Grace didn’t feel any remorse as the one named Peter charged. He moved quicker than his companions had expected, and they were a good four steps behind him as he came at her.

“Back!” Grace ordered Lilly as she took a few steps deeper into the alleyway.

I don’t need any of them to get away, and I would prefer to not leave too much of a scene…

Peter came at her, knife in his right hand, shouting the entire time.

When he got close, Peter thrust with his blade, sneering at her as he expected it to plunge inside her shoulder that he had aimed at.

Grace bent low, her left hand snaking out and grabbing Peter’s wrist with the knife, squeezing it tight and hearing the popping sound of some bones as she shifted her weight and thrust her right hand into his stomach. With a little bit of help from her legs, the young man found himself airborne, flying over her and soon crashing into the wall and ground of the alley.

The remaining seven boys came in pairs of two, each set basically pressed against the wall and each other.

Peter needed to live for her to ensure he understood he was nothing. These boys were just a warmup for her main course.

One more had pulled a short knife out, unaware of what had just happened to their leader as they closed the distance between them and Grace.

Even without the extra mental stats, Grace knew how they would fight. It was a battle of overwhelming her with numbers and weight. They planned to rush her, pin her underneath, and then most likely knock her out. It was a common tactic in street fights.

Unfortunately for her attackers, none understood the difference in speed or strength.

The first boy who got close found his windpipe crushed, her fist hitting it so hard it actually cracked the boy’s neck. As he crumpled to the ground, his momentum carrying him past Grace, she disarmed the boy with the five-inch knife, wrenching it from his hand and slamming it into his eye socket. The force she delivered buried the blade and shaft till it almost came out the backside of the skull.

The two boys behind them tried to stop after witnessing what had happened. Their friends behind them had no clue and pressed against their backs, forcing them into the jaws of the beast waiting for them.

Grace kicked the one on the right so hard it shattered his sternum and crushed his heart, sending him back into the boy who was pressing him forward.

Once her foot was back on the ground, she let the one on the left get close, his eyes wide and his expression of regret and concern only there for a moment before she punched him in his privates, bringing forth a squeal that almost vibrated against the walls for a moment.

That young man collapsed on the ground, his head bouncing off the hard dirt and random stones as his momentum finally ended.

Now aware of what was happening to their fellow gang members, the last three tried to stop but found a beast had entered their midst.

Grace lunged forward, her fists slamming into the knee of each of the men she faced, striking so hard that their legs bent backward, and they folded in half, slamming into each other as they crumbled to the ground.

Grace had weaved through them as they fell, sliding down and under, using her small stature to easily fit through the tiny gap.

The last boy was probably the youngest one in the group. His brown eyes looked at Grace with a fear he had probably never experienced until this moment.

“Wai–”

His words were cut off as she grabbed his brown hair, yanking his head down. A crunch came as she brought her knee to his nose and face.

The boy went limp in her hands as she let go.

Crap… that killed him. I need to remember that one.

With no one coming into the alley after her, Grace spun around, hearing groans and moans as each of her would-be attackers suffered the effects of angering her.

A growling and crying caught her attention as Grace saw Lilly with Peter’s other hand in her mouth, consuming most of it as the man screamed in pain and terror.

Time was crucial, and Grace knew that the man’s cries might soon bring help or those who would watch.

She moved to each of the men on the ground, driving her foot down on their necks, hearing a snap. Within a few seconds, all seven who had come behind Peter were dead.

She moved quickly, snatching the knife Peter had pulled out on her off the ground, and moved to where the man was howling in pain.

Driving her fist into each of the man’s knees, he groaned, unable to shout as the breath was sucked from his lungs. The pain of both kneecaps shattered raced up his legs, overwhelming his mind as he dealt with an overload of nerves, crying under the distress they felt.

Jumping onto him, Grace saddled his chest and put her hand over his mouth. She leaned close, glaring at him, seeing his eyes struggling to focus.

“Look at me, you bastard!” she shouted.

Peter’s eyes focused for a moment as he blinked, trying to understand how she was alive and on top of him, barely able to concentrate through the pain.

“You promised to cut out my tongue… let me return the favor!” Grace growled, yanking the man’s mouth open with one hand while driving the knife into his tongue and hacking it off.

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Peter tried to howl and groan, but all he did was make it worse as Grace removed his tongue from his mouth, pulling it out for him to see as it dripped blood on his face.

She shook it a moment and smiled.

“Lilly, catch!”

Lilly caught it and swallowed it whole as it flew through the air with a simple flick of her wrist.

Grace turned back to Peter and smiled. He was choking on blood and having problems with his breathing. She could see his eyes beginning to roll into the back of his head.

Slapping his cheek a few times, Grace got his attention once more.

“Remember this when you see Balethem,” Grace whispered as she moved the knife near one of his eyes. “Tell him Grace says hi!”

She drove the knife straight into the man’s eye socket, hearing the squelch of it as it went into his brain.

Sighing, Grace stood up and smiled as she looked at the carnage beneath her and behind her.

“We need to go, Lilly. Now!”

The sound of a peal of a ding in her head brought an even bigger smile to her lips.

She couldn’t wait to focus on the red screen begging for her attention.

No one had been on the street when Grace came out of the alley. Most had assumed the screaming must have been a poor victim, and no one wanted to be part of that.

Grace ran as fast as she could.

Soon, she was well beyond the area of town she never went to and back into a section that she knew well.

Leaning against a wall inside a building to hide for a moment, Grace took a few deep breaths.

She wasn’t tired or exhausted, but instead, she was overwhelmed.

***

Quest Completed: Become The Wolf. Slaughter These Lambs.

Reward:

Choose one stat to gain one point:

* Physical

* Mental

* Spiritual

***

Grace didn’t hesitate. It bothered her that she had lost two for failing the last one, but she needed to regain what she had lost.

“Mental.”

The cold and wonderful sensation that filled her mind caused a sigh to escape as Grace felt the world again become sharper.

Max had told her a few more commands, and she knew what to expect.

[ Simple Stat Check ]

*****

Physical - 11

Mental - 6

Spiritual - 5

*****

She wanted to curse.

If I could have killed those five… if Max had let me… I could be an eight right now!

Then what she had forgotten about hit.

Slapping herself across the cheek, Grace felt the pain of it, the sting of the slap, and shook her head.

What am I thinking?! I want to kill people… why?!

Sliding down from the wall to the floor, Grace felt Lilly come and lean up against her, putting her grey-furred head on her legs.

“What is wrong with me, Lilly?” Grace asked her friend, looking at those dark eyes and wondering what was inside Lilly’s mind.

“Max was right… I will kill for Levi, but… just to kill?”

That last question to herself hung there.

Max is right, though. If I hadn’t killed those men. If I had let one live. Someone would know, and I would also be weaker.

Unsure how many points she might have lost if she failed, Grace glanced at the still-displayed stats.

If I hit a nine in physical, could I lose my ability?

Feeling overwhelmed, Grace leaned against the wall and stroked Lilly’s fur.

Sitting there, in that quiet space, she let her mind wander back to the earlier moments of the day and her meeting with Michael.

Over and over, she replayed the conversation, how he had looked at her and reacted.

“Gods, I’m so grateful for one point in my mental stat,” she mumbled as she closed her eyes and replayed the conversation for the fifth time.

She felt like she was watching the whole thing play out from a slightly different angle. Not quite in her own eyes, but just a little to the side. As if she was aware of herself and Michael.

One thing occupied a place in her mind each time she watched it over and over.

“I took seventeen silver for myself and gave them the pouch with the rest in it, sir.”

Every time she said that, she saw how Michael reacted. Something about that statement was what he was waiting to hear.

How much I kept? How much I gave?

Again and again, Grace replayed just that moment.

And then the world snapped together like a puzzle that had one piece missing until the last one was placed.

The pouch… he needed to know about the pouch!

“Why is the pou–”

Grace stopped talking out loud. Her hand began to shake as she remembered Michael’s other question.

Have you seen the person you gave their share of the money to lately?

Michael wanted to know who had the pouch and if they were still around.

If he wanted to know if they were still around and if they had the pouch…

“HOLY MOTHER OF HORSE SHITE!”

Grace shouted as she stood up and then slammed her fist into the wall, shattering the boards that her hand hit, leaving a massive hole as her arm went through the wood.

“That knight bastard was the one who booby-trapped my house!” she exclaimed, slamming her fist through the wall again.

Lilly whined, getting Grace’s attention as the house creaked slightly.

“Shite! Let’s go,” barked Grace as she moved toward the door that she had entered through.

I’m unsure how he knew where I lived, though… the pouch… could he…

Grace stopped mid-stride as she was about to exit the house and get back on the street.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Grace replayed when Michael had given her the pouch. He had paused. Held it. Done something to it.

He’s an emissary too…

Grace moved her attention to a window that had been gone since it had appeared but was now there again.

*****

One quest pending

—

The Gift of Revenge: Find the one who tried to kill you. Repay their attempt by ending their life.

Reward: Stat Gained

Failure: Nothing but regret.

*****

She would have no regrets. Michael would pay for what he had done.

Growling at no one, Grace turned and headed straight for Max.

She needed answers, and only he could give them to her right now.