Chapter 32
“What do you mean you’ve been78Please respect copyright.PENANA9Ds1ytod29
expecting me?” Vander asked as he climbed the stairs. Shea followed a step78Please respect copyright.PENANAgTzXauABLG
behind him unwilling to let him be alone with a man she didn’t know.
“It’s as I said.” Humi had a78Please respect copyright.PENANAkC8IkhmZ0X
faraway look in his eyes. Humi was a strange man. He had short brown hair and78Please respect copyright.PENANAECLqu8wY7q
light blue eyes. He was a portly man, but Vander could feel a strength from him78Please respect copyright.PENANA0XivyOsciZ
he couldn’t quite place. He wore a long blue robe, different from the one he78Please respect copyright.PENANAoWvgtuS6jc
wore at the wedding. This one was light, made from simple cloth, with a moon78Please respect copyright.PENANAIIKAbQjvS9
stitched on his chest.
Despite being a78Please respect copyright.PENANA5WxKKcNsMQ
member of Humjir’s temple, Vander didn’t know much about him other than the78Please respect copyright.PENANAE6DF5Wewn5
fact that he frequented the castle to talk to the former King, but it was78Please respect copyright.PENANAWrucHaALfP
always behind closed doors away from prying ears. The wedding was the first78Please respect copyright.PENANArfyuwncuyh
time he had seen Humi in years. There was a smell to him, like Malcolm, yet78Please respect copyright.PENANAek9uZJkqHs
different. However, Vander had difficulty explaining the feeling to himself.
“You can smell78Please respect copyright.PENANAcGlX4Li8av
the shard of Humjir inside of me, young Unna’tun.” Humi smiled as if reading78Please respect copyright.PENANA8zlZx76Ppr
Vander’s thoughts.
“I thought the gods only had one78Please respect copyright.PENANAG9HrAXe8tu
shard at a time?” Vander asked. “I thought Cuvera inherited it when his father78Please respect copyright.PENANAHVik4SRqqz
died.”
“That’s what you’ve been told,78Please respect copyright.PENANA5GOgOupODL
but, like many things, it’s wrong.” Humi turned around then started to walk78Please respect copyright.PENANAxnuihG65iD
deeper into the temple. He didn’t speak to Vander, but Vander knew that he78Please respect copyright.PENANANzNKTKmJKm
should follow. Only then would he gain the answers he sook.
“Why aren’t you afraid of me like78Please respect copyright.PENANAFA2ME8BSWq
everyone else?” Vander asked him. Humi paused for a second but kept walking.
“Because I know you didn’t kill78Please respect copyright.PENANAEgLHyYHP0C
Malcolm.” He explained. He didn’t share78Please respect copyright.PENANANNeVwtylIh
how he knew, but Vander thought that it had something to do with why he had a78Please respect copyright.PENANAXHBZbMYSKb
shard inside of him. Another mystery he wanted solved.
Humi lead them deep into the78Please respect copyright.PENANAdAGweR6C6o
temple. Despite the later hour, Vander expected other acolytes to be here, not78Please respect copyright.PENANAAZKK4HAoQ3
just Humi. However, he couldn’t smell or hear anyone else inside. He asked the78Please respect copyright.PENANA7E3CWhnz9x
priest about it, but Humi kept walking, ignoring the question entirely. He78Please respect copyright.PENANAg12iopTrHV
instructed Shea to keep her wits about her, but to stay close in case they were78Please respect copyright.PENANAR7JMfoqap0
walking into a trap. Malcolm may have said to trust this man, but Vander78Please respect copyright.PENANAJihcJWnP3Z
trusted Peyton and had been betrayed. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
They were taken down a long78Please respect copyright.PENANAu0lws8dgjl
hallway where it looked like portraits of all the past kings and queens were78Please respect copyright.PENANAusxMOUBjn4
placed, however they looked slightly different than what he had seen in the78Please respect copyright.PENANAXoNXJgEHCC
castle. These people had pupilless eyes while their hair had a blue hue to it.78Please respect copyright.PENANAIiJpFhFkPG
They must have been previous shards of Humjir, but why did they resemble78Please respect copyright.PENANACmZdyQw5QE
Eluvia’s monarchy? More questions with no answers, they pushed on.
After about ten minutes of78Please respect copyright.PENANAHkruDL0OHa
walking, they finally came to one of the paths that would lead them to Humjir’s78Please respect copyright.PENANAGrHks8qdfu
pool. Vander could smell fresh water, something rare within the city walls. The78Please respect copyright.PENANA4FDRpRjIIi
fresh water he had ever smelled was in the middle of the forest, but somehow78Please respect copyright.PENANAnIsvZ833oX
this was fresher than that. He wondered why that was, but before he could ask,78Please respect copyright.PENANA8Ls5HPbf9O
Humi turned down the hall beckoning the two of them to follow.
“It is best if we talk here.”78Please respect copyright.PENANAjuDEM4gtuZ
Despite being outside, Vander had the sneaking suspicion that they were in an78Please respect copyright.PENANAPN0fcmuov9
enclosed space, cut off from the rest of the city. The fact that Humi’s voice78Please respect copyright.PENANAzRCQo8575X
didn’t echo when he talked was further proof of that.
“Where is here?” Vander asked. If78Please respect copyright.PENANAEseQ1jP02s
Humi was impressed he had picked up on it he didn’t show it.
“A special area, even for Humjir.”78Please respect copyright.PENANAal6f5mTuXF
Humi explained. “When he passed down the hall we entered this sacred space.78Please respect copyright.PENANA9Z33ABBs3B
Only those with a shard, or who are bonded to a shard, may enter.”
“Then what is the pool anyone can78Please respect copyright.PENANAGZNo0G6l23
enter to worship Humjir?” Vander asked.
“Just that, a pool.” Humi78Please respect copyright.PENANAFcJBJmNdiA
explained. “A specially crafted pool which we clean daily to make it feel as78Please respect copyright.PENANAXuuf76k1L1
special as possible, but this is the true space that Humjir himself had created78Please respect copyright.PENANAaIL7cpV0IH
a long time ago.”
The pool itself was immaculate.78Please respect copyright.PENANALPGM6MXUgA
There were no borders to keep the water in, however, it still stayed within a78Please respect copyright.PENANA39MqgwYLlS
perfect circle. There was a large rock formation that poured ice blue water78Please respect copyright.PENANAonOLK83k13
into the pool. The area around it had a blueish hue, like it reflected the78Please respect copyright.PENANApiXGXcMXwe
color of the water inside. Vander took a careful step towards the edge to peer78Please respect copyright.PENANAP7StUwWqVo
into the depths. He saw several large fish swimming around, but the biggest78Please respect copyright.PENANAhsc4Hc3a3r
surprise was the full moon shining in the depths despite it only being a78Please respect copyright.PENANArwcoSSHEax
quarter moon in the sky. Vander felt drawn to the pool, but Humi grabbed his78Please respect copyright.PENANAYLefYpYslB
arm pulling him away.
“Many have lost themselves to the78Please respect copyright.PENANAju5fN0pbe6
depth’s, Vander.” He spoke. “It’s best, especially for you, to stay away.”
“Why?” Vander asked.
“You know the story of Atza’s78Please respect copyright.PENANAXFiC1UlIzR
wrath because Humjir used his pool to spy on Unna?” Vander paled as he78Please respect copyright.PENANAP4TIDoUZUW
remembered that story. He could hear Unna’s laughter in his ears when he read78Please respect copyright.PENANAhJl8yjyl7x
about it. “If you peer inside, you could enter her realm and that would be very78Please respect copyright.PENANAZzNzcvBMNp
bad for you.”
“I wouldn’t let that happen.” Shea78Please respect copyright.PENANAeFdhvDdOiU
growled.
“There wouldn’t be much you could78Please respect copyright.PENANAmyOgCmuaV7
do about it, little shadow beast.” Humi answered. “Yes, I can hear what you78Please respect copyright.PENANA6pNtB1ZYEZ
say, but that’s only because we are here where my powers are stronger. Now,78Please respect copyright.PENANAdtsFDgXWsq
let’s talk before we run out of time. You’re here because you read Malcolm’s78Please respect copyright.PENANAD1Jx344zlR
note inside the book.” It was a statement not a question, so Vander answered by78Please respect copyright.PENANAyk6W9Lyj9R
nodding his head. “Where is the book now?” Vander pat his chest where the black78Please respect copyright.PENANArmm1WIxOzc
book was sitting in his pocket. “Good, make sure you always keep it on you.78Please respect copyright.PENANAGIQibNQyia
Don’t let anyone near it unless you can absolutely trust them.”
“I understand, but why all the78Please respect copyright.PENANAp0IlhSRxjL
secrecy?”
“That tells me you didn’t read the78Please respect copyright.PENANAvHPIl6tlUk
book in it’s entirety, but I supposed that’s alright,” Humi smirked. “You were78Please respect copyright.PENANABB6phQVyNU
curious about Unna, so you likely read that first to pass the time until you78Please respect copyright.PENANAh4S6kZAtDn
came here. But to answer your question, I’ll have to ask one. Have you heard of78Please respect copyright.PENANAqKtpCwCNaF
the Black Order?”
“No?” Vander frowned. In his78Please respect copyright.PENANACXickm1XGj
entire time as a Blade and holding the shard of Unna, not once had anyone78Please respect copyright.PENANAsKzcvymt4S
mentioned them. “Who are they?”
“Not surprising,” Humi sighed.78Please respect copyright.PENANA7rdQlLxnBC
“Their name has changed over the millennia, but they have been around since the78Please respect copyright.PENANAFfckUbIbNU
Great War. They were the human who were on Darkness’s side and vowed to one day78Please respect copyright.PENANABbdmljxkUG
return her to this realm.”
“Now that you mention it, they78Please respect copyright.PENANATEE1oJdaF9
sound familiar.” Vander explained. “I thought they were eradicated.”
“We thought so too, but for the78Please respect copyright.PENANA9ydxlxpaux
past century we have noticed them appearing all over once again.” Humi said.78Please respect copyright.PENANA32aZX7hqoV
“We aren’t sure who they are, we have some suspects, but until Malcolm’s78Please respect copyright.PENANA2jwtD7SQav
assassination, no solid proof. It appears Peyton could be our link.”
“Why would they kill Malcolm?”78Please respect copyright.PENANABtnPZiQOhS
Vander asked. “He’s the King of the most powerful country, with an equally78Please respect copyright.PENANA1HJpKhCL8w
strong successor. There would be no point on angering us.”
“Ah, but there is a point.” Humi78Please respect copyright.PENANAIwhlx1GYVZ
smiled. “Malcolm held Humjir’s shard inside of his body. They needed that as78Please respect copyright.PENANADpv3Wc7KqF
part of their plan to awaken the Darkness.” Vander shot him a quizzical glance78Please respect copyright.PENANAbN1zA8PeXR
causing Humi to sigh. Vander could feel the man’s impatience with him, but he78Please respect copyright.PENANAXy6Eay5KSF
couldn’t see what these facts had to do with each other. “They need the shard78Please respect copyright.PENANAeM4DhhQf3O
of each god to unseal her. It was their power that took her out and it will be78Please respect copyright.PENANALwAtkxnjOQ
their power to release her once again.”
“Wait.” Vander frowned. “If that’s78Please respect copyright.PENANA5sCWRkJyxM
the case, then why are shard holders running around amok? Why not place them78Please respect copyright.PENANAzNnJt4AoW1
under guard to protect them?”
“Would you be able to control78Please respect copyright.PENANAOPTuhSkKdT
nobility and keep them confined?” Humi shook his head. “It was attempted many78Please respect copyright.PENANAIXZhMvjXPQ
centuries ago, but it went about as well as could be expected. So, they came up78Please respect copyright.PENANAXZcSsHRpBc
with an agreement. No one would know who the shards are, except for those in78Please respect copyright.PENANAh4lVbusIXy
the know. Each stronghold would have two within their walls, however Atza’s78Please respect copyright.PENANAxLQWB5BLSQ
shard didn’t trust that we could protect her, so she went somewhere else. They78Please respect copyright.PENANAzwnJhvAROh
founded the country of Bricen, and only those in the royal family knew who it78Please respect copyright.PENANASZoRWz5Bbm
would be.”
“But why would the order act now?”78Please respect copyright.PENANADptUE6kVsx
Vander frowned. He racked his brain to figure out why when the past events came78Please respect copyright.PENANAJeDYlSNC5i
flooding into him. “Because all of the shards are together.”
“Correct.” Humi grimaced. “We are78Please respect copyright.PENANAljdZS1efhQ
all at risk, but no one knows it outside of our little group. Our little safety78Please respect copyright.PENANA0ALr3YcyzB
net ended up dooming us all.”
“Not even the shards know who each78Please respect copyright.PENANAc5cY82qqKN
other are?” Vander asked. “I thought we could all sense each other.”
“No, that’s why you are special78Please respect copyright.PENANAefRjOqRmgg
and why Peyton likely wanted to ostracize you from everyone else.” Humi placed78Please respect copyright.PENANAw4mOVigpCp
his hand on Vander’s shoulder. “It hasn’t been much of secret when you became78Please respect copyright.PENANAVotaXUNR0j
Unna’s shard, it hasn’t happened in many, many years and most don’t survive78Please respect copyright.PENANAvl6RxB0a1A
very long. The fact that you are still alive is testament to your willpower and78Please respect copyright.PENANAQzWMexiiN3
Malcolm’s ability to keep it a secret, but it’s out in the open now. If they78Please respect copyright.PENANAgY0ZvWUb5H
get ahold of your gifts, it will doom us all.”
“So, what should I do?” Vander78Please respect copyright.PENANAiV183s2pdm
asked. “I can’t just abandon my friends and family to go on the run.”
“No, you can’t.” Humi sighed.78Please respect copyright.PENANAfZWewRvGPN
“They know who you are and will go to the ends of the earth to find you. All we78Please respect copyright.PENANADcEbNoooMI
can do is protect those here until they leave, to give us time to think of a78Please respect copyright.PENANAWUinR6D9qe
solution.”
“Can I ask you something else?”78Please respect copyright.PENANAwng5fdgrho
Vander asked. Humi nodded. “How do the Green Serpents fit into this? I mean,78Please respect copyright.PENANAY7xEnBCLck
they were the ones who poisoned Malcolm and tried to assassinate me. What is it78Please respect copyright.PENANAyiieri3RBo
they want?”
“The only thing Malcolm and I78Please respect copyright.PENANA0sjcnmSvt9
could come up with was that they were hired to do a job.” Humi explained. “Lure78Please respect copyright.PENANAkO9etPcjBL
you out of hiding so they can kill you and part of it worked. Now they must78Please respect copyright.PENANA87s4bs1CWo
find you, but it looks as though you found them first.”
“Three escaped, but I’m sure they78Please respect copyright.PENANAwgVnBXYi8f
have a plan.” Vander explained. “But they have sent someone else after me. I78Please respect copyright.PENANAMltkc8DqQL
found a note in the house explaining that someone called ‘Fang’, has been sent78Please respect copyright.PENANAhpFPEj3LIU
after me. Have you heard of them?”
“No,” Humi frowned. “But they have78Please respect copyright.PENANAvOg0Lci6pp
been especially sent for you, then you need to do a better job of hiding before78Please respect copyright.PENANAmHN13dRxNC
they find you.”
“Oh, it’s far too late for that.” Humi78Please respect copyright.PENANAYH6uPlQewP
and Vander, startled by the noise, looked up to find a figure squatting on top78Please respect copyright.PENANApu68pAYVvb
of the fountain.
They were dressed78Please respect copyright.PENANAocyimi8UYW
in an all-black uniform that had a greenish hue to it. Vander could tell that78Please respect copyright.PENANAJoWp3SWY70
the armor was well crafted with metal plating underneath it. The leather78Please respect copyright.PENANAPmqQLrGsxE
vambraces were holding numerous weapons, Vander could smell poison emanating78Please respect copyright.PENANA7njZNH5dnn
from them, and they had a sword slung across their back. The hood over their78Please respect copyright.PENANAdG3me8awH1
face obscured their looks, but despite that, they were still wearing a green78Please respect copyright.PENANAmtl9ftrxWZ
mask with a serpent painted onto it.
Vander went for78Please respect copyright.PENANAtRnAz3l53W
his sword, but Humi stood in front of him. “It’s not your time.” He whispered.78Please respect copyright.PENANAykavx2J6E2
He opened his robe and removed a whip that had been wrapped around his waist.78Please respect copyright.PENANAVJjDgFbZhL
“The fact that they got into this sanctuary means Humjir’s power is weakening.78Please respect copyright.PENANAaOxdfgLdjl
It will take time for the shard to take effect in someone new. You must be78Please respect copyright.PENANA1pRwHQNgi6
alive to protect them.”
“I can help you.”78Please respect copyright.PENANAgD7pZgykmG
Vander hissed. Shea grabbed onto his pants to drag him back.
“Protect the78Please respect copyright.PENANAp4rMyqiY8D
book!” Humi smiled. “This is not where you die young Vander. You still have78Please respect copyright.PENANADieps89tCN
plenty to do, please allow me to see my friend in the afterlife knowing I78Please respect copyright.PENANAvODhctzPk8
helped protect our home.”
“Can you take78Please respect copyright.PENANA8BVpIkmobj
them” Vander hesitated.
“Never fear.”78Please respect copyright.PENANApRtSKoEj3b
Humi smiled. He cracked the whip as he stared down the assassin. “You’ll have78Please respect copyright.PENANAwhISmva9pJ
to get through me to get to him.”
“No problem.”78Please respect copyright.PENANAuMfYZb0idw
Vander thought he could hear the assassin grinning from behind the mask.
“Take this with78Please respect copyright.PENANA85X16ILJda
you as well.” Humi held out a vial of water towards Vander. “Once you are safe,78Please respect copyright.PENANAYGuiaTmDXS
drink that. Only then will you know what’s at stake.” Vander took the vial then78Please respect copyright.PENANAj5MRsIrakH
slipped it into his pocket. He opened his mouth to say more, but Shea once again78Please respect copyright.PENANAaXgmse0nhM
pulled on his jacket.
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“We must go.”78Please respect copyright.PENANAQ698CcH0e4
Vander allowed himself to run as this was the only option available to him. He78Please respect copyright.PENANANDtPDtfCin
prayed that Humi would survive, but it was unlikely. Humi was right, however,78Please respect copyright.PENANAd3umlWmiyt
he had to protect the book and the secrets that lay within. If it helped save78Please respect copyright.PENANAWUOaIGtymb
this city, he would do whatever he could.