Prince Justus and the Rogue

Henry POV

I am saddened by the loss of my dear friend, Edward. Now my only companion is the bat flying high above me. We move from dusk until dawn and sleep during the day. This works for me since the day is hotter and is better to sleep during. This mission has been difficult for many reasons but losing my friend tops the list. I'm definitely moving with a heavy heart today. We crest a hill and I can see the city not too far away which means that the castle is just a little farther. We decide to bed down for the day and will arrive during the nighttime. I'm looking forward to the comforts of a real bed, the arms of my wife, and the laughter of my children. Justus POV

It is morning time and I am enjoying breakfast with Gracia, Cecily, and their father, Jeremy when a warrior delivers me a message. Evidently the trackers got back last night, one less tracker which is very sad, and the key is now safe in the vault. This is perfect as I have a meeting scheduled with my men today anyway. I kiss Gracia and Cecily and I'm off to my meeting. I let Gracia know that when we have time she and I will need to pay a visit to Edward's family's home for condolences. In the meeting is my beta, delta, and gamma as well as my father's men even though they don't really participate.

"Okay, any developments on Gracia's father?" I'm hoping we can finally lay to rest this whole business.

"Yes, he met with his contact. The hooded man was asking about our defense structure and specifically if you had made any changes to defense since taking over. He also asked if you had in your possession the Key to Guinee. Jeremy acted pretty stupid throughout the meeting. Jeremy said he didn't know of any defense structure changes and he said he did not know what the Key to Guinee is. Jeremy had never heard of such a thing. They explained it to him and Jeremy is supposed to keep an eye out for conversations around the castle about it. Jeremy wanted to know how many more of these meetings he would have to go through and the hooded man told him until they had the key. Jeremy grumbled that it wasn't part of the deal. The hooded man suggested kidnapping the queen or Cecily and using one of them as a bargaining tool to get the key and Jeremy became really agitated and said that he will find out as much as he can about the key and they will not have to do that. We waited outside for the hooded man to leave. We had men at the back and at the front so we were able to capture him. He is a vampire but we thought you might want to be present for questioning." Jackin informed me.

Just then there was a knock on the door. "Come in." I answered. In walked the tracker Henry.

"Good morning, I am here to give my report." He said as he bowed. I could tell there was something about him that seemed distant or as if he left somebody behind. I know we lost one of the trackers and they were probably close since they both belonged to such an elite team that trains together.

"Go on." I encouraged him.

"We tracked the thieves to a cabin not far from here. It was a few days' journey. They were waiting to meet someone else at the cabin when they were attacked by two dragons. The bloodbath was unreal! We tracked the dragons until they made camp and we attacked during the middle of the night and successfully got the key back while killing both of the dragons. Two vampires must have been tracking the dragons or nearby because they started tracking us and attacked our camp. During the attack Edward was unfortunately killed. He died valiantly in battle serving, you, my king. The vampire that you sent with us aided in defending me during the attack and helped kill one of the attackers. We were then able to return to the kingdom without any further trouble." Henry reported.

"Thank you for your report and your service. You will be rewarded. Queen Gracia and I will be visiting Edward's family. If you would like to go with us please ask to speak with the queen and she will make arrangements." I stood up to shake his hand and he bowed as he exited my office.

"Let's go talk to the vampire." I said smiling. I have not had the opportunity to question someone in a while. I wonder if he will put up a fight. The old beta, delta, and gamma don't follow us to the prison instead they take their leave and allow us to do the questioning.

We walked down to the dungeon. It's a large concrete building and it stands out from all of the other buildings in the kingdom because it looks so dismal. The top level is where short term prisoners are kept and it's a bit nicer. The second level is where long term prisoners are kept and it's nicer because they have to clean it themselves. But the basement is where prisoners are kept that are brought in for questioning or spying and smells like blood, mold, and death. There was only one prisoner here so it was easy to pick out the key and know which cell he was in. He was all the way down at the far end to the right. Both of his hands are chained to the wall and so are both of his feet. He was laying on top of a batch of hay with his hands folded behind his hand staring up at the ceiling. I wonder what was so interesting on the ceiling.

I grab a wooden stool and I sit down on it in front of his cell. There's no reason to open it quite yet. "Vampire." He stands up and walks over to the cell bars. "What's your name?" I ask him.

"Arnoldo. As soon as they realize I've been captured I'm dead by a witch's spell. I'll turn to dust immediately. There's nothing that can be done to reverse the spell. So, I'll tell you what I know. Your brother's coven paid for Jeremy's travel expenses to come here and reunite with his daughters in exchange for him passing on information that we requested. I can tell you that Jeremy never passed on any information that was useful. Every meeting he would play dumb and make excuses. I think he was trying to use the coven to get him here but he had no intention of fulfilling his part of the deal. I was going to suggest that we kill him at the next meeting. That's all that I can tell you." He replied in a bored tone. "I appreciate your honesty and willingness to provide information. Can you tell me where Achard is?" I ask hoping for just a bit more information.

"No I can't. I'm not that high up the totem pole. The only vampire that knows his whereabouts is Lord Dempster. That is who you need to find. Find Dempster and you'll Achard. They usually run together as I believe they are secret lovers. There's been rumours but nobody knows the truth." He replied in the same bored monotone voice.

"Thank you again for your honesty and willingness to provide information. Is there a place that you would like for me to send your ashes?" I ask him as the only benevolent action I can think of doing in return for the information he gave me. "How kind of you." He actually smiled at me. "But no there is not. I have no family that is still alive." We shake hands and walk away.

"Beta Emil, send a messenger with haste to King Damon explaining Arnoldo's situation and see if he knows of any way of saving him." I tell my Beta.

"Gama Mack, talk to Amice about Arnoldo's situation and see if she is aware of any way of saving him. If she does not have her send a messenger with haste to the White Witch Queen Fiona explaining the situation and see if she knows of any way of saving him." I tell my Gamma.

"Delta Jackin, we need to start planning our journey to take the key Isle of Demons. We can have Mack jump in the discussion when he returns. I want to leave as soon as possible." I tell my Delta.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"Well, how many warriors do you want to take with us?" Jackin asks me.

"I don't want this to be a large party of people. There's too many dangers along the way." I don't want to take any warriors at all with me but I'm sure I would have to fight the old beta and delta on that decision.

A/N Please drop me a comment and let me know if you like the story or the chapter. I love all feedback both critical and complimentary. Also check out my other books Dragon Brothers - Completed

Cyprian and the Slave

Her Demon His Angel

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