Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Chapter 50

Ruoxi couldn’t find a smile at the moment, unreasonably irked by the Fiend’s antics. "We are out of Ensbury," He informed Dulce despite his current displeasure.

It was already mid-afternoon, the Vampire had been in a trance for almost a full day.

Dulce turned to Kath’tan, unable to remember how the second half of feeding had gone. "I hope I didn’t hurt you last night," He inquired in concern.

"No," Kath’tan said gruffly, thinking up an invitation to have the Vampire drink from him again and coming up with nothing.

Dulce stretched, relieved that nothing had gone wrong. Demon blood was impressively powerful, he hadn’t felt this satiated in a long time, and he didn’t remember drinking much from Kath’tan. Which was good, he had been worried about draining the Demon’s strength.

The journey through the next town was less turbulent, and soon they were only a city away from the capital. Four days after they left Ensbury, they finally approached their last stop, the capital of Alderth. Marlen was a vibrant city, leagues apart from the capital of Mistfall.

Just as the coachmen were searching for an inn close to the castle, the carriage was forced to a stop by uniformed guards riding down the streets on horses. They seemed to be hunting someone down, it made Dulce hunch into himself in a bid to duck out of their sight.

Soon the ruckus was over and they could move on, and just as the carriage came to a stop in front of an inn, another group of guards went past them on the street. It was incredibly distressing for Dulce.

"I had no idea surveillance was so rigorous at the capital," He frowned, peering out the window to watch the guards ride off. It was the second group they had seen in such a short time.

"Perhaps I should get myself captured," He mused, it would certainly be the fastest way to get into the castle.

"Stop thinking about foolish things," Kath’tan cut him off, getting off the carriage.

From their inn, the looming figure of the castle could be seen in the background. It was late afternoon, and the behemoth of a structure cut through the red skies, flags bearing the crest of the kingdom flying high on turrets.

Their presence in the inn didn’t draw attention, something else had already occupied all of it. Whispered conversation could be heard from every corner, everyone having something to say on the matter.

"Did something happen recently?" Dulce cautiously asked the barmaid who approached them.

The lady looked him over, pleased by what she saw. "You must have been out of the city recently," She lowered her voice to say, looking around, although everyone else in the tavern was gossiping just like she was.

"Y-Yes," Dulce stumbled over his lie, "I was away on... business."

The barmaid had no care for the technicalities, launching right into her story. "Then you’d better keep your head low. Rumors have it that the Queen’s most precious possession has been stolen and Her Majesty is rightfully outraged about it."

"What was stolen?" Asael asked curiously, intrigued. Theft was a crass job, but sometimes assassination involved petty crimes.

"That is the thing, no one knows," She whispered excitedly, pleased to have an ignorant group to share her gossip with. "People are guessing that it is a priceless gem or a crown, but a strange rumor started about a missing glass heart."

"Any skilled artisan can make a glass heart," Dulce murmured.

The barmaid shrugged, regaining her propriety. "Who knows, perhaps it’s not the monetary value but its worth to Her Majesty. Would you like me to take you up to your rooms?"

They all congregated in Dulce’s room despite each having theirs, a discussion needed to be had. They had finally arrived at the capital, now they needed to establish contact with the witch.

"There’s no way to know for certain that the witch is in the castle until we go in," Dulce pointed out.

"You’re not going to the castle," Ruoxi said directly, the three of them agreeing for the first time.

"I’ll be fine," Dulce was quick to reassure them, "If I go when there’s sunlight, no one would know I was a Vampire, and even if they did, I can’t die..."

"Sit still," Asael said shortly, not at all listening to the Vampire’s plans to put himself in danger. The Shadow Demon warped away without another word.

"Where did he go?" Dulce asked with slight panic, half rising to his feet.

Kath’tan was standing by the windows watching another group of guards go by, "To check for you if the witch is in the castle." He said gruffly, irked by the Shadow Demon’s competence.

"Oh," Dulce sat back down, Kath’tan had made it sound so easy, but surely Asael wouldn’t be able to get into the castle without any altercations. "Can you both go after him?" He requested of the others, "I’m worried."

"I don’t want a shadow dagger in my heart," Ruoxi said bluntly. "We will only hinder him." He spelled it out, wondering just how the Vampire viewed them. Even if the Shadow Demon was caught, humans couldn’t mortally wound him.

Asael didn’t stay away for long, returning just as Dulce was about to ask the others to go after him again. "I found her." He revealed like it had been no more of a chore than checking the tavern for her.

"You did?" Dulce shot to his feet, "Is the witch alive?" He asked the most important question.

Asael glanced at Kath’tan, who had his back to the room still staring out the window, "She is. She’s not a prisoner either, but I couldn’t question her due to some complications." He said with an odd expression, keeping to himself that the witch had fainted dead away at the sight of him.

"I left her a message, seeing as you’re both acquainted," He said shortly, "We’ll meet at a nearby temple tomorrow at noon."

Dulce fell silent, it had all been resolved so easily. Contacting the witch while the Queen’s guards were running around from a recent theft was already unfair odds, yet it had no impact on such an efficient solution.

All the preparations had been made, now all they had to do was wait until they could meet the witch.