No sign of anyone else on the streets. A face stared out from a window in the house across the street. Another person stood at the corner of a large temple-looking structure, watching him. The commoners had cleared the streets, knowing that Billos had suhupow at his fingertips. Still, it was amazing to him that there weren’t more warriors crowding the streets.

It struck him in that moment that there was something amiss with this place called Paradise. It reminded him more of a staging from one of Thomas Hunter’s battle schools than a fully formed village. No matter, he had his objective.

He strode for the eatery, gun held up by his right ear, ready for the slightest presentation of the enemy. He leapt up the steps and spun once to make sure he had the time he needed to do what needed doing.

Still no warriors on the street. Good.

He whirled for the door, threw it wide, and went in, gun blasting before the door had fully opened. Boom, boom! A beat. Boom!

Billos took care of where he sent his suhupow, of course. Two cops held guns on Darsal, who’d handed her weapon over to them. Their distraction by whatever threat they assumed she represented gave him the moment he needed to cut through them both.

They staggered back, clutching their chests. They slammed into the bar behind them and fell to the ground like dumped firewood.

Dead by Billos.

He swiveled the gun on the large Scab. Hesitated for only a moment. Then pulled the trigger.

The boom crashed around his ears, and Papa toppled backward. He landed with a thud that shook the whole building.

Dead by Billos.

“What?” Karas dove at the Scab’s laid-out body. “Papa!”

“Papa’s dead,” Billos snapped. “As you will be if you don’t do exactly what I say.”

The power of his own dominance was nearly suffocating. Until that moment Billos wasn’t sure what he would do, but feeling the gun buck in his hand and seeing the bodies drop, he now knew.

“You killed him!” Karas screamed. “Why’d you kill him?”

“Because he annoyed me. As do you. Now, kindly hand me the books and . . .”

The shelf where he’d seen the books was now bare.

Billos whirled and looked at Darsal for the first time since entering. “Where are the books?”

“You didn’t take them?”

“Where are they?” he screamed.

“You tell me, O Wise Slayer of Men,” she retorted, eyes fiery.

He knew her well enough to be sure she was immovable. Either she didn’t know where the books were, or she had decided that the knowledge would remain with her.

“Then you’ll be kind enough to walk ahead of me, out the back, before the warriors crash in and kill us all.”

“I can see you’ve taken complete leave of your senses,” she said.

“Why did you kill Papa?” Karas asked again.