by N M Thorn
“Don’t mention it,” said the Head of House with a light shrug. “So, Gunz, did you make your decision?”
There was so much impatience and hungry anticipation in the older man’s voice that Gunz did a double-take. “I thought you didn’t care about that either way?”
“I didn’t,” replied Mr. Kogan a touch too fast. “I mean I still don’t. No matter what you’ve decided, I’ll be on the winning side, but I’m curious, you know?”
Gunz nodded, wiping cold sweat off his forehead and dropped his head, staring at his trembling hands. Mr. Kogan stepped closer and put his hand on his shoulder.
“Listen, Gunz, I don’t want to pressure you into making any kind of decision,” he said, softly squeezing his shoulder. “I can see you’re not ready. Let’s just forget it and leave everything the way it is. Go home. Relax and don’t worry about anything.” He tapped Gunz on his shoulder and headed toward the exit.
“No, Mr. Kogan, wait,” called Gunz, rising. “I made the decision. I decided… I’ll fight as your captive under the conditions we discussed yesterday.”
Mr. Kogan stilled, then slowly turned back. “Are you sure?” he asked calmly.
“I trust you to keep your word,” said Gunz, picking up his bag.
“You trust me? I’m flattered, indeed,” said Mr. Kogan, an uneven smirk playing on his colorless lips. “But Gunz, I thought you knew that trusting anyone in our line of business is the single biggest mistake one can make. Nevertheless, I’ll make sure that as long as you’re in my House, you’re not going to be abused. Follow me, please.”
Half-hour later, Gunz was walking to the second floor of the mansion, following Mr. Kogan and his butler. The butler stopped in front of one of the guest bedrooms and opened the door, letting Gunz and Mr. Kogan in. The room was spacious and generously lit by the wall lights, but Gunz could hardly see anything. He dropped his bag on the floor, turning around to face Mr. Kogan.
“Are you going to be comfortable here?” asked Mr. Kogan, gesturing around the room. “If you need anything else, please let me or Stephan know. Anything you need, you’ll have it.”
“Thank you,” said Gunz. Noticing that his voice was breaking, he cleared his throat and forced a smile. “It’s perfect. I’ll be as comfortable as I can be with a collar on my neck.”
“Oh, Gunz, you know that all this is just a deception. A show you and I are going to put up for the outside world,” said Mr. Kogan, shaking his head. “Even with the collar on your neck, you’re still a free man.”
“Before we start, can I have one hour alone?” he asked. “I’m going to stay in this room, you can even lock it. As you can see, I’m a little nervous. I just want a few minutes to calm down.”
“Take all the time you need,” replied Mr. Kogan. “We don’t have to do anything right away. When you’re ready, call Stephan – the intercom is on the wall.” He pointed at the white plastic panel with multiple buttons and walked out of the room, carefully closing the door but not locking it.
As soon as he was sure he was alone, Gunz carefully explored the room, searching for any surveillance devices. To his surprise, he didn’t find any hidden bugs or cameras, but just to be on the safe side, he cast a quick spell to disable any magical or mundane listening and video devices. Once done, he placed his usual fire-proofing spells on everything inside the room and also a few different wards to contain his natural state. Just in case…
All of that took him about an hour. Once he was done, he pressed the button on the intercom, telling the butler he was ready. Mr. Kogan showed up almost immediately, accompanied by Stephan and one more man whom Gunz had never seen before. Stephan approached him and placed a silver tray on the bed stand. A silver collar and four bracelets were lying on the tray, reflecting ominously in its shiny surface. Gunz tensed, involuntarily taking a step back as the memory of his last encounter with the gray stones flashed through his mind.
Mr. Kogan noticed his reaction and gave a sign to the other man to stop. “Gunz, are you sure you’re ready?” he asked with a calm smile. “Nothing has to be done today. Or at all, if you don’t think you can go through with it.”
“No, I want to get it over with,” said Gunz flatly. “What do you need me to do?”
“Okay, as you wish. First, let me tell you that applying the gray stone jewelry for the first time is extremely painful,” started Mr. Kogan. “I don’t want you to suffer any pain, so I brought this.”
He waved at the man and he stepped forward, showing him a syringe with a hypodermic needle. Gunz peered at the needle and swallowed, feeling blood drain from his face. He wasn’t afraid of the injection – for him it was nothing. He was afraid of what would happen if he wasn’t in control and reverted into the natural state of the Fire Salamander, reacting to the pain. Mr. Kogan chuckled, noticing his reaction.
“This is a twilight sedative. It’ll put you to sleep for about an hour,” he explained. “The more powerful the person is, the more painful the application is going to be, and the longer the aftershocks will last. I don’t think you have that much magic, so from my experience, I would say it’ll take about fifteen minutes for you. But I want to make sure that you’re not going to be in pain. When you wake up, the worst part will be over.”
“Thank you, but I don’t want it,” said Gunz, taking another step back. “I can deal with any pain, as long as I’m in control of my actions.”
“Are you afraid of needles?” asked Mr. Kogan, flabbergasted.
“I’m not afraid of needles. I’m afraid of losing control,” explained Gunz honestly.
“Fine, we’ll do it your way.” Mr. Kogan nodded to Stephan and he brought a glass of water, offering it to Gunz. “Okay, drink some water and then I’ll give you a mouthguard. Just to be safe.”
Gunz took the glass and drank the water without stopping until the glass was empty. As he returned the glass back to Stephan, he felt a strange wave of weakness spread through him. The world spun around him and he swayed. The butler caught him, gently lowering him on the bed.
“Did you drug me?” hissed Gunz, panic assailing him.
“Yes, I am sorry,” said Mr. Kogan. “I just can’t put you through this procedure without any sedation. I promised you were not going to be abused in my house.”
“Oh God,” whispered Gunz, fighting the fatigue. “Mr. Kogan, please listen to me and do as I say. In my bag, find a bracelet with a single red stone. Lock it on my wrist and don’t take it off until I regain consciousness. Do you understand??”
The room became blurry and his eyes started to close, but he fought the sedation, struggling to stay awake. Mr. Kogan, alarmed by the urgency in his voice, rushed to the bag. A few seconds later he came back and locked the bracelet over Gunz’s wrist. Gunz sighed in relief, as the bracelet locked his fire deep within his body.
“Gunz, open your mouth,” said Mr. Kogan, gently pressing down on his jaw. Gunz didn’t fight him, allowing him to place the mouthguard. “Now you can relax, just let it go. When you wake up, it’ll all be over.” Mr. Kogan gently patted his hand with the red-stone bracelet.
Gunz closed his eyes and let the sedation take over.
When Gunz regained consciousness, he was still lying on the bed in the same room. The electric lights were off, but the room was glowing with the yellow-pink colors of sunrise. When he tried to get up, dizziness and weakness washed over him, and he fell back on the bed. His every muscle was painfully sore. He lifted his arm and saw the silver bracelet locked around his wrist. He moved his hand up and touched his neck. The collar was in place. He was a captive fighter now, his freedom gone. Gunz moaned and closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and Mr. Kogan walked in. Gunz turned his head, watching the Head of House cautiously approaching him as if he was expecting Gunz to jump off the bed and attack him at any moment.
“Gunz, you’re awake. Finally,” he said sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I�
��ve been to hell and back,” whispered Gunz, with surprise noticing how sore his throat was.
“You probably were.” Mr. Kogan chuckled, rubbing his hands together. “This was not the first time I had to install the gray stone jewelry on a fighter, but I’ll be honest with you, I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“What did I do?” asked Gunz, mortified.
“You were tormented for a full hour, and the aftershocks continued for another three hours,” said Mr. Kogan, shaking his head. “I had to give you more sedatives. It was terrible…” His voice trailed off and he remained silent for a moment, biting his lip. “I thought you were going to die… And then at some point, your whole body lit up with a red glow and fire broke through the skin on your arms. What are you? You can’t be just a wizard – the stones had been feeding on you way too long.”
“I am a wizard,” said Gunz quietly. “A very powerful wizard. Fire magic is my strength.” He pulled the red-stone bracelet off his wrist and gave it to Mr. Kogan. “This bracelet locks my fire magic within my body. When you sedated me against my will, my first thought was that without my control, you would get hurt… I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you before.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. When you feel better, you can go anywhere you wish within the borders of my property. Stephan and all my staff are instructed to serve you just as they would serve me. Just don’t leave the property,” said Mr. Kogan, rising. He picked up Gunz’s bag and started to walk out of the room.
“Mr. Kogan,” called Gunz and the man stopped at the door. “My bag. Can I keep it, sir?”
“Sorry, but no. Captive fighters do not own anything. What is in this bag that you want? Your phone?”
“No, I destroyed my phone yesterday,” replied Gunz. “My wristwatch. It’s a gift from—”
“I see,” said Mr. Kogan. He opened the bag, pulled the wristwatch out, and carefully examined it, reading the inscription on the back and sighed. “Sorry, Gunz, but my security staff told me that your watch has a GPS tracking device installed. Even though it’s disabled, I can’t let you have it, but I promise I’ll keep it safe for you until the time you’re a free man again. Rest today. Your training as a captive fighter will start tomorrow.”
He put the watch back in the bag and walked out of the room, leaving Gunz alone.
Chapter 6
~ Zane Burns, a.k.a. Gunz ~
As soon as Gunz regained his strength, he got up and left his room. Just like Mr. Kogan had said, no one tried to stop him. He met Stephan next to the front door and the butler opened it for him with a light bow. He spent most of the day exploring the property and learned that his collar had some features that Mr. Kogan failed to disclose, like a GPS tracker that was connected to an electroshock device that was installed into the collar.
Since no one had warned him about it, he had learned it the hard way. As soon as he approached the outer gates, a powerful electric shock pierced his body. He cried out, his body arched, and he collapsed on the ground. Stephan found him a few minutes later and Gunz had to wonder if the butler was following him.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Gunz,” he apologized, helping him to his feet. “I guess Mr. Kogan forgot to warn you about this. I know he mentioned that you can’t leave the property, but he didn’t explain why. With this collar on, you’re bound to stay within the property walls, unless Mr. Kogan widens the permitted radius.”
“Nice. What else did Mr. Kogan forget to mention?” muttered Gunz. “Does it have an anti-bark detector installed too?”
“Not that I know of, sir,” replied Stephan in full seriousness. He inclined his head, hopped back into his golf cart and drove away.
Gunz followed him with his eyes, biting his lip. “Woof-woof,” he murmured, starting on his way back to the mansion. “Enslaved dog is at your service.”
Mr. Kogan’s mansion had a large library. Gunz browsed the shelves for a while, then he picked one of the books and spent most of the evening in his room reading. At eight o’clock, Stephan served him dinner in his room. Since he wasn’t in the mood to see his new “master”, Gunz was happy that Mr. Kogan had decided to leave him alone for the night.
Next morning, he was summoned for his first day of training. Stephan provided him with a training uniform and walked him to the modified toolshed where the guards escorted him down into the underground facility. Gunz wasn’t surprised to find a large training room equipped with everything necessary for martial arts training and an MMA octagon cage. Besides the training equipment, the room had a variety of weapons, some of which Gunz had never seen before. With remorse, he thought about Mr. Kogan taking not only his bag, but also his Swiss army knife, leaving him without his sword.
As much as he had hoped for the best, everything happened exactly as he expected, and not in a good way. Mr. Kogan owned ten captive fighters who had been serving him for a number of years. As soon as Gunz stepped on the floor, he was drenched in the muddy wave of silent hostility. Not sure what to do next, he stopped at the door, just to be pushed inside by a pair of strong hands.
Gunz staggered forward but managed to keep his balance. He spun around and saw a herculean figure of a purebred werewolf obscuring the entrance. The man was at least six-foot-five and his shoulders seemed to be disproportionately wide. His lips curled into a ferocious snarl as he took in Gunz’s appearance.
“I guess you’re the new captive,” he noted, folding his massive arms over his hairy chest. “I don’t know why master is wasting his time and money on you. I don’t see you surviving a single round in the cage. What’s your name, little man?”
“Gunz.”
“No, seriously,” growled the werewolf, taking a step closer to him. “I’m not in a mood for smartass jokes.”
“My name is Gunz,” repeated Gunz calmly, holding the furious gaze of the werewolf.
“Do not lie to me, jackass!” snarled the werewolf, swinging his arm to slap him.
Gunz quickly stepped aside, easily avoiding the strike, which seemed to infuriate the werewolf even more. Werewolves weren’t famous for their ability to keep their cool and this one wasn’t an exception. One of the fighters stepped forward, holding his hands up. Gunz recognized Rand, the dark wizard.
“He’s telling you the truth, Sensei,” said Rand quickly. “Master introduced us a day ago. I met him when he was still an unattached fighter. I assure you, he is who he says he is.”
The werewolf came closer to Gunz, demonstratively bending his knees to get down on the same level as him and gawked at him for a moment before he barked laughing. “Rand, are you saying this tiny wizard is the undefeated warrior of the unattached circles?” He shook his head with disapproval. “The unattached fighting is truly going down the drain if a small wizard with hardly any magic in him can fight for months and never lose a fight.”
“I saw him fighting once,” stated Rand with a shrug, “and I hate to say it, Sensei, but his reputation is well deserved.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” rasped the werewolf and headed to a small table that was positioned next to the cage.
Gunz glanced at the table and his heart thundered in his chest. Besides a few strange devices, he saw multiple controllers lined up on the table. Kogan said he’d never use the controller on me, he thought desperately as he watched the werewolf fumble with the devices. After a moment, the werewolf turned to Gunz and frowned.
“Where is your controller, boy?” he demanded, planting his fists on his hips.
“Now, why would I know that,” replied Gunz with a shrug. “I guess you should ask Mr. Kogan.”
“To you, he’s not Mr. Kogan. He’s your master and owner. Do you understand, asshole?” growled the werewolf. “And on this floor, I am your lord, your commander and your god. You will obey me, and you will respect my every word. Am I clear, little wizard?”
Gunz raised his hands up, a sarcastic grin on his face. The werewolf caught it and grunted, frustrated.
“I will teach you respect, boy.”
He slammed his fist on the table, scattering the devices and controllers all over the floor. “If I see the tiniest spark of disobedience or disrespect in you, I’ll make sure you’ll curse the day you were born. Do you understand?”
Gunz shrugged. “You know, if every time some dumbass said those words to me, and I actually got scared and gave in, I would have been dead a long time ago.”
The werewolf’s eyes bulged, and he charged Gunz. “Oh, shit,” mumbled Gunz, getting ready to fight.
He easily avoided a few strikes and responded by just pushing the werewolf around without doing any serious damage. For a couple of minutes, he danced around Sensei, avoiding every single attack, which only made things worse, igniting the blinding fury in his opponent to overwhelming strength. The werewolf howled and partially transformed, launching at him again. Gunz let him slide past and kicked him under his knee. However, when his opponent dropped on the floor, he just stepped away.
For a moment, the werewolf stood on all fours, his yellow eyes burning with hatred. Then he got up, laborious breaths expending his enormous chest and transformed back into his human form. With a malignant smirk, he waved at the other captives.
“Take him and hold him down,” he ordered.
The remaining ten fighters didn’t wait for a second invitation. Gunz knew he had no chance fighting on his own against ten men who were trained just as well as he was. Punches and kicks fell on him from every direction, and he was surprised he was able to stand his ground for at least a full minute before he was pushed down and pinned to the floor by the weight of a several bodies.
Two fighters twisted his arms behind his back, forcing him to his knees and a third fighter grabbed his hair, tilting his head backward. As the werewolf approached him, he backhanded him without holding back. Gunz’s head jerked to the side as a white light exploded in his head, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. The man that was holding his head up let go and Gunz dropped his head to his chest, a thick dark liquid dripping from his mouth to the concrete floor.
