Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Chapter 88

And he was right. Asael looked around the room, ignoring the Incubus who had weighed himself down with heavy gold crowns and expensive jewelry.

The pile of gold in the room was easily twice what he had been paid to take on the job, he had expected this. For such a long-lived Vampire, this was more apt than the impoverished version he had first seen.

"It’s sufficient." He said in a monotone voice, then he turned to Dulce, waiting for the inevitable.

"That’s a relief," Dulce murmured, heading for the heavy doors. "Does anyone want to choose their rooms themselves?" He asked the others.

Caedos looked pensive like he was considering something, but he seemed to decide against it at the last minute. "I’m going on a run." He said instead. This was the first time he had gotten access to such a wide open space devoid of humans since he arrived on earth, he wanted to take advantage of it.

Dulce’s brows furrowed, "Is that safe? What if you get lost? There is no water in the desert." With every sentence, he got more and more worried.

"I can smell the oasis no matter how far away," Caedos stated.

Dulce was still unconvinced, but he knew that the infernal dog had been constrained ever since he was summoned so he didn’t stop him. "Don’t run too far out, and come back if you start feeling thirsty..." He cautioned gently.

Caedos listened intently, although he could easily catch any Vampire in his hound form. He turned away to leave after, not missing the worried silver blue eyes that trailed after him.

"I’ll come with you to choose my room," Ruoxi easily agreed.

Kath’tan peered down at them both with disinterest, his attention on other far more important things, like if this strange palace in the middle of a desert had an armory. "I’m going to have a look around." He decided, leaving next.

That left Dulce and Ruoxi who walked out of the treasury together, leaving behind the Shadow Demon surrounded by piles of gold.

Asael turned to the Vampire as he left, disbelief in his eyes. He had been expecting Dulce to right away undo his summons but the Vampire had simply handed him his payment and went right on to doing what he did. It was almost like the Vampire wouldn’t undo it until he asked.

Asael didn’t leave the treasury, he walked over to sit on a chair made of solid gold, falling deep in thought.

-+-

Caedos easily found his way out of the palace, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. It would have been a far more pleasant time to run in the oasis, but it simply wasn’t big enough and he didn’t want to trample on the flowers.

He shifted on the other side of the pond, inky black skin shimmering under the morning sun. It was mid-morning yet the sun’s strength was unforgiving, it reflected the surface of the still pond, making it look like a glassy portal.

Caedos stretched on the soft grass, staring out into the desert. There was enough space to run freely but he wasn’t too ecstatic about the burning hot sand. The hazy heat of the desert had little effect on him, his internal temperature high enough to match it.

But running hot meant that he would better be at home in a colder place. The Deep woods were cold, the ancient trees blotted out the sky, letting very little warmth pass through the foliage.

He didn’t linger at the edge of the oasis for too long, stepping over onto the burning sand. He walked languidly at first, slowly making his way further and further away from the oasis. Then with a sudden burst of strength, he was nothing more than a black streak, cutting through the golden sand and creating a trail of sandstorms behind him.

The Deep Woods was a maze of obstacles, it wasn’t just the trees, but their coiling, interconnected roots and the vines that covered everything. It taught Hellhounds dexterity, one had to move carefully or risk smacking into a tree.

But out here, there was nothing, the sand was soft and loose but it still provided more stability than coiling roots and vines. Running out in the desert was infinitely more freeing, he ran around in a wide arc around the oasis, aware that there were other oases out in the desert.

He would also rather not run into caravans traversing the desert, and this way, he would be doing everything that Dulce asked him to. After running around to his fill, Caedos made his way over to the pond fed by underground springs. There were two other smaller ponds as well, they were both in the garden, the source of the flourishing flowers.

He stopped at the edge of the pond and took a drink from it, tempted to walk right in and soak in the clear water but not wanting to contaminate one of their few sources of water. Curious about it, he shifted and wandered around the oasis, finding the other two ponds.

He also found wells that seemed to be dug directly to the ground layer where the spring water ran, so they had an endless supply of fresh water that didn’t need to come from the ponds. After ascertaining this, he didn’t return to take a dip in the pond, returning to the palace.

Dulce and Ruoxi had been together this entire time, the Incubus simply trailed after Dulce, chatting while the Vampire did all the cleaning. And when he had been asked to choose his room, he chose the room next to Dulce’s without hesitation.

"Caedos, you’re back," Dulce said with happiness mixed with relief, wringing out a wet rag he had used to wipe the dust of the surfaces in the room. "How was your run?"

"Fine. There are wells in the oasis.," He informed the Vampire, eyeing the rag in his hand.

Dulce was already done with cleaning, there had been little to do. He simply had to sweep away the dust and then wipe it down, "It might be better to use the well water to cook." He deduced, starting for the door.