Samuel shot a glare at his wife who was peeping from the porch of their house. She knew the importance of Zyra, and she had watched the brat cut ties with the clan and leave! Was she stupid?
Ursula Frood, Samuel’s wife, shivered under the burn of his glare. Knowing her husband well, that look promised deadly consequences. She knew she had to save her own skin quickly. "Gone?!" Ursula, shouted, marching forward with a loud, dramatic scoff. "That is a big lie! She did not just walk out, the girl ran off without warning. She fled like a thief after her disgusting, venomous beast of a snake bit young master Hans and killed him! She is completely out of control! Our whole clan is going to pay for the consequences of her actions. His body is still on the floor of our house. I was dealing with this very important matter, so I didn’t have time to deal with Zyra’s matters."
Samuel blinked rapidly, feeling a massive headache coming on. Hans Duggar was dead?! That was a nightmare! He would have to deal with the wrath of the powerful Duggar family! A big price would have to be paid before they let go of the clan. He turned to his wife, eyes burning with more anger than ever. "What do you mean the Duggar boy is dead?! What the hell happened? Why did he have to die here? In my house of all places!"
Ursula rolled her eyes, waving her hand dismissively. "The poison acted too fast. He died almost immediately after the bite. I do not know what Hans did to infuriate a common green snake.....I mean aren’t they the most docile things? They are not supposed to be dangerous. The Duggar’s will never believe us. We should be making preparations to handle them right now. The Grand elder must be called." Anything...as long as they dropped Zyra’s issue right now.
"Enough!" Mayor Logan growled, his voice booming through the courtyard. His giant wolf let out a low, vicious snarl, baring its fangs. "I don’t give a damn about the death of some random boy! I want Zyra Scorpion!"
Ursula, startled by the Mayor’s anger, quickly looked at the three boys standing nearby. "You three! Didn’t you chase after her? Did you not find her? You went after her almost immediately she left." Conveniently, she left her daughter out.
All attention shifted to the three young men, who shrugged with practiced indifference. Inside, however, they were terrified. They had never anticipated anyone coming for Zyra, least of all the dangerous and powerful mayor.
Lita seethed on the inside, despite being terrified. How did that bitch get the attention of the mayor of Concordia, she asked herself. She thought to herself that this attention was supposed to be hers. Zyra was an orphaned nobody now. How did she deserve his attention Jealousy gathered inside of a heart like a storm.
Michael stepped forward, his face a mask of perfect, innocent disappointment. "We tried, Your honor. But that criminal was too fast. We lost her trail down at the old copper mines. We don’t know where she ran off to from there. She was driving a car, we could not keep up."
His words struck a chord, and the others nodded in grim agreement.
Hearing this, the Mayor clenched his fists so hard his knuckles went white. His face turned a dangerous shade of crimson. "You idiots... all of you are useless idiots! You only had one job Samuel.....to watch the girl and report her every move to me."
Without warning, the Mayor lost his mind. He angrily pulled a heavy black gun from his coat and began shooting randomly into the crowd. Those who had crowded around just to catch a glimpse of the powerful man from the capital now bitterly regretted their curiosity.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"You let her get away!" Logan screamed, firing wildly. "She is gone! She is gone with her Zena’s secrets!"
The square erupted into pure chaos. Screams pierced the night as bullets flew everywhere. Those who were lucky quickly ducked behind stone statues or pillars and dodged the gunfire. Those who weren’t so lucky collapsed heavily onto the cobblestones. And the most unlucky ones fell prey to the wolf, ripped apart by its sharp teeth. Within seconds, several bodies lay bleeding in the dirt.
The Mayor stood in the center of the havoc, panting heavily, his gun smoking.
Samuel, who was on his knees threw his hands up, trembling from head to toe, pleading desperately. "Mayor Logan! Please, Your Honor, calm down! We can still find her! Please stop shooting and calm your half-life beast!"
Logan’s crazy eyes scanned the courtyard, looking for a scapegoat to vent his fury upon. Finally, his gaze landed on the base of a large oak tree.
There sat Ian.
The poor guy was clutching his stomach, his face twisted in intense agony. A stray bullet had penetrated right through his abdomen, and dark red blood was rapidly soaking through his fingers.
Samuel followed the Mayor’s gaze and immediately pointed a finger at the bleeding young man, entirely willing to sacrifice him. "Look, Your Honor! He is a Scorpion too, he is Zena’s son. If there is a secret that is hidden within their family, then this boy has to know about it!"
"Even Job Scorpion.....He is Zena’s brother after all." Ursula blurted out. Their family had only raised the two siblings because the grand elder had been worried that their family would exploit them.
The Mayor chuckled darkly, his heavy boots crunching against the gravel as he moved toward the tree. He stopped right in front of the groaning young man and pointed the barrel of the warm gun straight at Ian’s forehead.
"Tell me, little Scorpion," Logan whispered, his voice dripping with malice. "What was your mother hiding before she disappeared without a trace? How did she know where to find the dungeons that no one knew about? And where is that otherworldly weapon she talked about?! That.... is mine for the taking."
Ian shook his head frantically, tears of pain and terror streaming down his pale cheeks. "I don’t know! I swear I don’t know anything! My mother...parents never told me anything....they never told me!" He was not Soul maiden, how would he know anything? He desperately wished for Zyra to fall out of the sky, so that his own life would be saved.
The Mayor sneered. He slowly squatted down next to the bleeding boy, shoved the cold metal barrel of the gun deep into Ian’s mouth, and smiled. "You see, boy... I have very painful ways to make people talk."
Beside them, the giant wolf leaned in, hot drool dripping from its jaws onto Ian’s shoes, looking at the wounded boy like he was a delicious steak dinner. Its mismatched eyes glowed with a terrifying hunger.
The Mayor reached out, patting the beast’s massive head with a chuckle. "Not yet, pal... not just yet. Let’s keep him alive for now."
Logan stood up, unhurriedly brushing the dust from his sleeve. His fingers lingered on his coat, smearing the fresh, warm blood across the dark fabric. With a sudden, piercing glare, he barked an order to the heavily armored guards that had escorted him.
"Patch him up. We are taking this boy back to Capital." Logan’s voice was devoid of warmth, carrying the heavy pressure of a high-ranking official. "His sister definitely knows something. The Scorpion bloodline flows within her, she won’t just sit idly by while her brother is in our hands. She will come looking for him and I will have what belongs to me."