Born in Blood

Twenty-seven

(Alternating ending)--> SURPRISE!

"Answer me when I speak to you Mazikeen!" 

"Yes! I knew." 

"How dare you take the kill from you. You throw Isabella to me, to what calm your conscience or to appease me. Anything to take the blame off Boss's favorite." 

"We don't need to play this little taunt game anymore. Boss is dead, the whole Italian mafia is basically up in flames, fighting about anything that has to do with Leon Cassio is foolish!" I screamed as the top floor of the mansion came crashing down.

"Mazikeen, you knew that I wanted the blood on my hands!" 

"I'm sorry." 

"You're fucking sorry! Now what? Are you going to kiss my boo-boo away and make all this pain go away! For a second, I thought we were getting along, I thought we could be partners. I can't be partners with someone who might just slit my throat 'just because'." 

"Don't you get it Shade," I walked closer to him and placed both of my bloody hands on the side of his tense face, "we've been like that since the day we met. Always wondering when the other might finally try to pull the lethal move, and yet we are both still here. Yelling at each other right now as the whole Italian mafia burns behind us." 

Shade's glare starts to soften until a low steady chuckle sounds from his mouth. Soon it builds into a loud laugher that bounces off the ground until it hits my ears and induces a laugh from me. 

"We just," he laughed and sucked in a breathe, "we just wiped out a whole branch of the world's mafia groups and we're here bickering about who got to kill the boss. Shit Maze, we did it." 

He turned to look at the ashes. The morning sky had a sheen of grey throughout and the air around us started to get thick. 

"What do you say we go and take over the Russian mafia?" I poke his shoulder and gather all my knives. 

"How about a quick sparring match? I haven't gotten to beat your ass in a long time." 

"Give me your best shot." I grin sinking down onto my knees. 

Shade throws off his blood-soaked shirt and gathers surrounding knives from the ground. "Do something scary, Kenny." He grins. 

I kick a stray blade from the ground towards him and get a running start. While in motion I get low enough to drive my knee into the side of his leg, hearing it crack and bend as he falls. 

"Cute, Kenny." He slices down the side of my calf. "Does that work on playground bullies too?"

"Fuck you!" I spun around to trap him between my thighs. 

"I know that's what you want. I just don't know if you've been a good enough girl to earn that again." 

Stabbing a knife into his shoulder, his smile only gets wider as he gets covered in his blackish blood. I can feel his breath against my hands, still rolling out like waves even though he's suffered numerous lethal cuts. 

"Hey!" Screamed a voice from behind us. 

Both of our heads looked to see a stray running towards us. He escaped the palace of bones and our cleansing of fire, but he would not be avoiding his pending death again. 

"Can we play another game?" I whispered to Shade. 

"What did you have in mind?"

"Whoever kills him first gets to pick a disadvantage to the other person when we spar."

"Prepare to lose." He smiles up at me before throwing me to the side and sprinting towards our shared prey. 

I throw a blade towards the man and Shade moves into its path. As it sinks deep into his back he only gets faster.