Chapter 25
The tunnel was cold and dark, but79Please respect copyright.PENANAgeTCYCKusi
it was straight. There were no split paths or winding for people to hide. It79Please respect copyright.PENANAk7T4gEB4gV
looked as though it was just a way for the Serpents to get into their safe79Please respect copyright.PENANAPwU92DjDmQ
house without arousing suspicion. It didn’t go very far, but he recognized the79Please respect copyright.PENANAr1lGh7ISFu
smell as soon as he stepped out. He was right by the Brewers guild in the Eastern79Please respect copyright.PENANA6GS68ENDZj
District. Did that mean that Samuel Mills worked with the Serpents or was this79Please respect copyright.PENANAWS8ebO4i8S
just a coincidence? He didn’t believe in79Please respect copyright.PENANAUtBBczguXq
coincidences. This was just another piece of the puzzle he needed to solve, but79Please respect copyright.PENANAcRm2e8w2S1
not today. This place was even more heavily guarded than the house had been,79Please respect copyright.PENANAkpVGHHJKKf
and he was in no position to fight again. He filed the information away then stuck79Please respect copyright.PENANAfJ7kgtgCR0
to the shadows.
He heard the footsteps of dozens79Please respect copyright.PENANAK2LYJQdLqm
of guards running down the street shouting orders to one another. He had to79Please respect copyright.PENANAQfyMjcLMqU
press himself up against an alley wall to avoid being seen. Some citizens were79Please respect copyright.PENANAkLbsDxRBIX
waking up due to the noise. The apartment above opened their windows to peer79Please respect copyright.PENANAFUKWlUgX7h
down at the street. Vander heard her call out to one of the guards asking what79Please respect copyright.PENANAtjDqg5pS5R
had happened. They said it was just a training exercise, but it was a weak79Please respect copyright.PENANAWKFMWQWK5m
excuse. However, the woman just shrugged her shoulder then slammed the window79Please respect copyright.PENANAbdQd7JM62G
closed.
He gave himself a few extra79Please respect copyright.PENANAKyS2BTIbpW
minutes to make sure no other guards were headed his way before stepping out79Please respect copyright.PENANAfT5NutrLhV
and sneaking down the streets.
The only way to blend in the79Please respect copyright.PENANA3MSryZoI0P
middle of the night is to stick to the dark corners of the city. If he was79Please respect copyright.PENANAnCAQOMBlzk
spotted by a guard, he would most certainly be questioned despite them being79Please respect copyright.PENANA43NxF6ROYh
called to a potential murder scene. Anyone out right now would arouse suspicion.79Please respect copyright.PENANAZF1M2BEHED
That was something he didn’t want. So, he carefully picked paths that he had79Please respect copyright.PENANAEttGgYyyQi
mapped out over the past week that would give him the best chance of remaining79Please respect copyright.PENANAXvstCHMX62
unseen.
He jumped up onto a fence, biting79Please respect copyright.PENANAzfPmE4jUJj
back the pain that the sword had caused. He had to hope no blood got onto the79Please respect copyright.PENANAvUY60R0XIP
scroll in his pocket. He hadn’t been thinking when he picked it up, but that79Please respect copyright.PENANAuLnSV5pPfi
would be a future problem. Then he carefully balanced his way over the fence79Please respect copyright.PENANAQVCspzLgBQ
and onto the adjoining apartment’s roof. Once there he ran from roof to roof79Please respect copyright.PENANAj4GSp02GEB
keeping his footsteps quiet and balanced, so he didn’t wake anyone up. The79Please respect copyright.PENANAGH0K2Vzktg
challenge would be sneaking through the checkpoints going from district to79Please respect copyright.PENANAPJUr5mz4S9
district as there was no way to sneak through.
Vander jumped down from the roof.79Please respect copyright.PENANADNaXCCZe40
To get through he had to make this look convincing. He took a small flask he79Please respect copyright.PENANA5jEcBsyWXf
had hidden in his inner pocket out then drank a little bit, swishing it around79Please respect copyright.PENANAQvYpg3aNoR
in his mouth before spitting it back out. He then splashed a little bit onto79Please respect copyright.PENANAJGEFXbpv2B
himself before tucking it back into his pocket. He adopted a slight drooping79Please respect copyright.PENANAojTKeStlGH
swagger then started walking forward.
He bumped into one of the guards standing79Please respect copyright.PENANARFltmr8piq
under the gate to keep dry, then dramatically fell backwards onto the ground.79Please respect copyright.PENANAP5ME73Oa46
“Oi, who put dis wall ‘ere?” he slurred. He tried to get back up to his feet,79Please respect copyright.PENANA1T3aJdIAnL
but he fell again, too drunk to stand properly.
“A little too late to be leaving79Please respect copyright.PENANAGM6sp29hdR
the inn, huh?” One of the guards bent down to haul Vander to his feet. His nose79Please respect copyright.PENANAbGalMUJMcO
crinkled slightly as he smelled the overpowering scent of booze on his79Please respect copyright.PENANAlYkbNzWnZZ
clothing. “Damn, did you fall into the whiskey bottle?”
“Is not my fault,” Vander brushed79Please respect copyright.PENANACKRmv4h3p8
the dust off his pants. “My ‘ere girlfriend left me for anatha man. I’m just79Please respect copyright.PENANAkYpBvFgeQ4
drinkin’ my sorrows away.”
“Sorry to hear that pal.” The79Please respect copyright.PENANAjrqB43aOnm
other guard shook his head. “Women, can’t live with em, can’t live without em.”
“That’s why I stick to men.” The79Please respect copyright.PENANADpuADHz44e
guard who had picked Vander up had said. “Found me a nice man. He’s a Blade, a79Please respect copyright.PENANAKDrvsN7uOH
captain.” Vander froze in his tracks. What were the chances he would meet79Please respect copyright.PENANAFUo7GKCpz2
Alex’s boyfriend here of all places. He was just lucky that the two of them had79Please respect copyright.PENANAZMxYY9AI4W
never met before.
“Maybe I’ll look into that.”79Please respect copyright.PENANAMwI4g3Us5t
Vander gave both a big dopey grin. “Ya mind if I get goin’? My home is through79Please respect copyright.PENANAyIIzcA0HJg
there.”
“Of course.” Henry nodded. “Just79Please respect copyright.PENANAZMOK7rE2vP
stay on the main roads and stop drinking so late at night. There are many79Please respect copyright.PENANAXwpWtYdHIB
unsavory characters that would love to take advantage of you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Vander79Please respect copyright.PENANAUj5qWqOfQu
bowed his head. “I thank ya.” With that the two guards stepped aside allowing79Please respect copyright.PENANAZ2C8RgxsKX
him to stagger past the check point. When they thought he was out of ear shot,79Please respect copyright.PENANATwiBVB3OUM
one of them spoke:
“Are you sure we should have let79Please respect copyright.PENANAyLJLpjLa0n
him go?” the other guard asked Henry.
“He’s not a danger to anyone, just79Please respect copyright.PENANAOG2RWfjhaT
someone going through a hard time.” For some reason, Vander got the feeling79Please respect copyright.PENANA9PJJwPGiXZ
that Henry had recognized him despite the painful attempts to disguise who he79Please respect copyright.PENANAGDKJQM5Isi
was. He would have taken great pains to avoid this man altogether.
Once he was sure the guards79Please respect copyright.PENANAYMvF1p9UX8
weren’t looking at him, he went from his stagger into a full-blown run. He79Please respect copyright.PENANAyVxu9Rpqvz
dipped down alleys, jumped over fences, and scaled buildings to avoid the79Please respect copyright.PENANAdW78TC979P
patrols which were rampant in the southern district. They were rampant on the79Please respect copyright.PENANARNa0WTjsXD
street because no one patrolled the gate leading into the slums because there79Please respect copyright.PENANAZiLtBRRCBs
was no point. He slipped inside without any problems.
As soon as he entered, he could79Please respect copyright.PENANAL5Gr6SnQbZ
feel his mental connection with Shea snap back into place. He had realized how79Please respect copyright.PENANAJ6aZFnKH14
much he missed her, but after what happened in the castle, he thought it was79Please respect copyright.PENANANKedF6fnV5
best that she stayed behind on these missions. She was unique, and anyone seen79Please respect copyright.PENANAiwkVfjlZ59
with her would be assumed to be him.
“Welcome back.” She said to79Please respect copyright.PENANADL7WSfLdfA
him. “I take it you had fun.” He could feel her bitterness from here,79Please respect copyright.PENANAamZt7LKpiF
but no matter how many times he told her the dangers, she still hates him for79Please respect copyright.PENANAt4iuqvUuFj
benching her. He couldn’t blame her, but their safety should come first. Pride,79Please respect copyright.PENANAZzVHsEnJU6
second.
“A ton.” He thought back. “I’ll79Please respect copyright.PENANA9Q9ruRAH4x
explain everything later.”
He wasted no time heading back to79Please respect copyright.PENANAvglksltLf6
the Orange Fox where Ross had willingly taken him in, but he had to promise not79Please respect copyright.PENANALO2FppMZOV
to get involved with the slum’s affairs. Which meant he couldn’t do anything to79Please respect copyright.PENANAUK4rYzq3Y0
the sex workers, thieves, murderers or anything he could profit on. It was a79Please respect copyright.PENANAUsDyenZphH
hard decision to make, but since he had nowhere else to go without putting79Please respect copyright.PENANAhUG8EgRfD4
someone else in danger, he had to agree.
Luckily for his consciousness,79Please respect copyright.PENANAieH8wZbeir
there was no one out as the storm was still in full swing. No one wanted to get79Please respect copyright.PENANAgN2ly35Xh5
soaked so most of the street walkers stayed in doorways or abandoned buildings.79Please respect copyright.PENANAnE0ygkhi39
On days like today the John’s would get no privacy during the hour they paid79Please respect copyright.PENANAhqQiZiy6UU
for, but most of them didn’t mind. They liked giving a show. Even from outside79Please respect copyright.PENANA2gRkZiBeNZ
he could hear the ecstatic cries of one woman making sure her John believed he79Please respect copyright.PENANAngCDuVcHiv
was doing a good job. Cringing to himself, he snaked his way up a drainage pipe79Please respect copyright.PENANAMsAy2AvuA1
behind the Orange Fox and through a window leading into his bedroom.
“Mind the carpet,” Shea79Please respect copyright.PENANAbqQoJDNLJ1
snorted. “The maid just cleaned.” He stepped into the room making sure not to79Please respect copyright.PENANA4P6sTGdnFm
track mud onto the carpet, but he would have to apologize for the floor.
His room wasn’t special since he79Please respect copyright.PENANAFOx9gJ1TIS
hoped that it was only a temporary arrangement. It was a room that had been79Please respect copyright.PENANArS7LDGKECr
used for one of his special girls, but she was given another accommodation.79Please respect copyright.PENANAgQDWSIrvMc
Vander asked that a new bed, new sheets, and the entire thing to be cleaned top79Please respect copyright.PENANAIPYTWe8Ec0
to bottom before he would step foot inside. There was a bed, a private79Please respect copyright.PENANAKYSJHcCJIX
bathroom, and a couple of dressers for the copious amount of clothes Ross had79Please respect copyright.PENANAGm6SWFmSph
bought for him. None of this was free, however. He had to give Ross something79Please respect copyright.PENANAyS7YHJncOA
that he wanted, and that payment would be due tonight.
Vander peeled off his uniform after79Please respect copyright.PENANAUSvtFs7PLF
removed the rolled letter from his jacket pocket and tossed it onto the bed. He79Please respect copyright.PENANARKBEUopv26
walked naked over towards his bathroom to look himself over for injuries. Other79Please respect copyright.PENANAJma1rKCP4s
than the slight cuts into his hands he was fine, but due to the rain his79Please respect copyright.PENANAlkCnovmBfw
disguise was slipping.
It had taken a considerable amount79Please respect copyright.PENANAcGsm6b8PVc
of money to gather materials that would stain his hair a different color along79Please respect copyright.PENANAXcgW73WE8J
with contacts that would change the color of his eyes. Ross had to go into the79Please respect copyright.PENANAqbjSfmzJSk
black market then pay a merchant to come from Salira to drop them off here.79Please respect copyright.PENANAONTmlXqrm9
Then an alchemist had to train Vander on how to dye his hair dye himself. As a79Please respect copyright.PENANAzhM2ygBrch
result, it changed his hair to dark black and with the contact his eyes became79Please respect copyright.PENANAYyfcSOjJTw
brown. This is what he would have looked like if he had never met Unna, so he79Please respect copyright.PENANArPBA03jM4C
hoped no one would recognize him. He quickly grabbed the small jar he kept on79Please respect copyright.PENANAdgtc5VbKt9
the skin, took a small amount of dye, then ran it through his hair. Moments79Please respect copyright.PENANAETXgdnu8h8
later it was dry, and he was back to normal.
“What did you find out?”79Please respect copyright.PENANAUtEgEIOYO4
Shea asked. She was lying on her bed, her paws tucked under her head. She79Please respect copyright.PENANAUCwcPZwWnG
looked so sad lying there so he sat down next to her then began rubbing behind79Please respect copyright.PENANAPiViVmPHPT
her ears.
“Not much.” It annoyed him to say79Please respect copyright.PENANACWjaQpKztX
that. He had spent so much time hoping that the base would give him details79Please respect copyright.PENANAmXaBTxDbpF
just to be a disappointment. He had another lead, potentially, but there was a79Please respect copyright.PENANAfABUClhA64
huge chance that it would amount to absolutely nothing. “I did find out that79Please respect copyright.PENANATlKWNz3YLY
the Serpents have been given orders to actively hunt me.”
“Vander, that’s not good.”79Please respect copyright.PENANAk2G3elY7Oy
Shea lifted her head to stare at him. “Are we safe here?” she asked. “Do79Please respect copyright.PENANABwaVr3tTYm
we need to find a new place to stay?” He reassured her that they didn’t79Please respect copyright.PENANAjIlqeSyijf
have to go anywhere. The only way anyone would know where they were is if they79Please respect copyright.PENANAiREtu1BnLu
recognized him then followed him to the Fox, or Ross told them. The first79Please respect copyright.PENANA68fehpV8IO
option was unlikely as was the second one. Ross was a businessman with a79Please respect copyright.PENANAK6fYOvfik0
reputation to uphold. There was no way he would sell out someone who came to79Please respect copyright.PENANAP2Rfmk9tJA
him looking for help, not after everything Vander promised him.
She placed her head on his lap. He79Please respect copyright.PENANAPlbXvPlvdf
could feel her sadness through their bond. It was a hard thing for both. For79Please respect copyright.PENANA1r1LqPoevs
the first time in forever the two of them were alone. There was no Alex, no one79Please respect copyright.PENANAaIFEbOqQfD
else from the Blades, his grandfather was gone, forced into retirement for79Please respect copyright.PENANAFZpADIl7Li
raising an assassin and not protecting the former King. Even more strange, he79Please respect copyright.PENANAfqfJanjLfm
missed Eliza even though the two of them had only met for the first time when79Please respect copyright.PENANALaK9GBZmXG
Cuvera returned. He couldn’t explain it and he hadn’t bothered to read the book79Please respect copyright.PENANAS2tpUtHPjz
to understand why. He just couldn’t bring himself to do so. At least, not yet.
There was a knock on the door.79Please respect copyright.PENANAUKto1kPSQv
Vander recognized the smell from one of Ross’ bouncers, Left. Both he and Shea79Please respect copyright.PENANAq9NkeCO7Di
got down from the bed and padded over, opening the door.
“Where are your clothes?” Left79Please respect copyright.PENANAEvJ8MeG6rp
growled looking away. Vander looked down and realized that he had forgotten to79Please respect copyright.PENANA9MYUxfIZc5
put on any sort of clothing. He quickly closed the door. He heard Shea laughing79Please respect copyright.PENANA0oL98khORG
inside his head.
“Sorry, I just got back, and all79Please respect copyright.PENANAisZo4Drofk
my clothes were dirty.” Vander’s face burned bright red.
“Well, I can see why you are79Please respect copyright.PENANAKkEEltNRAi
popular around here.” Left laughed causing Vander’s blush to darken. “Anyway,79Please respect copyright.PENANAXmmGvu6Ez6
once you are fully clothed the boss would like to see you. Should I send in79Please respect copyright.PENANAslmHAVensl
some girls to take care of you?”
“Perhaps later.” He replied.
“Twenty minutes, don’t be late.”79Please respect copyright.PENANAjosmPENnln
With that Left shuffled off back down the hall. Shea burst out laughing as soon79Please respect copyright.PENANABSPYEFY9j5
as they knew the man was gone. Vander playfully pushed her before walking over79Please respect copyright.PENANAjLrLySYh3n
to the dressers. He picked a pair of black trousers, a white shirt and a nice79Please respect copyright.PENANANs4byfDD1S
pair of socks. He kept an extra pair of boots by the door just in case79Please respect copyright.PENANAs8vVb7d9eJ
something happened while he was out, in this case his other pair was completely79Please respect copyright.PENANAXRmBduPiIu
soaked through. He wasn’t allowed to bring weapons with him into the office, so79Please respect copyright.PENANAxLcgJUs3bB
he kept everything else in the room.
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As he stepped towards the door79Please respect copyright.PENANAhN6dGo0qVF
Shea walked behind him. Despite staying behind when he went outside, she wasn’t79Please respect copyright.PENANA5q0pKAnIbt
going to leave him alone in the gambling den. If he was going to be honest with79Please respect copyright.PENANAlwDDbTflDR
himself, he would have missed her company when she wasn’t by his side, so he79Please respect copyright.PENANAtWeoaK5v4w
didn’t try to stop her. Together they left the room heading down the hall.