CHAPTER 22 – A FEEDING OF SECRETS

A woman emerged from the right-hand passage. She paused, surprised, upon seeing the three intruders. Her blonde hair was braided into a long tail that reached her hips, and she carried a dove with a paper scroll around its neck on her arm.

"Welcome," she composed herself surprisingly quickly and made a slight bow. "The mayor is ready to see you now." She gestured to the passage behind her and then headed toward the stairs.

Dexter expected Reuben to stop her, but instead, he moved toward the mayor's room. Dexter exchanged a glance with Scarlett. What had the madman planned now? Why wasn't he stopping the woman with the dove? She was probably bringing a request for more soldiers to the king so that they could defend their castle… Dexter's eyes widened as realization hit him. Reuben had no intention of stopping her; he wanted the humans to come to the castle.

He rushed after his creator into the room. Inside, a portly man sat behind a spacious desk. A woman adorned with jewelry and wearing a silk dress stood next to him.

"Lady, gentlemen, how can I be of service to you?" the mayor asked briskly, lighting a cigar.

The woman frowned and took a step away from him. "Reuben !" Dexter clenched his fists. He wouldn't let this turn into a disaster. The woman could release the dove at any moment, and the fate of the soldiers who would respond to her call would be sealed.

"You don't have to..." Dexter began a desperate attempt to change Reuben 's devilish plans. But his creator interrupted him carelessly and continued, "I know what's happening at Aldaine Castle."

The mayor's eyes narrowed to slits. "Oh, really? And what would that be?"

Dexter couldn't take it anymore. He whirled around to rush after the woman, but the door slammed shut on its own right in his face. With an angry cry, he threw himself at the door, rattling the handle, but it wouldn't budge. Probably, his creator had magically reinforced it to prevent him from breaking it open. He spun around to confront the Nightstalker.

"Reuben ! For all the gods, stop this damn nonsense!"

Reuben laughed. "Gods, Dexter? Seriously?"

The mayor stood up. "What's this? We're not in a madhouse here! Speak your mind or leave!"

Reuben 's jaw tensed briefly, then he smiled. "A monster has attacked the castle's inhabitants, drained their blood, killed them, and raised them as skeleton servants."

Both the mayor and the woman regarded Reuben as if he'd lost his mind, which was quite likely.

Dexter closed his eyes for a moment. Now they couldn't save them.

"Reuben , what is this?" Scarlett asked, her voice alarmed. In the next moment, Reuben had drawn his sabre and sliced the mayor's throat. Blood splattered, the woman screamed and stumbled backward against the wall.

"Reuben !" Scarlett scolded, but he didn't listen.

"I hate mayors," he said and kicked the lifeless body along with the chair to the floor. The woman still screamed at the top of her lungs. Inside Dexter, the urge to silence her battled with the desire to stop Reuben . Before one of these impulses could prevail, the Nightstalker was already with her, beheading her.

"Did that have to be?" Dexter asked, embittered, as Reuben cleaned his sabre on the elaborately woven tapestry. When he had worked in the Klennar city guard, he had to take three human lives. But even though both were crimes in his eyes, there was still a world of difference between killing for a good reason and killing needlessly. At that moment, he loathed Reuben even more than he already did.

Reuben rose and spread his arms solemnly. His grin promised nothing good. "Welcome to your baptism of fire, Dexter! Today will determine whether I've made an inept fool into a Nightstalker or if there's still something to salvage from you."

With determined steps, he passed by them. "He's completely losing it now," Dexter hissed. "What's he planning?"

Scarlett shrugged. "There's only one way to find out."

Everything inside Dexter resisted, but still, he followed Reuben up the stairs with Scarlett. What else could he have done? So, he climbed the stairs with her, anticipating another massacre. He wasn't disappointed. Barely had they reached the top landing when a shrill scream echoed from the other end of the corridor.

"Come on, let's hurry," Scarlett said. "We'll probably need to move quickly."

Together, they rushed to an open glass door leading to a balcony. Marie stood at the railing, leaning as far back as possible. Reuben had positioned himself in front of her, displaying his sharp teeth. In the sky, Dexter saw a dove flying away. It was too late! And Dexter was still sure that Reuben had intentionally allowed her to gain this head start. He wanted the dove to reach its destination. He wanted the soldiers to fall into his trap!

A deep hatred welled up inside him. This dove was delivering Reuben 's food directly to the castle, and Dexter could do nothing about it anymore.

"Please," the woman whimpered, "please, sir, have mercy. I have two small children..."

"Wretched human scum!" Reuben moved closer to her. Dexter couldn't bear to watch. With a cry, he lunged forward and grabbed Reuben 's arm.

"Leave her in peace, you abominable monster!"

Before he knew it, Reuben had him by the collar and threw him against the house's wall. The air was squeezed out of Dexter's lungs, and a piercing pain shot through his body from his back. Gasping for breath, he struggled to breathe.

In the meantime, the Nightstalker turned his attention to Marie. Effortlessly, he lifted her over his head and moved to the balcony. She screamed at the top of her lungs. Dexter wished he could close his eyes and ears to spare himself the spectacle.

Scarlett stood a few steps away. Her lips were pressed together, but she didn't intervene.