Chapter 25
The tunnel was cold and dark, but20Please respect copyright.PENANAf0NtWjeO1r
it was straight. There were no split paths or winding for people to hide. It20Please respect copyright.PENANA0pPIXACkmO
looked as though it was just a way for the Serpents to get into their safe20Please respect copyright.PENANApR0NuNFA07
house without arousing suspicion. It didn’t go very far, but he recognized the20Please respect copyright.PENANA9wxyt7S5Kj
smell as soon as he stepped out. He was right by the Brewers guild in the Eastern20Please respect copyright.PENANALbh7t9bN1R
District. Did that mean that Samuel Mills worked with the Serpents or was this20Please respect copyright.PENANAy3mv7uUaRk
just a coincidence? He didn’t believe in20Please respect copyright.PENANAyZGkPFfFZi
coincidences. This was just another piece of the puzzle he needed to solve, but20Please respect copyright.PENANAN47CtbRBnU
not today. This place was even more heavily guarded than the house had been,20Please respect copyright.PENANAUzFPk8lAv7
and he was in no position to fight again. He filed the information away then stuck20Please respect copyright.PENANAEV4qdNt4Gf
to the shadows.
He heard the footsteps of dozens20Please respect copyright.PENANAF299IVtdGo
of guards running down the street shouting orders to one another. He had to20Please respect copyright.PENANAYQX7IcuWw2
press himself up against an alley wall to avoid being seen. Some citizens were20Please respect copyright.PENANAx1eO3DB6e2
waking up due to the noise. The apartment above opened their windows to peer20Please respect copyright.PENANApv1IQpuuuE
down at the street. Vander heard her call out to one of the guards asking what20Please respect copyright.PENANAbrYFgINK5Y
had happened. They said it was just a training exercise, but it was a weak20Please respect copyright.PENANAJKXE4iBOhd
excuse. However, the woman just shrugged her shoulder then slammed the window20Please respect copyright.PENANAngjb8WlrkF
closed.
He gave himself a few extra20Please respect copyright.PENANAPLkttPbThM
minutes to make sure no other guards were headed his way before stepping out20Please respect copyright.PENANA0I4PfxSvBK
and sneaking down the streets.
The only way to blend in the20Please respect copyright.PENANA0QhMGBlY3N
middle of the night is to stick to the dark corners of the city. If he was20Please respect copyright.PENANAgkAfMkaRSG
spotted by a guard, he would most certainly be questioned despite them being20Please respect copyright.PENANA3U2tXRGYf8
called to a potential murder scene. Anyone out right now would arouse suspicion.20Please respect copyright.PENANAztNGqycXlU
That was something he didn’t want. So, he carefully picked paths that he had20Please respect copyright.PENANAhEXVuogmIR
mapped out over the past week that would give him the best chance of remaining20Please respect copyright.PENANArWvOmvUsAh
unseen.
He jumped up onto a fence, biting20Please respect copyright.PENANAexv7lfVnHR
back the pain that the sword had caused. He had to hope no blood got onto the20Please respect copyright.PENANAG05qg93afp
scroll in his pocket. He hadn’t been thinking when he picked it up, but that20Please respect copyright.PENANAz6DhMwCnhz
would be a future problem. Then he carefully balanced his way over the fence20Please respect copyright.PENANAqUYZ7XXoEu
and onto the adjoining apartment’s roof. Once there he ran from roof to roof20Please respect copyright.PENANAb5jQu4dI1b
keeping his footsteps quiet and balanced, so he didn’t wake anyone up. The20Please respect copyright.PENANAoAtfmHxu3Y
challenge would be sneaking through the checkpoints going from district to20Please respect copyright.PENANAfFq3U38dav
district as there was no way to sneak through.
Vander jumped down from the roof.20Please respect copyright.PENANAujFaoQKWRR
To get through he had to make this look convincing. He took a small flask he20Please respect copyright.PENANAVi9X8WLZX1
had hidden in his inner pocket out then drank a little bit, swishing it around20Please respect copyright.PENANA3SGM6H1V5u
in his mouth before spitting it back out. He then splashed a little bit onto20Please respect copyright.PENANA30m1q2fDYu
himself before tucking it back into his pocket. He adopted a slight drooping20Please respect copyright.PENANAH4JAjebe5h
swagger then started walking forward.
He bumped into one of the guards standing20Please respect copyright.PENANAaEu12pGLBX
under the gate to keep dry, then dramatically fell backwards onto the ground.20Please respect copyright.PENANAXnNzqIx0A1
“Oi, who put dis wall ‘ere?” he slurred. He tried to get back up to his feet,20Please respect copyright.PENANAdyowQT9g6V
but he fell again, too drunk to stand properly.
“A little too late to be leaving20Please respect copyright.PENANAtEes7LE8YI
the inn, huh?” One of the guards bent down to haul Vander to his feet. His nose20Please respect copyright.PENANAurpVMD8yf1
crinkled slightly as he smelled the overpowering scent of booze on his20Please respect copyright.PENANAFhOso5H1KP
clothing. “Damn, did you fall into the whiskey bottle?”
“Is not my fault,” Vander brushed20Please respect copyright.PENANAKKcwHUtbnu
the dust off his pants. “My ‘ere girlfriend left me for anatha man. I’m just20Please respect copyright.PENANAxcBfjsmkrp
drinkin’ my sorrows away.”
“Sorry to hear that pal.” The20Please respect copyright.PENANA2uSW0hUg7W
other guard shook his head. “Women, can’t live with em, can’t live without em.”
“That’s why I stick to men.” The20Please respect copyright.PENANAyCjInKiM00
guard who had picked Vander up had said. “Found me a nice man. He’s a Blade, a20Please respect copyright.PENANAVxkGDNqa9W
captain.” Vander froze in his tracks. What were the chances he would meet20Please respect copyright.PENANAzpy9jjg86p
Alex’s boyfriend here of all places. He was just lucky that the two of them had20Please respect copyright.PENANAletS0OWrA8
never met before.
“Maybe I’ll look into that.”20Please respect copyright.PENANAqjakwuuC9t
Vander gave both a big dopey grin. “Ya mind if I get goin’? My home is through20Please respect copyright.PENANAxQnSAJhSYX
there.”
“Of course.” Henry nodded. “Just20Please respect copyright.PENANA2V8XYHhMek
stay on the main roads and stop drinking so late at night. There are many20Please respect copyright.PENANAsZpvkPMZdt
unsavory characters that would love to take advantage of you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Vander20Please respect copyright.PENANAvBojFIE5SK
bowed his head. “I thank ya.” With that the two guards stepped aside allowing20Please respect copyright.PENANACwYiWwvuZG
him to stagger past the check point. When they thought he was out of ear shot,20Please respect copyright.PENANAGEMJzt0zuo
one of them spoke:
“Are you sure we should have let20Please respect copyright.PENANAkRa3AOSLDo
him go?” the other guard asked Henry.
“He’s not a danger to anyone, just20Please respect copyright.PENANA6l9Su7ZhBc
someone going through a hard time.” For some reason, Vander got the feeling20Please respect copyright.PENANA2znyhiXc2D
that Henry had recognized him despite the painful attempts to disguise who he20Please respect copyright.PENANAEIswh2x9CJ
was. He would have taken great pains to avoid this man altogether.
Once he was sure the guards20Please respect copyright.PENANAVTVhNuTNIj
weren’t looking at him, he went from his stagger into a full-blown run. He20Please respect copyright.PENANAuKuDZHB98m
dipped down alleys, jumped over fences, and scaled buildings to avoid the20Please respect copyright.PENANACOYqPpLbEa
patrols which were rampant in the southern district. They were rampant on the20Please respect copyright.PENANAkzUXR7aBtS
street because no one patrolled the gate leading into the slums because there20Please respect copyright.PENANAQtnSUVP8u8
was no point. He slipped inside without any problems.
As soon as he entered, he could20Please respect copyright.PENANAOPkLcCePFx
feel his mental connection with Shea snap back into place. He had realized how20Please respect copyright.PENANA0bBk594Dm0
much he missed her, but after what happened in the castle, he thought it was20Please respect copyright.PENANA2FWKPMy7e2
best that she stayed behind on these missions. She was unique, and anyone seen20Please respect copyright.PENANAGVoxx0CEEX
with her would be assumed to be him.
“Welcome back.” She said to20Please respect copyright.PENANAXnDwoySl5D
him. “I take it you had fun.” He could feel her bitterness from here,20Please respect copyright.PENANAverK7tAAiV
but no matter how many times he told her the dangers, she still hates him for20Please respect copyright.PENANAJYK5x53TQC
benching her. He couldn’t blame her, but their safety should come first. Pride,20Please respect copyright.PENANAGGeDg3hro0
second.
“A ton.” He thought back. “I’ll20Please respect copyright.PENANAvHD6Ejzu1d
explain everything later.”
He wasted no time heading back to20Please respect copyright.PENANAkeo3AtB1LF
the Orange Fox where Ross had willingly taken him in, but he had to promise not20Please respect copyright.PENANAnBcghTGdjB
to get involved with the slum’s affairs. Which meant he couldn’t do anything to20Please respect copyright.PENANAx9gPWDt6R6
the sex workers, thieves, murderers or anything he could profit on. It was a20Please respect copyright.PENANA9qZhQVATrT
hard decision to make, but since he had nowhere else to go without putting20Please respect copyright.PENANAXNzcOq9GET
someone else in danger, he had to agree.
Luckily for his consciousness,20Please respect copyright.PENANA4EtqBZrsRi
there was no one out as the storm was still in full swing. No one wanted to get20Please respect copyright.PENANAG3KQg8FoM5
soaked so most of the street walkers stayed in doorways or abandoned buildings.20Please respect copyright.PENANAchFEIltimO
On days like today the John’s would get no privacy during the hour they paid20Please respect copyright.PENANAayBzC0PjNt
for, but most of them didn’t mind. They liked giving a show. Even from outside20Please respect copyright.PENANAtWnFAYt0d2
he could hear the ecstatic cries of one woman making sure her John believed he20Please respect copyright.PENANAUNGS9PYa0h
was doing a good job. Cringing to himself, he snaked his way up a drainage pipe20Please respect copyright.PENANA2220CXyKVy
behind the Orange Fox and through a window leading into his bedroom.
“Mind the carpet,” Shea20Please respect copyright.PENANAvf7RHKqUNs
snorted. “The maid just cleaned.” He stepped into the room making sure not to20Please respect copyright.PENANAmuaF92ZXBC
track mud onto the carpet, but he would have to apologize for the floor.
His room wasn’t special since he20Please respect copyright.PENANAkMhPCzMWMW
hoped that it was only a temporary arrangement. It was a room that had been20Please respect copyright.PENANAuMthSYyC9S
used for one of his special girls, but she was given another accommodation.20Please respect copyright.PENANAqhelJX2HzV
Vander asked that a new bed, new sheets, and the entire thing to be cleaned top20Please respect copyright.PENANAeoUqaKvdVz
to bottom before he would step foot inside. There was a bed, a private20Please respect copyright.PENANAl99b40yB67
bathroom, and a couple of dressers for the copious amount of clothes Ross had20Please respect copyright.PENANASTsnO7DbzQ
bought for him. None of this was free, however. He had to give Ross something20Please respect copyright.PENANAZtE7IZCP0x
that he wanted, and that payment would be due tonight.
Vander peeled off his uniform after20Please respect copyright.PENANA44FJCVNhGe
removed the rolled letter from his jacket pocket and tossed it onto the bed. He20Please respect copyright.PENANAmpb2Snh7ez
walked naked over towards his bathroom to look himself over for injuries. Other20Please respect copyright.PENANA54s2Icrfzz
than the slight cuts into his hands he was fine, but due to the rain his20Please respect copyright.PENANA8LQTV45DSu
disguise was slipping.
It had taken a considerable amount20Please respect copyright.PENANASpT8Oj53Al
of money to gather materials that would stain his hair a different color along20Please respect copyright.PENANAWZ1vTmd0n3
with contacts that would change the color of his eyes. Ross had to go into the20Please respect copyright.PENANAoNl4KygTY2
black market then pay a merchant to come from Salira to drop them off here.20Please respect copyright.PENANAeQyAp7I2ka
Then an alchemist had to train Vander on how to dye his hair dye himself. As a20Please respect copyright.PENANAnD6Q1yCHee
result, it changed his hair to dark black and with the contact his eyes became20Please respect copyright.PENANAN55pEk1UFD
brown. This is what he would have looked like if he had never met Unna, so he20Please respect copyright.PENANApATLVD5bS0
hoped no one would recognize him. He quickly grabbed the small jar he kept on20Please respect copyright.PENANAmSFytiW923
the skin, took a small amount of dye, then ran it through his hair. Moments20Please respect copyright.PENANAtMpChKB2wC
later it was dry, and he was back to normal.
“What did you find out?”20Please respect copyright.PENANA6NdvkpLjaR
Shea asked. She was lying on her bed, her paws tucked under her head. She20Please respect copyright.PENANA1SIjbTSn4T
looked so sad lying there so he sat down next to her then began rubbing behind20Please respect copyright.PENANAS1TjpKVURN
her ears.
“Not much.” It annoyed him to say20Please respect copyright.PENANA5FOwevtiXw
that. He had spent so much time hoping that the base would give him details20Please respect copyright.PENANAFgwkx5B5ln
just to be a disappointment. He had another lead, potentially, but there was a20Please respect copyright.PENANAWDm9R4xBLd
huge chance that it would amount to absolutely nothing. “I did find out that20Please respect copyright.PENANALUIMq2lPQ3
the Serpents have been given orders to actively hunt me.”
“Vander, that’s not good.”20Please respect copyright.PENANAFoSbMxdrZZ
Shea lifted her head to stare at him. “Are we safe here?” she asked. “Do20Please respect copyright.PENANAyEh1YLyjNW
we need to find a new place to stay?” He reassured her that they didn’t20Please respect copyright.PENANAjdcqTIoir2
have to go anywhere. The only way anyone would know where they were is if they20Please respect copyright.PENANABQ7XtK81s3
recognized him then followed him to the Fox, or Ross told them. The first20Please respect copyright.PENANAA9sXmtzx8a
option was unlikely as was the second one. Ross was a businessman with a20Please respect copyright.PENANAD9DL1tOtkv
reputation to uphold. There was no way he would sell out someone who came to20Please respect copyright.PENANAvArHSMQrgJ
him looking for help, not after everything Vander promised him.
She placed her head on his lap. He20Please respect copyright.PENANA1f9nGTasiT
could feel her sadness through their bond. It was a hard thing for both. For20Please respect copyright.PENANAdGAow9uew5
the first time in forever the two of them were alone. There was no Alex, no one20Please respect copyright.PENANAzhyRQyWJfp
else from the Blades, his grandfather was gone, forced into retirement for20Please respect copyright.PENANAxQmn3q1N2N
raising an assassin and not protecting the former King. Even more strange, he20Please respect copyright.PENANAZwfLhTf5Zo
missed Eliza even though the two of them had only met for the first time when20Please respect copyright.PENANAccHTeIjOBy
Cuvera returned. He couldn’t explain it and he hadn’t bothered to read the book20Please respect copyright.PENANA7l3RDFVgKH
to understand why. He just couldn’t bring himself to do so. At least, not yet.
There was a knock on the door.20Please respect copyright.PENANAg61bpdQkfl
Vander recognized the smell from one of Ross’ bouncers, Left. Both he and Shea20Please respect copyright.PENANADuYQ73OB2Y
got down from the bed and padded over, opening the door.
“Where are your clothes?” Left20Please respect copyright.PENANAS6UQFsBiZ6
growled looking away. Vander looked down and realized that he had forgotten to20Please respect copyright.PENANAcDcjnXl1zB
put on any sort of clothing. He quickly closed the door. He heard Shea laughing20Please respect copyright.PENANAreFPdMWw1T
inside his head.
“Sorry, I just got back, and all20Please respect copyright.PENANAVFiFDpZdOL
my clothes were dirty.” Vander’s face burned bright red.
“Well, I can see why you are20Please respect copyright.PENANAvgLFlRR8ZW
popular around here.” Left laughed causing Vander’s blush to darken. “Anyway,20Please respect copyright.PENANAQAaoDoRNJi
once you are fully clothed the boss would like to see you. Should I send in20Please respect copyright.PENANArWaxk1ROsO
some girls to take care of you?”
“Perhaps later.” He replied.
“Twenty minutes, don’t be late.”20Please respect copyright.PENANAFGH9CBpED3
With that Left shuffled off back down the hall. Shea burst out laughing as soon20Please respect copyright.PENANADSIQ2DmDSj
as they knew the man was gone. Vander playfully pushed her before walking over20Please respect copyright.PENANA3AnNjoWRqZ
to the dressers. He picked a pair of black trousers, a white shirt and a nice20Please respect copyright.PENANA10JYfTr35u
pair of socks. He kept an extra pair of boots by the door just in case20Please respect copyright.PENANAnRoGbZRBVQ
something happened while he was out, in this case his other pair was completely20Please respect copyright.PENANA7z7EO9pHmh
soaked through. He wasn’t allowed to bring weapons with him into the office, so20Please respect copyright.PENANAo4WtHohMJ2
he kept everything else in the room.
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As he stepped towards the door20Please respect copyright.PENANABPR10v6coN
Shea walked behind him. Despite staying behind when he went outside, she wasn’t20Please respect copyright.PENANAIQWucnIzuZ
going to leave him alone in the gambling den. If he was going to be honest with20Please respect copyright.PENANAotvV3Cvp5o
himself, he would have missed her company when she wasn’t by his side, so he20Please respect copyright.PENANAq4Fdj4jrfx
didn’t try to stop her. Together they left the room heading down the hall.