Chapter 127

--- 21st Day, Evening ---

Zoe and I followed Sage through the forest for just a few minutes before I spotted a house that looked like a ruin. It was small, made entirely of rotting wood. It clearly had its best years long behind it.

“She’s in the basement,” Sage said, heading in fast steps toward the entrance door.

“Give us a moment,” I replied.

“Make it quick,” she huffed, glancing at me and Zoe. “I don't have all day.”

“Put the Silent Dome around us,” I said, standing in front of Zoe, and then, when the air shimmered around us, I continued, “Are you sure you are okay with that?”

“I think so.” Zoe shrugged.

I watched her face, looking for any emotions, wondering how she was feeling about what was going to happen, but also about the fact that another vampire had tasted my blood. I wouldn’t suspect Zoe of attacking Whitney, but on the other hand, if her demonic nature revealed itself, maybe she would lose control.

“Are you… mad at Whitney?” I asked, trying to be careful with my words.

Zoe’s pink eyes remained focused on my face as she thought it over, before she gently shook her head. “I… I don't know what I feel,” she murmured, lowering her gaze between our bodies. “But I’m not angry.”

I hugged her, and she easily leaned into me, pressing her face into my chest. With my arms wrapped around her, I stroked her back softly.

“Do you think she can recognize you?” I asked.

“No…” Zoe replied, but then pulled away with a frown. “Maybe… I don't know how similar I am to my mom or to someone from my family.”

“Then you shouldn’t show yourself to Whitney. Stay back and listen if you want,” I offered.

Zoe nodded and raised her chin, asking for a kiss, which I gladly gave her, shifting my hands lower along her back until I cupped her ass and squeezed it in both my palms, causing her to giggle.

“Let’s go,” I said, and we moved through the door that Sage had entered moments before.

Inside, the house didn’t look any better. It was clearly abandoned, with not much left behind. Sage, already in her black costume, was sitting on the table, while another black-clothed ninja was sitting in a chair next to it with a mask on her face.

“Ready?” Sage asked, getting off the table.

“Yeah.”

She pulled a mask over her face as she led me and Zoe through the house, the ninja remaining in the chair as her gaze followed me until we walked out of the room.

“She has a mana-blocking collar and her hands are bound behind her,” Sage said, stopping in front of an old-looking door. “Don’t use my name. Is Zoe going inside?”

“No. Is it possible for her to listen, but in a way that Whitney wouldn’t see her?”

“Sure,” Sage shrugged. “You can stay on top of the stairs. You should hear everything and be out of sight,” she explained, looking at the succubus.

After Zoe nodded, Sage opened the door into complete darkness, pulling out a stone from one of her pockets that shone with light as she started descending the stairs. As I walked after her, the air got cold and damp as we entered the dark basement, only Sage’s stone giving a dim glow until she threw it onto a table, lighting the inside.

There was the table, two chairs on our side, and one chair on the other with Whitney in it. She had her head lowered when we entered, but raised her gaze as the stone hit the table.

She was looking much worse than when I had seen her last time.

She was bound with her hands behind her back and a cloth over her mouth. She squinted her eyes at us from the sudden light. She had bruises and blood on her face, which I would have assumed were injuries from the fight when she was captured, but a cut on her cheek looked fresh, like it had been made recently, with blood still smeared across her face.

“What happened to her?” I asked, looking at Sage.

“She’s very clumsy,” she replied. “Fell a few times when we were traveling.”

Whitney mumbled something, but because of the gag I couldn't understand a single word.

“Can’t you at least wipe the blood?” I asked.

Sage snorted. “I must have hit you really hard if you think I’m gonna do something for that bitch.” She then dropped into one of the chairs, leaning back and putting her legs on the table.

I sighed and approached Whitney. She raised her head to look at me when I stood over her.

“Bite me, and I’m gone, and you’re never going to see me again,” I said, looking firmly at her.

She held my gaze for a moment, those dark brown eyes looking different than the last time. I wasn't sure if it was the dark room around us or because her mana was blocked and she couldn't use her skills.

Whitney nodded, but not really trusting her, I still grabbed her chin, trying to hold her so she wouldn't be able to bite me as I reached to pull the material gag out of her mouth. She licked her dry lips, though it didn’t seem to help much as I used the same cloth to wipe the fresh blood from her face.

When I was done, I tossed it onto the table and moved to sit in the chair next to Sage.

“Nice to see you,” Whitney said with a warm smile, looking at me.

“Can’t say the same,” I replied.

“Oh, why are you so cold?” Whitney asked with a worried frown. “You weren’t like that before,” she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes.

“I was on a mission,” I replied, impressed that she was able to summon tears like that.

“I thought we had a special connection,” she said, looking at me with her big brown eyes, pleading as if begging me to confirm that I’d felt something too.

“You can stop the act,” I said. “Your look isn’t that effective without your skills.”

“Your words are hurting my heart,” Whitney whimpered.

“You don’t have a heart,” I replied.

She stared at me a moment longer with those eyes brimming with tears. One even managed to run down her face before she straightened, a smile crossing her lips as she looked like herself again, not some lost schoolgirl who didn’t know what was happening.

“Apparently you’re a better actor than I am,” she said with a smile.

“Maybe not everything was pretend,” I replied.

“We had a good time,” Whitney nodded with a smile. “But you smell different now.”

“What do you want from me?” I asked, ignoring her comment.

“Tobias… actually, is that even your real name?” she asked.

“It is,” I sighed.

“Tobias, I want to get to know you better,” Whitney replied.

“Sure,” I snorted. “What do you really want? I doubt you want to get to know someone who helped you get caught.”

“Oh, I don't blame you,” Whitney replied. “It’s my fault I got caught. I got too arrogant, but that’s not important. I want to talk with you. And I would like to talk to your vampire girlfriend.”

“What do you want from her?” I asked with a frown.

“Is she here?” Whitney asked, not answering my question. It really was not leading anywhere. Every question answered with another question both ways. “Can she hear me?” Whitney asked, but didn’t wait for confirmation. “I would like to apologize to you,” Whitney said. “I know I shouldn’t have tasted your boyfriend’s blood, but can you even blame me? His tasty blood on my fingers. I doubt many vampires would be able to restrain themselves. Yet I’m sorry.”

“Stop that,” I said. “You wanted to talk with me. What do you want?”

“Well, the apology was the first thing. Then there’s curiosity and a deal I want to make.”

“Let’s talk about that deal,” I replied.

“Or we could talk about you,” Whitney said. “How is it possible that you have mana?”

“You are not in a position to ask questions,” I replied.

“You think so?” Whitney asked. “I wanted to talk to you, and not even a day later, we are here, talking.” She stared at me with a self-satisfied smirk.

“And we can end it at any moment. I’m getting tired of this,” I replied. “I really don't want to be here.”

“Just like me,” Whitney replied with a snort.

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you killed people,” I said.

“Like you’ve never done it yourself,” Whitney replied.

“What? I haven’t,” I protested with a frown, wondering where that accusation came from.

“Sure. Working for the Black Lotus, and I’m supposed to believe you’ve never killed anyone.”

“I didn’t, but that’s not important. You’re the murderer here.”

“Even if you’re telling the truth, she certainly did kill people, yet you’re working for her, and she’s not locked in prison.”

I shifted my gaze to Sage, who had stayed oddly silent the whole time, and even after that she didn’t bother answering.

“How many have you killed?” Whitney asked, not letting it go. “Working for the Black Lotus? Probably dozens. I heard they don't have any inhibitions if you can pay them enough. Have you ever killed a kid?”

Before I could even turn to look at Sage, wanting to know the answer, she was no longer in the chair. Whitney’s head slammed into the table between us as Sage stood next to her.

“We’re asking questions here, bitch!” Sage growled, pulling Whitney’s head back by her hair, blood trailing down her face from a fresh cut on her forehead.

“A sore subject?” Whitney asked with a smile and a challenging look directed at Sage.

“Stop it,” I said. “Sit down,” I added, looking at Sage. Beating Whitney wasn’t going to help in any way.

Sage glared at me, but then huffed and moved to sit down in her chair again, this time keeping her legs on the ground, crossing her arms over her chest.

I shifted my gaze back to Whitney, wondering what she was trying to achieve. Considering she’d been beaten, most likely by Sage before, she could have expected she would attack her. Why would she provoke Sage?

And did Sage really kill people? Actually, it wasn’t that hard to believe, but at the same time, Zoe had killed someone, Mari had killed, Gemma too. Maybe killing people in this world wasn’t that unprecedented.

Yet Whitney was sitting in front of me, locked up for killing. And while Zoe had killed by accident, Mari had killed criminals in ****, Sage had been killing for money. Why wasn’t she in prison? Because she was friends with Gemma? Most likely…

That was what Whitney was trying to achieve. She wanted to turn me against Sage, but what would that really give her? Even if I decided Whitney was innocent and should be freed, I had no chance against Sage.

Even if both of them should end up in prison, none of it was in my power.

“You have information that I want to know,” I said, looking at Whitney, focusing on what I was actually supposed to do. “What do you want?”

“Get free,” Whitney replied with a snort.

“Not happening,” Sage frowned. “Fucking ever.”

“Great, then this whole talk is pointless,” I said, getting up.

“Your blood,” Whitney said before I could move away.

“Not happening either,” I replied.

“So if you don’t have enough to offer me, why did you come here?” Whitney asked.

“I got paid,” I replied.

“So it’s all about money?” Whitney asked. “I can pay you if you help me get free. I don’t know how much they’re paying you, but I can give you more.”

“Try it and I will kill you both,” Sage hissed.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her and thinking about Whitney’s offer. She couldn’t be that stupid as to trust me again. Even if I tried to pretend that I was freeing her for money, hoping to gain her trust and learn more, she would have killed me at the first opportunity she had. Or more likely, locked me somewhere and kept me as her food source.

“Listen, you don’t have many options right now,” I said, leaning over the table toward Whitney. “You refuse to tell me anything, and they’ll lock you in some deep prison where you’ll rot for decades, probably starving, and we both know how hard it gets for you when you can’t feed enough. Or you can tell me what I want to know, and you’ll at least get the chance to talk with someone. Maybe even get fed properly. On someone else’s blood. You’re a prisoner, but it’s your choice how bad your life is going to be.”

“How much time has passed since I was caught?” Whitney asked.

“Not even two full days,” I replied, a bit confused about why she wanted to know.

“Tomorrow I had a meeting with someone to buy seven illegal slaves,” she said. “Maybe they don’t know yet that I’ve been captured. I could tell you where. If not me, they’re going to sell them to someone else.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Half a liter of blood per day,” she said. “A bed, pillows, an empty book, and something to write with. No more beatings, and the cuffs off my hands when I’m locked in here. And another talk with you. Only you. Without her with us,” she nodded her chin toward Sage. “Your girlfriend can listen again if she wants.”

“You’re not getting my blood,” I replied.

“Yet,” Whitney said with a smirk. “But any blood will be okay for now.”

I stared at her, wondering what she really wanted from me. She could have offered the same deal to Gemma, yet demanded to talk with me. Maybe she thought that with time she could actually convince me to give her my blood. Or that I would be tempted with money to help her. But at the moment she was only asking for better living conditions in her prison, which didn't sound unreasonable.

“Is that amount of blood okay?” I asked, looking at Sage. The rest of the things I could organize on my own if there was a need, but I didn’t know how much blood she could arrange for Whitney.

“You don’t know if she will tell the truth,” Sage replied, ignoring my question.

“Then she’ll get those things only after you confirm she gave us good information. It’s tomorrow,” I replied.

Sage glared at Whitney, her face covered so I couldn’t see her expression, but it wasn’t hard to imagine she wasn’t happy with how things were going.

“It’s not a fucking hotel!” Sage hissed. “You’re getting half a liter every other day, a sleeping bag, not a bed, and I’m not giving you anything more.”

“I can get her an empty book and something to write with,” I added. “But you won’t beat her anymore,” I said, looking at Sage.

“If she behaves,” Sage replied, not sounding very pleased with the idea. “And I can take off the cuffs, but I’ll put you on a chain, bitch!”

I shifted my gaze from her to Whitney, wanting to know if she would accept those terms.

“I want to talk with you again in two days,” Whitney said, looking at me. “Without her.”

“Okay,” I replied. “We have a deal. Who, where, and when are they going to sell those slaves to you?” I asked.

“She goes by Sylvia. Tomorrow at midnight. West of Asterstill, it’s a small town, and-”

“She’s a vampire?” Sage asked, interrupting her.

“Yeah,” Whitney shrugged.

“Do you know her?” I asked Sage.

“No, but there’s nothing west of Asterstill until the border with Liraveth. So those slaves are from there,” Sage explained.

“That’s the easiest way to buy male slaves,” Whitney replied.

“If you’re a vampire,” Sage said.

“You need to have contacts,” Whitney shrugged.

“Where exactly are you meeting?” Sage asked.

“If you wouldn’t interrupt me, I would have told you already,” Whitney replied.

“Be careful,” Sage hissed, leaning forward. “The deal works from when we get those slaves. Nothing’s stopping me from beating the shit out of you right now.”

“There’s a river west of Asterstill running along the border. North of the closest bridge, there’s a spot where the water is shallower and you can cross the river on foot. There’s supposed to be a violet meadow on the other side.”

“That’s useless!” Sage slammed her fist onto the table between us. “They’ll stay on Liraveth’s side, and I can’t do anything to them.”

“I thought the Black Lotus didn’t care about laws,” Whitney replied.

“You’d better give us something, or you have no deal,” Sage said.

“Let me go,” Whitney replied. “I’ll buy the slaves and free them. They’ll cross the river. You’ll get the lives of seven people for mine.”

“Didn’t you want to meet with me?” I asked.

“Well, there are some priorities,” Whitney replied with a smile. “Besides, I already told you. She’s a murderer just like me. She’s not going to free me even if a hundred people would die because of that.”

“If you’re freed, you’ll kill even more,” Sage replied. “How was the deal supposed to go?” she asked.

“Across the river,” Whitney said. “I was supposed to send them money, then the slaves would cross to our side.”

“You can pay them to save those slaves,” I said, looking at Sage, wondering if she was going to agree to that or if she really didn’t care about other people’s lives.

“I’ll try, but they might realize something’s wrong,” Sage replied, getting up from the table. “Do you have anything of value to say?” she asked, glaring at Whitney.

“A lot, but first I want my part of the deal,” Whitney replied.

Sage huffed and headed upstairs, leaving the room.

“You have no idea who you work for,” Whitney said, looking at me.

I watched her a moment longer before heading out of the damp basement, where both Zoe and Sage were waiting for me upstairs.

“Good job,” Sage said, closing the door and pulling the mask off her face. “Ten ryns,” she added, handing me the coins.

“I was supposed to get more if I learned something,” I replied.

“First I need to make sure it’s true,” Sage said. “And then you need to discuss with our friend how much she’ll pay you.”

I nodded, pocketing the money I got from Sage. “Is it true? What she said?” I asked.

“Which part?” Sage asked, giving me a look that could kill.

“About the Black Lotus and killing.”

“It’s not my fault what they were doing,” Sage replied. “I wasn’t controlling them! And I don’t regret anything!”

“So you were killing people for money?” I asked.

“It’s none of your fucking business! Take your money and get out of here!” Sage growled, looking furious.

I stared at her for a moment but decided to leave her and not ask anything more. Who knew what she would actually do if she lost control of herself?

“Which direction is Ortas?” I asked.

“Left,” Sage replied.

I grabbed Zoe’s hand and headed toward the exit door, passing by the black-clothed ninja who was sitting in the same spot, again only her gaze moving after me without any reaction.

But I could swear I saw anger in those eyes, even though I had no idea who she was or why she would have a problem with me - unless she had heard everything. But leaving that aside for now, we left the house with Zoe and turned toward Ortas.