“There is still much I want to do and I want to say goodbye to my parents before I leave. Please, take me with you.” Valia said.
Lith nodded and the Demon disappeared into one of his feathers, leaving behind a dead corpse and non-imprinted equipment. He stored them both inside his pocket dimension, in the case they contained tracker spells.
“Tell the Captain that I’m sorry, but I’m too tired to keep fighting. I just want to lay down and rest.” One after the other, the Demons faded and their souls darted towards the sky.
“Where’s Dad?” Lith asked Solus.
“Way ahead of you.” She replied. “I’ve linked the Eyes with the Tracking Mirror and Dad is very close. He’s-”
Solus’ voice died when the location popped on the tower’s map of Mogar. They had never been there before, but the name of the local Lord was written in big bright letters.
“Hogum!” Lith said with a growl. “I thought that my warning after he tried to exploit our absence to seize Dad’s lands had taught him a lesson. Even though he’s a political rising star, Hogum is still a small-time noble.
“I wonder who or what gave him to courage to make the last mistake of his life.”
***
Lustria County, Hogum Household, right after the fight between Lith and Orpal had ended.
Frenon Hogum was a smart man. One mistake had been enough to learn his place in the world and stick to it. He had met Verhen only twice in his life and both times hadn’t ended well for him, but at least he had brought his skin back home.
The first time, as a kid, Marchioness Distar had protected him while the second time Verhen was bound by the law and the Queen’s Corps would have been his witnesses were Lith to make a move against him.Do you want to read more chapters? Come to p a n d a – n ovel,c.o.m
Now, however, the monster known as Tiamat was angry, hurt, and already a wanted criminal. The law could protect Hogum no more than a sheet of paper could stop a fire and he knew it.
It was the reason he repeated the same question for the umpteenth time since the moment he had ordered his men to capture Raaz.
“Are you sure that this is the right move, darling? Verhen, Tiamat, whatever his name is, is a very dangerous man. If he finds out that his father is here, death is the best thing that could happen to us.
“You have seen those images. His army of shadows would easily enter our house and eat us alive, bit by bit.”
“What a morbid imagination you have, darling.” His wife, Cenia Hogum, said with a delighted, soft peal of laughter. “Of course it was the right thing to do. How many times do I have to say it?”
She was a gorgeous young woman, 20 years old, about 1.65 meters tall, with luscious blonde hair and blue eyes.
“You didn’t kidnap Raaz Verhen, you rescued him when those monsters attacked him. The members of the Queen’s Corps were too busy fighting for their lives to protect him at the moment, remember?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “But still, isn’t it odd that our soldiers were so close to the place where the DoLorean landed and they managed to react faster than the Corps-” His wise doubts died as Cenia pressed her voluptuous breasts against his arm.
“It’s just luck, darling.” She whispered, her full lips millimeters away from his ear. Her warm breath tickled him and her sensual voice was filled with promises of pleasure that Hogum’s wife knew so well how to deliver in the bedroom.
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“You saved Raaz Verhen first, and now you are keeping him prisoner on behalf of the Royal Court. You heard General Morn. They are all wanted criminals. Once you hand Raaz Verhen to them, the Royals will have the leverage they need to force the traitorous Archmage to turn himself in.
“Once he does, you’ll become a hero to the Kingdom. The Royal Court will reward you for your brave and cunning actions. With Verhen gone, the King might even give you the title of Count of Lustria.
“After all, Lark has always been a good friend of Verhen so he’s likely to be put on trial as his accomplice.” Cenia’s points made sense but what really convinced Hogum was the way she delivered them.
The Baronet had married the prettiest and most influential noble dame he could find. He had done it to get himself a trophy wife and satisfy his ego, but Cenia was no less smart than him and soon she had learned how to control him.
After reassuring her husband, she walked into her private quarters, where her lover was waiting for her.
“I’m sorry for making you wait for so long, darling, but that fool can’t even take down his pants without someone holding his hand.” She threw her arms at the neck of Count Zint of the Empire, kissing him with passion.
“Thanks, Cenia. You have no idea how much this means to me.” Under his flesh mask, Orpal was grinning from ear to ear. “Your actions will not only make your fame grow in the Griffon Kingdom, but I’ll also spread them throughout the Empire.
“Once you get a position of your own and divorce that dignified pig, we’ll finally be together as husband and wife.” The Count was a man as handsome as Orpal after Night’s Body Sculpting treatments so getting into Cenia’s good books first and her bedroom later had been easy.
Hogum had chosen Cenia as his wife mostly because of her looks, disregarding the fact that her pride and ambition eclipsed her intellect. She had been easily swayed by Orpal’s sweet words and empty promises of greatness.
He had seduced her to both turn her into his pawn and to prove to himself his worth as a man. Cenia’s body wasn’t as gorgeous as Tista’s nor her smile and character as charming as Kamila’s, but she was still a stunner.
“You know that I’d do anything for you, darling. When will you take me out of this cesspool of a backwater County?” She said with a moaning, purring voice.
“Soon.” He replied. “Now I need to have a few words with the prisoner. The more information we extract from him, the greater your reward will be. Don’t let anyone enter the room and remember that I’m doing this for us.”
They sealed their promise with another passionate kiss before returning to their respective role. Cenia went back to Frenon, and Orpal went to visit his long-estranged father.
‘As Night taught me, a handsome face and a few sweet words can sell water to a fish.’ He thought while walking through the padded door of the interrogation room.
“Hi, Dad. Long time no see.” He said as his body shapeshifted back into his real form.
“Meln?” Raaz said in surprise. “What do you want from me and why did you bring me here?”
Thin metal chains bound his hands and legs to a heavy metal chair that had been bolted to the ground, making any attempt to escape pointless. Raaz had been stripped of his enchanted items when searched and his chore magic was too weak to melt the chains.
“My name is Orpal!” He said while slapping his prisoner with enough strength to make the chair rattle.
