Chapter 26
Despite the King’s murder and the102Please respect copyright.PENANA6L4pNFEfpz
man hunt taking over the city, the Orange Fox was still as popular as ever, if102Please respect copyright.PENANAAeOH7gFCxN
not more so. With all that was going on in their lives, more and more people102Please respect copyright.PENANAlveUGyJT3e
needed an outlet for their angst and despair. Some of the people Vander had102Please respect copyright.PENANAGb5Ocp1oFS
noticed, who had never been here before, were now here every night gambling or102Please respect copyright.PENANAU5L7WgX0TA
drinking their problems away. It made Ross happier than he had been in a long102Please respect copyright.PENANAfNeQemKza9
time, which made him thirst for even more riches.
Vander and Shea stopped at the102Please respect copyright.PENANA2E41XaRsdM
door that led into the man’s suite. Left was nowhere to be found, probably back102Please respect copyright.PENANAcTV6z383X4
outside with Right. Everyone knew you didn’t mess with the proprietor of this102Please respect copyright.PENANAYjd9in6pI0
establishment if you didn’t want your darkest secrets to come to light.102Please respect copyright.PENANAPiAjrbYsoU
However, there would probably come a time when he would meet someone who had102Please respect copyright.PENANAoXcSFLICZp
nothing left to lose and would come knocking so he hoped Ross knew how to102Please respect copyright.PENANAXO3xarhqfg
fight.
There were noises coming from102Please respect copyright.PENANAIzUMxYrtSv
behind the door. Based on the sweaty smell and the grunting sounds coming from102Please respect copyright.PENANAhDSSWK8zuw
within, the two of them decided to wait until it was done before entering.
“I can feel you hovering!” Ross102Please respect copyright.PENANAHmfaGWVtTR
called out. “Come on in, don’t worry, I’m decent.” Vander and Shea exchanged102Please respect copyright.PENANA8uwmylFKJE
glances, but they pushed the door open anyway to head inside.
True to Ross’s word, he was102Please respect copyright.PENANAKvBSwIPE7K
decent. He was sitting behind his desk with his robe open showing off his102Please respect copyright.PENANAnmKFmtscwG
heavily muscled frame. In his hand was a glass of amber colored liquid that102Please respect copyright.PENANA9Fdumvr8cQ
smelled heavily like whiskey. However, the show was happening on the couch that102Please respect copyright.PENANA1qeANVMFmj
Vander would have to walk past to talk to his patron. Two people, a man and a102Please respect copyright.PENANACHHX4UtO9l
woman, were in the middle of some passionate sex. He was inside her, while102Please respect copyright.PENANA2xm72euOW0
playing with her breast, and thrusting like he would die tonight. Vander could102Please respect copyright.PENANAWNGfOzmoTa
feel his lust start to creep out, but he closed his eyes to center himself.
“Interesting, isn’t it?” Ross’s102Please respect copyright.PENANAPi34flGsOf
voice brought him out of his stupor. “How much you can learn by watching.”
“I wouldn’t know.” Vander took the102Please respect copyright.PENANA2kT3qscVjM
chair across from him making sure he could block the sight from his vision, but102Please respect copyright.PENANAKyNJbv2EIU
he could still hear them going at it. “Why have you called me here? Certainly,102Please respect copyright.PENANATpcZhDN3rp
it wasn’t to watch two of your workers fuck each other.”
“No, that’s for me.” Ross102Please respect copyright.PENANAiKNumSg6lT
chuckled. “I called you here to see if you remember the terms of our102Please respect copyright.PENANA5abgUpRTxM
arrangement.” He wondered when the day would come Ross would ask about that. It102Please respect copyright.PENANAwpNmHU0xvg
meant that he had something in mind, something he wouldn’t enjoy.
“I do.” Vander nodded. Ross102Please respect copyright.PENANAgSYaTvnQIa
prompted him to continue. Sighing, he said: “In exchange for your protection102Please respect copyright.PENANAKdjbdD3gsW
and anything I need, you wanted me to fight down in the cage for the guest’s102Please respect copyright.PENANAzJyHHp14sJ
entertainment.”
“Correct.” Ross put down his102Please respect copyright.PENANAmtpuYZfbRk
glass. “I have given you three months, generous of me, I know.” Vander rolled102Please respect copyright.PENANAgyjhToYq10
his eyes. “But I’m calling in debt tonight. I can’t treat you as a champion,102Please respect copyright.PENANAKEWUvKq7cz
you must work your way up the ranks before fighting the bear.”
“I will not kill anyone.” Vander102Please respect copyright.PENANAELbyVfYhld
warned. “That was part of our deal, remember?”
“Of course,” Ross dismissed it102Please respect copyright.PENANAlZ1zvRR00L
with a wave of his hand. “It’s not often our duels end in deaths, just against102Please respect copyright.PENANAWsHNUNVCPK
the bear.” He got up from the desk while removing his robe. Vander averted his102Please respect copyright.PENANA42rxK0NPmi
gaze as the naked man walked past him to join the two on the couch. “Your first102Please respect copyright.PENANA05zEinAc3m
fight is tomorrow night. I have sent some things to your room to help you102Please respect copyright.PENANAWuj3EZQCz5
relax. Right will come get you when it’s time.” Vander waited for the102Please respect copyright.PENANA3jCMUbOADG
dismissal, but it never came. When he left Ross was biting the other man’s neck102Please respect copyright.PENANAOWYoz5VWGX
while stroking him.
Shea asked him what the meeting102Please respect copyright.PENANARA9BV4DGqO
was about, so Vander explained it to her. She voiced her anger the entire walk102Please respect copyright.PENANA6VrOwIHDdh
back to their bedroom. She wasn’t happy with the deal they had made with Ross102Please respect copyright.PENANA62QmEpySZu
in the first place, but she didn’t think he would force Vander to fight like he102Please respect copyright.PENANA32NZq1XGr8
said he would. He was just glad Ross gave him as much time as he did to get102Please respect copyright.PENANAzvz9HWLjUL
over what had happened.
When two of them arrived back at102Please respect copyright.PENANAXRayLpjQ1x
the room, both were on instant alert. They could hear giggling of two women102Please respect copyright.PENANAUTIke3evtj
behind the door, so they relaxed. He knew the scent of one of them as the102Please respect copyright.PENANAWzD9zBpFHl
bartender he had met the last time he was here. The second woman was new. He102Please respect copyright.PENANAoKtztqOur4
heard that Ross had hired a new server just this morning, so it might have been102Please respect copyright.PENANAcGhV8eKMCR
her. He wouldn’t know until he opened the door.
“I’m going to stay out here and102Please respect copyright.PENANAKRhJtNSqsr
guard the door.” He could feel Shea’s judgement through their bond. It102Please respect copyright.PENANAtXr2Rg7sRj
embarrassed him, but both knew that he wouldn’t be able to relax until the102Please respect copyright.PENANAQdclspO6in
demon was satisfied in all ways. It was the animalistic urge that filled him.102Please respect copyright.PENANAhUc9oO2p1V
This was one of the few ways to sate that thirst. Ross knew what he was doing102Please respect copyright.PENANAEq4A7PxhKS
when he invited Vander to witness the display in his office. It had made him102Please respect copyright.PENANAcoapwtutCx
hungry.
He stepped into the room to see102Please respect copyright.PENANAxZeMTOvpQQ
two beautiful women sitting on his bed. The blonde bartender waved at him102Please respect copyright.PENANAhTpZZscsM3
before giving him a coy wink. The second he didn’t recognize, however she102Please respect copyright.PENANA0raF973cRA
seemed familiar. He must have seen her around the warehouse the past couple of102Please respect copyright.PENANAFGTe61YMAB
days but didn’t think much of it. The two women got up from the bed, pulling102Please respect copyright.PENANArYSMp6a8XL
him over to them. The blonde placed her mouth on his while the brunet started102Please respect copyright.PENANAEz8X6fOBhZ
pulling off his shirt. For once he and the demon were of mind. They didn’t want102Please respect copyright.PENANAF7Xi6G5Dev
to leave here until it was time for the fight.
…
Vander snoozed in his bed102Please respect copyright.PENANAVzFyeJc7xQ
completely drained. Despite what he wanted, he was only able to for an hour or102Please respect copyright.PENANAL0EwGI813o
so before the events from the night before caught up to him. Hopefully he left102Please respect copyright.PENANAOd3BkY3Sqy
the two women feeling satisfied, but he knew it had more to do with what they102Please respect copyright.PENANAR6HFV8CRcD
did for each other than he did, but it was still fun, so he had no complaints.102Please respect copyright.PENANARfhQPe9NXP
Shea refused to sleep on the bed until it was cleaned and the stench from his102Please respect copyright.PENANAwYE2FsgUf0
two visitors was completely wiped away. So, she slept on the floor by his side102Please respect copyright.PENANAW02IU2Qc3J
of the bed as he rested.
Ever since the night of Malcolm’s102Please respect copyright.PENANAkgBfn1edqK
murder, the gods had been quiet. He no longer received strange dreams from102Please respect copyright.PENANAMOzrYK1F53
either Veyar or Unna, which concerned him greatly. He couldn’t remember the102Please respect copyright.PENANASaKCtYcpHO
last time he hadn’t had a visit, but he knew that he should enjoy it while it102Please respect copyright.PENANA96Vedu5md3
lasted.
He rested until about midmorning102Please respect copyright.PENANAHZp22Ia8Le
when the sun was up, and he could hear the cleaners tidying up after the events102Please respect copyright.PENANANn6wxiWCql
from last night. He walked over to the bathroom to take a quick shower. He made102Please respect copyright.PENANAx4YJ3OPhZS
sure that his hair dye hadn’t slipped while it was wet before getting dressed.102Please respect copyright.PENANAiJVxnliGcq
He chose a pair of brown trousers, a white shirt, and his boots. As far as102Please respect copyright.PENANA4BYLlv9BpQ
disguises went, it wasn’t much, but that was exactly the point. He would be102Please respect copyright.PENANA3uw9OLFIE5
able to blend in with the crowds.
“Where are you going?” Shea102Please respect copyright.PENANAztvzZaeSIc
asked. He could tell that she was tired because her eyes were drooping.
“I want to go to the safe house102Please respect copyright.PENANAPfT88ROcmm
and see if anything happened while I was here.” Vander explained. He strapped a102Please respect copyright.PENANADd6AFNdcfL
sword, a different sword than his Blade weapon, to his back before throwing a102Please respect copyright.PENANAzBEy5pD7Po
messenger bag strap over his shoulder. “If the guards were paying attention102Please respect copyright.PENANAzn34x75ot0
they would notice the carnage. I want to see who else shows up.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Shea102Please respect copyright.PENANA2iOTSRMl1a
asked. “What if someone recognizes you?”
“In the unlikely event of that102Please respect copyright.PENANANHozBnJ3Ek
happening, I can lose them.” Vander promised. She wasn’t entirely convinced it102Please respect copyright.PENANANz0wjXdFok
was safe, especially if she couldn’t go with him. However, they both knew that102Please respect copyright.PENANA2HN7IYxs44
was the only choice they could make. If they wanted to get back to their home,102Please respect copyright.PENANAyk2Oqxh0k4
they would have to take risks. Vander kissed her on the top of her head102Please respect copyright.PENANAyUdjEt9zLY
promising to return soon before slipping out the door.
He greeted all the workers as he102Please respect copyright.PENANAyht39zVw9T
left, blowing a quick kiss to the blonde as she cleaned up the bar. Right and102Please respect copyright.PENANAwpcCC52QsX
Left rolled their eyes but let him leave without stopping him. If he wanted to102Please respect copyright.PENANAS8TmJlRNc1
get caught that was his problem, not the bouncers.
The southern district looked a lot102Please respect copyright.PENANAk8dwadVZLg
different in the light of day than the dark of night. The homeless scrounged102Please respect copyright.PENANAPekOYqw7fg
around for food that was left behind during the night or robbing the drunks who102Please respect copyright.PENANAWEGkVG4sRS
hadn’t been able to make it home before passing out in the alleys. Vander kept102Please respect copyright.PENANAN1CQorqR3g
his nose to the ground unwilling to look any of them in the eye. Sometimes they102Please respect copyright.PENANAgNm4tIMjft
saw it as a challenge and on multiple occasions he had been attacked. It was102Please respect copyright.PENANADT6LC4fclb
over quickly, but it drew too much attention so he did what he could to not102Please respect copyright.PENANAWPPQ4cW9mp
appear threatening.
Once he got to the gate separating102Please respect copyright.PENANA6hScwdpbIt
the districts, the two guards on duty stopped him. They told him about a house102Please respect copyright.PENANA0buSxwEbw9
that had been broken into and the occupants had all been killed. They were102Please respect copyright.PENANAFtcN48xaVA
given orders to question everybody coming in or out of the district. They asked102Please respect copyright.PENANAOw6EW2SUSX
for his name, of which he gave a fake one, then asked why he was coming into102Please respect copyright.PENANAKYrwUn1WmO
the eastern district that day. He explained that he was on his way to picking102Please respect copyright.PENANA6j8Swz0Xuo
up some packages from the market then delivering them to several different102Please respect copyright.PENANAxOMDZDZxsT
people. Runners were quite common in the city, so the guards didn’t seem phased102Please respect copyright.PENANAA7t5NpXenT
by his explanation. When questioned about the sword, Vander laughed. He told102Please respect copyright.PENANAAjrIqlcrT3
them that they would also have a weapon on them if they knew where he was102Please respect copyright.PENANA8n7eMmWULB
going. Once they patted him down, they sent him on his way.
Vander expected some manner of102Please respect copyright.PENANAZSj9hF4Zcf
traffic due to what he did the previous night, but he didn’t expect so many102Please respect copyright.PENANA7CXMENRkpm
guards. He even caught a couple of teal uniforms talking to some of them. So,102Please respect copyright.PENANABexxjAu3fj
the Blades were aware of what was going on, but the fact that the guards didn’t102Please respect copyright.PENANAeFZpJa1TQA
know meant that they were keeping the identities of the dead a secret. That102Please respect copyright.PENANA3AA5BDy8w1
didn’t bode too well for him, he had to make sure that his disguise was perfect102Please respect copyright.PENANA7O5QmQEM3E
to avoid suspicion.
He kept to the edge of the crowd,102Please respect copyright.PENANAEXm2CFPIln
carefully making sure not to bump the people in front of him. However, the102Please respect copyright.PENANAfllHtve5ab
crowd was so thick that he couldn’t see over anyone. Annoyed with himself, he102Please respect copyright.PENANA6j6T9QdoWc
did the only thing he could do. He snuck off to a dark alley, positioned some102Please respect copyright.PENANA1TmqaAcG9n
stuff in front of him so he couldn’t be seen, then bent down.
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He reached deep inside of him,102Please respect copyright.PENANAuTs1FQX8DN
touching the shard that was embedded into his body. It buckled in fought him,102Please respect copyright.PENANAlhYM5b5Efw
but he twisted the powers to suit his own needs. He could feel many different102Please respect copyright.PENANAu0BNgDHMkF
creatures around him, but the one he homed in on was the raven on the roof top102Please respect copyright.PENANAkQ2T6VP2rH
above him. He pushed his consciousness inside and when he opened his eyes once again,102Please respect copyright.PENANAkqywN8Ydkt
he could see above the crowd and his own unconscious form down below. With a102Please respect copyright.PENANAXtShIkAWrE
loud cry he beat his wings and flew.