Chapter 12 - The Price of Blood
Julian Vance kicked open the main study doors, stepping into the charred room with a smug, aristocratic smile on his face.
Constantine was waiting for him by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, his tactical vest scorched, blood staining the sleeve of his shirt, his weapon empty and discarded on the floor.
"Well, Constantine," Vance sneered, raising his silenced pistol and aiming it squarely at Constantine's chest. "It seems empires built on sand always wash away in the end. A pretty lake house, a new family... did you really think you could play house after everything we did in Marseille?"
Constantine didn't flinch. He stared into Vance's eyes with absolute, chilling calm. "You made one fatal mistake, Julian."
"Oh? And what's that?" Vance laughed softly.
"You brought your war to my home."
"Goodbye, old friend," Vance whispered, tightening his finger on the trigger.
CLICK.
Vance froze. The gun didn't fire.
From the doorway behind Vance, a cold, steady voice echoed through the smoke-filled study.
"Drop the weapon, Julian."
Vance slowly turned his head. Standing ten paces back, holding a heavy tactical shotgun with both hands locked firmly against her shoulder, was Josie. Her eyes were burning with an unyielding fire, her stance wide and unshakable.
Vance chuckled darkly, slowly lowering his pistol. "A clever little civilian. You think you have the stomach to pull that trigger, darling?"
"She's not a civilian," a deep, gravelly voice echoed from the shadows as Viktor stepped out behind Vance, pressing the cold barrel of a pistol directly against the back of Vance's skull. "She's a Voss."
Constantine moved with the speed of a striking viper. In a single explosive motion, he closed the distance, shattering Vance's wrist with a sickening crunch and sending the pistol clattering across the floor.
Vance screamed in agony, dropping to his knees.
Constantine stood over him, his dark eyes devoid of all light, breathing heavily through the smoke.
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"You wanted my empire, Julian?" Constantine whispered, his voice like grinding ice. "Take it. But you die in the ashes."
With a brutal heave, Constantine dragged Vance toward the shattered glass window, dangling him out over the roaring flames of the burning wing below, before tossing him deep into the fiery inferno of the courtyard.
