Chapter 24
Vander hated the rain. It had79Please respect copyright.PENANA6TZrtcmvVw
rained ever since the first night he had fled into the Orange Fox after the79Please respect copyright.PENANAgJMAkgB6kU
King had been assassinated by Peyton Cranton, but he had taken the fall. He had79Please respect copyright.PENANAJTcqaOOk6f
been forced into hiding like a rat while the person who had gotten away with79Please respect copyright.PENANAWLMpncCqE3
lived like a King, manipulating everything around him.
The council wasted no time dubbing79Please respect copyright.PENANA5uA7E1H600
him a criminal and giving him a bounty of five hundred thousand gold coins for79Please respect copyright.PENANAy60fHcCUW4
his capture. Wanted posters had gone up on every corner and every house within79Please respect copyright.PENANA0qxR4Mxeo4
the outer ring. He was a pariah in his own city. Within the first few days he79Please respect copyright.PENANA1KyE8lP3L2
had decided that he would take matters into his own hands. He would act and79Please respect copyright.PENANAiQ1QcXQYR8
gather the evidence he needed to clear his name then bring Peyton to justice.79Please respect copyright.PENANAcZauxyAllD
Weeks of careful investigation had brought him here, to a single story house79Please respect copyright.PENANAJz60pONrQF
close to the Northern District.
Rain splashed79Please respect copyright.PENANAuJkVEqQ6rP
down around him as lightning crackled above. The hairs on his arm rose due to79Please respect copyright.PENANAzrdXEV18z5
the static in the air. Any wrong move could draw attention to where he was79Please respect copyright.PENANANTlRt9nuOI
hiding, and he did not want Rolous to see him. He held his breath while79Please respect copyright.PENANADb0gEGq5X0
stilling his heartbeat hoping against all odds that he would stay unseen. He79Please respect copyright.PENANAKyCs2wS3ib
watched as people ran for cover, but his eyes were focused on one house where79Please respect copyright.PENANAKLkzUEX0Dh
his intelligence told him a group of Green Serpents were hiding out. Over the79Please respect copyright.PENANA8fvw52gL33
past several nights he made a mental note of how many people entered the house79Please respect copyright.PENANAlT1QLle1yz
as well as how many had left. Tonight, must have been a special night because79Please respect copyright.PENANAeGEhCfGdDv
ten people had gone into a house where only three would normally fit. It was79Please respect copyright.PENANAzH6RcRMGcX
time to move.
The man dropped down from his79Please respect copyright.PENANAG4nvKHla9t
perch, the roof of the house opposite to his target, and landed on the ground79Please respect copyright.PENANAtBFbsMFMhb
with barely a noise. The shadows clung to him as he crouched then ran his way79Please respect copyright.PENANAjlzdWygBp8
across the street. Luckily it was dark, and no one would be out on the street79Please respect copyright.PENANAQCg0FvDPpM
this late at night. He didn’t want to have to ruin some poor soul’s night79Please respect copyright.PENANAKqwrMp9PwG
because he was careless. He ran towards the door then placed his ear against79Please respect copyright.PENANASAlxPOaTzE
the hoping to hear what was being said.
“We have new orders from Fang,” a79Please respect copyright.PENANAP5HR1l1w0z
woman whispered. She was a few floors down, but with his hearing he had no79Please respect copyright.PENANAI1UAeiIOQ1
problem making out what was being said. He had discovered Fang a couple of79Please respect copyright.PENANAigGY06pZYX
weeks ago during his first raid, but he didn’t know who they were. However, it79Please respect copyright.PENANAjqtPoSlj5G
seemed as though they gave the orders to the Serpents in the city. They were79Please respect copyright.PENANAE60KecAezi
the ones he needed to reach to gain any information.
“What are they?” someone asked.
“Seems as though out benefactor79Please respect copyright.PENANAJgAGwFHc4J
has told them that we need to capture the missing Blade, Vander, alive.” She79Please respect copyright.PENANAdq4fyGuggS
explained. “We only have a couple of weeks. What should we do?”
He listened as they began79Please respect copyright.PENANAGWvglUgccD
brainstorming all the way they could find Vander. Some of the ideas were crazy.79Please respect copyright.PENANAQCfuDDiqJq
Someone suggested they go door to door and threaten the lives of everyone79Please respect copyright.PENANAk6gsYZ0BMi
inside to see if they knew anything. Another mentioned going to visit Julianna79Please respect copyright.PENANAwYsMEpfucn
since the two of them had been close, she might have an idea where he was79Please respect copyright.PENANAHdypTVw31f
hiding out. A third mentioned going to Ross and paying him for the information.79Please respect copyright.PENANAWzq8SXyBYo
Unknown to all inside, that was the only way they would be able to find Vander,79Please respect copyright.PENANA3Dadx64T2j
but they would never get the chance to find out. He would deal with them right79Please respect copyright.PENANAhdaA8KGVuP
now.
He quickly looked through the79Please respect copyright.PENANA9n3SV3jCgo
cracks to find two guards standing there with their backs to the door. Only79Please respect copyright.PENANAaztAbAH2VE
novices wouldn’t be outside to guard the door, even if they didn’t want to draw79Please respect copyright.PENANAMPS7qODbUI
attention to themselves. This was foolish, so he decided to teach them a79Please respect copyright.PENANAR9pk2VRYwI
lesson.
He carefully walked away from the79Please respect copyright.PENANAmRgmlyphAZ
door then steeled himself as he charged forward. He shoulders check the door79Please respect copyright.PENANANnOMPuXAsM
causing it to fly off its hinges. Normally people would have shattered their79Please respect copyright.PENANAUTMkI7lDld
shoulders, but he wasn’t normal. He was blessed with the powers of Unna and the79Please respect copyright.PENANAxHtoy2TvAx
demon inside craved blood.
“Intru…” One of the guards shouted79Please respect copyright.PENANAh1UPNX6660
out, but he didn’t get far. Vander shoved a dagger in his neck silencing him79Please respect copyright.PENANA91bg7dqF3P
almost immediately. The other guard didn’t have time to draw their sword before79Please respect copyright.PENANAiA2EwCq4ni
Vander was upon him tearing out his neck with bare hands. As blood dripped down79Please respect copyright.PENANAXaJsXgoPWr
from the cartilage, Vander threw it at the next person who came up the stairs79Please respect copyright.PENANA2BcU7hSCgV
that had been dug through the floor. They cried out as blood splattered their79Please respect copyright.PENANALo5MS1bW0U
eyes, but they wouldn’t have the chance to wipe it off. Vander jumped, kicking79Please respect copyright.PENANAL1afLuW1Wj
him down the stairs, sending them both into the darkness below.
He landed on the blinded man’s79Please respect copyright.PENANAOtDWgjeE3s
chest. He heard the satisfying crunch as bone shattered, breaking his back. Vander79Please respect copyright.PENANA014VHIc9bN
heard the heart stop beating as the final breath left the man’s body. Vander79Please respect copyright.PENANAhMLnJdcupj
looked up at the Serpents who looked shocked, but it would wear sooner rather79Please respect copyright.PENANAgiRyezWNHM
than later. He was lucky that they had cornered themselves into a very small79Please respect copyright.PENANAMHkd3vS2qd
room or this would have gone badly.
“Damn it.” The female speaker drew79Please respect copyright.PENANAlMugBacp8G
her sword. “It’s him. Don’t just stand there, kill him!”
Vander lunged forward grabbing the79Please respect copyright.PENANA75G2j4iQHP
closest person’s face then slamming them against the wall. He quickly removed79Please respect copyright.PENANAlBzf4yshJr
his dagger, gave three quick stabs in his chest, before tossing him into79Please respect copyright.PENANApkO9F9xHUq
someone else. The two bodies collided then fell onto the ground. He ducked as79Please respect copyright.PENANAm1Q0LIhSwZ
the female swung her sword at his head. The sword collided with a wooden shelf,79Please respect copyright.PENANAegmEmkRMEj
but she pulled it out rather effortlessly. He jumped forward, but she was79Please respect copyright.PENANAJeOEZfSwB0
waiting for him. She dropped the sword then met him head on.
She was stronger than she looked.79Please respect copyright.PENANA4LYXlCGTHR
She grabbed him by the shoulders and started to walk forward. He could feel his79Please respect copyright.PENANAnmP2fdD1eN
feet dragging backwards. She grinned at him, then taunted him by calling him79Please respect copyright.PENANAKtzOL1CDbH
weak and a pushover. The demon couldn’t stand being belittled so it whispered79Please respect copyright.PENANA9Lc2Vk6tLR
into Vander’s ear telling him to tear her throat out. He ignored the whisper.79Please respect copyright.PENANAEqfzPoN2iS
Instead, he grabbed her then pulled her towards him knocking her off balance.79Please respect copyright.PENANAixKjJ70MnL
He fell backwards, bringing his foot up into her stomach, then threw her over79Please respect copyright.PENANAcZfPF9MzdL
his head. She landed on the man Vander had previously knocked over.
“Bastard.” A sword swung down79Please respect copyright.PENANASL8Nty67AX
aiming to split Vander in half. He brought his hands up clapping down on the79Please respect copyright.PENANAFIMq9zEX8H
weapon. He felt the edge bite into the palms of his hand, but the gift he had79Please respect copyright.PENANA4JfiNPa5wu
would heal them with minimal scaring. Vander’s leg lashed out at the fingers79Please respect copyright.PENANAwPo72zD3of
holding the sword. He heard a satisfying crunch followed by a scream as the man79Please respect copyright.PENANANIFJ5mc2s5
stumbled backwards holding his broken fingers.
Vander spun to his feet then swung79Please respect copyright.PENANAXw07okjnKf
the sword hilt into the man’s jaw. He involuntarily spun around as pieces of79Please respect copyright.PENANAgF4BzfjnOc
teeth flew from his mouth clattering onto the ground. He fell to his knees79Please respect copyright.PENANAvP81spBUVL
clutching his mouth as blood flowed freely between his mangled fingers.
He quickly surveyed the scene79Please respect copyright.PENANAv7vf50hFxV
around him. Two were still trying to get to their feet, four had been killed,79Please respect copyright.PENANAg4yw2MRehv
and one was out of commission for the time being. That left three unaccounted79Please respect copyright.PENANAQDCFthPbbR
for. He could see them downstairs, but there was nowhere else they could have79Please respect copyright.PENANA6v1bRZxmow
gone unless there was another hidden path leading out of the house towards the79Please respect copyright.PENANAcCOY33sBTc
streets of Eluvia. He would have to see where the path led, but first he had to79Please respect copyright.PENANAOsTKwd1W5p
deal with the survivors.
Vander flipped the sword around79Please respect copyright.PENANAQ3z2B4ZzUC
catching it out of midair. The man with the broken jaw didn’t put up a fight as79Please respect copyright.PENANAqDBx9ghwqX
he shoved the tip through the man’s neck. Blood gurgled from his mouth as79Please respect copyright.PENANAJ90rRNkkm2
saliva and blood blended. Vander kicked the sword free ignoring as his enemy79Please respect copyright.PENANAbyu8nip4hg
drowned in his own blood.
The two made it to their feet, but79Please respect copyright.PENANAXBmsldYT9Q
they looked nervously at each other as they looked over the carnage surrounding79Please respect copyright.PENANADmSuekSaBk
them. He had only been down here for a few minutes, but five of them were79Please respect copyright.PENANAyHuSjKmhVu
already dead. It didn’t bode well for them, but they would have been a disgrace79Please respect copyright.PENANADeOu577nR7
to their reputation if they surrendered. The two of them exchanged glances79Please respect copyright.PENANADmwNVbIvWV
before charging Vander.
He brought his sword up to block a79Please respect copyright.PENANAbRDOrrx5x8
strike then kicked the other person away from him. He lunged to the side making79Please respect copyright.PENANAqDdQpXfgDE
sure to keep both of his enemies either next to or in front of each other. They79Please respect copyright.PENANAvxYoEfEEvc
were hesitant to attack while their partner was on the way, which made his job79Please respect copyright.PENANAv7ZHMjGdpS
a lot easier. As he blocked another sword strike, he grabbed a dagger from his79Please respect copyright.PENANAjTKscFj3R1
belt and shoved it through her wrists sticking them together. She dropped the79Please respect copyright.PENANAaqnQ4MLWM7
sword as she screamed in pain. He removed the dagger then jammed it through the79Please respect copyright.PENANAZKvw4xt1yL
top of her head. Her eyes rolled back as she slumped over, dead.
As the last Serpent screamed,79Please respect copyright.PENANA62pocTcXZr
Vander spun around and thrust the sword through the space between his arm and79Please respect copyright.PENANAbYpCJREiBV
ribs skewering the Serpent on the Blade. Something wet and sticky hit Vander’s79Please respect copyright.PENANAFzfJedRD7m
back as the body fell into him. Sighing to himself, Vander removed the weapon79Please respect copyright.PENANA75sZkE4Gb2
from his enemy’s chest and stepped out from underneath him. The body hit the79Please respect copyright.PENANARzrF2wM7Nn
ground with a splat. Now that there was no one around him posing a threat to79Please respect copyright.PENANA4A98le3PrN
his safety he decided to look around.
Stepping over the fresh bodies, he79Please respect copyright.PENANAwNUamxIrEf
started his search at the table they were hovering around when he entered.79Please respect copyright.PENANABrnwyasZQ2
There was a smoothed out scroll lying there that seemed to have been undamaged79Please respect copyright.PENANAGxDRWKDh2L
despite all the blood and fighting. He carefully picked it up to read the79Please respect copyright.PENANAlu9VJF6g1c
contents in the low light of the candles. He wasn’t surprised at all when the79Please respect copyright.PENANAJvjgx5720S
contents were just as he overheard. Someone wanted him brought to them alive.79Please respect copyright.PENANA7jzhK4vXjn
He could only think of one person, by why alive? Why not dead? It would be79Please respect copyright.PENANApaCJUVYWHe
easier for Peyton to control the narrative that way.
“You should strike first.”79Please respect copyright.PENANAUF7puKIuRG
Vander ignored the chill traveling down his spine when the voice whispered in79Please respect copyright.PENANAzkjlYXTbVd
his ear. He could always feel the demon trying to take control, even through79Please respect copyright.PENANABjwVMeemG3
all the mental barriers he had put up to protect himself, but it was only79Please respect copyright.PENANAs0o5ewXpsB
recently that he could hear him.
“No,” Vander growled. He rolled79Please respect copyright.PENANAQfCxGhUE11
the paper up before sticking it into the pocket inside of his jacket. “We can’t79Please respect copyright.PENANAuTg4sVRVzz
kill him until I clear my name.”
“Let me take control.”79Please respect copyright.PENANArSbsuJiHie
Vander saw the shadows ripple along the wall. Two dark red eyes looked back at79Please respect copyright.PENANAYLiThWKWEY
him. He turned away, suppressing his fear. He couldn’t give the demon any more79Please respect copyright.PENANANbzgvCZhtW
power over him, he had already become so strong.
“Begone.” He swiped at the shadows79Please respect copyright.PENANAgZZKlEWrZP
erasing the eyes from his mind. His head was filled with laughter that slowly79Please respect copyright.PENANAZ65LxSLW6f
faded. It was a promise that the demon would return to take control. It was79Please respect copyright.PENANABKA8J5HCH8
getting easier to feel tempted ever since he fled, but he had to stay strong79Please respect copyright.PENANANMaK9Rytjg
until he could figure out how to remove him completely.
He took a quick look around but79Please respect copyright.PENANAuWKimShJpG
didn’t see anything else worth grabbing. He went upstairs to check there, but79Please respect copyright.PENANAxw0j7zhBM6
he heard footsteps moving around. He froze as he recognized the sounds of heavy79Please respect copyright.PENANAyLMXMKBxDR
armor clanging on the wooden floor.
“What the hell happened here?” a79Please respect copyright.PENANA8P2qyLKvon
guard asked.
“I don’t know, but go get help.”79Please respect copyright.PENANA03Rg0GW14l
Another said. Vander heard him bent down to check the pulses of one of the79Please respect copyright.PENANAPUeXPOxFjv
guards. “They’re dead. We will have to wait for backup.”
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“Understood.” One guard left while79Please respect copyright.PENANA5FyvZduPTG
the other stayed behind. It wasn’t bravery, it was foolishness. You never knew79Please respect copyright.PENANAzheyUM3soB
if the culprit was still in the house. Someone who could kill at least two79Please respect copyright.PENANA1osCwLEDtI
people was not someone you want to be alone with. The guard overestimated his79Please respect copyright.PENANAupguxXUl6a
abilities and part of Vander wanted to teach the man some hubris, but he wasn’t79Please respect copyright.PENANAKGSfSPUQJK
here for them. As quickly and as quietly as he could he stepped away from the79Please respect copyright.PENANAFdRtDsB431
stairs and down the tunnel.