Page 3 of Prisoner of Steel and Shadow

“Sorry about your free meal. Guess you’ll have to make do choking on your blood.”

Pulling the dagger free, Ronan let the man slump to the ground with a gurgled moan.

The door at the other end of the passage creaked open.

“Atticus? Mouse? Yous twos all right?” A set of dark eyes leveled on Ronan, widening in surprise as he took in the two dispatched corpses at his feet. “You’re gonna pay for that, gobshite.”

Ronan held out his arms. “Always happy to pay my debts.”

The thug whistled over his shoulder, and Ronan knew he was about to be vastly outnumbered. So much for stealth. He supposed there wasn’t much reason to play it safe then.

“Do me a favor, puppy, and call out your boss for me, yeah? I have something for him.”

Pushing open the door to reveal four new companions, the other guy grinned. “Nah, I don’t think I will. How’s abouts you do me a favor and get fucked?”

“Clever. You stay up all night working on that line?”

The man opened a switchblade, tapping his forehead with the end while giving a little bow. “Just came to me.”

Ronan was about to fire back another smart-ass retort when the woman behind his new friend gave him a hard shove. “Shut yer gob, Ned. He’s fuckin’ with yous.”

Ned scowled. “Ain’t no one asked you, Linda.”

Ronan mentally shook his head, having absolutely no clue how Nightshade had managed to last this long surrounded by a clusterfuck of incompetent idiots. Truth be told, it was almostmoreimpressive.

“Well maybe they should’ve.” She put her hands on her hips, glowering. “Who’s idea wos it to let those twos stand guard tonight anyway? You knows we has a shipment.”

No one was paying any attention to Ronan as he crept closer. He was content to let them bicker amongst themselves and save him the hassle of distracting them himself.

“Listen, Linda—”

It was the last thing Ned said before Ronan slit his throat. “Who’s next?”

Linda spun and ran while the other three lunged at him. He was soon lost to the familiar rhythm of brawling and bloodshed. Three on one was nothing new, not even much of a challenge, really, without any of them using magic. But three soon became six, and six quickly turned to more than he could easily count. One after another, they came at him until his vision was tinged red and his palms were slick with blood and sweat. Still, it would take a lot more than that to take him down.

“Nightshade!” he bellowed, wanting this over with. He could fight all night if he had to, but that’s not what he was here for.

Low chuckles met his call. They thought him a fool, coming into their den. Alone. Calling out their boss.

As if he gave one single fuck what any of these lowlifes thought of him.

Breathing hard, head swimming, Ronan continued to pummel his way through the wall of bodies, turning to his fists when he ran out of weapons. Bones snapped and cartilage caved in beneath his ruthless blows. They weren’t laughing now. Nightshade’s army was growing restless. None of them considered him a threat. But as more and more of their brethren joined the corpses on the floor, the more furious and volatile they became.

Two men came for him at once, one trying to tackle him, the other’s hands glowing a familiar green. Ah, they were bringing out the magic users. Things were about to get interesting.

“Nightshade!” he roared. “Come out and face me, you swine!”

As Ronan dodged the first attack, the second man’s fist connected with his rib cage. There was a sickening crack as the Earth-enhanced blow broke at least two of the slender bones. Gritting his teeth, he pulled back his arm to return the strike when the voice he’d been waiting for rang out.

“What’s all this then?”

CHAPTER2

RONAN

Finally.

Ronan glanced up, spotting the elegantly dressed man standing on a makeshift scaffold against the far wall. There was a darkened archway just behind him, which Ronan assumed led to his office. The man’s black and silver hair was pulled back in a queue, his eyes a tepid brown and the rest of his features and build utterly nondescript. He’d bet Reyna’s dagger that wasn’t the man’s true face. If Nightshade truly possessed four of the five branches, he could easily use his magic to modify his appearance.

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