THEY THREW ME INTO THE ABYSS, SO I DEVOURED EVERYTHING

VAULT OF THE VANES

Frost exploded across the forge floor in a blinding wave of blue light, instantly coating the iron racks and coal piles in thick, crackling ice. Captain Gerald stepped through the ruined doorframe, his rapier dripping with frost, his cold eyes sweeping over the room.

"Find the defect!" Gerald barked to the four guards surging in behind him. "Check the cellar! Leave the old smith for the flames!"

A thick cloud of white steam and coal smoke billowed off the furnace as icy air hit the open coals. From the heavy shadows behind the chimney, Felix did not hesitate. He melted seamlessly into the smoke, his shadow-step carrying him behind Gerald in a fraction of a second.

Felix’s scaled right hand shot out from his cloak, clamping around the captain's wrist with the crushing force of an iron vice.

"Looking for me, Captain?" Felix whispered into Gerald's ear.

Gerald gasped, his eyes widening in shock as he tried to channel his ice magic. But the void scales on Felix's arm drank the blue energy instantly, turning the frost on the rapier into harmless water. Felix twisted Gerald's arm backward with a sickening snap, forcing the captain to scream and drop his glowing blade.

Before the surrounding guards could react, Felix slammed Gerald into the two nearest men, sending all three crashing onto the frozen stone floor. He leapt over their tangled bodies, burst through the splintered rear window, and disappeared into the rainy alleyways before a single bolt could be fired.

"He's heading toward the river!" Gerald yelled from inside the smoke, clutching his broken wrist. "Form a perimeter! Seal the streets!"

Felix ran through the dark lanes of the lower district, his boots splashing through deep puddles. Rain lashed his face, but he felt no cold. The stolen guard energy pulsed warmly in his stomach, and his purple vision illuminated every wet alley wall.

"They brought their best guards to the smithy," Felix said between heavy breaths, turning a sharp corner toward the river smells of salt and old fish. "That means the docks are thin."

"A brilliant realization, little rat," the Void Sovereign rasped inside his mind. "While they search the mud for your footprints, we take their gold."

Ten minutes later, Felix reached the lower docks. The river was black and swollen with rain, rocking high-masted merchant ships against the slippery wooden piers. Standing at the end of a long stone quay was the Vane family vault, a squat building made of thick granite blocks with iron-reinforced doors.

Two guards in blue cloaks stood under the stone archway, shivering in the storm with their pikes held loosely.

"Is the shift over yet?" one guard complained, stamping his wet boots against the cobblestones. "My socks are soaked through."

"Shut up," the second guard grunted. "Lord Julian said no one leaves until the estate papers are packed."

Felix did not wait for them to look up. He launched himself forward from the shadows of a stack of wooden crates. Two thick, shadowy tendrils shot out from his scaled forearm, slicing quietly through the rainy air like black whips. The tendrils wrapped around the guards' throats simultaneously, lifting both men three feet off the stone and snapping their necks with two quick, quiet cracks.

Their pikes clattered harmlessly against Felix's shoulder as he caught their limp bodies and lowered them into the shadows beside the wall.

He pushed open the heavy iron vault door. It swung inward on oiled hinges, revealing a long, narrow hall lit by warm, floating mage-lights.

Deep inside the inner chamber, surrounded by open iron chests overflowing with gold coins, rare beast cores, and stacked leather ledgers, stood Julian Vane. He was frantically shoving thick stacks of property deeds into a brass-bound travel chest, his hair messy and his velvet coat soaked with sweat.

"Hurry up with those horses outside!" Julian shouted without turning around, his voice tight with panic. "We need to hit the northern road before the council seals the gates!"

"The horses will have to wait, brother," Felix said softly from the doorway.

Julian froze. The stack of paper in his hands slipped through his trembling fingers, scattering across the gold-covered floor. He turned around slowly, his face draining of all color as he stared at the dark, hooded figure blocking the only exit.

"No," Julian breathed, his voice cracking into a high whisper. "No, you died in the pit. The High Priest said you were torn to pieces."

"The High Priest is a liar," Felix said. He reached up with his left hand and pulled his dark hood back, letting it fall to his shoulders.

Julian stumbled backward, knocking over a tray of silver coins that went rolling across the stone floor with a deafening rattle. He stared in absolute horror at Felix’s face, at the glowing, lightless purple eyes and the jet-black scales creeping up his throat.

"What are you?" Julian shrieked, his hand darting to the ornamental sword at his hip. "What did you become down there?"

"I became what you made me," Felix said, taking a slow, heavy step into the room.

Julian drew his sword with a frantic shriek, channeling his faint gold magic into the steel. "Stay back! I am the head of the Vane family now! I have the seal!"

"You have nothing," Felix said flatly.

Pin him, the Void Sovereign commanded.

Before Julian could raise his sword to strike, four thick black tendrils exploded outward from the walls and floor, tearing through the stone like soft mud. They whipped forward, wrapping tightly around Julian's arms, legs, and torso, slamming him hard against the rear granite wall. His sword fell from his numb fingers, clattering uselessly against the gold chests below.

Julian screamed, thrashing against the writhing shadow cords, but the tendrils only pulled tighter, lifting him two feet off the floor.

Felix walked up to him, his purple eyes burning in the dim light of the vault. He reached out his scaled right hand and picked up the heavy, silver-crested Vane family ring resting on the table beside the open chest.

"Please, Felix," Julian sobbed, tears spilling down his pale cheeks as the black tendrils squeezed the breath from his lungs. "We are blood! It was Sarah's idea! She forced me to do it!"

Felix slowly raised his scaled hand, bringing his razor-sharp black claws inches from Julian’s terrified face as the shadow tendrils began to drink the go

ld light straight out of his chest.