161-170

Chapter 161

I woke up before Zirani and left her to rest while I headed to the living room. Misty was passed out with her head on the table and three large empty platers beside her. She must have ordered another cake. I really did underestimate her sweet tooth, or should I say fang. I waited, but there was no emotion from her which meant she actually was asleep. If she had been awake she would roll her eyes at my thoughts like she always did when I made a fang joke.

"Finally awake?" Sandra asked.

"I should be saying that to you." I chuckled as I turned to face the dark-haired arcanist. "You finally rested."

Sandra yawned and stretched, showing off her well-toned body, and cleavage in the process. She had stopped before sleeping and was only in her underclothes. Despite the fun I'd had with Zirani only hours earlier, I was always up for more, and Sandra must have noticed as she grinned. "See something you like?'

"You know I do." I sighed. "But I actually want to have a look around the city."

"Just a look around?" She raised an eyebrow. "Not hunting?"

"I'm still angry, but unless we run into them I don't think so," I said. "You up to tag along or are you going to take another nap?"

"Let me get dressed." She stood and I turned away before I got too worked up. "I'll meet you outside."

I left her to it and made my way out of the suite and towards the ground floor which was far busier than it had been when we had first arrived. Well-dressed merchants and armored arcanists waited to speak with the man at the desk, though even as he nodded in response to a merchant, he caught my eye and smiled politely while giving me questioning look. Since I had the suite he most likely would prioritize me, but I simply shook my head.

I got a few stares from some of the people, interest from the merchants, and assessment from the arcanists, of which there were only two at the third level with two cores. They seemed to be leading a group of lower arcanists who were about my age and were still at their first core. I nodded respectfully which they returned as I walked out into the bright morning. The air was pleasant and the city seemed to be alive with activity, at least on the street I was on. Carriages pulled along by beats and other means traveled the roads while groups of finely dressed people walked about. It was obvious I was in a richer part of the city, not surprising considering the high quality of the inn.

Sandra arrived a few minutes later dressed in her combat robes, though her cloak was no were to be seen. There really wasn't much of a point in wearing it since the expeditions hadn't arrived.

"Where to first?"

"How about we check out the market," I said. "Misty never really got a chance to get anything."

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.com"Are you sure it isn't so we can run into them?"

"No," I said. "Though I wouldn't be mad if we did."

I had a general idea of what they looked like due to my bond with Misty and I knew that if I did see them I wouldn't be able to hold myself back. I wouldn't kill them but I sure as hell would show them what happened to those who messed with those I loved. There was also the fact that I hadn't tested myself against an arcanist since the start of my training a month ago that wasn't Sandra, Misty, or Zirani. I wanted to see just how much of a difference the training had made, though that only plated a little part in it.

We made out way out of the teacher area we were in and towards the market which was just as busy as it had been yesterday. It felt like a completely different palace to the rest of the city. In fact, it was far more like a bazaar than a regular market, and there weren't people just selling items. I saw people preaching about certain things atop a pedestal, a few robes arcanists that seemed to be recruiting, and even some musicians who sand or played instruments in hopes of getting some money. Children ran about, weaving through the crowd, and I was glad that I had my spatial ring as I had no doubt there were a few pickpockets about, though even with a pouch or bag I doubted any of them could get to it with my senses and reflexes.

"Are they arm wrestling?"

I turned and followed Sandra's gaze to a table surrounded by a group of people who were watching two men arm wrestle with one another. As I looked on, one of the watchers handed a crystal to a man who stood closest to the table.

"I think they're betting," I said. "Wanna go give it a shot?"

Sandra shrugged. "Sure, we haven't really tested our strength against anybody besides ourselves."

In the end, Sandra walked away a few dozen crystals richer after besting the man. He was at the third level, surprisingly enough, but hadn't stood a chance against Sandra who had seemed bored. She had just waited for the first minute to see if the man could do anything and then in one swift movement ended the match much to the shock of all the watchers. The baths and elixirs really had paid off if there was such a difference between her and someone who was also at the third level. I wondered why someone like him was doing something so simple to earn money but after thinking about it, I released it was a safe and simple way. There was also the fact that to win you just needed to last a minute, not actually beat him. A simple money-making scheme that probably worked most of the time, and would have this time, if we were normal arcanists.panda novel

We moved about the bazaar going from stall to stall, bing anything of interest. We had plenty of crystals and Zirani could make us a fortune anytime so we didn't worry about how much we were spending. I bought plenty of ingredients while Sandra browsed some clothes for all of us. She was sick and tired of the same old robes and ended up buying a few sets of higher-quality clothing that was also more defensible.

We ended up splitting up, and deciding to meet back up at the inn as she had places she wanted to browse and I wasnt keen on going clothes shopping. If there were any problems then our bond would lead us to each other.

The weapons and armor stalls were interesting, but there was nothing that really caught my eye. I did spot a few glaives, but nothing that particularly stood out. I was bout to head away from them when I came upon a dingy and small stall tucked away in a corner. The man running it looked older than anyone I had ever seen. He must have been hundreds of years old considering that he had two cores.

"See something you like?"

"Not sure," I replied as I gazed down at his stall. There were all sorts of odds and ends from potions to armor, to other things I couldn't recognize. I moved my gaze across it all until a stopped on what looked like an odd shard of glass.

I picked it up and marveled at the way the light refracted from it into a multitude of clours, like a rainbow. "Whats this?'

"An old trinket I found in a labyrinth," the old man explained.

"A labyrinth?" I questioned. "Which one?"

"You ever heard of Bullrock?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yes, even been there before."

"Well, it was during my second delve. I found it in the hand of a skeleton, dressed in very fine clothes. I've kept onto it all these years. You're the first to notice it, nobody else seems to even when I point it out."

"It's enchanted?"

He shook his head. "Not with aether."

I was about to ask another question when I felt the lost queen wake up. Her focus immediately landed on the shard of clear glass in my hands.

"Buy it."

Her words came out like a command and with more emotion than I had seen in the past month. I was tempted to put it down just to spite her, but I was beyond that, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in it.

"How much?" I asked the old man.

"Ten crystals?" He asked in a slow voice. It was clear he didn't know how much to sell it for, but I didn't haggle. I pulled ten crystals from my ring and handed them over.

The lost queen seemed to sigh in relief, and I was about to ask her a question when I felt a wave of anger from Sandra. I turned and saw her jogging towards me.

"What is it?" I asked, placing the shard in my ring and looking around. It only took me a moment to spot the problem as the crowd parted to reveal four robed arcanists. The same arcanists that had hassled Misty.

"Either the shard is good luck, or this is just coincidence." I smiled darkly. "Either way, today is not their day."

Chapter 162

The three arcanists were exactly as Misty's thoughts had shown them to be, and the attached emotions along with those thoughts suited these three idiots perfectly. Cocky, smug, and arrogant. Each wore a red robe with pieces of metallic armor atop the garment that flowed like silk but looked far more like leather. The crowd parted for them, and many looked away in fear and fright, especially the young women who the three took great pleasure in leering at.

It was the one in the center that had my attention though. He was the one who had approached Misty first and had tried to force her into something she had no desire to do, something that made my blood boil in ways that nothing else could. Perhaps it was due to our bond or love or both, but no matter what, my vision was red. These three reminded me of the twin horn, people who thought that their power allowed them to do as they wished.

That might be the law of the world, but it didn't mean I had to put up with it when I could damn well do something. I was no hero, but Misty was mine as I washers, and these people had tried to force her into something.

"Aiden?" Sandra sounded half worried and half pissed. "What do we do?'

I turned and gave her a feral grin. "We go over a teach them a quick lesson."

She smiled. "I'm for that, but don't you think this might cause problems?'

"You don't think we could take them?" I questioned.

She snorted. "You know I don't, it's what comes after that concerns me."

I held back my quick retort. She was right, but I couldn't just let them pass. "We won't bloody them up too much."

"Are you mad?"

I glanced and frowned at the old man who was cowering behind his stall. "There from the burning sands sect, they'll kill you."

"Burning sands sect, huh?" I mused. "They don't seem like much to me."

They really didn't. None were above the second level, and I had no doubt with our training and power we could wipe the floor with them like it was nothing, but Sandra's words echoed in my head. Could we handle what came after? I tried to think of a way we could go about this that would obscure our identities when my eyes fell upon a clothesline with different colored cloaks, handing for all to see, except all eyes were on the three from the burning sands sect

"Sandra." I placed a hand on her shoulder. "You trust me?"

"Always." She smiled. "I take it you have a plan?"

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.comI nodded. "I do, follow me."

I wove through the people and quickly made my way to the cloaks. There was a woman nearby who had been in the process of hanging another but was now cowering behind a group of men, who seemed to be shielding her. I placed two crystals on the ground next to her as discreetly as I could and then snatched a green and a black cloak, before darting away.

"Disguises," I said in answer to Sandra's questioning look. "You still remember how Zirani taught us to mask out cores and aether temporarily?"

"I do," She replied as she swung the black cloak over herself, then put the hood up. "Do we wait or strike now?"

I considered it and then shook my head. It would be better if it occurred in a more discreet place. "Let's follow them for a bit and see where they go."

Zirani had taught us the basics of masking our cores and aether without the need for arrays, and while we couldn't do it for long, it was still very useful, and these three probably didn't have the best arcane senses, not to mention they were very relaxed as though they had no worries about a potential attack, which they probably didn't. People like them relied on their status and people knowing who they were. I didn't know and even if I did, I still wouldn't have cared. These three were about to be in for a world of hurt.

Once my cloak was around me, Sandra and I begin to stalk the three arcanists. Sandra led the way as she knew how to move through a city crowd far better than I, and after a few minutes, the three left the Bazar and begin down a fairly busy road. Sandra and I kept to alleys ways, and any recess we could find. Our speed and Sandra's dark affinity meant we went by unnoticed.

As we watched them, my anger only grew. They walked around like they owned the palace, though whenever a strong enough arcanist passed, they showed a bit more courtesy, though only barely. It was the one in the center and forefront with his slicked back black hair, dirty brown eyes, and a smug smile that made his face so damn punchable. He reminded me of Jason Hays from West Vale, and I had no doubt he probably had someone from his sect or in a position of power backing him up.

To my surprise, the lost queen seemed to agree with me, though she hid the thought the moment it came to my notice, and before I could say anything she blocked herself off. I could still tell that she was awake and paying attention, just not interested in talking.

Still better than cursing and shouting, and at least she was doing something.

"What a stuck-up fool," Sandra commented. "I've always hated his type."panda novel

"I really can't wait to wipe that smug smile off his face." I tightened my fists.

"Well, we might soon," Sandra replied as she pointed at them. "Look there going down a side street, cmon."

We followed behind them into the side street, which was pretty barren compared to the street we'd come from. Since the Bazar, the three had walked further and further away from the central area of the city, and market places to the outer edges which was good for us. It meant fewer people to see what was about to happen.

The street was a lot more cramped and seemed like a great palace for a brawl, but then they turned into an alley between two buildings that looked empty. Sandra and I, headed up one of the buildings and I pressed a finger to my lips as I peered down.

The three arcanists had stopped in front of a side door in bundling over from ours.

"Cmon open up!" One of the three, a muscular-looking teen yelled.

"Fucking hells Bill, shut up you fool!" The leader barked. "What part of secretive didn't you get earlier?"

The muscular fool rubbed the back of his hand and shrugged. "Sorry, just eager."

"We all are," The third, a small, and lean-looking man, older than the others wrung his hands together in eager anticipation. "I hear they have the best in the city, reserved only for the highest paying patrons."

"Which means me," The leader said smugly. "And you two if you shut up and listen, got it?'

His two lackeys nodded, and I turned to Sandra. "What do you think they mean?"

Sandra's face was grim. "I'm not sure but I think I have an idea, did you have any brothels back in West Vale?"

"No…" I said, glancing back down. "Wait, you think that?"

She nodded. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"But brothels aren't against any law?" I replied in confusion. "Why hide it?"

"Not a proper brothel." Sandra sighed. "Some of the more prestigious places are hidden, usually because they don't want just anyone walking in or…"

Her hands trembled, not in fear but in anger. "Or their working girls didn't consent or some other fucked up thing they don't want the common people knowing about."

"Slaves then," I said, my anger reaching new levels as I glanced back down. The three had disappeared, most likely having entered the brothel through the door.

"Do we still follow?" She asked, hope in her voice.

"Oh yes,' I said, a new idea coming to mind. "We follow and see what's going on inside, and if your assumptions are correct, then we'll have a few more people… to teach a lesson to."

A wave of gratitude passed through our bond and she leaned over to give me a kiss. "Thank you."

I wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug, and slowly stroked her hair. Sandra had been a virgin our first time so I knew she hadn't endured what might be going on down there, but it was clear she had seen such things before, and probably hadn't been able to do a damn thing. Not anymore though. She didn't just have the strength to fight back, she had friends, and a family, she had me, Misty, and Zirnai and if they were here then I knew they would be thinking just as I was.

Pulling back, I gave her a grin. "You wanna hear my plan then?'

She took a moment to compose herself then nodded. "I'm all ears."

Chapter 163

Getting into the brothel was the easy part since all we had to do was flash some money, and our clothes were of a high enough quality as to not make us look like common folk, though in the end, I chalked it up to the fact that we were both of the third level. Zirani had taught us how to show only what we wanted to show. We kept our cores hidden but allowed our level to be visible. The level of aether infusion was tied to the body while the cores were all located in the same place.

The large and muscular man who let us in was dressed in an old-world suit and wore an odd white mask that had no feature save for the black circles around the eyes openings. He was of the second level and had a metal core which explained the chains warped around his arms. He probably didn't think I could sense them, but I did since there were of aether and not just normal mundane metal he'd bought from somewhere.

He led us through a long hallway lit by red lights and carpeted plushly. The difference in temperature was also clear as it was perfectly warm in here yet it had been too hot outside, not that it had bothered us.

"Is there anything, in particular, you're looking for?" He asked.

"We'd like to browse if possible," I replied in a cheery and excited tone. I had to play the part of an eager new patron with money to spend.

"That's fine." he shrugged. "I'll take you to the main room, and one of the madames can explain everything to you."

I glanced at Sandra who was glaring at the man's back. Anger was clear through our bond more so now that the man had confirmed this was indeed a brothel, thought one run with slaves and force? That was yet to be seen.

The hallways led into a wide-open room, lit by floating chandeliers that gave off more red light with twinges of dark blue and the occasional bit of orange. Laughter sounded from tables and people who walked around the room, some with drinks in hand and others, beautiful women. There was an open space with raised platforms surrounded by circular couches that allowed people to look up at scantily clad women who danced around metal poles. Every now and then, small golden pieces who been found up on stage as the women were egged on to do more.

On the other side was an area like a barroom with tables in neat rows while alcoves dotted the sides, some with curtains drawn up, no doubt to hide the erotic acts occurring.

Above it all, a loud thumping beat played, though I could see no one playing an instrument. An enchantment then.

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.comAs our guide looked around for someone I tried to find the three burning sands arcanists but couldn't spot them so I assumed they were either in one of the alcoves or in another area.

"Natalia!" our guide yelled over the din of sounds as he spotted who he was looking for.

I followed his gaze to a caramel-skinned woman dressed in little more than a pair of lacy black panties and a matching bra. Over it, she wore a sheer dress, that did nothing but enhance the beauty underneath. She turned at the sound of her name and scowled as she spotted our guide, though it transformed into a smile as she saw us standing close by. Her amber eyes lit up and she flung her long black hair over one shoulder before strutting over to us, her hips swaying and her breasts bouncing slightly with the movement. Only Sandra's amusement and anger made me realize that I was watching her intently and I gave her an apologetic shrug.

"New patrons," our guide explained once Natalia had stopped in front of us.

She nodded, ignoring the guide. "I can see that. You can leave now, I will handle things from here."

The large man grunted and then walked off, probably back to his post.

Natalia scowled at his retreating back. "What a brute. Not like the two of you."

She turned back to us and smiled, her eyes trying to get a clearer look at us from underneath our hoods. "I understand secrecy, but there is no need to hide yourselves here."panda novel

"We will take them off when we're somewhere more private," I said, and Sandra nodded in agreement.

Natalia sighed then nodded. "Very well. We can use one of the private rooms. If that brute brought you to me then you must be very well off."

I didn't reply, not trusting myself to be able to, not clearly at least. Her proximity to me made her assets very clear, not to mention all the other half-naked women about. I was strong wiled, but this would be a test for any man. I couldn't tell if the working women were here against their will from their expression but then again maybe they had been drugged or had to act so lest they be beaten or punished. Someone working in a brothel needed to be good at acting the part so as to get more customers. I didn't know much about that, but even I knew that. No, Sandra and I would need to dig deeper, and get some answers.

Natalia would be perfect for that. She was a madame which meant she helped organize and sort out the girls and other things.

As Natalia led us away from the main room and up a set of stairs, I tried to focus on the reason we were here. If this palace wasnt using force to make its women work then we would just deal with the three arcanists, but if it was then the palace wasnt going to survive the day. From what I had seen in the main room, there were around half a dozen guards, of which all were at the second level, and I assumed there was probably at least one or two at the third level. A few weeks ago I would have been worried, but with everything we had learned, I had no doubt we would come out on top.

The private room was similar to the living room of our suite, though with more red, and silk. It was clearly designed for erotic purposes if the multitude of pillows and soft carpet were any indication, not to mention that there were two attached doors which probably led into a bedroom and bathing room.

"Would you like any drinks?" Natalia asked as she walked over to a table of different drinks, most looking to be alcoholic.

Sandra and I declined as we lowered our hoods. I gave her a nod and she went to stand by the door as I focused on Natalia. She was at the second level with a fire core, so I wasn't too worried about this being difficult. Even if she was skilled in combat which was unlike given her profession she wouldn't stand a chance against me let alone both of us.

Natalia who had been about to ask something else now looked worried as Sandra leaned against the door, and I pulled aether from our nature core. "Don't scream it won't help. I can see that this room is soundproofed."

"W-What are you—" She glanced over at the door, and I could see that she thinking of her chances if she tried to run past me and if she could get past Sandra. I stopped that line of thinking by removing the mask that hide my cores.

She already knew I was at the third level, but now her eyes widened as she noticed the strength of my core. Zirani had taught us that just as you could mask you could also increase the ease at which your power could be sensed. At lower stages, it was done as a way of causing fear and deterring beasts, but at higher levels, the sheer power of a core could send people to their knees.

"We not going to hurt you," I said as I walked closer to her, my hands raised as a sign of peace. "We just have a few questions."

"What sort of questions?"

"Take a seat." I motioned to a plush chair near the center of the room. "Get a drink if you want, but relax. Your not under any threat of harm as long as you answer truthfully."

It was clear she didn't believe me, but also that it was best if she did as told so she served herself a drink, gulped it down in one swig then walked over to the chair, her strut nowhere to be seen. Even without it though, I found it hard not to stare at her backside. It wasnt that I hadn't seen a naked woman before, but her clothes and something about this place was getting me worked up, which I guess was probably on purpose. I shook my head and thought of the fact that this woman could very well be here against her will. I focused back on what I needed to do.

"Good." I took a seat opposite her. "Now, Natalia. Let's begin."

Chapter 164

Natalia fidgeted in her seat as she glanced from me to Sandra. It was futile for her to try and run but a part of her mind was clearly still thinking of the chances of her escaping. I sort of felt bad for her, not because we were about to hurt her, but of the fear, we were causing. I knew how it felt to be unable to do anything, and even then I had never been in a situation like this. My luck had been good and I usually got out of these situations.

"You work here as a madame correct?" I asked, leaning back in my seat to try and give off a visual and relaxed aura. Imtidmation would work, but I would try a more calm method first, and see how she responded to that.

She nodded. "I do. I organize a group of girls and make sure everything goes well with the patrons."

"Ok, well there is only really one question we have for you, the only one that matters in the end." I met her eyes and hardened my gaze into a promise of pain if she lied. "Are you and the girls here against your will?'

Her reaction was not what I expected at all. She froze, and her eyes widened as a faraway look appeared in them. "I-I… N-no… Aaah!"

Suddenly she screamed and grasped her head as she fell forward. I caught her as she began to shake and continued her screaming. Sandra had rushed from the door and was now kneeling next to the woman, a confused and worried frown on her face.

"What happened?"

I shrugged. "You heard. All I did was ask her a question. Natalia?"

She didn't respond as her screams died down into a quiet mumbling as her body seemed to go limp. I quickly checked her pulse and sighed in relief. It was erratically beating but seemed to be calming down, though there was something else there in her body, a shroud over her mind that was dissipating. It was made up of an aether I wasn't familiar with, a mix of life and something else that wasnt visible like the rest. I could sense it, but there was no color or not normal color at least. I shook my head as a feeling of dizziness hit me.

"Aiden?" Sandra placed a hand on m shoulder.

"I think she's under some sort of mind techniques or something," I said as I stood and placed Natalia back in her seat before taking a deep breath to clear my mind of the odd aether. "It was like it was there but invisible or somewhere else."

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.com"What?"

"The aether that was covering her mind," I explained as I returned to my seat. "I could sense life aether but also something else, like… thoughts, memories and… dreams?"

"I think we need to contact Zirani." Sandra glanced over at Natalia. "After we deal with her."

"And how do we do that?" I questioned. "Whatever was influencing her is gone, and who knows how she might act when she wakes up."

"Then we take her with us," Sandra asked with a shrug.

"They'll notice," I said as an idea came to mind. "Give me a minute."

I leaned back and focused on my bond with Zirani. I was far away, but our bond had grown significantly in the last few months, and when I sent a message it reached her. She had been sleeping but now awoke and turned her attention to me.

"Aiden, what… where are you."

I felt her going through my thoughts before she let out a sigh. "You really should have woken me early. I'm guessing you need some help?'panda novel

I glanced over at Sandra who was looking over at Natalia with uncertainty. "We do. Can you get here?"

"Make a tree and I'll be there, no need for makers. It's our core remember."

I frowned. "Can't you just return to your core?"

"At this range, it's too risky. People are going to notice the essence."

"Alright." I stood and made my way over to a more wide area of the room.

"She's coming then?" Sandra asked having been focused on our bond and seeing what I was doing. The bond really did make things easier and connected us in a very beneficial way. Most would think it invasive, but I loved Sandra, and knowing how she felt and that I could truly trust her, made life easier.

I nodded. "Mhm, I just need to make a tree."

I pulled aether from my core and then focused. I didn't need to make a permanent tree, just one that would last for a minute or so, and was big enough to act as a spatial anchor for Zirani's jump. I pulled the information of a normal oak tree to mind and then began to form its pattern while caching the aether I used. It took a minute since I wasn't just creating a sapling but a grown tree.

Once the technique was ready, I released it and the aether quickly shot forward and began to coalesce and take shape, starting off crude and as just green light in the shape of a tree, but soon bark and branches became clear, followed by leaves and roots which dug into the ground. It was fairly large, as large as myself as six feet, and wouldn't last. Right now all that was keeping it alive was the aether within it, and once that died so would it as there was no soil beneath it and sky overhead for rain and sunlight.

Before I even needed to say anything, I felt Zirani move in my mental sense, going from feeling far away to right next to me which she was, appearing in a flash with no fan fair of any kind. One moment there was nothing and then she was there.

She stretched, and after taking a quick glance around the room, turned her attention to Natalia who was still out cold, and mumbling to herself. Zirani face grew colder and cooler as she walked closer to the madame until it was devoid of emotion as she placed a hand on her head.

"Such crude manipulation." She growled. "You were both right. If the rest are like her then they are all under the influence of mind tampering."

"Is that what that aether is?" I asked.

"It's aether of thought and the mind, that's why it's so different because thought, memories, and dreams have no physical form they're are not things you can touch or view with your eyes, at least not normally. It's an aether that is ever-changing and can often cause the viewer mental pain if there try to look too closely without understanding. It's still aether though no matter how odd and different it is from the others. It is an element of reality just like the rest. It's an ability that manifests in a few different ways, though you have to have a life affinity to even have a chance of getting it and that's not mentioning the risk in some of them. Messing with the mind isn't far off from messing with the soul."

"So someone here has the ability then?" I asked, not liking the idea that we could come under mental attack, though with Zirani, and the lost queen, I doubted anything would really work.

"Unlikely," Zirani said. "It's more so that someone here probably has an item of some sort that can cause this. The aether of thought is odd but just like all other forms of enchantment it can be used and harnessed. Take the enchantments I made for your portable kitchen. All I did was carve a few runes and arrays, and there was fire. It's not as easy, but the same can be done with thought aether, or dream aether as most call it, in different ways. We are in luck however, this mental shroud was very weak and all it took was you asking the right question to break it, though it's trying to rebuild itself. A simple mental trigger and realization, hmm. Let me try and end this."

Zirani focused and then Natalia stopped mumbling. She spasmed as Zirani pushed aether into her like a small string, moving towards the madame's head. Once there, it split into smaller strings which began needles that struck out at the thought aether. I expected some resistance of her power to be ineffective since the mind aether didn't really act like the others, but to my surprise, it easily took the remaining dream aether apart with little challenge.

"Don't be too shocked," Zirani said with a smile. "It's a versatile aether but when it comes to raw power it's the weakest. Its dream aether and relies not on physical changes like the others, but on manipulation of thoughts and memories, of the mind, which some arcane scholars theorize exists in a different place of existence simultaneously, but that's a topic for another time. When she wakes up we can ask her some questions and then."

She turned to regard both of us with a feral smile. "We tear this place down."

Chapter 165

Natalia woke up around an hour later much to our relief, mainly because we weren't certain when someone would come and check on us. It was most likely that they thought we were currently preoccupied, but that couldn't last forever, and we couldn't just knock out everyone they sent because eventually, they would catch on, and the cat would be out of the bag.

"Wha— Where am I?" Natalia shook her head and I noticed that something had changed in her eyes. They looked clearer now like she was all there. I hadn't noticed before because of the constant distractions of this place and there were other parts of her that kept drawing my attention.

"Natalia?" Zirani knelt and slowly placed a hand on the madame's head. "Are you ok, your mind clear?"

"Whose Natalia?"

Zirani sighed. "Do you not remember your time working here?"

Not Natalia frowned, and her eyes slowly widened before tears began leaking from them as she started to shake. A slow sob built up until she was weeping and Zirnai slowly pulled the girl into a hug which she didn't refuse.

"What's happening?" Sandra asked.

"She's remembering," Zirani said in a sad tone. "The shroud is gone and she's seeing all the things she's done, she was manipulated to do. She's looking at things in clarity rather than with the rose-tinted glasses of the mental shroud which was manipulating her in many ways, though I think its main purpose was making her very agreeable and blocking out certain thoughts among other things."

"What do we do now?" I asked. "We can't stay here, but we also can't just leave it as it is. All working girls are essentially just sex slaves."

"We're not," Zirani replied firmly. "Sandra, can you take her to the bedroom and calm her down? I need to think."

Sandra nodded and helped the former madame to her feet before walking her into the attached bedroom.

"Ok, so the plan?" I raised an eyebrow

"First thing we need to do is find whatever is creating the mental shrouds," Zirani explained. "I can track it, but we also need to take care. This place is undoubtedly funded by many wealthy patrons who live in the city. We don't just need to free the girls, but also find them a place to stay while we sort them out. I'm hoping someone from my court will arrive with the expedition as that should give us enough influence and power to do as we like as long as we don't step on the toes of the others who are part of the expedition."

"Where could we keep them?" I questioned. "Our suite isn't big enough and even if it were how would we get them there."

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.comZirani was quiet for a long moment, and through our bond, I could see she was deep in thought about a certain technique. "I have an idea, but I haven't tested it extensively. I can create a pocket space within a large enough tree for them, like a house that's bigger on the inside."

I blinked. "Really, since when?"

"What do you think I'm doing in my spare time?" Zirani asked. "I've been trying to get better with our spatial aspect, including enchantments and arrays. So, what do you think?'

"I say we do it." I shrugged. "You haven't failed before, and there aren't really any other options. I suppose we could rent out a building, but that would involve leaving and coming back, but we can't leave Natalia, or whatever her name is, here, and taking her means they will notice, and that will make things harder."

"Fair enough." She nodded. "Now we just need to find an area to put the tree in."

"I think I know a place," I said, remembering an area we'd passed when Sandra and I had been trialing the three arcanists from the burning sect. "There's this garden area, like a park, full of greenery. It's for show and guarded so we don't have to worry about it being cut down, though you'll have to make the tree look exotic. None of the plants I saw looked particularly normal."

"And we can teleport in and out easily." Zirani smiled. "Good idea. I'll have to head there and make the tree and then you can teleport them in pairs if it works."

I walked over and gave her a quick kiss. "I have faith, though we're going to need whatever her name is to do some acting so if anyone comes she can say that we're busy having fun or something."

"You'd like that wouldn't you." Zirani chuckled as I blushed. "I see the way you look at her. I don't blame you, but keep it in your pants until we're done."

I coughed. "Got it."

With that, Zirani focused and was gone in a blink, not even needing a marker or anything to teleport to the park. Her ability with the green was still a level far above mine, though not as it once had been. Where once it had been like staring up a tower that kept on going and no matter how high I climbed it never seemed like I was making any progress, but now it did. I was learning a lot and soon, even more, when we reached the green court. It would come with its own problems, but like everything else, I hoped would get through it.

"Where's Zirani?"

I turned as Sandra walked back into the room, gently closing the bedroom door behind her.

"She ok?"

Sandra shrugged. "I don't think so, she fell asleep."

"I see." I sighed unable to imagine what she must be feeling. "Zirani and I came up with a plan. She's gone to get it started and when she's done the chaos starts."

I explained the plan to her which she found ideal as she had no desire to leave anyone behind. We decided to just relax while Zirani did her work since there wasnt really anything else we could do. Going out was risky since we could run into someone curious about the former madame or into one of the three arcanists in which case I didn't know if I would be able to stop myself from attacking.

"Did you find out her real name?"

"No," Sandra replied. "When she stopped crying she just passed out, probably from mental fatigue."

I walked over to one of the seats and sat, thinking about how we always seemed to end up in these sorts of situations, then again it's not like we ever tried to avoid them. We could have left the three arcanists alone and just waited until they acted again, but I wasnt the type to just sit back and watch, especially not when it had something to do with a loved one. If they hadn't messed with Misty that I might have given them a glare and moved on.

As I sat, I focused on my bond with Zirani. She had reached the garden and was in the process of creating a tree, an exotic type that looked like a tree from the second floor of the tower, though not as large. After all, it needed to fit in and people would ask questions if she made it the size of a large building or if it was a giant mushroom.

An hour passed before we got any visitors, and Sandra and I glanced at each other worriedly before looking at the door.

"Natalia, you in there?'

Before I could say anything, Sandra spoke up in a relaxed and sensual tone. "She's… preoccupied."

I raised an eyebrow to which Sandra just rolled her eyes and sent over a mental message asking me to play along. The room was soundproof, but people outside the room could still communicate with those inside by standing next to the door, at least that was what it seemed like from the enchantments.

"Oh, how long?" the voice replied.

"We've paid her enough so several nights," Sandra said with a grimace. "Now please, your interrupting."

"Ok, but she needs to check up in a few hours."

"Heard loud and clear," I replied with a fake moan.

We waited but no more response came, and I sighed in relief. So we had a few hours. That would be more than enough as Zirani was done and was just getting the inside done. Apparently, she was making sure there would be plenty of breathable fresh air inside so that people could actually survive in there. I knew that at a certain level you stopped needing air to survive and could live off aether alone, but we weren't at that stage yet, let alone the working girls.

"And done," Zirani announced, and a moment later she was back in the private room next to the tree which I had been feeding aether to keep going. "It's working."

"Good," I replied. "Now I guess it's just the tracking?"

Zirani nodded. "Once we find what is responsible we destroy it and then get the girls to this room. I'll handle that part while you and Sandra work on getting rid of the object and those three."

Sandra smiled. "I'm happy with that."

Chapter 166

Zirani's tracking technique was rather complex, but its main principle was simple enough. Using a drop of the former madame's blood and some of her aether she was able to create a sort of one-way link that would lead her to the source of the dream aether. There were parts of it I didn't really understand, but I was sure if I wasn't focused on other things I could have figured it out, though she wasn't entirely using just nature. She had formed a simple piece of circular bark which she had carved a simple array onto, and after dropping the blood onto it, and then feeding it aether, the link was formed.

"It's above us," Zirani said her eyes far away. "It's not moving, so I think I was right in assuming it's an object rather than a person."

"Do we just head up then?" I asked, taking the tracker from Zirani. The moment I touched it, I felt the link, similar to my bond with the girls but different, less solid and the only thing it granted me was the feeling of the location the object was in.

"I'll go subdue everyone and get the girls back here while you go deal with the object," Zirani said.

"Don't you think it best if you do that?" Sandra asked. "We're not exactly experts on dream aether."

"You've more mental protection than most," Zirani replied. "And with the lost queen, trust me no one is taking control of you."

"And the three?"

Zirani sighed. "I know you wanted to teach them a lesson, but I'll deal with them."

I thought about it then nodded, trusting that she could handle it. I remembered how she had been when interrogating the twin horn member in the tower and knew that the three arcanists were going to wish they had never been born after Zirani was done with them, that is if they were still alive after she was done. I'd leave it to her judgment, though personally, I didn't think they deserve death, just a lot of punishment.

As Sandra and I prepared ourselves, pulling aether from our cores. I formed my layered armor around myself while her cloak and tendrils wrapped her in their embrace and she rose from the ground. She could run, but in truth, her simple flight was faster especially since she could essentially latch her gravity to a point and then increase the pull to send her flying at rapid speeds. She currently had problems with turns and less linear terrain, but she was getting there, and this place was just a bunch of hallways and rooms.

"I should have recharged my solar core." I sighed, referring to the storage space for my solar energy. Solar core just sounded better than storage core. "This will have to do though."

Zirani hadn't prepared at all, not that she really needed to. With her skill and power, there was no one currently in this city that could match her, in fact, she could probably take on the city, which sounded ridiculous, but I'd fought her and seen her against that twin horn elder that had so easily beaten us. If we were fishes in the small lake that was the plains then she a shark, far from home.

"What about her?" Sandra pointed to the bedroom.

"She out cold," Zirani answered. "It'll be a few hours before she wakes. That shroud was influencing her for some time and the overload of memories and thoughts overwhelmed her."

I walked forward and raised my leg, kicking the door open with a bang. Zirani casually walked out and stretched her arms.

There was a gasp and as Sandra and I walked out, Zirani saw a man dressed in a suit, staring at her. She sneered as the man's eyes moved down her body, and with a bit of aether and the flick of her wrist, roots emerged from the ground and wrapped themself around the man who only managed a muffled scream before they pulled him down.

Zirani turned back to us. "Well, go on."

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.comI turned and Sandra and I began down the opposite way. As we moved closer and closer to what I assumed was a stairwell to the next floor, the rooms on either side of the hallways lessened until there were none at all.

We stopped at a locked dood, but all it took was a solar beam to destroy the lock before I ran up the stairs three at a time, Sandra just flew up, and gave me a grin when I made it to the top.

"I'm really thankful I chose gravity." Sandra smiled.

I pushed down the small spike of envy and headed through the only door which connected the staircase to a wide circular room with a single door at its far end, opposite us. Two fountains spouted water in odd patterns and many different types of plant life were spread in small glass enclosures around the room. The main color was still red, but now with gold, not just gilded metal either, but solid gold, or so it seemed.

"This must be the owner's private area then," Sandra mused, staring at the golden statue of a naked woman who had her arms held out wide as if asking for a hug. Another was kneeling with her mouth open and hand in a gripping motion. There were a few dozen of them about half the size of a person, varying from those in simple poses to those in erotic acts, though there was only one man, the same man in all the statues that depicted a sexual scene. Tall and muscular with a broad chest, and definitely exaggerated lower area which I quickly moved my eyes away from. I did not need to see that.

We slowly made our way to the door and stood to either side.

"We end whoever's in there and then destroy the object," I said and Sandra nodded in appearance

I pulled solar aether to both my hand in preparation to roast the person who had essentially turned, who knew how many women, into sex slaves, into agreeable puppets. My anger grew and I gave more and more aether to my two techniques until all my solar aether had been spent.

Once they had reached a crescendo, I nodded to Sandra who kicked open the door.

The only thing I saw before I released my solar beams was a man similar to the one in statues, but older. He was leaning back in his chair behind an ornate desk, with a cup of a red liquid in his hands. He turned and his eyes widened fractionally as two large beams of destructive energy shot toward him.

Then there was a bright light, and the sound of a boom followed by crashing. My ears rang, and I stumbled back as I tried to blink the spots away from my vision. It took a minute, but soon my vision was mostly clear and I was able to see the remains of the room, because my beams hadn't just torn through the man, but the entire room. The walls were cracked relieving other rooms which had also taken damaged. Large swathes of the room had been blackened, in fact, most were almost completely blackened. Rubble lay everywhere, and the tracker was no longer picking anything up, which meant whatever the object had been, it was now destroyed.

I stared down at my hands, remembering how Zirani had told me just powerful solar aether was. She hadn't been kidding. This was the first time I used that much, and it really hadn't been a lot, yet, I couldn't think of any arcanists near my level who could possibly survive such an attack.

I suddenly remembered that Sandra had been in the room, and a moment of panic overwhelmed me before I focused on our bond. I made my way back to the circular room and found her attached to the ceiling, having flown backward the moment I had released my attacks.

"You could have wanted me," She said mentally.

"I didn't know it would that effective," I replied with an apologetic look. "I think we should go, that no doubt drew attention and not just from people inside the bundling. My ears are still ringing and I'm at the third level so it must have been loud.

She nodded and together we quickly made our way back to the room. I immediately noticed the two dozen unconscious, half-naked women, laying about. Zirani had been very busy. We had only been gone for around fifteen minutes.

"Should we help her?" Sandra asked, and I was about to reply when large roots sprung from holes I hadn't noticed in the room and deposited five more women.

"I think she's fine on her own," I said as I made my way to the tree. "I'm going to start transporting them, ok, you want to stay here or go first?'

"I'll stay and guard them," Sandra replied.

I lifted two of the women onto my shoulder and pressed a hand to the tree. My bond with Zinrai allied me to instantly know the location of her spatial tree, and with a thought and some aether, we were gone.

I appeared in a wide room lit by sunlight orbs that floated near the ceiling. The floor was a comfortable and soft verdant moss and I quickly placed the two down, before teleporting back. The distance wasnt too far so it didn't take too much aether, and soon I was transporting women as quickly as they came. Eventually, Zirani appeared and after confirming there were no more left, she helped ferry the last of the ladies.

"I'm going to head back just to double-check," Zirani said and was gone before anyone could object, not that I would have.

In the end, she found two more that had been hidden after the loud bang had gone off. She had dispersed her roots and techniques and then proceeded to weaken the foundation of the building. The patrons had all run, and Zirnai saw no reason to let the building remain standing.

"What about the three?" Sandra asked.

Zirani smiled darkly. "I didn't kill them, but trust me, they got what they deserved. I don't think they'll be harassing any women ever again."

That smile and the few mental images she sent over made me shiver slightly, but also feel content. They had received punishment, and in the process, we had saved several dozen lives. Speaking of lives, I moved my gaze across the dozens of half-naked women. "What are we going to do with them?"

Zirani shrugged. "We find out the general story of how they ended up in the brothel and then we wait for the expedition to arrive. If some of them have families and friends then we could release them, but we have no clue if there are other similar brothels. I don't regret what we did, but this is going to complicate things."

"We have time," I replied. "The expedition will be here in what, a few days? That means a few days to sort this out, and cmon, you're not scared."

She snorted. "Of course, I'm not, but I was under the assumption you wanted to relax."

"You're not wrong, but I also have to admit to myself that when I'm fighting and planning I'm in my element," I said. "And now that I'm aware that there might be similar places in the city, how could I relax?"

"You can't help everyone Aiden."

I smiled. "I know I can't, and trust me I have no desire to become such a person. I'm no hero. I suppose you could say I'm doing this for selfish reasons and for selfless reasons."

Zirani started at me for a long moment before she sighed. "I understand, as long as you don't get it in your head that everyone and every bad thing is your responsibility to fix."

I scoffed. "Hell no. You don't have to worry about that. If the expedition arrived tomorrow and we had to leave tomorrow, and I knew there was another brothel, and I had to pick, I would leave. I'm not some sort of self-righteous hero Zirani, even if I seem it sometimes. It's like my aunt taught me, you cant heal everything. She also taught me that there's no harm in helping if you can, and even if it is for selfish reasons, it's still help. My goal is simple, I want to grow in strength, and I want to reach the top of the mountain. There is also the simple fact that the stronger I get the easier it will be for me to cause change and help"

I glanced at Sandra. "With some allies if possible or at least have them close."

Sandra smiled and blushed. "I love you too."

A loud cough sounded. "Ermm, I hope I'm not interrupting, but where am I?"

The three of us turned to see not Natalia in sitting position, rubbing her head, and staring at the three of us with wide eyes, mostly just Zirani.

Chapter 167

"Before we get into that, what's your name?" I asked, not really wanting to keep referring to her as not Natalia, or the madame since I doubted she wanted to be remembered as either.

She frowned and looked like she might burst into tears right then and there. "I can't remember."

I shot a worried look at Zirani who frowned, a thoughtful expression coming to her face.

"What do you remember?' Sandra asked.

"I-I remember what happened in the b-brothel and…" She trailed off as a faraway look appeared in her eyes. "I remember a village, and… screaming. I t-think they took me."

"I see." I turned to Zirani. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

She nodded. "Most likely these girls were taken from outside the city so as to not arouse any sort of suspicion. Taken from small communities like villages that wouldn't be able to defend themselves from a full-on assault by trained arcanists."

I turned back to the former madame and felt my anger rise again. The man in charge had died too fast and too painlessly for what he'd done. There were over three dozen girls here. How many villages had he destroyed and how many had he killed? How many families had been broken apart? How many of these girls were wives. My fists tightened in fury, but I calmed down as I noticed the former madame worriedly looking at me. It didn't surprise me that they might have beaten them.

"What do we do?" Sandra asked. "We can't get them back their old lives, and before we let them go we're going to have to make sure we deal with anyone else involved in this."

"I'm regretting not killing all the patrons," Zirani growled. "They'll be a problem too. We can't let any of them go until we confirm that the problem had been dealt with and the expedition has arrived."

"Can't you bring their memories back?" I asked.

"Perhaps." Zirani shrugged. "It depends on the damage. If the memories are just blocked then I could, but if they are gone then it would have to be a soul ritual which would be risky."

"How would a soul ritual help?" Sandra questioned.

"A person's soul is the sum of everything there were and are, and will be," Zirani said. "Your actions, memories, instincts, everything is stored within your soul. Remember how I said switching bodies usually doesn't work because of soul incompatibility. Your body grew with your soul. They were made for each other. A soul ritual would work but it would take time for all of them. Time we don't have, not to mention one mistake is all it would take to mess their soul up. Aiden you should know what sort of pain that brings about."

I shivered. I did, and just the thought was enough to make me wince. "Then what?"

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.com"Well, let's head back to the suite and get Misty first," Zirani said. "She's waking."

I focused and sensed that Zirani was right. I sent over a mental message telling her we were on our way back. "What about them?"

"I'll handle it." Zirani sighed. "You three go get Misty. After that, we'll figure out our next step."

We decided to leave the tree and walk back rather than teleporting back. It was almost night, but from the couples, we saw walking about, the garden was still open so hand in hand, Sandra and I made out way back to the hotel. The hot desert air had become a pleasant chill and I noted how even at night the city was still buzzing with activity. Apparently, the city had night markets as the bazaar was not empty, just different. All manner of arcane lights lit up the sky from simple orbs of different colors to more unusual lights in different shapes. One was like a rainbow, changing from one color to another rapidly, lighting up a small stage where a man seemed to be in the process of performing some sort of trick.

There were also more carriages about, probably because there were still fewer people than in the day.

"Hard to believe such a beautiful city is hiding such filth," Sandra mused.

"Most cities have their good and bad sides, Sandra." I chuckled. "When you bring this many people together something like this always happens, whether for greed or just a desire to go against the ruling authority."

"And us?"

"A bit of both," I replied. "We judge and then we act. I don't have that big of a problem with authority as long as I can trust it. The steel heart wasn't too bad since they always gave us a choice even if most of the time it didn't feel like it. They were relying on our good nature to say yes."

"That's just manipulation isn't it?" Sandra asked.

"Yes, but we could have still said no, and they didn't try to hide it. It's up to us to decide when we think we're being pushed too far or forced into something. We're probably going to have to deal with a lot of authority in the lands beyond the scar. Zirani is powerful but not the most powerful and she doesn't rule the green court, and you are a lost child of an influential clan."

Her hand tightened on me. 'What if they split us apart?"

I sighed. I'd been trying to put that thought off since I didn't want to think about it and the logical conclusions I came to were never good.

"We're probably going to be split for some time at least," I replied slowly. "Unless the green court and your clan are able to work something out, but that's a maybe. Don't think of it as a bad thing. We are still bonded and it grows stronger every day, and there must be other ways of communication and long-distance travel there. As long as we are able to see each other then I'll be happy. If we keep getting stronger then one day, they won't be able to stop us."

Sandra smiled. "You know you can be very logical for someone who is also very emotional."

I shrugged. "I've been told that before. I guess I got it from my aunt. She taught me a lot about every topic. I think after everything we've been through I'm doing good. I'm still sane and whole, which is sort of a miracle considering everything that's happened."

"We're lucky."

I nodded. "I'm thankful, but I'd rather it not be luck that defines my ability to get past a problem and find a solution because luck is a two-sided coin and eventually it's going to land on the other side."

We lapsed into silence for the rest of the walk, and just enjoyed each other's company. The inn of the hotel was silent when we arrived and after a quick nod to the receptionist, we made our way back to our suite where we found Misty in the middle of eating a chocolate cake.

"Did you order another one?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I got bored and all of our food is on the house."

"You've got a serious sweet fang," I said.

Misty rolled her eyes and set her fork down. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

Sandra made her way over to the table and cut herself off a piece of cake then motioned for me to speak with her fork. I turned back to Misty. "It's complicated."

I took a seat next to her and began explaining everything that had happened from when Sandra and I had first left the hotel to saving the women. Misty face went through a mix of emotions as I spoke but then settled on a mix of anger and sympathy.

"They're all safe?" She asked.

I nodded. "They are. Zirani's taking care of them."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Misty asked in an annoyed tone. "I could have helped.

"I don't doubt that," I replied. "But Sandra and I honestly didn't think we would end up doing this when we began following them and when we called Zirani it was to figure out where to put them. I'm sorry, but it wasnt because we didn't think you could help."

"Apology accepted," she replied. "But next time you wake me up, got it?"

I raised my hands. "Understood, sweet fang."

She shot me a look. "And stop with the puns."

The three of us decided to get something to eat while we let Zirani handle the girls. Misty had had cake, but I got something more normal for the three of us. I ordered three of their most expensive dish with their most expensive drink and a dessert that wasnt just cake. Misty frowned but I just pointed to the half a chocolate cake still left.

"Aiden, this is going to take a bit longer than I thought," Zirani said mentally as we were waiting for our food. "You should probably wait a few hours before returning. Some of these girls are… hysterical to say the least and others are just broken."

"Understood," I replied.

Chapter 168

The next few days were hard on the girls we'd saved as each was in a way traumatized and broken, and the clarity with which they remembered the time before the brothel varied from person to person. Some remembered their families being slaughtered but couldn't remember faces or names while others had no detailed memories of times beforehand. One girl hadn't talked for over a day and it had taken a deep look into her mind by Zirani using some advanced method to realize that the removal of the shroud had caused damage to a part of her mind.

So many broken people. If not for Zirani, I wouldn't have known what to do. I could understand trauma and pain. I had endured enough of it back at the tower, but this was a different sort, and worse in some ways. It would be a mercy to wipe those memories away, but not even Zirani had the necessary skills and expertise to perform such an operation. The mind was a delicate thing and the shroud had been the only thing keeping things from deterring. It was cruel in a way that the object that had caused their enslavement had been the only thing keeping their minds from breaking.

It was the nature of dream aether though. That was what Zirani had said. It was a dangerous and powerful form of aether and unlike those in her lands, the people here didn't have any protection or had learned to defend against it.

"This shroud would not have worked on anyone in my lands," Zirani said. The spatial tree was split into different rooms. There was the main room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a few bedrooms. It was all very cozy, especially since at times it looked and felt like I was outside. With the sunlight orbs and soft moss along with the gentle breeze created using a simple enchantment, if one closed their eyes it would feel like they were outside. Zirani had probably done it on purpose to help the ladies feel more relaxed.

"How has Misty's searching come along?" Zirani asked.

I shrugged. "She hasn't reported anything yet."

We had decided that the best way to find the other brothel was to let Misty loose on the city. One aspect of her powers that she had not really utilized was her charm, which didn't use dream ether, but apparently, it was very common for vampires to gain the ability and if they didn't naturally then usually through the draining of someone who had the ability.

"She's in the richer parts of the city," I explained. "Using her charm to get information. Sandra's keeping an eye on her, making sure she had backup if she needs it."

Zirani shook her head. "I doubt she will. Her physical capabilities alone mean there is probably no one in this city who is a match for her, save for maybe a few. Even then, however, I don't think they've ever come across a vampire."

"Or it's beast."

Pity upon the fool who thinks Misty easy prey.

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.comI didn't go near the girls mainly because most seemed scared and frightened around me simply because I was a man even when Zirani told them I had helped rescue them. That helped a bit but I still kept away. I didn't blame them or feel any sort of anger for their reactions. Just sadness and pity. What sort of horrible things had they had to endure? Whenever I was in the tree, I made sure to only stay in one of the bedrooms.

There were many problems that they would have to deal with in the coming days such as figuring out what they wanted to do, and what they wanted to be called. A few remembered their names but most didn't, meaning they would have to get a new identity. Zirani helped them as much as she could and a few of the stronger ones helped the others, but it was clear that they would need more. Surprisingly the former madame Natalia who now called herself Sofia was the one who helped the most. Zirani wasn't sure if it was because she had been a madame or what, but it was helpful.

As the arrival of the expedition grew closer I was worried we wouldn't find anything but It was just two days away from the expected arrival of the expedition when Misty finally got some information on the whereabouts of another building, though not a simple brothel.

"I think it's where they bring the kidnapped girls before they gave them out." Misty pointed to a location on a map of the city she had bought.

"Gave them out?" Sandra questioned.

"I think they gave them to the brothel who use the item and then some stayed but others were sold."

I sighed. "That means there's more of them out there then."

"This warehouse is our main priority for now," Zirani said. "If they are smart then they might have a log of all their sales."

"And then what," I replied. "Are we going to hunt them down one by one?'

Zirani smiled. "No, we take this place out first and then wait for the expedition. If my guess is correct and there is a representative from my court then it will be a lot easier."

"How so?" Misty asked.

"This place, this city exists because of the expedition," Zirani said. "And its leaders and residents all know that a quick way to its downfall is angering the people who come here. My court brings lesser and old variants of crops that we haven't given out as charity in our lands to this place among other things."

I nodded. "So we hit this place, rescue some more people, find out how many were sold, and then wait?"

"That's the plan," Zirani said.

"What about the girls?" Sandra asked.

"I've managed to get a few of them to help the others and there is plenty of food and drink in the kitchen for them." Zirani shrugged. "I want to stay and help them, but there are things that we need to do, and for now they are safe which is more than can be said for others if what Misty learned is true."

With a plan figured out the four of us made our way to the area after Zirani did one more check on the girls. It was a dreary day with dark clouds hanging overhead and a chill wind as if something knew what was about to happen. It was located in the outermost edges of the city and looked abandoned at first glance, however, the closer you got the clearer it was that it was occupied. Guards wearing dark cloaks with dark cores patrolled the area, using the rooftops and any other vantage points. Each was masking their cores to a limited degree. Not as good as how Zirani had taught us, but enough that a normal person and average arcanist wouldn't be able to easily detect them.

A bit of observation showed that they were on a rotation and that every fifteen minutes they would move from a vantage point and search the nearby area, before going to a different vantage. There were over a dozen of them and I had to admit if not for our increased skills and abilities, not to mention our amazing teacher, then we wouldn't have been able to get past them.

However, as good as they were, they were no match for Sandra whose bloodline increased her dark affinity and with everything she learned. Well, the first guard didn't even get a chance to twitch before a dark spear pierced his heart. The second and third fell quickly after and by the time the others had realized what was happening it was too late.

The area around the warehouse was dark and there were plenty of shadows. Sandra moved like a ghost, and with her bond to me, I could give her information that I or the others had found. It was the first time she had truly gotten to show the difference between her dark affinity and others. The crazy thing was that I knew she had been holding back and she hadn't even needed to really use her gravity affinity all that much. That would have been overkill.

"What now?" Misty asked.

"We enter, kill anybody save for a one who we can interrogate," Zirani said in a cold voice. "Anybody who is a part of this doesn't deserve to live."

"I second that," I replied. "Slavers don't deserve mercy."

"So do I," Sandra said as she popped out of a nearby shadow. "By the way, we might want to be quick. There are only five more minutes until what would have been the next rotation."

The four of us made our way down from the roof we were on and towards the main building. Each of us readied ourselves as the sound of voices was heard alongside muffles and whimpers which made me clench my fists in anger.

These bastards were about to get what they deserved.

Chapter 169

We burst into the warehouse, and the scene that greeted us somehow made me even angrier than before. Disgust and anger wared within me as my eyes immediately locked onto the large cages full of women, most looking to be in a lethargic state while others looked delirious. From the young to the old, and what looked to be from all facets of life. I saw a woman in dirty farmer garb while another wore a dress that once must have looked quite beautiful. The worst I saw were the ones who had been bloodied and beaten, bruises marking parts of their bodies, and in a separate cage, there lay a few women whose clothes looked ripped.

Shouts and calls of alarm sounded as the guards and workers turned their gazes to us. I was before the first in a matter of seconds, and with a quick swipe of a thorn scythe, I disemboweled him, leaving him to die a slow death as he attempted to push his guts back into his body.

The others were engaged in their own fights, though fights would have been an overstatement. None of the people in the warehouse stood a chance as darkness, death, and cold uncaring nature rained down upon them.

There were more than we had expected, but that didn't really matter.

Sandra raised a hand, and half a dozen floated into the air before she slammed them back down. The sickening crunch and crack of bones splintering was heard alongside their screams.

Misty was tearing through them like a scythe to wheat, and a putrid-looking smoke trailed her, rotting and decaying anything it touched. It was a horrid sight to watch men essentially melt, but I held no pity for these people.

Zirani was inspecting the cages while half a dozen roots tore apart anyone who got too close. She seemed to be getting a look at the women's conditions. From how she was stood and the relaxed posture, it was clear she thought of our enemies more as pests than true adversaries, not that I disagreed.

None were above the second level, and even if they had been, it wouldn't have helped. Not against us.

I sidestepped a wave of water and then pointed a finger at its creator. A thin beam of solar energy shot out and pierced his head. Instead of just leaving a hole, his head popped like a balloon. I really needed to get a hang of using just the right amount of solar aether. It always seemed like I was using too much.

Eventually, the workers and guards realized just how outmatched they were and many attempted to flee or surrender.

We ignored most, but kept three alive, for questioning. It felt somewhat wrong to be killing those who surrendered but one look at cages wiped that feeling away. These people had attacked and raided who knew how many communities. I doubt they had cared when those people had surrendered.

"I think that's the last of them," Misty said as she snapped the neck of a worker who had been playing dead.

"Then let's get on with the questioning," I replied, turning to Zirani. "You ok?"

"I'm going to search the area." Zirani turned to Misty. "Help me out?'

"Sure."

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.comAs Misty and Zirani began a thorough search of the building, Sandra walked over to me as I stood in front of the three kneeling prisoners. All three looked shocked, scared, and terrified, even if two were trying to put on a brave face.

"I'm going to make this simple," I said. "You're all going to die."

The youngest of them opened his mouth, probably to beg or plead, but I raised a hand, and he flinched, shutting up. "If you cooperate then I'll make sure your death is painless, but if you don't then trust me, we can keep you alive in torment for a very long time. You wanna know how it feels to be melted, how about rot, or maybe having roots tear you apart inside out or a hundred different poisons."

They shook their heads and I smiled. "Good, so let's begin. What is this place and who runs it?"

"It's where we bring the girls and get them cleaned and sorted before…"

"Before what?"

"Before we hand them over to the Dilun family," The oldest of the three said, spitting to one side.

He met my gaze and I raised a single eyebrow. He lowered it, and I turned back to the first who had spoken.

"And I'm guessing this family is the one who sells them?"

He nodded. "Yeah, he hands them out to friends, but mostly to the three brothels."

"Three, that's how many there are?" I asked. "So two more to take down."

The one in the middle gasped. "You, it was you lot who took down the brothel at the forgotten market."

"We did." I nodded. "I—"

"Aiden we found them." I was interrupted by Misty's voice and turned to see her and Zirani walking down the upper floor with a stack of papers in each of their hands.

"What are those?" Sandra asked.

"All the information we need," Zirani said. She glanced over at the three, then with a quick swipe of her hand, three roots shot up and cleanly decapitated them. I blinked but then shrugged. I had promised them a quick death, and she had probably been listening in.

"These show everything," Misty explained. "From sale agreements to documents and the number of imports from the names and who was sold were to… those who couldn't make the journey. A sad mercy."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Sandra spoke up. "So we have new targets?"

"Not quite," Zirani answered. "We're going to wait for the expedition to arrive, and if there are no representatives from my court then we strike, but we'll only have a week. That's how long the expeditions will stay."

With the information in the hand, Zirani and I began ferrying all of the women from the cages into the spatial tree where we were greeted by Sofia and a few others who helped the women. They were scared and frightened, but apart from those who had been in the separate cages, they were a lot more together than most of the working girls

"I think you might need to increase this space if you plan on bringing any more here," Sofia said to Zirani. "There's still space, but I don't think the girls would like it being cramped. Some of us had to live in… small spaces

"There hopefully won't be any need to," Zirani said. "We have things under control and if luck is on our side then we will be able to provide you more help."

Sofia nodded gratefully. "Thank you, for everything. Some of us… Well just thank you."

Zirani smiled. "I understand."

After we were done and made sure Sofia had everything she needed, the four of us made our way to the warehouse and back to our hotel. Zirani moved back into her core. Once we made it back to our suite Sandra and Misty headed off to take a bath and I promised I would join them but first, I wanted to talk to Zirani.

"Zirani what's going to happen if the people from the green court do arrive?" I asked. "Won't they be quite shocked?"

She grimaced. "Oh I have no doubt of that, but I can handle things. Don't worry about any harm. The biggest problems we will face will be in the court itself and my mother alongside the other influential members of the courts. It is their judgment I'm worried about."

"She's not going to tear you from me is she?"

Zirani shook her head. "I told you before, that the moment she sees your second core she won't, but it's the others that will then be a problem. We will solve each problem as they come. In a way, I will be sad to return to my lands. I've always hated the court politics and constant bickering."

It was worrisome, especially since I didn't think I would really be suited for such things. There was also the problem of what would happen to Misty and Sandra. Sandra would mostly be taken in by her family but what of her hidden enemy? And what of Misty, would she be allowed in the green court. There was no way Zirani could hide her since she would not be the strongest there. The lands beyond the scar were the goal, and just like the plains, would have their own challenges for me to face.

The bathing room was full of steam as I entered and undressed. It obscured my vision but could make out the shapes of two lovely ladies relaxing in the water. I smiled and slowly made my way closer. Their heads turned in my direction and made my way in between Sandra and Misty, laying down and letting out a relaxed sigh as the warm water soothed my body.

"You two look as beautiful as ever," I commented.

felt Sandra's finger trail up my abdomen to my chest. "As do you."

A hand slowly moved down to my lower region and I smiled as the room began to heat up in a more metaphorical sense.

Chapter 170

Chapter 170(18+)

I felt my passion rise as Misty's hand slowly moved down my body, leaving a trail of soft sensation in its wake, and heightening my pleasure. Quick and hot sex was good and all, but there was something different about foreplay and slowly building up rather than just jumping in, though that was also fun and I would never say no to a quickie, but now was a time to relax as there wasn't much else to do but wait and it wasn't like rushing this would save any time.

I felt Zirani's attention, and for a moment I thought she'd join us, but then she mentally declined. It was clear she was extremely tired as she had easily been doing quite a bit in the last two days, and though she hadn't said it, creating that spatial tree had taken a lot out of her. I had felt the drain, but the fatigue of using that much power had affected her, not me. Zirani wasn't the type to be ashamed or to hide injuries or weakness, but neither was she the type to bring up something that would cause problems, especially when she could handle it on her own. I knew she had changed a lot since her time here, but there were still parts that were the same as when we'd met.

As much as I'd liked her to join us I knew she needed her rest so I wished her a goodnight and then turned my attention back to the two lovely ladies. I moved my hands underneath the warm water, and slowly placed a hand on both their thighs.

"Shall we?"

They smiled and I held back a soft groan as Misty's hand wrapped around me. Her soft touch combined with the relaxing water made for an extremely pleasant sensation, and I sighed as she slowly began to move her hand up and down my shaft.

"Don't just pay attention to her," Sandra purred as she turned my head towards her. Her emerald eyes reflected the passion that I knew were in my own and without needing to say anything, our lips met before our tongues danced as I began to move my hands lower and lower.

I felt Misty's breath against my neck, and for a few seconds I thought she might actually bite me, but she only laid a few kisses on my skin before beginning to trail them down. I broke my kiss with Sandra and glanced over at her.

She smirked. "You know being at the third level and a vampire means I can hold my breath for a long time."

I felt my manhood twitch in her grasp as I turned back to Sandra who had pushed herself up on her knees so that her breasts were at face level with me. I licked my lips and moved in to take her right nipple into my mouth. Her hands grasped at my hair as I swirled my tongue around her nipple and I moved my other hand to the top of Misty's head as she submerged her head under the water.

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.comHer hand moved and lowered to the base of my shaft as her mouth neared my tip. I felt my pleasure reach a new level as Misty's supple lips wrapped around my tip, sending a surge of pleasure through my body. I let out a groan into Sandra's breast before letting go and moving to the left nipple.

"You really know how to use your tongue Aiden."

Misty began at my tip, flicking at my silken flesh with her tongue as her hand moved up and down my shaft. Her other hand moved down and began to fondle my balls as she suckled at my tip.

I groaned and accidentally pushed which caused her head to move down. I would have apologized however she seemed to take it as a signal and began to move lower down my shaft. Her tongue danced over my flesh, and through the pleasure, I realized that I was only receiving and not really giving so I moved my hands until I was at their slits. I felt anticipation through the bonds so I didn't keep them waiting.

Sandra moaned as I entered a finger into her, and curled it, knowing where her sweet spot was. We'd had sec enough times that I knew what areas were her most sensitive and what she like. For Misty I entered three fingers, knowing she liked to be spread wide. I couldn't hear moans but through our bond, I knew she was most definitely enjoying it. All three of our bodies were full of pleasure and basically tripled due to our bond. It wasn't that I was feeling what they were, I couldn't since I wasn't a woman, it was just the pleasure and our own sensations that were tripled.

It was amazing with just two people but with three, it was almost unbearable at times as we were lost in pleasure. Their pleasure increased my own and then I fed that back into them, and it repeat twice more before stopping due to some limit that Zirani had placed for clear reasons. I knew I could break it, but I wouldn't as I wasn't stupid enough to. I enjoyed pleasure but I didn't want to lose myself in it, not without her there to fix any problems that occurred.

I honestly didn't think a normal person could handle the pleasure. At times it felt like too much, especially when Misty's mouth went to work a minute later. She moved up and down, her lips tight on me, and her hand moving up and down the moment any flesh was exposed working in perfect tandem with her mouth.

All the while, I continued to suck and lick at Sandra's breasts and work both their slits. Even with the warm water, I could feel just how slick and wet they were. I increased my pace with Sandra and added another finger, sometimes moving out to play with her pearl causing her to spasm and moan aloud, the sounds of ecstasy echoing across the wide bathing room.

For Misty, I added another finger and attempted to reach her deepest parts. The first time weeks ago I had been hesitant but somehow, Misty could keep herself as tight as she wanted. I didn't know if it had something to do with her life affinity or flesh techniques Zirnai was teaching her, but I didn't have to worry about loosening her up.

We counited like that for an hour, not rushing and just enjoying ourselves. At one point Sandra and Misty swapped places, and I bathed Misty's bountiful breasts in attention as Sandra moved and took me deep into her throat. She was still the best at that. The beginning of the end began when I could take no more, and Misty joined Sandra underneath the water.

Sandra's lips released me, and each took a side of my shaft as hands massaged my balls. While one licked and sucked my tip the other wrapped their tongue around my shaft and moved up and down. I didn't bother trying to hold back as my orgasm had been building for the past hour as we had slowly raised our pleasure.

"Fuck, I'm coming!" I said mentally as I let out a loud groan.

Both in perfect synchronization moved to my tip and Sandra latched on as I burst. Both of them shook as the feeling of overwhelming pleasure reverberated through our bonds, and they reached their own orgasms as load after load of my seed flooded Sandra's mouth. I was worried some might contaminate the water, but she kept a tight seal on me, and with their climaxes, it was too late to worry about that. When I was spent, both ladies broke the water and glanced at me. Sandra's cheeks were bulging with my seed and she winked at me before she met Misty's lips and the two began to share what I had given.

I only stared in shock, never having believed something like this could happen. This all felt like something out of one of the adult books my aunty had tried to hide from me when I had been young. I didn't know if it was because of our bond or just everything we'd been through, but it was clear that they trust each other and were willing to do things that you just would never normally be considered.

I had bonds with both, and even I hadn't expected this, not that I was complaining. It was an extremely erotic sight, watching two of my lovers share my seed with each other. Their tongues danced around the milky white substance and I felt my lower area remain rock hard, never faltering or going soft for even the slightest second.

"I think he liked that," Sandra said as she swallowed and moved back.

Misty nodded and swallowed her own prize before shooting me a smirk. "Didn't expect that did you?"

I shook my head, still in disbelief.

"Well, that's not all." Misty gazed down at my hard erection. "He's still eager to go, and I'd like a ride. How about you."

She glanced at Sandra sho smiled. "I'd love a ride. You up for it stud?"

I glanced up and said a silent prayer to whatever god or diving being had blessed me with these two.

"I'm ready to go."

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