrath

No one does. And that’s…odd.

When we get to the back door, Takeshi taps me on the shoulder. I turn to see him frowning deeply. He gestures with his chin to where he’s looking. When I follow his gaze, my eyes widen.

It’s almost unnoticeable, but there’s a small splatter of red against the white stones of the Zen garden beside the back door.

I glance back at my brother. He nods.

The hunt is still on.

The back door opens noiselessly. We creep in on silent feet, blades ready, eyes scanning the darkness inside. We move through a sitting room and into a lounge area that looks out over the city.

We both freeze as our eyes drop to the same thing—more blood, splattered across the wall and one of the white sofas.

I glance at my brother again. He frowns, as if to say “something is fucked.” He’s not wrong. I’m also not leaving here without Valon’s fucking head.

We push on.

In the kitchen, the refrigerator door is ajar, a bullet hole in the side of it and more blood dripping down the wall next to it. Bloody footsteps lead to a dining area, but they end there without a body.

Just as I’m about to admit that there’s no one still here, we both freeze when we hear a quiet groan of pain. Takeshi and I move quickly, sweeping through the house until we step outside.

A man lies curled up in the fetal position in the middle of the dark, moonlit inner courtyard. Blood pools around him as he groans in pain.

God damn.

It’s fucking Valon.

Takeshi and I run over. The piece of shit cries out pathetically as I yank him over, turning him face up and leering down into his stricken face.

“Good,” I growl quietly. “You survived. Now it’s my turn?—”

I whirl at the grunt of pain next to me, just in time to see Takeshi slump to the ground. Then blinding pain explodes in the back of my skull. Gravity goes sideways as I tumble to the ground next to him, my vision swimming before it all goes dark.

“Do you hunt, Mr. Mori?”

I blink back into reality. Someone is tying my hands behind my back against one of the porch pillars.

Takeshi—

I snap my head left and right, looking for my brother, almost expecting to see him being tied up too. When I don’t see him at all, my fury surges. I hiss violently, yanking at the ropes behind my back trying to break free. But they hold fast, and I grunt when the man behind me kicks me swiftly in the ribs.

A dark, rasping chuckle rumbles beside me. I turn and narrow my eyes at a stocky, bearded man with dark eyes and a shaved head as he steps into my field of vision.

“Where the fuck is my brother?” I spit.

He raises a brow and glances significantly at the spot where Tak and I just got jumped. My skin crawls as I realize the blood I’m looking at isn’t just from Valon.

“Where the fuck?—”

“He’ll be found soon, don’t you worry, Mr. Mori,” he growls quietly. “Either by my men or, judging from his wounds, by death.”

Tak got away.

I level a vicious glare at the man. “Who the fuck are you?”

He smiles coolly at me, turning my sword in his hands.

“My name is Gacaferi, Mr. Mori. Ulkan Gacaferi.”

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