Chapter 28
For the second time since leaving112Please respect copyright.PENANA1ee0sZXkGf
the Orange Fox, Vander cursed himself for not bringing a weapon with him. With112Please respect copyright.PENANABARHPUkNPP
the guards walking towards him along with the crowd at his back he knew there112Please respect copyright.PENANABqtttuGuzQ
was no chance of escape. He was too scared to come up with an excuse to not be112Please respect copyright.PENANAPa41MXqjOJ
him, but fear glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth. He didn’t want to die112Please respect copyright.PENANAFNrX8xLDv5
here, there was too much that he needed to do.
“Stop!” Alex shouted over the112Please respect copyright.PENANAzOpKEaRyFs
crowd. He, along with the rest of his squad, pushed their way through and took112Please respect copyright.PENANAoRMrMVOmcm
up positions around Vander. Their weapons were drawn, held out in front of112Please respect copyright.PENANAuNNKEL8DR7
them, but they made no move to start fighting. “What are you doing?” Alex112Please respect copyright.PENANAexuBbDaQvP
demanded the guards to answer.
“We heard the commotion, Blade.” A112Please respect copyright.PENANAqAsQyCK0nc
guard sneered. “That punk behind you is Vander, the king slayer. Hand him over112Please respect copyright.PENANAYXox5a9oVR
or we will kill you too.”
“Even if that was true ganging up112Please respect copyright.PENANAxFxDdzCNqC
on an unarmed man isn’t very chivalrous of you.” Alex snorted. “Also, I heard112Please respect copyright.PENANA1IgHs4ukxY
what you said about killing him for the Jilena’s bounty. From what I understand112Please respect copyright.PENANArvtulMCEnR
that was supposed to be pulled by Cuvera, so they are still trying to kill him?112Please respect copyright.PENANAcgRhSJeYrh
That’s useful information.” The guard paled as he realized his mistake.
“But that’s definitely Vander and112Please respect copyright.PENANA01b1lQ3CSf
we kept him from fleeing.” The second guard looked a little smug. Alex looked112Please respect copyright.PENANAX33HMHhAkc
back at Vander, but feigned ignorance.
“That’s not him.” He responded.112Please respect copyright.PENANApsPAt4M9Ij
Both the guards and mob muttered amongst themselves looking confused. Someone112Please respect copyright.PENANAl4zsccghX8
shouted, asking how he could be sure. Alex’s response stunned him: “Look at112Please respect copyright.PENANAf69hYyKQFb
him. He doesn’t have the same hair or eye color.” Alex grabbed Vander by the112Please respect copyright.PENANA6sS1tucKj2
back of his shirt, lifting him up for all to see. “This man is not him; you112Please respect copyright.PENANANne0If5zEG
were ready to kill an innocent man because of what you thought.” Alex dropped112Please respect copyright.PENANAE5Sq0uJX4g
him onto his feet. “On behalf of the King, I apologize.” Alex leaned in close112Please respect copyright.PENANA0QmgbE7baP
enough to whisper into his ear: “I’ll find you later, now go.”
Vander nodded his head. He didn’t112Please respect copyright.PENANAhYzTTjtpaG
have to hide his fear as he walked through the guards towards the southern112Please respect copyright.PENANAMcM0ZuFp3V
district. The guards eyed him warily, not quite convinced of Alex’s claim, but112Please respect copyright.PENANAUkAEFTU0iQ
they wouldn’t do anything about it with all these witnesses around. They would112Please respect copyright.PENANAffjC4MyV9e
bide their time before coming back around. Though, he did notice one of the112Please respect copyright.PENANAtwfJX0O5tr
guards slipping away from the group. If he hadn’t been Vander, he never would112Please respect copyright.PENANABFmh8uwoeW
have noticed, but people weren’t as sneaky as they thought.
He quickly slipped down a corner112Please respect copyright.PENANAZZXnZMByYv
once they were out of sight of the guard post. The one following him followed112Please respect copyright.PENANAUBhNKpMDb1
him a couple of minutes later, but Vander was waiting for him. He grabbed the112Please respect copyright.PENANA4COkI1wdhr
man around his neck then dragged him kicking and screaming deeper into the dark112Please respect copyright.PENANAihdApFaDvG
alley. Luckily for him, unluckily for the guard, people screaming was112Please respect copyright.PENANAnjMUwA3kqQ
commonplace around here and others knew better than to interfere which made112Please respect copyright.PENANAAlJWfpQkFq
things a lot easier.
“You’ll never get away with this.”112Please respect copyright.PENANApVzEO6rrzS
That guard grunted. Vander threw him into the wall. When the man bounced off,112Please respect copyright.PENANA97CpHvwzJf
he was met with a left hook sending him spinning onto the ground. He walked112Please respect copyright.PENANA7ylf6Pzj6w
around, taunting the guard to stand up. He could hear the demon whispering in112Please respect copyright.PENANA3xj6U1MqS5
his ear to make this as painful as possible, something Vander himself wanted.112Please respect copyright.PENANAapUh5KN4kG
This man tried to kill him, no questions asked, and he would be damned if he112Please respect copyright.PENANA5OveVF4JNZ
would play nice with someone like this.
The guard stood up, drawing his112Please respect copyright.PENANASvMip4vuWZ
sword as he did so. With a cry he slashed at Vander who neatly side stepped112Please respect copyright.PENANAx9KhEPYmEv
away. While the guard was regaining his footing he was hit several times in the112Please respect copyright.PENANA20VRscoU11
face. A wad of blood hit the ground as the guard tried again, but this time he112Please respect copyright.PENANAWpSqlU6Rpo
lunged at Vander knocking him over then straddled him. Vander grabbed the man’s112Please respect copyright.PENANAZGN93wWEVt
elbow which made it difficult for him to use the sword. With his other hand,112Please respect copyright.PENANAmh09wU8nRL
Vander grabbed the man’s shirt under the armor then drove both their heads112Please respect copyright.PENANAPPw9apHjkz
together with a crack. The guard fell from Vander unconscious.
His head was splitting, but he was112Please respect copyright.PENANAC3rI4gA9pU
alive. He shoved the guard off him before shakily getting to his feet. Perhaps112Please respect copyright.PENANAEHjWbxIo4C
it was a bad idea to leave the comforts of the Orange Fox to investigate since112Please respect copyright.PENANAhqxvPgGend
now he may have been compromised. He would be worse off if he allowed this man112Please respect copyright.PENANAT55P7KMVLO
to live. If he did there was no way that he would be left alone. Once Cuvera or112Please respect copyright.PENANARuF4C2WlE5
the Jilena’s knew he was in the slums they would waste no time in trying to112Please respect copyright.PENANAVnbowpCdir
pull him out. But could he go through with killing a guard who was just doing112Please respect copyright.PENANA369nbVt9Pi
his job?
The demon inside certainly thought112Please respect copyright.PENANANjbqXVnthy
so. He taunted Vander saying everything he had worked to accomplish would come112Please respect copyright.PENANAjuuZPSwxoS
crumbling down if the man lived. The slums were a perfect place to hide a body,112Please respect copyright.PENANAThPaYUPTSk
no one would ever notice him. Soon enough he would be stripped of his armor,112Please respect copyright.PENANADEtcBOL3kM
weapon and money than likely torn apart by those hungry enough to eat human112Please respect copyright.PENANA0jxSq4Lnvg
meat. The cleanup would take care of itself, there was nothing more that could112Please respect copyright.PENANAaeB2Ot6nQA
be done. It would be a mercy killing for this man, a safety killing for Vander.112Please respect copyright.PENANA7O0Qnmz2T6
A win-win.
The demon’s reasoning was solid.112Please respect copyright.PENANA5p8ya5QdiV
For a few moments Vander was really tempted to do as his inner self had said,112Please respect copyright.PENANAe3JXMtfRaQ
but that would only validate everything everyone thought about him. Then he112Please respect copyright.PENANASFM2qTweww
truly would be a murderer, which was something he hadn’t wanted. So, he did the112Please respect copyright.PENANAmIuItDut6Z
only thing he could. He dragged the unconscious man to a corner where he would112Please respect copyright.PENANAqBYm2X9jqG
be invisible from the street. Then he placed some trash over him in case anyone112Please respect copyright.PENANATcmu44oYfi
looked down here they would just see a pile of garbage. However, he did take112Please respect copyright.PENANAdynvteS8fJ
the sword so the guard wouldn’t feel tempted to kill someone once he woke up112Please respect copyright.PENANACopmkvRmUe
and realized Vander was gone.
With that done, he wasted no time112Please respect copyright.PENANAo9s34V5LDy
heading back towards the Fox. Right and Left gave him an odd glance, but a112Please respect copyright.PENANACusKF4UGMd
quick glare made them keep their mouths shut. He slipped inside his room where112Please respect copyright.PENANAP6MzNsMNFy
Shea was sleeping comfortably on the bed. She didn’t even awaken when he came112Please respect copyright.PENANAEPgk4SO2zv
inside so he decided to clean himself up so she wouldn’t get worried upon112Please respect copyright.PENANA5pF7MOSg64
seeing his face. He placed the sword inside of the closet before stepping into112Please respect copyright.PENANATGLslTNSxG
the bathroom.
The damage he took from hitting112Please respect copyright.PENANAtYilsiJV1r
the guard wasn’t much, but he was getting quite a large headache. He grabbed a112Please respect copyright.PENANAaKsmPHQKMR
glass of water, placing it on his head to cool down the swelling. With his112Please respect copyright.PENANAhMdn8BwILO
quicker healing it should go away after about an hour, so he quickly washed his112Please respect copyright.PENANASciHM71Bh6
face and changed his clothes before taking his spot next to Shea. Moments his112Please respect copyright.PENANA5PP3ByisYp
eyes were closed, and he was gently snoring away.
…
A cold breeze tickled his nose112Please respect copyright.PENANAEBmgjYKGVi
causing him to sneeze himself awake. As his eyes focused, he soon realized that112Please respect copyright.PENANAD1t7NthdBL
he wasn’t in his room. He was lying on the grass which surrounded a large lake.112Please respect copyright.PENANAGuNEG2Dt6h
There were trees all over the place along with a random wooden table in the112Please respect copyright.PENANADzcirc7bQ6
middle of the clearing. Within the lake was a large wooden dock, but the water112Please respect copyright.PENANAAcOS7Mlrms
was what intrigued him the most. It was crystal blue, but he couldn’t see more112Please respect copyright.PENANAwhuceeiSNI
than a few inches down before it was swallowed by black. He could feel112Please respect copyright.PENANADoD00wb1RQ
something swimming below the surface, but he couldn’t tell what it was.112Please respect copyright.PENANARBtU6M3o6y
However, it was very large and hungry. The question was though, how did he get112Please respect copyright.PENANAprti2g59KV
here and how did he know?
He got up from the ground feeling112Please respect copyright.PENANAZ5oJGEZ3wC
some sort of compulsion to head towards the table. As he grew closer, he saw112Please respect copyright.PENANAfPXlicO9Ot
someone sitting there as if she has appeared from thin air. She had tanned112Please respect copyright.PENANAXLUj3bCi3b
skin, long brown hair, and was wearing clothing that didn’t quite fit being112Please respect copyright.PENANAVB988YC7Kr
inside of a forest. She wore a sun dress without shoes or sleeves. As he walked112Please respect copyright.PENANAP0GloyeI4t
closer, he could feel the heat emanating from her body.
“Vander.” Her voice was soft, much112Please respect copyright.PENANAyYcz631yX3
like a whisper. Recognition flooded his body, but why would she be here? He112Please respect copyright.PENANAf3zQzkqFrK
didn’t have any sort of connection with her.
“Why are you here?” he asked. He112Please respect copyright.PENANAx46EQQxrLO
looked around before he said something else. “Wherever here is.”
“You don’t recognize it?” Atza112Please respect copyright.PENANAql25c3vlM7
smiled. “Though I guess not everyone can enter their hidden world, so I’m not112Please respect copyright.PENANAEFvXdY67Ox
sure why I’m surprised.” This wasn’t like the Atza he had grown up hearing112Please respect copyright.PENANAAAElYNxXpZ
about. She was kind and gentle, not the hot-headed firebird from the myths and112Please respect copyright.PENANApjnLz4LHj7
stories.
“Hidden world?” She motioned for112Please respect copyright.PENANATB4yb33VK8
him to sit at the table, so he did. “I guess this feels a little familiar to112Please respect copyright.PENANAhgP66UZYte
me, but I’ve never seen it.”
“Hidden worlds tend to reflect how112Please respect copyright.PENANAGwf6RIcr6f
people are as well as the things that matter to them.” She explained.112Please respect copyright.PENANAMn2ndQe7Lb
“According to this you prefer tranquility and relaxation, being surrounded by112Please respect copyright.PENANAlX3MX3naPe
the woods as well as the gentle lapping of water against the shore. It’s all112Please respect copyright.PENANAKKgSRH5HTB
very soothing.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve112Please respect copyright.PENANAfEcpkLIqEq
felt calm enough to relax.” He explained.
“And that’s why you and I are112Please respect copyright.PENANAy4YjBdojum
here.” She beamed. “I wanted to talk to you when you are at your calmest, not112Please respect copyright.PENANA45M1htENXG
when the demon my niece gave you is constantly whispering in your ear.”
“You know about that?” she nodded112Please respect copyright.PENANAnUXYzeuSuY
her head. She went on to explain that every single one of Unna’s chosen had a112Please respect copyright.PENANA3qnvU2CEeR
demon they had to fight against almost all the time. It was a special little112Please respect copyright.PENANAoHqFEav6cC
gift she gave them to try to get them to use her powers all the time, to give112Please respect copyright.PENANAqFM3IvC4Wv
in to their inner thoughts and desires. It made it easier for her to control112Please respect copyright.PENANA6vYTJug2jH
them that way. “Charming.” He muttered, but he already knew all that. She must112Please respect copyright.PENANA8ujF1cwPGj
have sensed his thoughts because she smiled, then said:
“Did you know your demon is inside112Please respect copyright.PENANAD68gpe6pZ0
that lake and that’s why you can’t see more than a few feet in?” Vander looked112Please respect copyright.PENANA6zsc6iQnrY
at her then shook his head. Grinning, she snapped her fingers. Suddenly he was112Please respect copyright.PENANAUaN50Vv38C
in the middle of the very cold water at the center of the lake. She waved at112Please respect copyright.PENANAVgaTpX5zuI
him from the shore. “You better start swimming before he gets you.”
As soon as the words touched his112Please respect copyright.PENANA8Aoidjb77v
ears, he could feel a very strong presence coming towards him from under the112Please respect copyright.PENANAQjg1U6OXCJ
water. Fear filled his body as he started to swim as fast as he could. A wave112Please respect copyright.PENANA7RMAC8btxw
of energy slammed into him propelling him forward but knocking him away from112Please respect copyright.PENANAqBdCiS5i1N
the docks. The water ripped as large ridges appeared on the back of something112Please respect copyright.PENANAx6W5WURQHH
truly monstrous. It was coming towards him, hunting him as if he were prey.112Please respect copyright.PENANAEhdzH4ODmr
Vander started swimming away from the fish, but the creature was quick. It112Please respect copyright.PENANA7QjmzujudI
quickly got ahead of Vander then turned around to collide head on. The head112Please respect copyright.PENANAIMy8rgSCTu
broke the water, revealing small eyes and a large mouth filled with rows upon112Please respect copyright.PENANADkyi4lGOY1
rows of teeth.
He did the only thing he could at112Please respect copyright.PENANAstg06I63Ej
that moment. He slapped a bunch of water into the demon’s eyes causing it to112Please respect copyright.PENANAcgzq2CM9RK
veer off course because it could no longer see. The large tail slammed into112Please respect copyright.PENANAjmnkysJ1Jz
Vander’s stomach knocking him out of the water back onto the ground where Atza112Please respect copyright.PENANAXoJRh6Wjjb
stood smiling down at him.
“That was close.” She grinned.
“You almost got me killed.” He112Please respect copyright.PENANAXReUjSWSki
snapped. He got to his feet, but paused as he realized he wasn’t hurt. He112Please respect copyright.PENANAzxBMfGFjgG
looked back at the lake to see that it was perfect still once again.
“As long as you fear the demon it112Please respect copyright.PENANA5WUlAvV41P
will keep coming for you.” She explained. “You need to learn to control your112Please respect copyright.PENANAzn6KrqB33e
emotions and put aside your pride to learn to ask for help.” She cupped his112Please respect copyright.PENANAsPcnKp0CSW
head in her hands. “This world is relying on you Vander. We need you.” He112Please respect copyright.PENANAxU3Qt5cEme
carefully removed his head from her hands.
“The deities have told me that for112Please respect copyright.PENANAP64790Tj9F
several months now.” He snorted. “But now when I need them, they are nowhere to112Please respect copyright.PENANAhwyjzzcrNY
be seen.”
“My family is embroiled in a112Please respect copyright.PENANArIfVzVdryP
struggle amongst themselves.” She explained. “I’m not part of this land so I112Please respect copyright.PENANAU8kZpvBt2v
don’t have the same restrictions, but I also cannot interfere with what they112Please respect copyright.PENANAexHxnmNQwg
do. I’m only here to help guide you.”
“Guide me how?”
“I can’t explain more than that at112Please respect copyright.PENANAvyQjPHYXez
this time.” She smiled sadly. “But you will need the help of the demon before112Please respect copyright.PENANAnQZYgrZVZR
all this is over and if you can’t, we will all die.” He opened his mouth to ask112Please respect copyright.PENANAlsAbDocdu2
more, but she placed her hand on his chest. Once again, he felt himself flying112Please respect copyright.PENANAY4w3rRsnbk
away, but this time it was up towards the sky.
He bolted away as he heard a knock112Please respect copyright.PENANAJZQiBIglfZ
at the door.
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