*Ferace's name has been changed to 'Ferris' as I liked that better, and at the time of my last writing, I couldn't actually remember how to spell 'Ferris' correctly. . .yeah, maybe I shouldn't've admitted that. . .but hey, in my defense, I was incredibly tired. . .if that's really a defense. I'm gonna stop talking now and let y'all try to enjoy this chapter. . .*

The wind was sharp and cold against his face. From the rank smell infesting his nostrils, Nickolas could tell they were in a city of some sort. Cassandra's slight stirring in the cart beside him was the only way he knew she was still a live. He'd been blindfolded and jostled about in hopes that he'd have no idea where he was.

The boys had been all too eager to show him who was boss. Every bump reminded him of another bruise or cracked rib. Still, he'd seen worse, and when he got free—for he had no intention of letting them take him back to Granger—he'd remind them what had earned him his. . .colorful reputation.

His heated anger from before had settled into a cool, calm wrath. He'd passed the time—they'd been traveling for several hours—thinking of ways he'd kill Ferris and his men. Slowly.

He intended to leave a message for Granger: no matter how much the man wanted his 'Night Fury' back, Nickolas wasn't going to come. Not easily. The curtain on that part of his life had closed for good, and he would rather die than go back to being Granger's lackey.

The cart suddenly jerked to a stop, and he cracked his head on the sideboard. Drawing a deep breath, Nickolas shut out the sounds of movement as their captors argued over something nonsensical. They had entered a city of some sort, but nothing beyond that was clear.

Fingers closed around his wrist and pulled him to the edge of the cart. He moved willingly. He needed to reserve his strength for the escape he was already calculating, and struggling would only cause them to inflict more injury upon him. He needed to be strong for Cassandra.

"Move." A hand shoved him from behind, and he almost stumbled before a second set of hands grabbed hold of him.

He could hear Cassandra being given similar treatment. The sound of a door opening met his ears, and then the free sounds of the city died as they moved into an inclosed space. They moved several steps forward and passed over the threshold into a room of some sort.

The blindfold was torn from his eyes to reveal not a room but a dinghy, crammed hallway. He was pushed forward again, and he found himself ducking from the low ceiling. Once, claustrophobia would have taken rough hold of him at the feeling of the tight space, but he had overcome that vice a long time ago. He shuddered at the memory.

The hall opened into a large, dimly lit room. Above them, the roof showed signs of wear, and he could clearly see the dusk sky beyond. Bits of old machinery and broken planks were strewn about on the floor, and Nickolas realized they must be in some abandoned factory.

Disheveled and confused, Cassandra was shoved into the room beside him. She blinked fiercely in the dim light, looking up at him for guidance. The fear in her eyes was evident, and Nickolas realized he had no solid assurance to offer her.

When it came right down to it, he had no idea how they were going to get out of this. In the little time they had, he couldn't come up with a plan strong enough to get them out before Granger arrived, and once Granger was here, the game would be all up. He looked away from her searching gaze, anger building within him.

His fury wasn't directed at their captors this time, however. No, this was the level of wrath he reserved only for himself. It clawed about inside him like a caged monster, and he wished he had something upon which to expend it.

If only he'd taken her directly back to Fergus Manor, none of this would have been an issue. In fact, if she hadn't been by his side, being captured wouldn't have been a difficulty. Sure, Granger's plans for slow and deadly torture wouldn't have changed, but he wouldn't have had to worry about what would happen to Cassandra when he wasn't around to protect her.

It wasn't as though he'd be safe from worrying even if she was at the manor, however. Granger was on his path for revenge, and there would be no stopping him. Nickolas sighed. The horrible plans of death and bloodshed were going to wrench the land in two if someone couldn't stop him. If only Nickolas had been able to plan around all this sooner, then maybe they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

Maybe, just maybe, he would have met Cassandra innocently on the streets. He wouldn't have had to force himself into her life, putting years of training into fully inserting himself into the lives of perfect strangers under the pretext of interest in them and real liking for them.

He never would have had to approach Charlie Fergus with already gleaned knowledge, pretending to share come ideals and goals so that he could become friends with the man. He wouldn't have had to waste his time waltzing about fine drawing rooms with eager heiresses and overbearing mothers. None of this would have happened if he'd only done a better job in the first place.

But was that really what he wanted? The question entered his mind before he could stop it as Ferris's men shoved him into a chair and tightly tied him in place. If given the chance, would he go back and change everything that had transpired these last few months?

He looked up to find Cassandra's wide eyes still glued to him. She was tied in a chair, too, and he noticed that the men hadn't been gentle with her. Her lip was split and bleeding, and there was dried blood on her forehead. There were no tears in her eyes, however. She simply looked at him, waiting, trusting, lov—

No, it was impossible. He'd been an utter ass to her. There was no way any woman could have feelings beyond momentary desire for him. He knew the appeal his appearance had on the feminine sex—he had used it often enough to his advantage. There was no staying power behind such feelings, however.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't see Ferris until a fist bashed into his sternum. He tore his eyes off Cassandra, gritting his teeth against the pain. Ferris was wearing brass knuckles and a wide grin of satisfaction.

"You know, Granger will be pleased to see you only because it means he can kill you. No one runs away from him and lives for long. You may have been his favored hound for a while, but that's all over now. A new era has begun, and it will be consummated by your death." Ferris struck him across the jaw, and Nickolas could feel the bruises begin to form as the steel raked across his skin.

"You always did hit like a little girl, Ferris." Nickolas spat, the raw, acidic flavor of blood welling in his mouth. "It's no wonder Granger fixed you up with some help." He nodded toward the man's knuckles.

Rage turned Ferris's face purple. With a wordless roar, he swung out, catching Nickolas just above the eye. Blood spilled down his face, but the heated anger within Nickolas was boiling now.

"I'm going to enjoy hurting you!" Ferris bellowed.

"Only when Granger says 'go', eh?" Nickolas taunted. "You're not even man enough to start something on your own terms."

Screaming, Ferris hit him again. This time, the blow caught him in the stomach and left him double half over, gasping for breath.

"Is that really the best you can do?" Nickolas ground out. "Come on!" He growled.

This seemed to be the final straw, and Ferris began tearing into him like a madman. Each blow was punctuated by a scream, and profanity ran from Ferris's mouth, but Nickolas could barely hear it above the roar in his mind. He knew, as he had known so many other times, he was going to kill Ferris. He didn't know how or when, but the knowledge entered his brain with stark clarity.

"Stop!" Above Ferris's feral yells and the pounding in his ears, Nickolas distinguished the strangled word. "Stop it!"

He knew the voice, the tone. God knew how many times he'd heard it. The lilt of the words drew him back from the edge of the blackness, the hole he'd been sinking into, and he was reminded of a pair of beautiful green eyes.

"Leave him alone!" Cassandra said, and he could distinguish the tremor in her voice. The blows stopped.

"What did you say?" Ferris was an animal, and she had just drawn his attention.

Nickolas lifted his head slightly, blood and saliva mingling and dribbling down his chin. He blinked to clear his vision and coughed slightly. None of it drew Ferris's attention back to him.

"You heard me." There was no fear in her voice. "Whoever this Granger is, he obviously wants both of us alive, or we'd already be dead. If you kill him now, it will be you who suffers." She had the audacity to let the barest hint of a smile show.

Ferris growled. "Who do you think you are? I have England's best trained men at my back, and at a single word from me, they could tear you to pieces. I'm only going to ask you this one more time: what did you say to me?"

Cassandra raised an arch brow, fire sparking in her eyes. Ferris had chosen the wrong girl to challenge. "You've heard me twice now, or are you deaf as well as dumb?"

Ferris froze. It had likely been a long, long time since anyone had dared speak to him in such a manner. He was also at an impasse, Nickolas realized. Cassandra was right, and she was calling his bluff, but could he stand to let her get away with the challenge? A man's reputation often balanced on a knife edge in this line of work, and Ferris probably couldn't stand to lose face in front of his men. Especially since he'd be losing to a woman.

"If you're as smart as you look, I'm surprised you've lived this long. I've never seen someone so ugly in all my life, and trust me, I've seen a lot of people." Despite the hints of fear lurking beneath her steady words, she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Nickolas could read through her brazen behavior. She was terrified. She was trying to protect him, to give him more time to plan. Instantly, pride and shame flooded him. He was proud of her, of the way she shoved her fear aside, and he was ashamed that he hadn't been able to keep this from happening, that her trust was placed on the wrong person.

Blindly, Ferris struck out. His blow caught her behind her ear, and she cried out in pain. Blood stained her golden hair, and Nickolas flexed against his bonds with a wordless roar.

"You're dead, Ferris. I'm going to kill you." He shouted, fighting to stand up.

Ferris froze, turning around to face Nickolas again, a smile twisting his lips. He looked between them and laughed maliciously.

"I see how it is. Oh, Granger will be most pleased with this development." He said. "Dearie me, this is a wonderful day. I knew I was going to enjoy this, but that's just the icing on the cake, isn't it? The deadly Night Fury has caught a case of feelings."

Ferris threw his head back and cackled gleefully. The feral beast in his eyes was gone, replaced by wild joy.

"Oh, I can't wait to deliver this news to Granger!" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Nickolas could feel Cassandra's eyes on him. He glanced up, saw the confusion on her face, and quickly looked away. Despair pressed a booted foot into his chest. He'd been brutally trained to withstand any kind of torture, but if they used Cassandra against him, he wouldn't stand a chance.

"I've got to tell him myself." Ferris was still talking, his features turning calculating. "Julian, stand guard at the door. Orion and Theodore, man your posts outside the building. No one comes in or out. The rest of you, come with me."

Masked forms of men Nickolas had worked with for years moved to do Ferris's bidding. Of course, Julian had been stationed closest to them. With there history, no one could be better for the job.

"I'll be seeing you again very soon." Ferris pressed a knuckle beneath Nickolas's chin, leaning closer to whisper in his ear. "You know, Granger won't have much use for her. Passing up a night of making a virgin bleed was never my strong point, but I promise I'll let you watch me tear into her."

Nickolas gritted his teeth and sucked in a breath. Ferris drew back, a smug grin on his face. Nickolas realized he was clenching his fists so tightly he was shaking.

The helplessness of the situation bit into him as Ferris backed off, grinning. He couldn't protect Cassandra, not this time. He was going to kill Ferris. Whatever it took, whatever the cost, he was going to rip the man to shreds.

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Yes, I know. It's been awhile. Again. I hope, however, that the wait didn't spoil your enjoyment of this chapter! When I have time, I'm really excited for where this story it going! I have a vague plan in my head, and some of you might be glad to hear that this book won't be done for at least another 10 chapters. . .if not more. . .

Anyway, what do you think will happen next? Will we finally meet Granger? If so, what will he do with poor Cassandra and Nickolas? Dear Nicky has been chomping at the bit for a while, and I'm really looking forward to setting him loose, my dudes. He's about to do some. . .fun stuff (that's probably why I'm so excited for future chapters). The characters here are growing and maturing, and a lot of stuff has been building up (as you've likely noticed), and all I can say is: it's gonna be wild.

I am currently working on the next chapter and am hoping to have it up sometime next week. I recently got a job, however, which is cramping my style somewhat :(. But hey, money is a plus! Well, I'm gonna go write. Happy reading!