Drawing a katana from her scabbard, Bennett flipped it over, and thrusting it between Ivan’s dangling legs, she drove it into the plywood wall. “The thing about bats you and that piece of shit over there keep forgetting is that a bat’s hearing is exceptional, and the thing about daywalkers is we surpass even bats,” Bennett said, glaring up at the man. “Now…what was it you said a short while ago? You sliced Lisa like a haddock from stem to stern?” Bennett slowly scrutinized Ivan from head to toe. “How about I reverse that? Let’s go from stern to stem…shall we?”

Bennett released her hold on Ivan, and gravity did the rest. Ivan dropped onto the blade of Bennett’s sword, and his howls echoed in the keep as it sliced him in two up to his chest. Eviscerated, he stood against the wall, his bug-eyes bulging even further as his intestines, like snakes, slithered their way to his feet.

Bennett had spoken the truth. She had never truly taken enjoyment in killing another, and even though Ivan deserved to die, and he would die, his blubbering wails played on her humanity. Bennett retrieved one dagger Ivan had thrown at her and returned to stand in front of the man. “This is the only mercy I will show you,” she said, placing the dagger in Ivan’s hand. “You can remain like this until the sun comes up and burn alive, or you can plunge this into your heart and end yourself. The choice is yours.”

Bennett turned to Napoleon, who was cowering against the opposite wall. His face had lost all its color, and by the stain on the front of his trousers, that’s not all he had lost.

“Don’t k-kill me,” Napoleon said, holding up his hands. “I’m…I’m unarmed and…uh…and I’ve got…I’ve got riches, lots and lots of riches. You can have it all, Archer. All the gems, all the cash…everything just…just don’t kill me. I beg you. Please don’t kill me.”

Bennett choked back a laugh and bowed her head for a moment. When she raised it again, her smile was wide. “I have no bloody intention of killing you, Napoleon,” she said, taking a step closer. “I told you once not too long ago exactly what I would do to you if you ever harmed anyone I cared about. I don’t know what the council has in store for you, but before they do whatever it is they intend to do, I plan to do precisely what I promised.”

***