Chapter 40
Vander rushed out from behind the tree63Please respect copyright.PENANAe0rjguQrKY
and immediately rolled to the ground as two arrows embedded themselves in the63Please respect copyright.PENANAgPlJ6wo3MM
dirt right where he had been standing. Despite being assassins and spies, it63Please respect copyright.PENANA1z6cfcm8kN
seemed as though the Green Serpents were crack shots with the bow, but he63Please respect copyright.PENANASnLvOx4GbU
decided to see what would happen when they faced someone who was expecting63Please respect copyright.PENANAwpMiCjldCw
them. He scooped up a couple of rocks from off the ground and palmed them as he63Please respect copyright.PENANAcqU24xxX9E
charged his enemies.
More63Please respect copyright.PENANAwr7tm4TPt1
arrows were thrown at him, but it seemed as though they were drawn quickly63Please respect copyright.PENANA0xWi7IupcI
without much aim. Some whizzed over his head while others got stuck in the63Please respect copyright.PENANAIxm27bIT48
ground a few feet in front of him. One came dangerously close to him, but he63Please respect copyright.PENANAwjkG1msAqu
smacked it away with his sword. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted some63Please respect copyright.PENANA6vCxWJQeZV
movement. Taking quick aim, he threw a rock hitting a Serpent’s shooting hand.63Please respect copyright.PENANAy55Xk76uDx
With a cry of pain, he dropped the bow, but drew a knife instead.
“I’ll63Please respect copyright.PENANAGPqn19yt0j
gut you.” He snarled and rushed him with the dagger poised low. Vander stepped63Please respect copyright.PENANARHUTLVt8ZV
back as the dagger was thrusted forward. He grabbed the serpent’s arm and63Please respect copyright.PENANAWViQRLuh3H
yanked the poor man off his feet before slamming his palm into the guy’s nose.63Please respect copyright.PENANA4vRzvVrGO1
Blood spurted as his nose broke and embedded itself into the brain, killing him63Please respect copyright.PENANALRBDodfL27
instantly. He quickly lifted the body up as two arrows hit him in the back. He63Please respect copyright.PENANA507dEIs5E5
rushed forward using the freshly made corpse as protection until he could see63Please respect copyright.PENANA4MU3Jyve76
who he was looking for: three Serpents standing in front of him.
Unlike63Please respect copyright.PENANAbVyqQCgFSE
the one he had just killed, these three looked like veterans. They had deep63Please respect copyright.PENANAplzByz2ZXX
green face paint and wore outfits that helped them blend into their63Please respect copyright.PENANAdJnxJLuMHd
surroundings. There was a hardened look in their eyes as they stared at him.63Please respect copyright.PENANAXnVNbNBP4t
Knowing their bows would be useless if close combat, they lowered them to the63Please respect copyright.PENANAmpDea3ug8n
ground then removed their quivers. Each one removed a large knife from the63Please respect copyright.PENANAzKtTOaqO1N
sheathe strapped to their backs.
“You63Please respect copyright.PENANAnEEvdCaOXC
might be a Blade, but you aren’t a match for all three of us.” One of them63Please respect copyright.PENANA6IxSyKJe4X
growled. As if practiced, they spread out keeping Vander between them. From63Please respect copyright.PENANAwtt5MzYUOF
here he could tell that the knives were poisoned, one wayward scratch would63Please respect copyright.PENANAca0zAehlrP
send him to the afterlife, but he couldn’t stay here as he was. That was just63Please respect copyright.PENANASL8NSz9KAE
asking to be killed.
Vander63Please respect copyright.PENANA1TlQZ0w51p
threw the dead serpent at the one in front of him. As he fell scream in a63Please respect copyright.PENANAOiGCJFIwIW
tangle of bodies, Vander went to the left to handle the one there. He slashed63Please respect copyright.PENANAZZpEdyMTX9
with his sword, but the serpent was nimble. He rolled over the sword strike,63Please respect copyright.PENANA4WQMERsvnR
landing on his feet. He stabbed with the daggers, but Vander grabbed the wrist,63Please respect copyright.PENANAhRMk3uXYoa
guiding it away from him. He kicked out the back of the leg sending the Serpent63Please respect copyright.PENANAi9usVKwfz9
to the ground. As he fell, he brought his boot up catching Vander in the63Please respect copyright.PENANA5xicjqSX90
stomach and sending him flying onto his back. He rolled and brought his sword63Please respect copyright.PENANATgzx1lZ0B6
up in time to block the second serpent’s daggers. He pushed him stumbling63Please respect copyright.PENANAS0NvtKH4N9
sideways then scrambled to his feet. Before the serpent could adjust, Vander63Please respect copyright.PENANA6TDd6Y9Oxl
slashed his back open with his sword.
Blood63Please respect copyright.PENANACXXDmuibjs
sprayed as the man stumbled and fell to the ground. There was no time to check63Please respect copyright.PENANA1sI21WzhKu
to make sure he was dead as another was on him. The man was a whirlwind with63Please respect copyright.PENANAwkqhcuKb7X
his daggers, spinning, slashing, and stabbing. The dagger cut his pants,63Please respect copyright.PENANAdx97AdEfQ2
jacket, and shirt, but luckily it wasn’t deep enough to draw blood, but soon63Please respect copyright.PENANAPSmjigOD9u
enough he could get past his guard. He wanted to keep one alive for63Please respect copyright.PENANAeX1VR9lsaL
interrogation, but that didn’t seem like it would be likely. So, he waited for63Please respect copyright.PENANASsFaAFF0ve
a brief opening before cutting down with the sword. With a scream, one of the63Please respect copyright.PENANAXOen0CylLm
serpents’ hands hit the ground in a bloody heap. Before he could scream more,63Please respect copyright.PENANAnf9mD81OyD
Vander cut his throat.
“Die!” The serpent who had been63Please respect copyright.PENANAshXWOvfmoV
tangled up jumped from behind him. Panic raced in Vander’s chest. He had63Please respect copyright.PENANAymKgocg1Hh
forgotten about him and now it was too late for him to protect himself as the63Please respect copyright.PENANANXDk17uWhk
daggers raced towards his throat. Acting on instinct, he lunged underneath the63Please respect copyright.PENANAl9WcZJ6ZHN
daggers grabbing the serpent around the waist bringing them both to the ground.63Please respect copyright.PENANAWBa1HAD7AS
Vander’s fingers turned to claws as he tore out the man’s throat.
He could feel the demon clawing63Please respect copyright.PENANAIs4vnJtjyR
closer to the surface. It wanted out, a way to release its aggressions, but now63Please respect copyright.PENANAIvLofUTViS
was not the time. Vander bit down on the impulse shoving the beast back into63Please respect copyright.PENANAu2obce9SpG
the recesses of his soul. Soon, but not now. He had to get Kiara and Eliza back63Please respect copyright.PENANADfT1a2MuvO
first then all hell could break loose.
Vander spent some time going63Please respect copyright.PENANAqfUqi9GIS4
through the pockets of the dead serpents to see if they had left behind any63Please respect copyright.PENANAFVnMpCPfBy
tools for him to use. He found several poisoned knives and needles, but the63Please respect copyright.PENANAYKx686XYnm
rest were weapons that would be too much for him to carry so he discarded them.
Before leaving63Please respect copyright.PENANAu87PDasQNz
the area, he dragged Briar and Forest’s bodies back towards the road. He never63Please respect copyright.PENANAtFTrRUX49J
should have brought them here. This was his penance and his alone. Now they63Please respect copyright.PENANACvp1ppj0Vq
were dead. He would have to carry that burden, but he swore he would make the63Please respect copyright.PENANA40H284bEA9
Serpents, and Eve, pay for what they had done.
He remembered the63Please respect copyright.PENANAvndX5nSzQL
village from his travels across the country. He knew that it would be heavily63Please respect copyright.PENANANxdCvgwoJx
fortified, especially now that the challenge had been issues towards him to get63Please respect copyright.PENANAAhJ6Fm9PEW
the queen back. He would have to come prepared. So, he scooped up a bow along with63Please respect copyright.PENANAnQbDb7gJNF
a quiver of arrows. They would know he was there, but only after some of them63Please respect copyright.PENANAutq2AZVT0u
had died.
The sun was63Please respect copyright.PENANA2x5JgcLlAO
beginning to rise when he spotted the walls through the forest. The village was63Please respect copyright.PENANAlGZk6n9t1S
aptly named because it bordered the forest. This was a hunting village, taking63Please respect copyright.PENANAZcv6KAMIkx
out small game and deer to feed everyone. He wasn’t quite sure when the63Please respect copyright.PENANAAdpx9yPBN3
Serpents moved in, but it must have been recently as they have had no reports63Please respect copyright.PENANASeu9PfHwQD
of the village being under attack.
As he looked at63Please respect copyright.PENANAKCEinpWSr3
the front gate, he noticed several men wearing green cloaks and talking amongst63Please respect copyright.PENANAjaH511D3Lf
themselves. Without caring about who they were, Vander notched an arrow to his63Please respect copyright.PENANAKCbQFpsLfD
bow, took aim, then fired. The arrow took a guard in the throat and before the63Please respect copyright.PENANA7La8RFy1MH
others could react, several more arrows flew into parts of their body. One took63Please respect copyright.PENANAmwoQFkL81C
an arrow in the shoulder, while the third took one through the knee. Both went63Please respect copyright.PENANAANMJJEJgOo
down screaming, but they weren’t killing shots. It was enough to bring more63Please respect copyright.PENANAtHqdcTB1FJ
Serpents out for him to kill.
They were pouring out of the village63Please respect copyright.PENANABCgIXhHpYU
now to get vengeance for their fallen comrades. He only had time to take down63Please respect copyright.PENANAvo9bTN3N1e
two more before the rest were on him. He tossed aside the bow and quiver and63Please respect copyright.PENANASccQk5LJd8
drew his sword to strike against his attackers.
The first one went down with barely63Please respect copyright.PENANAiFsnyaaQAk
any effort. He sidestepped out of the way and ran him through. He blocked a63Please respect copyright.PENANAOAJRRUjgZJ
strike from the next one then pushed him aside, but soon he was overpowered by63Please respect copyright.PENANAoJFyUFHQvO
the sheer volume of people. As he raised his sword, one kicked his wrist63Please respect copyright.PENANA91mFF494OJ
sending it spiraling out of his hand. He was punched in the jaw and knocked to63Please respect copyright.PENANAPiyMmF8x78
the ground. He tried to fight back, but several pinned his arms and pointed a63Please respect copyright.PENANA3JxsbtHNB7
sword right at his neck.
“Stop!” Vander heard Eve shout. She63Please respect copyright.PENANAuosyvZgHOd
pushed her way through the group and if he held out any hope that she hadn’t63Please respect copyright.PENANAkGhIIRy8cn
betrayed them the look in her eyes combined with what she was wearing sealed63Please respect copyright.PENANAmSrUI1tCeS
her betrayal in stone.
She wore a sleeveless green shirt63Please respect copyright.PENANAt72Y2XfCfx
showing off lean muscles and a massive snake tattoo going down her left arm.63Please respect copyright.PENANAKt2ZTib4FM
Her hair was pulled back but covered with a green hood. She wore two daggers on63Please respect copyright.PENANAF0YZXKWhk7
her belt.
“So, you did betray us.” Vander spat.
“Betray you?” she laughed. “I was63Please respect copyright.PENANAbrZbKLJs0L
never apart of you.” Now that he got a good look at her, he realized that she63Please respect copyright.PENANAkYGwJ9BZaa
had been messing with him from the beginning. She was broader than she looked63Please respect copyright.PENANAAxfjqEJjuN
before, more heavily muscled. She wasn’t sixteen, she was likely someone older63Please respect copyright.PENANAv1RyQxDggM
than he was. It also explained the gaps in the recruits’ skills. She had been63Please respect copyright.PENANA55GFjIeJpk
playing them for fools since the very beginning.
“They trusted you,” Vander struggled.63Please respect copyright.PENANA5AJmf8ioCz
“I trusted you.”63Please respect copyright.PENANA16wDj7YSO4
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“I’ll have to make a visit to63Please respect copyright.PENANA5poqbSbUFo
whoever your informant is.” She grinned. “He almost ruined everything, but63Please respect copyright.PENANAQXA6F5ItN2
luckily you were so easy to fool. Get him up.” Vander was hauled to his feet by63Please respect copyright.PENANAjKI7V6UDJ3
several strong hands. “We will take what we need from you then I will spend a63Please respect copyright.PENANAstyGdJKiz1
lot more time cutting you to pieces. I’ve always wanted to hear you scream.”
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Maybe, just maybe, Peyton will come63Please respect copyright.PENANA5Qnh0BjlkG
here himself that way he could show everyone that he was innocent. He would63Please respect copyright.PENANA0RVOAiOotw
have to bide his time and wait, however. Hopefully his reinforcements would63Please respect copyright.PENANAZLRd1rgySE
arrive to save them, but he shouldn’t count on it. If Peyton knew they were63Please respect copyright.PENANA0RN2ZKbSTo
mobilizing the army he would make it quick. For now, he willed his body to63Please respect copyright.PENANADglgM5QB5x
relax. However, he wasn’t going to let them get away with it. He and the demon63Please respect copyright.PENANAFgyd40vU3J
were going to have a lot of fun before they were killed.