Chapter 28
For the second time since leaving79Please respect copyright.PENANAmRRuqIAbsm
the Orange Fox, Vander cursed himself for not bringing a weapon with him. With79Please respect copyright.PENANA2mF3jGjx3Y
the guards walking towards him along with the crowd at his back he knew there79Please respect copyright.PENANAClwrWGRhc7
was no chance of escape. He was too scared to come up with an excuse to not be79Please respect copyright.PENANAQdg3tVv6Lf
him, but fear glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth. He didn’t want to die79Please respect copyright.PENANAzQTo33YOS8
here, there was too much that he needed to do.
“Stop!” Alex shouted over the79Please respect copyright.PENANABTKoRDchmK
crowd. He, along with the rest of his squad, pushed their way through and took79Please respect copyright.PENANA74xYNyP333
up positions around Vander. Their weapons were drawn, held out in front of79Please respect copyright.PENANA5TYwgN7IuT
them, but they made no move to start fighting. “What are you doing?” Alex79Please respect copyright.PENANAGAy4UUyKR9
demanded the guards to answer.
“We heard the commotion, Blade.” A79Please respect copyright.PENANAcbV29Li5JF
guard sneered. “That punk behind you is Vander, the king slayer. Hand him over79Please respect copyright.PENANADEFpEFOT1m
or we will kill you too.”
“Even if that was true ganging up79Please respect copyright.PENANAP8cyYssQaV
on an unarmed man isn’t very chivalrous of you.” Alex snorted. “Also, I heard79Please respect copyright.PENANAM6eeQZ8hoo
what you said about killing him for the Jilena’s bounty. From what I understand79Please respect copyright.PENANAWDFJuuqN6z
that was supposed to be pulled by Cuvera, so they are still trying to kill him?79Please respect copyright.PENANACzOV6XNCrp
That’s useful information.” The guard paled as he realized his mistake.
“But that’s definitely Vander and79Please respect copyright.PENANAh2V0mvpnKE
we kept him from fleeing.” The second guard looked a little smug. Alex looked79Please respect copyright.PENANAiIvNTOvNqQ
back at Vander, but feigned ignorance.
“That’s not him.” He responded.79Please respect copyright.PENANAgFZGIHitzT
Both the guards and mob muttered amongst themselves looking confused. Someone79Please respect copyright.PENANAqjuMRK6w8c
shouted, asking how he could be sure. Alex’s response stunned him: “Look at79Please respect copyright.PENANAo6BA1MWnJR
him. He doesn’t have the same hair or eye color.” Alex grabbed Vander by the79Please respect copyright.PENANAlHUBYC75hc
back of his shirt, lifting him up for all to see. “This man is not him; you79Please respect copyright.PENANAzP8SnzRXiu
were ready to kill an innocent man because of what you thought.” Alex dropped79Please respect copyright.PENANANKNg99TNQq
him onto his feet. “On behalf of the King, I apologize.” Alex leaned in close79Please respect copyright.PENANAT9RaxRhvNX
enough to whisper into his ear: “I’ll find you later, now go.”
Vander nodded his head. He didn’t79Please respect copyright.PENANALFguq8zJ3N
have to hide his fear as he walked through the guards towards the southern79Please respect copyright.PENANA8n0bz5TDDd
district. The guards eyed him warily, not quite convinced of Alex’s claim, but79Please respect copyright.PENANAwLnl7V4fib
they wouldn’t do anything about it with all these witnesses around. They would79Please respect copyright.PENANABUrnrTfrBy
bide their time before coming back around. Though, he did notice one of the79Please respect copyright.PENANAGOV8HwHmTZ
guards slipping away from the group. If he hadn’t been Vander, he never would79Please respect copyright.PENANA8NNwSv0SK8
have noticed, but people weren’t as sneaky as they thought.
He quickly slipped down a corner79Please respect copyright.PENANAWqPzfhWcPB
once they were out of sight of the guard post. The one following him followed79Please respect copyright.PENANAxYPiO4foNo
him a couple of minutes later, but Vander was waiting for him. He grabbed the79Please respect copyright.PENANAjmda5KBMG4
man around his neck then dragged him kicking and screaming deeper into the dark79Please respect copyright.PENANAGHgXV22vFB
alley. Luckily for him, unluckily for the guard, people screaming was79Please respect copyright.PENANAr2QGlsSUVn
commonplace around here and others knew better than to interfere which made79Please respect copyright.PENANAERORjOGR32
things a lot easier.
“You’ll never get away with this.”79Please respect copyright.PENANADrPwueNUoO
That guard grunted. Vander threw him into the wall. When the man bounced off,79Please respect copyright.PENANAwrPUOdVa1Q
he was met with a left hook sending him spinning onto the ground. He walked79Please respect copyright.PENANAVysMXWFKOW
around, taunting the guard to stand up. He could hear the demon whispering in79Please respect copyright.PENANA1lN9yzb69M
his ear to make this as painful as possible, something Vander himself wanted.79Please respect copyright.PENANADasCnIpYTg
This man tried to kill him, no questions asked, and he would be damned if he79Please respect copyright.PENANAaMJ6Moy2cn
would play nice with someone like this.
The guard stood up, drawing his79Please respect copyright.PENANA9VAVZOaLHO
sword as he did so. With a cry he slashed at Vander who neatly side stepped79Please respect copyright.PENANAUkFefm4C6G
away. While the guard was regaining his footing he was hit several times in the79Please respect copyright.PENANAxLRz5J4Jhb
face. A wad of blood hit the ground as the guard tried again, but this time he79Please respect copyright.PENANAS0IFTUzy4a
lunged at Vander knocking him over then straddled him. Vander grabbed the man’s79Please respect copyright.PENANAFKovAwD8O8
elbow which made it difficult for him to use the sword. With his other hand,79Please respect copyright.PENANATInvmP3xfs
Vander grabbed the man’s shirt under the armor then drove both their heads79Please respect copyright.PENANAb4Qr1ZZJDh
together with a crack. The guard fell from Vander unconscious.
His head was splitting, but he was79Please respect copyright.PENANACGU0JegxOE
alive. He shoved the guard off him before shakily getting to his feet. Perhaps79Please respect copyright.PENANAyUyfHywbid
it was a bad idea to leave the comforts of the Orange Fox to investigate since79Please respect copyright.PENANAJ58I5qiin1
now he may have been compromised. He would be worse off if he allowed this man79Please respect copyright.PENANAm7Or5roKQx
to live. If he did there was no way that he would be left alone. Once Cuvera or79Please respect copyright.PENANA6KhtwlHKa1
the Jilena’s knew he was in the slums they would waste no time in trying to79Please respect copyright.PENANAlQ6QFtMnqi
pull him out. But could he go through with killing a guard who was just doing79Please respect copyright.PENANAyNU6JywbxJ
his job?
The demon inside certainly thought79Please respect copyright.PENANAAXRo1Db0hK
so. He taunted Vander saying everything he had worked to accomplish would come79Please respect copyright.PENANAVSq9bCWBD3
crumbling down if the man lived. The slums were a perfect place to hide a body,79Please respect copyright.PENANAYbo3cvok65
no one would ever notice him. Soon enough he would be stripped of his armor,79Please respect copyright.PENANAb0Os4TpgQl
weapon and money than likely torn apart by those hungry enough to eat human79Please respect copyright.PENANANcPa3mTFPb
meat. The cleanup would take care of itself, there was nothing more that could79Please respect copyright.PENANAUT7B85sZ5q
be done. It would be a mercy killing for this man, a safety killing for Vander.79Please respect copyright.PENANAtrBTY1hr9I
A win-win.
The demon’s reasoning was solid.79Please respect copyright.PENANAP627yYLZzb
For a few moments Vander was really tempted to do as his inner self had said,79Please respect copyright.PENANAzv08nHekjf
but that would only validate everything everyone thought about him. Then he79Please respect copyright.PENANAETjDRDrXHo
truly would be a murderer, which was something he hadn’t wanted. So, he did the79Please respect copyright.PENANAdnzUx9eLNb
only thing he could. He dragged the unconscious man to a corner where he would79Please respect copyright.PENANAm02q20zkPo
be invisible from the street. Then he placed some trash over him in case anyone79Please respect copyright.PENANAxBfzwMAjyJ
looked down here they would just see a pile of garbage. However, he did take79Please respect copyright.PENANAChlqovR2nQ
the sword so the guard wouldn’t feel tempted to kill someone once he woke up79Please respect copyright.PENANAzpzOzLuM7Z
and realized Vander was gone.
With that done, he wasted no time79Please respect copyright.PENANAfGbGQWjiEJ
heading back towards the Fox. Right and Left gave him an odd glance, but a79Please respect copyright.PENANAtufiYAr9tW
quick glare made them keep their mouths shut. He slipped inside his room where79Please respect copyright.PENANAm914yG608t
Shea was sleeping comfortably on the bed. She didn’t even awaken when he came79Please respect copyright.PENANAnFfOroG9GQ
inside so he decided to clean himself up so she wouldn’t get worried upon79Please respect copyright.PENANAuoPz2gEsKj
seeing his face. He placed the sword inside of the closet before stepping into79Please respect copyright.PENANARWzxP6eKSA
the bathroom.
The damage he took from hitting79Please respect copyright.PENANAVHP3KAHXka
the guard wasn’t much, but he was getting quite a large headache. He grabbed a79Please respect copyright.PENANA7hL8muWV5X
glass of water, placing it on his head to cool down the swelling. With his79Please respect copyright.PENANASZw2abFJwt
quicker healing it should go away after about an hour, so he quickly washed his79Please respect copyright.PENANAPA43SrLaVu
face and changed his clothes before taking his spot next to Shea. Moments his79Please respect copyright.PENANA6HWmwMkJxf
eyes were closed, and he was gently snoring away.
…
A cold breeze tickled his nose79Please respect copyright.PENANAJnn7zzs6wV
causing him to sneeze himself awake. As his eyes focused, he soon realized that79Please respect copyright.PENANADFlWzt5Nei
he wasn’t in his room. He was lying on the grass which surrounded a large lake.79Please respect copyright.PENANANUBn4ZcN9Q
There were trees all over the place along with a random wooden table in the79Please respect copyright.PENANA5D0lGNBvAh
middle of the clearing. Within the lake was a large wooden dock, but the water79Please respect copyright.PENANADCxAbU3FZ5
was what intrigued him the most. It was crystal blue, but he couldn’t see more79Please respect copyright.PENANAVz2TYQJ8aj
than a few inches down before it was swallowed by black. He could feel79Please respect copyright.PENANAE5KbsMfN3n
something swimming below the surface, but he couldn’t tell what it was.79Please respect copyright.PENANAcLJ2Yeoo1y
However, it was very large and hungry. The question was though, how did he get79Please respect copyright.PENANA75KoF7UPXO
here and how did he know?
He got up from the ground feeling79Please respect copyright.PENANAbLG6PPGdsn
some sort of compulsion to head towards the table. As he grew closer, he saw79Please respect copyright.PENANAyeAaL9x2nG
someone sitting there as if she has appeared from thin air. She had tanned79Please respect copyright.PENANAIPE1i3n1MB
skin, long brown hair, and was wearing clothing that didn’t quite fit being79Please respect copyright.PENANArOqhoH3PI8
inside of a forest. She wore a sun dress without shoes or sleeves. As he walked79Please respect copyright.PENANAhtYWV1F5bh
closer, he could feel the heat emanating from her body.
“Vander.” Her voice was soft, much79Please respect copyright.PENANAZODI5XBjXi
like a whisper. Recognition flooded his body, but why would she be here? He79Please respect copyright.PENANA3hXMXLFbBi
didn’t have any sort of connection with her.
“Why are you here?” he asked. He79Please respect copyright.PENANAjBamdrXhLg
looked around before he said something else. “Wherever here is.”
“You don’t recognize it?” Atza79Please respect copyright.PENANANHuzsAVdYp
smiled. “Though I guess not everyone can enter their hidden world, so I’m not79Please respect copyright.PENANAlRnTfnhcqF
sure why I’m surprised.” This wasn’t like the Atza he had grown up hearing79Please respect copyright.PENANAkpOvbGVVl0
about. She was kind and gentle, not the hot-headed firebird from the myths and79Please respect copyright.PENANAGBWb7YqNYM
stories.
“Hidden world?” She motioned for79Please respect copyright.PENANAWj7OoDfnPL
him to sit at the table, so he did. “I guess this feels a little familiar to79Please respect copyright.PENANAqxPCf9i6v8
me, but I’ve never seen it.”
“Hidden worlds tend to reflect how79Please respect copyright.PENANA2I7FSlOZWO
people are as well as the things that matter to them.” She explained.79Please respect copyright.PENANAEmmAra611X
“According to this you prefer tranquility and relaxation, being surrounded by79Please respect copyright.PENANAecl36QAjYb
the woods as well as the gentle lapping of water against the shore. It’s all79Please respect copyright.PENANA90G9DlfRuc
very soothing.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve79Please respect copyright.PENANANAHKLRP1TJ
felt calm enough to relax.” He explained.
“And that’s why you and I are79Please respect copyright.PENANAk1z1rXybDD
here.” She beamed. “I wanted to talk to you when you are at your calmest, not79Please respect copyright.PENANAEmCeQiER4b
when the demon my niece gave you is constantly whispering in your ear.”
“You know about that?” she nodded79Please respect copyright.PENANANJa1EHGGUk
her head. She went on to explain that every single one of Unna’s chosen had a79Please respect copyright.PENANAsJdrBW9If5
demon they had to fight against almost all the time. It was a special little79Please respect copyright.PENANAMYkqSJHb6R
gift she gave them to try to get them to use her powers all the time, to give79Please respect copyright.PENANASxhWKxQH5Q
in to their inner thoughts and desires. It made it easier for her to control79Please respect copyright.PENANAwkQkjOJQUJ
them that way. “Charming.” He muttered, but he already knew all that. She must79Please respect copyright.PENANAH0C9KhARMF
have sensed his thoughts because she smiled, then said:
“Did you know your demon is inside79Please respect copyright.PENANAWPOG0polOY
that lake and that’s why you can’t see more than a few feet in?” Vander looked79Please respect copyright.PENANAwoeBOBlWJx
at her then shook his head. Grinning, she snapped her fingers. Suddenly he was79Please respect copyright.PENANAGfjaN8Bv2y
in the middle of the very cold water at the center of the lake. She waved at79Please respect copyright.PENANAJ1Ujl4FQVn
him from the shore. “You better start swimming before he gets you.”
As soon as the words touched his79Please respect copyright.PENANASyzGL6deD1
ears, he could feel a very strong presence coming towards him from under the79Please respect copyright.PENANAInfreOLwv7
water. Fear filled his body as he started to swim as fast as he could. A wave79Please respect copyright.PENANARPTN7HkKqB
of energy slammed into him propelling him forward but knocking him away from79Please respect copyright.PENANAyU46EpaL5L
the docks. The water ripped as large ridges appeared on the back of something79Please respect copyright.PENANAY0DPYdQCqC
truly monstrous. It was coming towards him, hunting him as if he were prey.79Please respect copyright.PENANA6CBOAltmkl
Vander started swimming away from the fish, but the creature was quick. It79Please respect copyright.PENANAWuECk0Xp71
quickly got ahead of Vander then turned around to collide head on. The head79Please respect copyright.PENANAjkh0gtevk6
broke the water, revealing small eyes and a large mouth filled with rows upon79Please respect copyright.PENANAONOmf4kMzK
rows of teeth.
He did the only thing he could at79Please respect copyright.PENANA3NEcamRMxF
that moment. He slapped a bunch of water into the demon’s eyes causing it to79Please respect copyright.PENANAYvsSpbSll9
veer off course because it could no longer see. The large tail slammed into79Please respect copyright.PENANAjdvNtb4zvk
Vander’s stomach knocking him out of the water back onto the ground where Atza79Please respect copyright.PENANAp4K2dBHTfi
stood smiling down at him.
“That was close.” She grinned.
“You almost got me killed.” He79Please respect copyright.PENANABAVRlDCDn7
snapped. He got to his feet, but paused as he realized he wasn’t hurt. He79Please respect copyright.PENANAuhAZ51r6BY
looked back at the lake to see that it was perfect still once again.
“As long as you fear the demon it79Please respect copyright.PENANATx4RcUdZTr
will keep coming for you.” She explained. “You need to learn to control your79Please respect copyright.PENANA5bNf9qhvlt
emotions and put aside your pride to learn to ask for help.” She cupped his79Please respect copyright.PENANAkIh8GxRXzw
head in her hands. “This world is relying on you Vander. We need you.” He79Please respect copyright.PENANAxzkrOIQO55
carefully removed his head from her hands.
“The deities have told me that for79Please respect copyright.PENANAMrEbG1OK0s
several months now.” He snorted. “But now when I need them, they are nowhere to79Please respect copyright.PENANADFftD7pg5y
be seen.”
“My family is embroiled in a79Please respect copyright.PENANATDsCtf8gqP
struggle amongst themselves.” She explained. “I’m not part of this land so I79Please respect copyright.PENANAyzVmUfsMTc
don’t have the same restrictions, but I also cannot interfere with what they79Please respect copyright.PENANASxvIavsvJW
do. I’m only here to help guide you.”
“Guide me how?”
“I can’t explain more than that at79Please respect copyright.PENANAVpdOn3h19x
this time.” She smiled sadly. “But you will need the help of the demon before79Please respect copyright.PENANAprBoLs113N
all this is over and if you can’t, we will all die.” He opened his mouth to ask79Please respect copyright.PENANAePVoS39rZQ
more, but she placed her hand on his chest. Once again, he felt himself flying79Please respect copyright.PENANAOnEevHPfRS
away, but this time it was up towards the sky.
He bolted away as he heard a knock79Please respect copyright.PENANAATzCid40tB
at the door.
79Please respect copyright.PENANA8Un7xfOA2H
79Please respect copyright.PENANAcQqqa3NulX
79Please respect copyright.PENANAma1ROwayAj
79Please respect copyright.PENANANkvM8ReItM
79Please respect copyright.PENANA8FPU6cukmO
79Please respect copyright.PENANA83MErjGa3f
79Please respect copyright.PENANAJFCV4pNqYv
79Please respect copyright.PENANAhqYxbCgAfH
79Please respect copyright.PENANAuHtYSMocRC
79Please respect copyright.PENANAvBs87appn9
79Please respect copyright.PENANAr8h0HFQZTY
79Please respect copyright.PENANAiFm5Aka1jZ
79Please respect copyright.PENANA8Z8zkTfEgo
79Please respect copyright.PENANAu3BfPHq0Ns
79Please respect copyright.PENANAEh8mM2Ydho
79Please respect copyright.PENANAOGkWUU3nLR
79Please respect copyright.PENANAvjX6n4weHK
79Please respect copyright.PENANAj9P2lq9nwB
79Please respect copyright.PENANAQU6FzkydUv
79Please respect copyright.PENANAATEPnSLpO5
79Please respect copyright.PENANAm5uo6AxQ4U
79Please respect copyright.PENANAS1d5YyDDid
79Please respect copyright.PENANANs2zLxVQc6
79Please respect copyright.PENANAivAQDsdeDW
79Please respect copyright.PENANAZXqZo6fqRo
79Please respect copyright.PENANAZNPNlF7u9z
79Please respect copyright.PENANAtnxPKOnm1K
79Please respect copyright.PENANA3gwNGSPiDy
79Please respect copyright.PENANALoOnuE41SU
79Please respect copyright.PENANAtFrbiFRWW5
79Please respect copyright.PENANARA9hkCE4vs
79Please respect copyright.PENANAHnAqzDRr0N
79Please respect copyright.PENANAOPhQhZh9fJ
79Please respect copyright.PENANADSrN34vkAT
79Please respect copyright.PENANAsYsw5KrCDJ
79Please respect copyright.PENANAHildiStTZ5
79Please respect copyright.PENANAQHS15taIWj
79Please respect copyright.PENANADaMkwvrUWW
79Please respect copyright.PENANAbvB2estdWp
79Please respect copyright.PENANAZy4hyE1qpy
79Please respect copyright.PENANAsNs5UpO75H
79Please respect copyright.PENANAmAL98xBST8
79Please respect copyright.PENANAUQLzNshMqw
79Please respect copyright.PENANALhoKlfIGvA
79Please respect copyright.PENANA51eilo6QOH
79Please respect copyright.PENANAD7ke7TcmlQ
79Please respect copyright.PENANARwn8zVCGqV
79Please respect copyright.PENANAUVARrCMPrR
79Please respect copyright.PENANAJigx6Xy86R
79Please respect copyright.PENANAijWWzp347G
79Please respect copyright.PENANAUjQUh5a5wm
79Please respect copyright.PENANAyoCjOHy1pP
79Please respect copyright.PENANAeO6T1PVF5i
79Please respect copyright.PENANA4qmvSw2IgP
79Please respect copyright.PENANA1Z9X9cc57c
79Please respect copyright.PENANAYwyi8clnAz
79Please respect copyright.PENANADFpBC1tEJc
79Please respect copyright.PENANApgQsZ74JHb
79Please respect copyright.PENANAEH1GJ6v5WC
79Please respect copyright.PENANAiji1CQRohE
79Please respect copyright.PENANAbEWpjee9Tq
79Please respect copyright.PENANA1KathWtDhT
79Please respect copyright.PENANAFYvLxEgpIP
79Please respect copyright.PENANA2tdbYHrcW3
79Please respect copyright.PENANA2GLTDVL965
79Please respect copyright.PENANAoiMf1aIRYq
79Please respect copyright.PENANASmmGQpb8HN
79Please respect copyright.PENANAdAjDGjH7Tw
79Please respect copyright.PENANApvjzPqYS6p
79Please respect copyright.PENANAUHH6ir3nZj
79Please respect copyright.PENANAFfaiDm91fY
79Please respect copyright.PENANAAMSiuhg6kw
79Please respect copyright.PENANAZ6JejZCOyH
79Please respect copyright.PENANAAKExUlYxZA
79Please respect copyright.PENANAL1ufnJsB8k
79Please respect copyright.PENANAZMuokV7M0g
79Please respect copyright.PENANA3wu3BnITUs
79Please respect copyright.PENANAGE1zKn3X1r
79Please respect copyright.PENANAT7jS50E7vS
79Please respect copyright.PENANAdj5Uu1YQRV
79Please respect copyright.PENANA4e61FuaTcR
79Please respect copyright.PENANA92ghwbMIHG
ns18.191.35.15da2