Chapter 28
For the second time since leaving109Please respect copyright.PENANAudzTQFUcWB
the Orange Fox, Vander cursed himself for not bringing a weapon with him. With109Please respect copyright.PENANA5V0ngXMpa9
the guards walking towards him along with the crowd at his back he knew there109Please respect copyright.PENANAEJPkfPM8N7
was no chance of escape. He was too scared to come up with an excuse to not be109Please respect copyright.PENANAt1yP08Qjjb
him, but fear glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth. He didn’t want to die109Please respect copyright.PENANAo5SjJ2biT7
here, there was too much that he needed to do.
“Stop!” Alex shouted over the109Please respect copyright.PENANAovdR9gVg5a
crowd. He, along with the rest of his squad, pushed their way through and took109Please respect copyright.PENANAGjPe7sr571
up positions around Vander. Their weapons were drawn, held out in front of109Please respect copyright.PENANA4H76Azf73m
them, but they made no move to start fighting. “What are you doing?” Alex109Please respect copyright.PENANAvHR8ZsoI1l
demanded the guards to answer.
“We heard the commotion, Blade.” A109Please respect copyright.PENANAurK1XXMPtc
guard sneered. “That punk behind you is Vander, the king slayer. Hand him over109Please respect copyright.PENANAMTVeKLvKGa
or we will kill you too.”
“Even if that was true ganging up109Please respect copyright.PENANAMxmgOr03Ls
on an unarmed man isn’t very chivalrous of you.” Alex snorted. “Also, I heard109Please respect copyright.PENANAK89rZoduHk
what you said about killing him for the Jilena’s bounty. From what I understand109Please respect copyright.PENANA0YvSDJjjwE
that was supposed to be pulled by Cuvera, so they are still trying to kill him?109Please respect copyright.PENANAc6DfUDxXc3
That’s useful information.” The guard paled as he realized his mistake.
“But that’s definitely Vander and109Please respect copyright.PENANAQj3PSbdmGG
we kept him from fleeing.” The second guard looked a little smug. Alex looked109Please respect copyright.PENANAEtRVN3OXE0
back at Vander, but feigned ignorance.
“That’s not him.” He responded.109Please respect copyright.PENANAYfjKoVZ5bU
Both the guards and mob muttered amongst themselves looking confused. Someone109Please respect copyright.PENANAKekIGou9XK
shouted, asking how he could be sure. Alex’s response stunned him: “Look at109Please respect copyright.PENANAsvgzrxAm0V
him. He doesn’t have the same hair or eye color.” Alex grabbed Vander by the109Please respect copyright.PENANAHtBB6Oa3pM
back of his shirt, lifting him up for all to see. “This man is not him; you109Please respect copyright.PENANALbZPvcWXqs
were ready to kill an innocent man because of what you thought.” Alex dropped109Please respect copyright.PENANARQ8x4doG7n
him onto his feet. “On behalf of the King, I apologize.” Alex leaned in close109Please respect copyright.PENANAPKTrp7L7hs
enough to whisper into his ear: “I’ll find you later, now go.”
Vander nodded his head. He didn’t109Please respect copyright.PENANAFko041FYbq
have to hide his fear as he walked through the guards towards the southern109Please respect copyright.PENANAbyolaGeg2l
district. The guards eyed him warily, not quite convinced of Alex’s claim, but109Please respect copyright.PENANAX4G7oKEenl
they wouldn’t do anything about it with all these witnesses around. They would109Please respect copyright.PENANA6J8vtY0id7
bide their time before coming back around. Though, he did notice one of the109Please respect copyright.PENANAZTQbN3Aw2v
guards slipping away from the group. If he hadn’t been Vander, he never would109Please respect copyright.PENANAfDmt9bXo7c
have noticed, but people weren’t as sneaky as they thought.
He quickly slipped down a corner109Please respect copyright.PENANAoxhLkGd5rM
once they were out of sight of the guard post. The one following him followed109Please respect copyright.PENANA7BdgWEMh24
him a couple of minutes later, but Vander was waiting for him. He grabbed the109Please respect copyright.PENANArYSI0gV36L
man around his neck then dragged him kicking and screaming deeper into the dark109Please respect copyright.PENANAUKprrMPwGz
alley. Luckily for him, unluckily for the guard, people screaming was109Please respect copyright.PENANA7spQI71vz9
commonplace around here and others knew better than to interfere which made109Please respect copyright.PENANA1yKOuDvshx
things a lot easier.
“You’ll never get away with this.”109Please respect copyright.PENANALxrsgKJSDd
That guard grunted. Vander threw him into the wall. When the man bounced off,109Please respect copyright.PENANA4HpJF3PP0M
he was met with a left hook sending him spinning onto the ground. He walked109Please respect copyright.PENANANFSz3Xq83g
around, taunting the guard to stand up. He could hear the demon whispering in109Please respect copyright.PENANAM7aQkI6LRx
his ear to make this as painful as possible, something Vander himself wanted.109Please respect copyright.PENANAyi5g0njgfD
This man tried to kill him, no questions asked, and he would be damned if he109Please respect copyright.PENANAzBXn9uPYOr
would play nice with someone like this.
The guard stood up, drawing his109Please respect copyright.PENANAJafrfKrBJO
sword as he did so. With a cry he slashed at Vander who neatly side stepped109Please respect copyright.PENANA13jgRte3Tt
away. While the guard was regaining his footing he was hit several times in the109Please respect copyright.PENANAxH6hpQIX90
face. A wad of blood hit the ground as the guard tried again, but this time he109Please respect copyright.PENANA2GfIaJ0Dli
lunged at Vander knocking him over then straddled him. Vander grabbed the man’s109Please respect copyright.PENANAq2z7laLnxm
elbow which made it difficult for him to use the sword. With his other hand,109Please respect copyright.PENANA56zAJlH1am
Vander grabbed the man’s shirt under the armor then drove both their heads109Please respect copyright.PENANAaYAV7mj3jl
together with a crack. The guard fell from Vander unconscious.
His head was splitting, but he was109Please respect copyright.PENANABOYOZyDpU9
alive. He shoved the guard off him before shakily getting to his feet. Perhaps109Please respect copyright.PENANAOGyZnKlIcw
it was a bad idea to leave the comforts of the Orange Fox to investigate since109Please respect copyright.PENANAsvLIU8AeQj
now he may have been compromised. He would be worse off if he allowed this man109Please respect copyright.PENANAqLQCQPLIIN
to live. If he did there was no way that he would be left alone. Once Cuvera or109Please respect copyright.PENANA1WzaVCt6xJ
the Jilena’s knew he was in the slums they would waste no time in trying to109Please respect copyright.PENANAbvyhV9NyVv
pull him out. But could he go through with killing a guard who was just doing109Please respect copyright.PENANAJ3qJlvwNRm
his job?
The demon inside certainly thought109Please respect copyright.PENANAfFkU8oT2Wd
so. He taunted Vander saying everything he had worked to accomplish would come109Please respect copyright.PENANA5ZuJHlVXyf
crumbling down if the man lived. The slums were a perfect place to hide a body,109Please respect copyright.PENANAVb8TDGauIg
no one would ever notice him. Soon enough he would be stripped of his armor,109Please respect copyright.PENANAbbFmZXyeXV
weapon and money than likely torn apart by those hungry enough to eat human109Please respect copyright.PENANAjgrfpwi6DK
meat. The cleanup would take care of itself, there was nothing more that could109Please respect copyright.PENANAWzwdkJhmJL
be done. It would be a mercy killing for this man, a safety killing for Vander.109Please respect copyright.PENANAqIrEcuhQx3
A win-win.
The demon’s reasoning was solid.109Please respect copyright.PENANAnVb6Y8RHs1
For a few moments Vander was really tempted to do as his inner self had said,109Please respect copyright.PENANATlEBu97mTT
but that would only validate everything everyone thought about him. Then he109Please respect copyright.PENANAj4by8fgpWX
truly would be a murderer, which was something he hadn’t wanted. So, he did the109Please respect copyright.PENANALWcvAE8JoX
only thing he could. He dragged the unconscious man to a corner where he would109Please respect copyright.PENANAwJMvmahL5A
be invisible from the street. Then he placed some trash over him in case anyone109Please respect copyright.PENANATTDJ2M5qYi
looked down here they would just see a pile of garbage. However, he did take109Please respect copyright.PENANAlGQufd39e4
the sword so the guard wouldn’t feel tempted to kill someone once he woke up109Please respect copyright.PENANA1F9AtdsZ9D
and realized Vander was gone.
With that done, he wasted no time109Please respect copyright.PENANAvfZnHAlKLu
heading back towards the Fox. Right and Left gave him an odd glance, but a109Please respect copyright.PENANAsfsNJ1xfHT
quick glare made them keep their mouths shut. He slipped inside his room where109Please respect copyright.PENANAP8n1BarcXU
Shea was sleeping comfortably on the bed. She didn’t even awaken when he came109Please respect copyright.PENANAqGbRWgubK4
inside so he decided to clean himself up so she wouldn’t get worried upon109Please respect copyright.PENANA35yPHUUuCW
seeing his face. He placed the sword inside of the closet before stepping into109Please respect copyright.PENANAM70AsYwUIQ
the bathroom.
The damage he took from hitting109Please respect copyright.PENANA6F6zcgObeJ
the guard wasn’t much, but he was getting quite a large headache. He grabbed a109Please respect copyright.PENANAnRX2Mfnxsw
glass of water, placing it on his head to cool down the swelling. With his109Please respect copyright.PENANAdEHQ39OPSR
quicker healing it should go away after about an hour, so he quickly washed his109Please respect copyright.PENANA25Xr4qvoah
face and changed his clothes before taking his spot next to Shea. Moments his109Please respect copyright.PENANANJARg0Rw8Z
eyes were closed, and he was gently snoring away.
…
A cold breeze tickled his nose109Please respect copyright.PENANASI9s26LERA
causing him to sneeze himself awake. As his eyes focused, he soon realized that109Please respect copyright.PENANAwkh7f0JRrP
he wasn’t in his room. He was lying on the grass which surrounded a large lake.109Please respect copyright.PENANAKSDbWyQXXK
There were trees all over the place along with a random wooden table in the109Please respect copyright.PENANAekUAxhAFlU
middle of the clearing. Within the lake was a large wooden dock, but the water109Please respect copyright.PENANA3rKKN98vzZ
was what intrigued him the most. It was crystal blue, but he couldn’t see more109Please respect copyright.PENANAwBPjrD6z0V
than a few inches down before it was swallowed by black. He could feel109Please respect copyright.PENANAOibnNsjDHo
something swimming below the surface, but he couldn’t tell what it was.109Please respect copyright.PENANA1nqcmXf9QB
However, it was very large and hungry. The question was though, how did he get109Please respect copyright.PENANAoIC2hyM6l4
here and how did he know?
He got up from the ground feeling109Please respect copyright.PENANAmDTIrT2c4S
some sort of compulsion to head towards the table. As he grew closer, he saw109Please respect copyright.PENANAgahV4Q5UHn
someone sitting there as if she has appeared from thin air. She had tanned109Please respect copyright.PENANAfNXZBit6dy
skin, long brown hair, and was wearing clothing that didn’t quite fit being109Please respect copyright.PENANAnF0q7kXoN7
inside of a forest. She wore a sun dress without shoes or sleeves. As he walked109Please respect copyright.PENANA8zePWWH21z
closer, he could feel the heat emanating from her body.
“Vander.” Her voice was soft, much109Please respect copyright.PENANAdqD1c1Pxyd
like a whisper. Recognition flooded his body, but why would she be here? He109Please respect copyright.PENANAI0D4NwVCDr
didn’t have any sort of connection with her.
“Why are you here?” he asked. He109Please respect copyright.PENANAkfCPE0hd6g
looked around before he said something else. “Wherever here is.”
“You don’t recognize it?” Atza109Please respect copyright.PENANAF0zP9eNGfP
smiled. “Though I guess not everyone can enter their hidden world, so I’m not109Please respect copyright.PENANA6ZTl1A8z7S
sure why I’m surprised.” This wasn’t like the Atza he had grown up hearing109Please respect copyright.PENANAjHrvB9vStg
about. She was kind and gentle, not the hot-headed firebird from the myths and109Please respect copyright.PENANAcQH1nKHBBt
stories.
“Hidden world?” She motioned for109Please respect copyright.PENANAPOFc68xMRH
him to sit at the table, so he did. “I guess this feels a little familiar to109Please respect copyright.PENANAnFa9pQVODC
me, but I’ve never seen it.”
“Hidden worlds tend to reflect how109Please respect copyright.PENANAUftEr8dylN
people are as well as the things that matter to them.” She explained.109Please respect copyright.PENANA267RAvcWSy
“According to this you prefer tranquility and relaxation, being surrounded by109Please respect copyright.PENANAT86CEUA75p
the woods as well as the gentle lapping of water against the shore. It’s all109Please respect copyright.PENANAZP01xLq7f8
very soothing.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve109Please respect copyright.PENANAZr8NtTUtrn
felt calm enough to relax.” He explained.
“And that’s why you and I are109Please respect copyright.PENANAelEK7s2lse
here.” She beamed. “I wanted to talk to you when you are at your calmest, not109Please respect copyright.PENANAC3y3zFZpMW
when the demon my niece gave you is constantly whispering in your ear.”
“You know about that?” she nodded109Please respect copyright.PENANAbUWG5kobmq
her head. She went on to explain that every single one of Unna’s chosen had a109Please respect copyright.PENANA7UOhUuXCSj
demon they had to fight against almost all the time. It was a special little109Please respect copyright.PENANAtNpPNS0keD
gift she gave them to try to get them to use her powers all the time, to give109Please respect copyright.PENANAl2Etyb67BW
in to their inner thoughts and desires. It made it easier for her to control109Please respect copyright.PENANAhDtO0ex9QN
them that way. “Charming.” He muttered, but he already knew all that. She must109Please respect copyright.PENANAT1oLEoEYb9
have sensed his thoughts because she smiled, then said:
“Did you know your demon is inside109Please respect copyright.PENANAFkU1yyfhwq
that lake and that’s why you can’t see more than a few feet in?” Vander looked109Please respect copyright.PENANARAGgHqs6zd
at her then shook his head. Grinning, she snapped her fingers. Suddenly he was109Please respect copyright.PENANAVYDwkIg7zQ
in the middle of the very cold water at the center of the lake. She waved at109Please respect copyright.PENANAANONN3gF6Q
him from the shore. “You better start swimming before he gets you.”
As soon as the words touched his109Please respect copyright.PENANAyQK1WRe53g
ears, he could feel a very strong presence coming towards him from under the109Please respect copyright.PENANAHC0vND00VK
water. Fear filled his body as he started to swim as fast as he could. A wave109Please respect copyright.PENANAdN5inxjsyk
of energy slammed into him propelling him forward but knocking him away from109Please respect copyright.PENANA22azVtn1Gq
the docks. The water ripped as large ridges appeared on the back of something109Please respect copyright.PENANA4jRQpTzw7Z
truly monstrous. It was coming towards him, hunting him as if he were prey.109Please respect copyright.PENANA4eyVg9bLrv
Vander started swimming away from the fish, but the creature was quick. It109Please respect copyright.PENANAJ1OWVfn5ZA
quickly got ahead of Vander then turned around to collide head on. The head109Please respect copyright.PENANA8URlqigEoT
broke the water, revealing small eyes and a large mouth filled with rows upon109Please respect copyright.PENANAkkQuV6KC4e
rows of teeth.
He did the only thing he could at109Please respect copyright.PENANA2i9835560t
that moment. He slapped a bunch of water into the demon’s eyes causing it to109Please respect copyright.PENANAlu6wyWVA4O
veer off course because it could no longer see. The large tail slammed into109Please respect copyright.PENANATznl1ODfDF
Vander’s stomach knocking him out of the water back onto the ground where Atza109Please respect copyright.PENANAbkJBzXUQK2
stood smiling down at him.
“That was close.” She grinned.
“You almost got me killed.” He109Please respect copyright.PENANAxgSYgqAtrk
snapped. He got to his feet, but paused as he realized he wasn’t hurt. He109Please respect copyright.PENANA0Jmpmz2tEc
looked back at the lake to see that it was perfect still once again.
“As long as you fear the demon it109Please respect copyright.PENANANEvvUkovet
will keep coming for you.” She explained. “You need to learn to control your109Please respect copyright.PENANAcpBrmObcs0
emotions and put aside your pride to learn to ask for help.” She cupped his109Please respect copyright.PENANASb4rlXqWcH
head in her hands. “This world is relying on you Vander. We need you.” He109Please respect copyright.PENANAbYPvWt0lw7
carefully removed his head from her hands.
“The deities have told me that for109Please respect copyright.PENANAdmBHzcAQ2Z
several months now.” He snorted. “But now when I need them, they are nowhere to109Please respect copyright.PENANAMX3dnxQ5ZO
be seen.”
“My family is embroiled in a109Please respect copyright.PENANAEPHkEgfJOs
struggle amongst themselves.” She explained. “I’m not part of this land so I109Please respect copyright.PENANAzse7a0aFAE
don’t have the same restrictions, but I also cannot interfere with what they109Please respect copyright.PENANA34qxKJXnUN
do. I’m only here to help guide you.”
“Guide me how?”
“I can’t explain more than that at109Please respect copyright.PENANAKZuZD3fixn
this time.” She smiled sadly. “But you will need the help of the demon before109Please respect copyright.PENANAsh29IvXk4X
all this is over and if you can’t, we will all die.” He opened his mouth to ask109Please respect copyright.PENANAidfKPgpSja
more, but she placed her hand on his chest. Once again, he felt himself flying109Please respect copyright.PENANAZ0vTZCE0ux
away, but this time it was up towards the sky.
He bolted away as he heard a knock109Please respect copyright.PENANA2YXFYYpnDX
at the door.
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