Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Chapter 168

Before Dulce could glance down to get a glimpse of the sigils despite his rudimentary knowledge of magic, the location had abruptly changed.

His sudden appearance elicited shouts of terror which confused him all the more, his gaze moved to Moira who was shackled to the wall a few feet away from him.

"D-Dulce Montesserat?" One of the startled figures present spoke up, rising to his feet.

Dulce frowned as he took in his surroundings, they seemed to be in an underground cellar of sorts, not even a single wisp of daylight seeping in. Their location was the least of their problems however, Moira’s enemies seemed to be... Vampires.

"Miss Moira?" He spoke up, ignoring the frightened shouts and the Vampire who had addressed him. "Are you alright?"

Moira wore relief in her green eyes at Dulce’s appearance, she had started to give up hope. To make matters worse, a silencing spell had been cast on her right from the start, so she couldn’t even tell her captors that she wasn’t worth much to Dulce. But Dulce had truly shown up for her sake, she was so moved that she teared up, shaking her head vigorously.

Dulce figured out that the witch couldn’t speak, images of her ruined shop coming to mind, these Vampires were mages. "Kind gentlemen," He addressed the others in the cellar, "Surely this is a matter we can discuss."

The Vampires had been seated on tasteful couches, bottles of ’wine’ on the center table between them. They seemed to have been passing time in this manner for quite some time. Moira looked mostly unharmed, just a tad disheveled, a steel prison separating her from everyone.

The Vampire who had spoken earlier cleared his throat, adjusting the lapels of his frivolous coat. "Of course, please take a seat." He invited ingratiatingly, at odds with his status as a criminal.

Dulce looked him over, "Could you first tell me your business with Miss Moira?"

The Vampire frowned, "Did you not receive the ransom note?"

Dulce’s expression went blank - a ransom note? It had most likely been piled up in the stack of letters he never read. "I can’t say I did, a spell from Miss Moira’s shop brought me here." He revealed, his tone mild.

The Vampires watched him calmly walk over to take a seat as he had been invited to, the terror in their red eyes slowly dissipating. Dulce Montesserat did seem completely harmless in that moment.

"So I’ll have to trouble you to reiterate what was in the letter," Dulce went on. He had already started to put the pieces together and the more he did, the dimmer his eyes grew.

"It’s a simple matter really," The spokesperson for the group of Vampires was the one to respond, he equally sat down and poured a goblet of ’wine’ for Dulce, treating him like a guest. "We were merely seeking a favor."

Dulce frowned, "What favor? And what does Miss Moira’s capture have to do with that?"

The spokesperson opened his palms helplessly, "It was the only way to get your attention. The human witch is unharmed, just mildly inconvenienced."

Dulce didn’t share in their views, the witch’s shop had been completely destroyed. Not to mention, he would take Miss Moira’s words over the words of Vampires any day.

"I see. So what favor did you need me to grant?" He asked again, his voice colder. He glanced down at the goblet of blood offered to him and ignored it, uninterested in drinking it.

"It’s a simple matter," The spokesperson regained his vigor despite having his goodwill turned down. "To annihilate an inferior coven which attacked first."

Dulce was startled by this request, glancing down at himself. "T-To annihilate a coven? Are you certain you have the right person?"

The Vampires around him shared looks that held a wealth of information, the spokesperson taking the helm once more. "But of course, if anything your mere presence would be enough to subdue them."

Dulce didn’t share in their grand views of him, he would rather not get entangled in the Vampires’ skirmish. There would be no end to it, he was well aware of the attempts to draw him into the social circle of Vampires but his kind deeply unsettled him, it was something he would rather avoid at all costs.

"I’m afraid you’re asking too much of me," He glanced over at Miss Moira who hadn’t taken her eyes off him for even a moment. "But before we discuss further, seeing as you have no business with the witch, could you release her from her bonds?"

Despite Dulce’s polite and genuine request, the Vampires were apprehensive, their disapproval couldn’t be clearer to see.

"I’m afraid we can’t do that just yet, it’s the only bargaining chip we have, I’m sure you understand."

Dulce didn’t understand at all, he had mostly stayed out of the public eye, especially amongst his kind, he couldn’t see how they were convinced that he could single-handedly take out an entire coven.

His expression was torn, Miss Moira had been brought into this mess for his sake, he was obligated to rescue her. He thought for a moment about requesting help from his Demons and quickly tossed out the idea.

It wasn’t a matter of whether or not he could take out the coven, it was more like he would rather not, because that would only encourage another instance of this.

"Then you might as well lock me up next to Miss Moira," He said guilelessly, holding out his hands to be shackled.

Dulce had been polite and harmless despite the Vampires making the first move so they gained courage. One of the Vampires who had simply been watching on rose to his feet to open the door to the large steel cage, gesturing for him to go in.

Dulce rose to his feet as well and obediently stepped in, less tense now that he was closer to the witch. This way, he could better see for himself that she was unharmed.

Silent horror settled in layers over the Vampire when all Dulce did was lower himself to the hard stone floor next to the human witch, whispering to her.