Ran rebounded onto his feet and he and Wolf sprang apart, each straining against unburned energy. Scarlet could almost see it, simmering and seething beneath their skin. Wolf was covered in gashes and blood, but he didn’t seem to notice as he stood slightly hunched, hands flexing.
Ran bared his fangs.
“Return to your post, Ran,” Wolf said with a snarl. “This one is mine.”
Ran snorted in disgust. “And let you embarrass me—embarrass our family—with all your newfound sympathy? You’re a disgrace.” He spat a glob of blood onto the broken concrete. “Our mission is to kill. Now, stand aside so I might kill her, if you’re not willing to do it yourself.”
Scarlet glanced behind her. The staircase was low enough that she could climb over the railing, but her body ached just thinking of it. Trying to shake off the helplessness, she struggled to crawl to the edge of the fountain.
“She is mine,” Wolf repeated, his voice tinted with a low growl.
“I do not want to fight you over a human, brother,” Ran said, though the loathing etched into his face made the endearment sound like a joke.
“Then you will leave her.”
“She was left under my jurisdiction. You should not have abandoned your own post to come for her.”
“She is mine!” Wolf’s temper flared and he swiped at the nearest candelabra, tearing the bronze arm from the wall. Scarlet ducked as it crashed to the floor, sending wax candlesticks hurtling into the fountain’s basin.
They both remained in their hunched stances. Panting. Glaring.
Finally, Ran snarled. “Then you’ve made your choice.”
He pounced.
Wolf batted him from the air with an open palm, swiping him down onto the fountain wall.
Ran landed with a yelp, but quickly rolled back onto his feet. Wolf lunged, digging his teeth into Ran’s forearm.
With a cry of pain, Ran swiped his sharp nails down Wolf’s chest, leaving crimson gouges. Unlocking his jaw, Wolf backhanded Ran across the face, sending him reeling into the fountain’s statue.
Scarlet screamed and stumbled back against a column at the base of the stairs.
Ran attacked again and Wolf, expectant, grasped him by the neck and used the momentum to throw him overhead. Ran rolled gracefully onto his feet. They were both panting, blood soaking through their shredded clothes. They paced, waiting, hunting for weaknesses.
Again, Ran made the first move. He threw his whole weight at Wolf, tackling him to the ground. His jaws went for the neck, snapping, but Wolf held him off, hands wrapped around his throat. He grunted beneath Ran’s weight, struggling to avoid the dripping fangs, when Ran dug his fist into Wolf’s shoulder—the bullet wound from Scarlet’s gun.
Howling, Wolf curled his legs to gain purchase and shoved Ran off him with a kick to the stomach.
Ran rolled away and they both staggered to their feet again. Scarlet could see their energy dissolving as they stood, wobbling, gazes flashing murder. Neither moved to cover their wounds.
Ran swiped a bare arm across his mouth, streaking his chin with blood.
Wolf crouched and sprang, shoving Ran onto his back and landing on top of him. A fist clawed for him. Wolf ducked, catching the brunt of the damage on his ear.
Pushing his opponent into the marble, Wolf raised his face to the ceiling, and howled.
Scarlet forced her back into the column, petrified. The howl resounded off the walls and through her skull and joints, filling every empty space in her body.
When he stopped howling, Wolf dropped down and snapped his jaw around Ran’s throat.
Scarlet hid behind her arms but couldn’t bring herself to look away. Blood gurgled up, coating Wolf’s chin and neck, dribbling down onto the mosaic floor.
Ran shook and jerked, but the struggle was quick to drain out of him. A moment later, Wolf released him, letting the dead body slump onto the ground.
Reaching around the column, Scarlet grasped the stair railing and hauled herself up the flight. Running, half limping up the steps.
The lobby was still deserted. Her feet splashed through the puddle in the center of the room as she ran for the doors. Doors that would lead to the street. To freedom.