Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Theme: Bounty, part 2

Thane, son of Thawing, Duke of the upper isle in the middle land, was seen in his royal regalia, dressed in royal armour. He was sitting on his ten-foot-tall dragon throne. It was made of softwood coated in around 100 to 150 very thin layers of red, ocher, and dark green lacquers.

The throne is an insignia of dark power, and a strong ambiance was radiating from it in the golden chamber.

Thane, the son of Thawing, the third and most powerful Duke of the upper island, is staring directly at Sarah, his eyes holding fury, and black smoke is emitting from his body. All around the room stood different well-armed werewolves, with silver swords in their hands.

The gaze on their faces can be deciphered as a war face. Even though they are more than a dozen in number, they are well acquainted, tougher than ordinary wolves, and each one of them was granted special power to control an element.

They were specially chosen to protect Thane, the son of Thawing, the third Duke of the upper island. All of them had been sent to the front lines of battle many times without numbers.

They had fought and killed alongside both their Duke and Lord Darius. They were ready to lay their lives for the Duke, and Lord Darius. They are even more vital than some lycans.

All eighteen of them had slaughtered different packs and some coven that had failed to bow before Lord Darius. They fought the Nile's Coven witches, killed their leader, and burned the rest of the witches.

The Nile's were notorious for their brutality and unbridled power. They work for Darius Rucker's father, the first Lord Darius, and they are well respected. Lord Darius had them massacred when he discovered that they were working against him.

Taking a deep breath, Thane, son of Thawing, stood up from his throne and took dangerous steps toward Sarah. He squatted in front of her and used his hand to raise her chin. As their gazes collided, Sarah shivered in fear.

Thane let out a small chuckle at the sight of that. Exactly what he loves. He might not be the best fighter or most powerful being in the whole middle land, but he knew how to install fear in his enemy's heart.

"Tell me, what were you doing in the city hall when you were bitten by the rogue wolf?" He asked, his vocalist was so deep, ancient, and cold. As his great voice carried autocratic booms throughout the whole chamber, his wolves were forced to go on their knees due to the strong aura that was coming out of his body.

"I swear, I don't know anything," Sarah replied truthfully. Thane let out another sly smile, as he returned to his feet. Of course, he knew the innocent woman didn't know who bit her or what type of being it was. He was doing this intentionally. He just wants to make her feel his power.

"You and Lord Darius will be settling that." He warned her, and Sarah shuddered in fear at the name. She raised her gaze, and it met with that of Thane. She shook in anxiety again, and the silver chain that was used to bind her hand made a rattling sound.

Not only that, but she could also feel the radar that was placed on her neck suppressing her power. With the help of the radar, she felt useless and powerless. Just like she was before she was turned.

How does this happen? She didn't know. She just wants to watch the concert. She was invited by one of her friends to the birthday party, and she reluctantly agreed. Sarah had never thought that she could be a victim.

The only thing Sarah could remember before she was bitten was how she entered the city hall gate. After that, she excused herself from her friend and went to the female dressing room to change her clothes. She was done dressing and was about to walk out when the door went flying off its hinges.

The door hit her on the forehead, and she didn't get to see who, or whatever it was that bragged in. Even in her unconscious state, all she knew was that she felt something sharp piercing her neck, sucking her blood and infecting her with something else.

That is how she woke up and found out that she now possessed supernatural power. Surprisingly, the name of the power and the kind of species she belongs to are still unknown.

She had gone out of control by burning everything in her path, killing other supernatural beings by just looking into their eyes and draining their life force. Some were transformed into statues simply by looking into her eyes, while others were choked by strange forces.

All around her, dead people's ashes litter the floor. She was about to get out when Thane crossed her road altogether with his wolves. That's how she was captured.

"Hauled her up," Thane's voice said, jerking her back to reality. "Tie her up. She will lead us to the rogue wolf." He ordered his men. Even though Thane, the son of Thawing himself, wasn't sure if it was a wolf that bit Sarah. Sarah had not only killed people in the City Hall, but she also killed six of his men, reducing their numbers to eighteen.

Her power was something he had not witnessed before, and he had sent a message to Lord Darius through the memo book. If a new turned creature could be so powerful like this, Thane was wondering how much power the rogue would be wielding.

Fortunately, he had managed to convince the people that it was a rogue wolf, and the perpetrator would be apprehended soon.

It was a lie. Thane thought.

He did it just to stop people from spreading false rumours. He knew very well that it was something greater. Not only that, if it was under normal circumstances, Lord Darius would have ordered him to kill both the newly turned being and the rogue at sight.

However, the man orders him to bring both of them to his chamber. Then he suspected that they must be a threat to Lord Darius, and he wanted to execute them in public.

"Done, my Duke." One of his soldiers' voices brought him back to reality.

"Are you ready to help us?" Thane implored, his gaze now resting on Sarah. "Are you willing to take vengeance on the being that turned you without your permission?"

"I'm ready, my Duke," Sarah said truthfully. Even though she had been dreaming of becoming a supernatural being, she didn't want this kind of power. It was too detrimental, and she could feel the power consuming her.

It was urging her to obliterate everything in her path. If it was not because of the chain that was used to bind her and the radar that was locked on her neck, Sarah was sure that she would still be out there killing innocent beings.

"Search deep inside you. There must be a clue that will tell us where to find the rogue that turned you." Duke Thane instructed

Following his advice, Sarah closes her eyes and allows her instinct to take over. At first, it was hard because of the radar on her neck. After several minutes of trying, she was able to find what she needed. She could feel a strong female scent threatening to overwhelm her. Without being told, she knew it belonged to whoever bit her.

"I can sniff her scent," she said cheerfully.

"Her scent?" Duke Thane asked in surprise.

"Yes," Sarah confirmed. "It's a female rogue that turned me."

"That's great," Thane said happily and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "It will be easy for us since we know that it's a female."

"What are we waiting for?" One of the wolf soldiers asked.

"We are waiting for her to lead the way," Thane said, his stare now back on Sarah's own. "Don't forget, we have to capture her because Lord Darius needs her alive." He instructed his men.

"What about me? Are you going to deliver me to Lord Darius?" Sarah asked.

"At least not yet," Thane replied. "Now lead the way," he ordered her, his voice now returning to cold.

As they set to match out of the golden chamber, the door went flying off, and Duke Thane narrowly escaped. Before he could comprehend what was happening, three flaming arrows came flying in.

A few inches before the arrow touches Duke Thane's neck, it becomes frozen in midair. He looked beside him, and he was grateful to see that it was one of his men that did it.

The grateful moment was cut short when an unobtanium arrow pierced the wolf from behind. He howled in pain and tried to transform into his full werewolf form. Before he could complete his transformation, he became a sculptor. A loud uproar broke out in the inner chamber, and soldiers with red armour dashed in.

"D'arcy's soldiers," Duke Thane said, and one could hear the surprise in his voice. Ever since he had become the third Duke and slaughtered all the Nile's witch coven, none of the D'arcy soldiers had dared attack him. For them to be present in his chamber means they are here for something important.

Duke Thane used his hand to draw a circle pattern and chanted in an unknown language, "Guerrero del infierno y consumidor del alma." His face became red, and a fire burned some unlucky D'arcy soldiers.

"Protect the newly transformed creature," he yelled at his men, and they reformed. They were now surrounding Sarah, and the D'arcy soldiers were now transforming into their form.

"Who sent you?" Duke Thane asked, his eyes blazing with anger. "How dare you attack me?"

"I did," a female voice retorted. "I attacked you because you have something that belongs to me." Says the female voice as the D'arcy soldiers parted ways for her.

A young female with a long red robe walked in from the chamber entrance. She had black eyes like a crow and long eyelashes. Her blushing high-heeled shoes were making a click-clack on the marble floor as she moved towards Duke Thane.

"Quite a good entry for you, widow." Duke Thane said, and one could hear the disgust in his voice.

"Even though my name is Nicki, I am not a widow. But I still love that name. It seems like the news travels faster these days." She said, with a sly smile.

"What brings you here?" Duke Thane asked impatiently. "I have some pending business with Lord Darius, and I must deliver it immediately."

"Did you know the reason why my husband loved and hated you before I put an arrow in his skull?" Nicki said sarcastically. "He loves you because of your aptitudes, vigour, and technique. And he hates you because of your avarice and greediness."

"Are you trying to threaten me with your dead husband's name?" Duke Thane spat.

"Nope," Nicki replied. "May his stupid soul rot in the coffin."

"I heard that you killed him because he was making out with your trusted maid." Duke Thane mocked her. Even though he was getting impatient because any minute he wasted here was putting his mission in danger. He didn't want to feel the wrath of Lord Darius, and failure to provide what he requested would make him feel it.

Nonetheless, he didn't want to alert Nicki to the current situation. Duke Thane knew how vicious she could be, more rigorous than her husband. He was once a servant of Wakame, the king of the desert land in the northern part of the middle land. Before he ran away from him after the death of his brother, he used to be the most loyal servant to Wakame.

"I can do the same thing to you," Nicki threatened.

"Why don't we cut the crap, and discuss the reason why you attacked me with D'Arcy soldiers?" Duke Thane retorted.

"I heard there's a new creature here, and I'm here for her," Nicki retorted.

"And why should I hand her over to you?" He took some protective steps towards Sarah, as Duke Thane implored. All around him, his men were also getting ready for an unexpected battle, while the D'arcy soldiers were doing the same.

"Lord Darius placed a bounty on someone, and my spies told me that she is the only one that can lead us to the so-called being," Nicki replied with confidence, and Duke Thane's eyes became harder. He could now process everything that was happening together.

No wonder Lord Darius had given him a one-day deadline. He thought.

"And why should I believe you?" He implored Nicki to confirm his theory. Besides, if she could know about this, it means there is a traitor among his men. Not only that, it means that every being in the middle land will have heard about the bounty, and they will be going after the rogue being.

"Stop being stupid," Nicki said. "The girl that we are looking for is a powerful being, and she could be a threat to Lord Darius's kingdom. That's why he ordered everybody in the middle land to arrest her, and he will reward anybody that submits her handsomely." She clarified.

"So, what are you suggesting?" Duke Thane asked. Not that he wants to work with Nicki. He had known her for a long period, and she knew about her gimmick. But now, he doesn't have any choice. If Lord Darius could send words to everyone in the middle land, that means he could not do this alone.

"That we should walk together, capture the girl, submit her to Lord Darius, and we would share the premium equally." She elaborated.

"I accepted your deal," Duke Thane said. "But you will have to tell me the traitor among my men."

"That would be after we captured our victim," she said and walked towards Sarah. "Why did you bind her with a silver chain and place a radar on her neck?" She asked as soon as she saw Sarah.

Thane simply replied, "Because she could kill all of us within the twinkle of her eyes. Now let's move." He said, and Nicki simply nodded her head. Finally, Sarah led the way, and the soldiers returned to their human form before the march after their leader.

T. b. c