by N M Thorn
He pushed on a button on the very left side of the controller and Gunz could feel the magical energy rise around Rand. The fighter closed his eyes and inhaled, visibly enjoying the feeling of magic rushing through his body. His face, disfigured by multiple ugly scars, relaxed as the dark aura of his magic rose around his body like a glowing cloud.
“Now, watch what happens to him when I bring the magic of the stones to the maximum.” Mr. Kogan moved his finger to the very right button on the remote.
“No, please!” Rand and Gunz yelled at the same time, but Mr. Kogan had pressed the button already.
Rand screamed. His body convulsed like from an electric shock and he dropped to the floor, his face contorted by pain.
“Please stop,” said Gunz, his hands tightened into fists. “You didn’t have to show this to me. I already know how the inverted pentagram with the gray stones works. I saw it before and experienced the effects of gray stones magic myself.”
Gunz turned around and walked out of the room. As he approached the desk, he planted both of his fists on it, and lowered his head, breathing heavily. He knew that if he decided to become a captive, it wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but seeing the horrors of it firsthand, made his resolve waver.
Oh, God, is that what is done to Yaroslav? I need to get him out and back to safety, no matter what.
He felt a soft touch on his shoulder and straightened up, slowly turning around. “Is that how you force them into submission?” he asked, his voice painfully hoarse.
Mr. Kogan nodded. “Yes, and there are some other methods. I don’t utilize them, but most of the other Houses do. Take for example this vampire you want to fight, Alucard. From what I’ve heard, it took the owner of the California House over a month to break him. Trust me, the methods he used were a lot more brutal than just gray stones. You probably don’t want to know all of that.”
Blood drained from Gunz’s face and his eyes widened as he thought of the possible torture Yaroslav went through. Mr. Kogan observed him with his attentive eyes and pursed his lips. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll finish our conversation at home.” He threw the controller on the desk and pulled Gunz toward the exit.
A few minutes later, Gunz was back in the dining room. The butler offered him something to drink and without thinking, he asked for vodka. The butler silently disappeared and came back right away with a shot glass filled with the clear liquid. He placed it on the table in front of Gunz and just as silently, disappeared from the room. Gunz brought the shot glass to his lips and flipped it upside down, swallowing the contents in one gulp.
Mr. Kogan walked back into the room and sat down across the table from Gunz. “Well, Gunz, you saw it all,” he said calmly. “If you still want to fight the vampire, the only way you can do it is by becoming a captive fighter. So, what do you want to do?”
“Can I ask you a few questions, sir?” Gunz looked up at the Head of House, fighting his doubts.
“Of course, you can ask anything you wish to know, and I promise to be honest with you,” said Mr. Kogan, leaning forward and lightly touching Gunz’s hand.
“Let’s say, I agree to become your captive fighter, would you keep me the way you keep the others? Imprisoned?”
“No, not all the time,” replied Mr. Kogan with a half-shrug. “Just like my wife said, we will have to keep up the pretenses to the outside world, but once we’re back on my property, you can pick any room in my mansion and stay there.”
“To keep up appearances, what would I have to do?” asked Gunz, not quite sure he was ready to hear the answer to this question.
“There are a few conditions you’ll have to agree to. You’ll have to wear the collar and the bracelets. That’s unavoidable. If you don’t, no one will believe that you’re my captive fighter. However, I will keep the influence of the stones on you to the minimum and will never use the controller on you,” started Mr. Kogan. “Also, before the fight, the representative of the opposing House may visit me here and ask to see you. In that case, you will be locked up in the underground facility, like the rest of the fighters. For the duration of the visit only.”
Gunz nodded, biting his lip. “Anything else?”
“You will have to participate in training with the other captive fighters. At least a few hours every day.”
“That’s not a problem,” Gunz managed to say.
“When we’re in public, you must address me and my wife as your masters. You saw the way Rand did that. And you must comply with all our orders.”
“Dammit,” muttered Gunz, rubbing his face tiredly. “You want me to kneel before you?”
“Only to keep up appearances when we’re in the fighting pits or in front of people involved in the underground supernatural circles,” replied Mr. Kogan with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I would never ask you to do something like that otherwise.”
“What else do I need to know?”
“I think, that is it,” said Mr. Kogan. Then he thought for a moment and added. “And my offer to take the bodyguard position is still open. Some of the owners do use their loyal captives as bodyguards. And even though it is quite rare, it’s not unheard of.”
“After I fight Alucard, if I survive this fight, would you set me free?” asked Gunz, everything inside him stretched to the limit.
“Of course,” replied Mr. Kogan right away, notes of empathy in his voice. “I’ll set you free at any time you wish, before or after the fight. All you need to do is ask for your freedom. After all, you’re not going to be a true captive fighter. It’s just going to be a pretense to get you this fight and get my wife off my back.”
Mr. Kogan fell silent furrowing his brow, and Gunz was wondering what the Head of Florida House was thinking about. He shifted uncomfortably, not willing to interrupt the heavy silence in the room.
“Answer one question though,” Mr. Kogan continued as suddenly as he stopped talking before, “and please answer it truthfully. After all, if we go for this deception, I will be endangering everything I built so far and more.”
“Sure,” replied Gunz, feeling numb all over, “what would you like to know?”
“Why is this fight so important to you? Why do you fight?”
Gunz hid his face in his hands and closed his eyes. Then he raised his head and sighed, quickly deciding to stick to the truth as close as possible.
“The only woman I ever loved was killed a few months ago. I failed to protect her,” he said, the pain slowly flooding him. “Mr. Kogan, since that day, I can’t live my life. I can’t sleep and I can hardly eat. The only time I don’t feel this gut-wrenching, all-consuming anguish in my soul is when I fight. And the more brutal the fight is, the better I feel… So, yeah… I am addicted to fighting like some junkie who’s addicted to painkillers. I need an opponent who can stand his ground against me and give me these few minutes of peace.”
“Oh, you poor boy,” mumbled Mr. Kogan, sympathy reflected in his sunken eyes. “Sure, I’ll do what I can to keep you fighting and to get you the fight with that vampire. Before I can set up the fight with Alucard, however, you’ll need to win a few fights in the captive circles, so you’ll be fighting a few nights every week. It’ll keep you busy.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Gunz rising. “Can I think about all this before I give you the final answer?”
“Absolutely, take your time. After all, I’m completely satisfied with our status quo. If you wish to remain as my unattached fighter, I’ll be more than happy to keep everything the way it is,” said Mr. Kogan with a dismissive shrug. “I’ll see you tomorrow after your fight and we can continue this conversation then. In the meantime, I’ll get my other driver to take you to your motel.”
Gunz thanked him one more time and followed the butler out of the mansion.
Chapter 5
~ Zane Burns, a.k.a. Gunz ~
Gunz sat on the bed, hiding his face in his hands. This was the first time in the last few months he wished he had his friends with him. He knew wh
at he had to do. He had been researching underground fighting circles for months and had come up with nothing until his recent conversation with Mr. Kogan. Now he was sure – the only way to get anywhere close to Yaroslav was for him to become a captive fighter.
But trusting a Head of House with his freedom and his life? That was crazy. No one in their right mind would trust a mobster who made money on the death and suffering of others, even if those others were supernatural monsters, most of them ruthless killers themselves.
“Mishka,” Gunz called, lying back on the bed. The broken springs moaned under the weight of his body, poking him in the ribs.
“I’m here, boss.” The wyvern was hovering above his face.
Gunz lifted his arm, inviting the wyvern to land on it. Mishka didn’t make him wait, gently landing on his forearm. He softly stroked the wyvern’s hot back with his fingers.
“What’s going on, boss?” asked Mishka, shifting closer to Gunz’s face. “Your unusual tenderness is unsettling.”
Gunz sighed. “I’m about to do something extremely stupid and reckless,” he said, closing his eyes.
“So, what else is new?” huffed the wyvern, his red eyes igniting with fire. “That’s all you’ve been doing since I’ve met you. Stupid and reckless should be your middle name.”
Gunz sat down, lowering the wyvern on the bed next to him. “Mishka, I am afraid,” he said quietly. “I’m truly terrified of what I’m about to do.”
“Let’s circle back to the stupid part,” muttered Mishka. “If you’re so terrified – don’t do it.”
“I have no choice. I can’t leave Yaroslav in the situation he is in right now,” replied Gunz. “Unfortunately for me, this is the only way to save him.”
“What’s so stupid about saving a friend?” asked Mishka snidely, sarcasm overflowing. “Even if your friend is a few hundred-years old vamp who probably killed more people than you can count?”
“Ahh, Mishka, as usual, you’re not helping,” muttered Gunz.
“Was I supposed to?”
Gunz decided not to reply and continued, “The stupid and reckless part is that I have to trust a Head of the underground fighting House with my life and my freedom. And I’m scared because I know where drinking this Kool-Aid may take me.”
Mishka flew off the bed, hovering up and down in front of his face. “Are you out of your friggin’ mind, boss? You’ll end up enslaved, fighting for the amusement of rich assholes, humans and otherwise! And what’s even worse, you’ll end up pulling me down with you.”
“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine,” muttered Gunz, shaking his head. “Way to go, Mr. Positive.”
“Let me ask you something else,” continued Mishka, angrily spitting tiny fireballs with every word. “Let’s assume for a moment this low-life mobster is not going to betray you and sell you to the highest bidder – which is very unlikely I must say. But for the fun of this conversation, we’ll assume he keeps his word and you end up in a cage with Yaroslav. You’ll be facing each other in mortal combat. It’s a kill or be killed situation. Did you think about what you are going to do in that situation? Or are you planning an uprising of captive fighters, Spartacus?”
“Dammit, Mishka,” said Gunz, throwing his hands in the air, “are you going to allow me to talk at all?”
“No,” spat Mishka angrily. “I like you much better when you’re silent.”
Gunz sighed. “Okay, I promise to shut up as soon as I tell you why I called you.”
“Fine,” grumbled Mishka. “Just try to make it as painless as possible.”
“Mishka, tonight, after the fight, I’m going to accept Mr. Kogan’s proposition,” he said quietly. “He’s going to put me under his control by using the gray stones magic.”
“Jeez, Gunz, it’s going to be—”
“I know, Mishka. The pain is going to turn me inside out. This is why I can’t demand that you follow me there. All I can do is ask you to help me. I hope you will choose to remain with me, well-camouflaged. When the time comes, you’ll be the only way for me to send a message to Kal and ask for help. Would you do it for me, my friend?”
“You had to ask?” asked Mishka, giving him a light slap on the shoulder with his wing, an irritation flaring in his scarlet eyes. “You’re lost without me, ignoramus. How can I leave you alone to deal with the consequences of your own stupidity?”
“Thank you, my friend.” Gunz chuckled, taking his shirt off. “I can’t keep you in my watch. I’m sure that I’ll have to give up everything I own to Mr. Kogan. So, we need to hide you in a different way. Remember a while ago you showed me that you could camouflage yourself as a tattoo on my body?” Mishka nodded. “I can’t have a new tattoo on my body. Mr. Kogan saw me without my shirt, so he knows I have only one tattoo. So here is the question, can you hide in the special forces tattoo that I already have?”
Mishka vanished from the room and a moment later, Gunz felt a burning pain in his shoulder. He grunted, clasping his hand over his tattoo. He walked to the mirror and looked. Within the shield that was a part of his tattoo, he could clearly see the outline of a wyvern.
“Perfect,” muttered Gunz. “Now come out. There are a few more things I need to tell you before we go.”
The fight was over before it had even started. The werewolf lay on the dirty floor, motionless and defenseless. Gunz stared down at the knocked-out opponent, wondering why Mr. Kogan agreed to this fight. It had been too easy. The werewolf wasn’t a pureblood and it wasn’t a night of the full moon. So, even though he was stronger and faster than a normal human would have been, he still had no magic or special abilities to defend himself. Besides, his fighting skills had been below average too. He had stood no chance against Gunz.
He had no idea how and why this man had ended up in the underground pits. After all, he wasn’t a purebred werewolf, it meant, he was a monster only three nights a month. He didn’t look like a trained fighter either, so why did he risk his life? Did he need money to feed his kids?
Gunz surveyed the room through the net of the cage. The crowd was screaming, pointing down at the defeated man, demanding his blood. He shuddered inwardly as the bloodthirsty mob reminded him of all the movies he had seen and all the books he had read about the gladiatorial fights in ancient Rome. For the first time since he started fighting in the underground pits, he felt remorseful about killing his opponent.
Gunz found Mr. Kogan’s eyes, meeting his frosty stare, and shook his head slightly, mouthing the word no. Mr. Kogan arched his eyebrows and extended his arm forward, thumb parallel to the ground, still deciding the fate of the defeated fighter. Gunz froze, drilling Mr. Kogan with his burning gaze, his chest rising with heavy breaths.
“Please,” he mouthed silently.
Mr. Kogan rose, observing the bloodthirsty crowd and a thin smile stretched his pale lips. Gunz stiffened, his heart beating somewhere in his throat, as he expected the Head of House to flip his thumb down, ordering him to kill the defeated warrior. So, when Mr. Kogan slowly moved his thumb up, he could hardly believe it. As expected, the crowd responded with boos and screams of disappointment. Remaining unfazed, with the same fake smile plastered all over his face, Mr. Kogan raised his hands up, asking for silence.
“It is our last fight of the night and I feel merciful today,” he said. “This werewolf wasn’t ready to face our undefeated wizard. I believe he can give us a much better spectacle after I train him a bit.” He waved at his bouncers and pointed at the cage. “Take him.”
Gunz watched silently as the two bouncers lifted the limp body of his opponent and carried him away, followed by the angry screams of the mob. Following them, the referee walked inside the cage, announcing the winner of the match, raising Gunz’s arm up.
Gunz couldn’t get away from the cage and the shouting crowd fast enough. He walked briskly toward the backroom with his head bowed down, ignoring everything around him. He kicked the door into the backroom open and almost collapsed on the bench. His hands were shaking
, and he had a hard time suppressing his fire power. As his stomach twisted, he leaned forward to deal with the nausea.
“Gunz.”
He heard Mr. Kogan’s voice and raised his ashen face. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Mr. Kogan. Thank you for sparing the life of that wolf.”
“Don’t mention it,” said the Head of House with a light shrug. “So, Gunz, did you make your decision?”
There was so much impatience and hungry anticipation in the older man’s voice that Gunz did a double-take. “I thought you didn’t care about that either way?”
“I didn’t,” replied Mr. Kogan a touch too fast. “I mean I still don’t. No matter what you’ve decided, I’ll be on the winning side, but I’m curious, you know?”
Gunz nodded, wiping cold sweat off his forehead and dropped his head, staring at his trembling hands. Mr. Kogan stepped closer and put his hand on his shoulder.
“Listen, Gunz, I don’t want to pressure you into making any kind of decision,” he said, softly squeezing his shoulder. “I can see you’re not ready. Let’s just forget it and leave everything the way it is. Go home. Relax and don’t worry about anything.” He tapped Gunz on his shoulder and headed toward the exit.
“No, Mr. Kogan, wait,” called Gunz, rising. “I made the decision. I decided… I’ll fight as your captive under the conditions we discussed yesterday.”
Mr. Kogan stilled, then slowly turned back. “Are you sure?” he asked calmly.
“I trust you to keep your word,” said Gunz, picking up his bag.
“You trust me? I’m flattered, indeed,” said Mr. Kogan, an uneven smirk playing on his colorless lips. “But Gunz, I thought you knew that trusting anyone in our line of business is the single biggest mistake one can make. Nevertheless, I’ll make sure that as long as you’re in my House, you’re not going to be abused. Follow me, please.”