“You’ve got this, Raze,” Viktor said as I pushed up from the ground, warming up my muscles, the fight only minutes away from being called. I’d trained all day. Blocked everything out of my mind but one thing … to kill Durov.
I could hear the roar of the crowd; it sounded bigger than on previous nights. It was the final, the ultimate fight unto the death, The Dungeon Championship.
Raze versus The Butcher.
“He has strength and experience, but so do you. He has speed and skill, but you’re more advanced. He’s unrivaled with a dagger, but you’re second-to-none with your spiked knuckledusters. He’s insane, but Raze,” Viktor stopped before me as I jumped to my feet and began sparring against the punch bag. Viktor reached out and held the bag, forcing me to look up. “But you’re here for revenge. Nothing even comes close to that as a drive.”
I grunted my agreement, my muscles firing up at his words. The only thing that would’ve made this better was Kisa. She’d said she was going to come and see me before the fight, but so far she hadn’t showed up.
“Kisa?” I asked Viktor as I pummeled the leather of the bag with my taped up fists.
Viktor shrugged and shook his head. “Not here yet. She isn’t even with Durov.”
That made me pause. Kisa was always at the gym when we trained. She was always with Durov before a fight. Where the hell could she be?
A slap to my cheek pulled me out of it and I snarled as Viktor pulled back his hand. “Focus, Raze. This is it, this is your chance. It’s life or death out there, get Kisa from your head.”
“I know,” I growled, his slap thrusting me back into a whole world of rage.
“Good,” Viktor said, “Because there’s more than just you who wants Durov gone.”
I glanced up at Viktor, his milky eyes boring into mine. “He’s made a lot of enemies, Raze. That crowd out there are like hungry wolves. You’re the first real contender Alik’s ever had. The rest he’s just played with like a fucking tiger plays with food, but with you, we all know you could be the one to kill him.” Viktor stepped forward and laid a hand on my shoulder. “You could kill the Bratva heir. There’s more than just gamblers here tonight, son. The Chinese, The Italian Mafia and Chechens want to see if the Bratva will be left vulnerable by your win.”
Confusion clouded my mind. I knew that even with Durov dead there’d still be an heir, but I couldn’t picture who?
A hammer on the door told me that it was time. It was time to take Durov down.
Rolling my neck from side to side, I loosened my shoulders and walked to the bench to pick up my knuckledusters. I slid them in place, the cold metal feeling like an extended part of me.
The roaring of the crowd grew louder, my feet rocked from side to side. I closed my eyes and visualized winning. Visualized Durov beneath me, bearing the brunt of my fatal blows. Visualized the moment that his eyes lost life and his black heart stopped.
“You ready, Raze?”
I blinked my focus back to the here and now. Viktor stood in front of me.
I nodded my head.
I was more than fucking ready to end Durov’s life. I was twelve years ready. This was twelve years overdue.
The steel door opened and I followed Viktor out into the dank, musty hallway. I could hear that the volume of the crowd had increased from previous matches, telling me how excited they were for this championship final. I could tell by the dust falling from the stoned walls of the hallway that more spectators were here than ever before, the stamping of their feet vibrating along the long hallway.
My skin burned with adrenaline as I rocked from side to side on the balls of my feet, dressed in my fighting black shorts, Eye Black under my eyes, my heart pumping vengeance through every vein.
Lights from The Dungeon suddenly filled the mouth of the hallway and I stilled at the entrance, just drinking in the biggest crowd I’d ever seen. The crowd, filled with criminals, gamblers and worse, all screamed in my direction. I couldn’t make out what they were shouting, my focus slamming to the heavily lit cage, Durov stood dead center of the octagon, his image drowning everything else out.
Chest heaving, I could hear the echo of my breathing in my ears, feel the too-fast pounding of my heart in my chest. Every muscle in my body twitched in excitement; I trained them hard for this—every single fight I’d fought was in preparation for this moment. I rubbed my palm across my stomach, across my kill inkings.
Every single kill was in preparation for this moment.
My palm ran over last night’s kill. Goliath … 362 … my friend … and my eyes closed.
Lifting my eyes to the rafters, I briefly closed them, sending a promise to 362, wherever he now may be. I will get my revenge for you too … brother.
The clinking sound of metal upon metal pulled my attention. Durov had his crazed eyes fixed on mine, pacing along the edge of the cage like a psycho, his muscled body dripping with sweat, his nostrils flaring and his dagger dragging along the sides of the cage.
My lips curled over my teeth in anger, in bloodlust for this fucker who had robbed me of my life. A hand slapped on my shoulder and glancing down to my left from the corner of my eye, Viktor was staring up at me.
“Your time has come, Raze. Take it. Seize your fate.”
Taking in a deep breath, drinking in his words, my legs began pushing forward down the concrete pathway, hundreds of hands slapping on my back; but I only had one target, and right now he was cracking his neck, turning his dagger in his hands, his eyes blazing with fury.
A Byki saw my approach, opening the cage door and I dived into the ring, storming straight for Durov. Durov’s eyes flared with the excitement of the charge, his corded neck bulging as he braced for my tackle.
There was no time for the firing of the gun.
No time for any introduction. This was personal, this was two enraged monsters fighting to the death.
Using my speed and larger size to my advantage, I wrapped my arms around Durov’s waist and tackled him to the ground, a rush of adrenaline filling me as his back smashed on the hard cage floor. Durov’s arms were iron around my back, forcing a grapple on the ground, both fighting for dominance.
Gaining the upper hand, I reared up, slamming a spiked fist into his shoulder. My blade pierced his skin, but the fucker still kept coming like I never even got in a hit. Jerking his legs, he forced me onto my back, my hand losing grip on his sweat-ridden biceps. In a flash, Alik had raised his dagger and plunged it down, but I managed to roll at the very last second, his steel blade scraping the floor.
Using my feet, I kicked him onto his back, launching my body on top of him, slamming his wrists above his head. Durov’s psycho gaze met mine and I could see the hatred in his eyes … my memories telling me that I’d had this look off him many times before.
Alik fought with everything that he had, but my grip was too strong, his weakening shoulder shedding blood from where I’d pierced him with my blade. I stared down at Durov and squeezed at his wrists, Durov’s teeth gritting so hard that I heard a loud crack coming from his molars.
Leaning forward, I spat, “I’m going to fucking kill you, Durov.”
Durov held his breath, and his face turned bright red; the evidence of his rage. “I’m finally going to get my revenge.”
“Your revenge?” he asked, every vein protruding from his skin. “Your motherfucking revenge?”
My jaw clenched and I leaned in closer still. Alik was watching me, trying to wrench his arms from my hold. But I wasn’t letting this fucker go.
“Look at me,” I ordered.
Alik’s good shoulder lifted to a point that it almost popped out of its socket, but I slammed my head against his, Durov’s head falling back to the floor. Durov glared at me and I knew the fucker was imagining how to murder me. But this fight wasn’t going anywhere until he knew who he was facing, or at least, the shadow of the boy he once ruined.
“I said fucking look at me!” I screamed, Durov’s eyes narrowing and searching every part of my face. “Look at every inch of my face, Alik. Do you recognize me? Do you see anyone you once knew? Anyone you completely fucked over?”
Durov’s eyes were frantic as they darted from side to side, his numbing fingers tightening around his dagger.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Durov hissed, jerking his hip, fighting to throw me off.
Lifting his wrists, I smashed his hands down to the floor again, Durov’s cheek only slightly twitching at the pain. “Then let me remind you. There was you, me and Rodion at the falls.” Alik stilled in my hands, his legs stopping kicking. “We were fucking around, doing nothing when you, the fucking psycho that you are, abruptly got to your feet and pulled out your knife and fucking stabbed your friend in the heart…” Turning my fists inward, my blades began stabbing into Durov’s wrists, the shaking of his hands showing the pain.
His eyes were fixed on mine and I could see him trying to work out how I knew all this information. My eyes flared as blood began dripping from his wrists.
“Then you stabbed yourself in the stomach,” I lifted my knee and rammed it into his still-prominent scar, “And then put the blame on…” Alik’s eyes widened as I paused and I knew he’d seen my left eye … the one that used to fuck him off when we were just a couple’a kids … the one with Kisa’s smudge of blue.
I lowered my mouth and said, “Me … Luka.”
Alik’s body froze then began to convulse. But it wasn’t in fear, no, this bastard was convulsing in outright rage, his face contorting to show the fucking demon he was coming loose.
“See, your papa had to cover for your little fuck up. Your attack on me. Because I had the only thing in the world your insane ass wanted: Kisa. When I was heading to the Motherland, to some fucking work camp Kisa’s papa ordered me to, your father organized for me to follow a different road. See, I was sent to a Georgian prison, the Gulag, we called it … a cover for a motherfucking death ring,” I flicked my chin to the crowd, “Just like this.”
Alik was as still as ice as I spoke, but I could see his pulse beating wildly on his neck.
“They pumped me with drugs, tortured me, filled me with so much shit that I didn’t know who the fuck I was, beat me until I forgot anything but how to kill … until I came back here and knew one thing, the only thing that’s ever occupied my mind … killing you.”
I watched Alik. He watched me back, until Alik pushed at my arms, his body packing a strength like no one I’d ever fought before.
Alik’s body jerked, twitched and then he fucking went insane. “You fucked Kisa!” Alik screamed, spit flying from his mouth, his arms and legs thrashing around like the crazy son of a bitch he was. “You fucked my woman! YOU! I should’ve killed the betraying bitch when I had the chance!”
The blood drained out of my face when his words finally sunk into my mind. Every inch of me tensed and I released Durov’s hands and rolling to the side, dragging him to his feet by his hair and slammed him into the walls of the cage. The crowd erupted, spectators rushing forward, slamming their hands against the metal of the cage calling for me to kill him.
Durov, the fucker, just smiled and wiped his fingers under my nose. “Smell those, Luka. They were just all up in that whore’s pussy.” His eyes lit and he said, “When I beat the shit out of her for fucking you…” his eyes stormed over, “When I took the bitch over and over until she couldn’t fucking move, until she passed the fuck out through pain … for fucking you.”
I tried to suck in a breath, but I couldn’t inhale. Kisa. Fuck. What had he done?
“Yeah, fucker. I saw you last night, fucking my woman, so I taught her a fucking lesson. If I’d known it was you, Luka fucking Tolstoi, I’d have slit both your throats in that cove you love so fucking much.”
Stepping back from the side of the cage, I clenched my fists together and Alik smiled, shrugging off his shoulders.
“So are we doing this shit, Luka?” he said, curling his lip like it amused him that I’d been trapped in a hell because of him for twelve damn years.
“This ends tonight.”
Alik smiled.
The crowd went wild.
And we both ran straight for each other with death in our eyes, my fist plunging straight into his stomach, blades first.