Spencer considered for a moment the term, then pulled back and punched the man square in his face. Blood spurted off his nose, and he stumbled backward. It was to be his final kill, so perhaps this once, he would indulge himself. Get his hands dirty.
But the officer recovered more quickly than Spencer had expected. The glaze on his eyes cleared, and in an instant, it was as if he’d become completely sober. “Bastard.” He slammed his fist into Spencer’s stomach, then landed another blow on the back of Spencer’s neck when he bent forward.
So much for wishing this would be an easy kill. Even drunk, this man was a deft fighter. No wonder he’d been promoted through the ranks so quickly. Spencer used his own fighting skills to quickly bring the man to his knees. But his advantage didn’t last long. Spencer was knocked off his own feet and found himself sprawled on his back, the breath knocked out of him.
The officer straddled Spencer and pounded his face. His nose broke, and the crack made a sickening sound as pain shot through his body and blood spurted like a fountain.No, his mind screamed. He had not worked this hard to be taken down by mere brute strength. His body wailed in protest, but somehow Spencer found the strength to reach up and grab the man’s throat. He squeezed so tight the man stopped hitting him. This gave Spencer enough leverage to flip the officer over onto his back, and then he wrapped both hands around his throat.
“This is my destiny,” Spencer told the officer. “Neither you nor anyone else will stop me.” He leaned over him, squeezing the life from him. Spencer watched myriad emotions flit through the man’s eyes: fear, pain, anguish, panic. And then life slid completely out of the man’s eyes, and they stared blankly up at him.
Finally, it was finished. Power surged through him. He was the Chosen One; this was his destiny. He had been selected among generations of men to be the one to redeem his people. Now he only needed to find that Tobias woman’s elixir. Then the prophecy would be complete. And the whole world would know he was the Chosen One.
* * *
Sometime after breakfast, Justin burst into Max’s study. “We found another one.”
“What do you mean?” Max asked, coming to his feet.
“Another body. This time General Radcliffe.” Justin looked as if he’d been at Scotland Yard all night; dark circles beneath his eyes were a testament to his sleepless night. He wore no jacket and his sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows.
“Could he have been killed before you apprehended Johns?” Max asked.
Justin shook his head. “It doesn’t look that way. His wife found him about three hours ago. She said he was still warm. The coroner agrees that it was a recent death.”
“You still have Johns?” Max asked.
“We’ve had him in custody all night,” Justin said. “And while he’s confessed to the one murder—some chemist— he claims to know nothing of the military officers.”
“Son of a bitch!” Max swore. “The bastard is still out there.”
“What’s happened?” Sabine’s voice came from the doorway. She searched Max’s face.
He said nothing, merely looked at her and willed her to understand. It still wasn’t over, and Agnes wasn’t safe. And yesterday, when he’d come in to find her tied up and Cassandra armed with a gun… He thought he’d almost lost her, and it had scared the hell out of him.
“It isn’t over,” she said plainly.
“No,” Justin said. “We found another dead officer this morning. This time the note was addressed to you specifically.”
“To me?” Sabine asked.
Max came around the desk, approached Sabine, but stopped. What did he plan to do? Console her? He didn’t know the first thing about comforting a woman. “Why the devil didn’t you tell me that before she came in here?”
“I hadn’t gotten that far,” Justin explained.
“What does it say?” Sabine asked, her expression solemn.
Justin exhaled slowly. “Simply that he knows who you are, and that you’re next.”
“He believes me to be the guardian,” she said after Justin had left.
“Yes, but he doesn’t know where you are,” Max said.
“We don’t know that,” Sabine argued. “I want my aunts to be safe. Can you assure me that they’re safe here?” For the first time since she entered his study, her voice wavered. But she would not cry, she refused to. If that bastard thought she was the guardian, then let him come after her. It was Agnes’s safety and that of the elixir that truly mattered.
“I can assure you that you are all safe here,” Max said. “I’ll add more guards around the house.”
“I want this over with now. At least we have that damned sword,” Sabine said.
He stepped over to her and grabbed her upper arms. “What do you think you’re going to do?”