Chapter 329

Vorbuk sat inside the cage aboard the floating ship. Under his dark black fur a smaller ball of fur was hidden. A little fox, Leah, had hidden herself underneath his bushy tail. Due to her age and small fox race she was hidden from the sight of the vampires on the ship.

It had taken him several tries to coax the young fox into the cage with him. She was not able to understand him at all and kept getting confused. The fact she was still young did not help with communication either.

The ship had been moving for a few hours now. It was heading in the direction of Drethia's capital. He was not sure it would be easy for the ship to cross the witch's garden on the way. The closer they got the more worried he became.

He could feel his connection with Ashley struggling to keep up with him. He could still sense him coming regardless. It put his mind a bit at ease. Ashley was not the one to allow his master to be taken so easily. Thinking about it made him realize that he could imagine Ashley doing some terrifying things just to track him down. That ease turned to worry.

I hope Ashley doesn't do anything too reckless. Vorbuk thought to himself. Feeling the small fox nap while clinging against his tail.

What should I do with you now? He pondered how he would deal with the predicament he was in.

Leah flinched at the sound of steps approaching the cage Vorbuk was residing in. Vorbuk could feel how nervous the child was. Looking up to see who it was his eyes were met with General Vulen. A deep growl escaping his throat at the elf.

Grrrrrr....!

"Do not try anything. You will not get away from me this time." General Vulen spoke coldly to the wolf.

"General," A vampire came up to General Vulen to report, "We will be reaching the Witch's Garden by nightfall."

"Good," General Vulen replied without looking at the vampire, his eyes remained on the wolf, "Make preparations. I do not want anything happening on our way back to the palace."

Vorbuk flinched when he heard their conversation. The Drethia Palace?

"Sir?" The vampire was unsure what the general was worried about. He had lived among Drethia for many years. Unlike General Vulen the vampires had no reason to fear the Witch's Garden. Vampires were not so easily affected by their own kingdom. They were accustomed to surviving in Drethia.

What does General Vulen think will attack a ship full of vampires helping him? The vampire pondered that question in his mind.

General Vulen was not worried about the natural risks of the terrain during their move. The thing he was considering was Prince Leo and the others with him. He knew that the prince would not easily allow the beast to be taken away from him.

"Take care of it!" General Vulen commanded the vampire more strictly.

"Y-yes, sir!" The vampire replied quickly when he realized General Vulen was getting agitated and impatient with him.

The vampire turned to leave with a dark gleam in his eyes. It was clear to Vorbuk that the vampires did not like General Vulen. Accompanying him on this task was a mission that was given to them by their king. If they had a choice they would rather rip the elf apart and drain him of every last drop of a blood in his body. Every vampire Vorbuk saw were showing cold glances because they were unhappy to serve the elf.

Why does he take such risks? Does he want to truly die for the sake of this? Vorbuk could not understand why the elf would go so far in order to capture him. He could not see how his own life held so much worth to General Vulen. Why was it so important to him to get rid of a beast?

You have got what you wanted. You have caught me... Yet he wears a look on his face as if he is in serious pain. Vorbuk wondered what was running through General Vulen's mind as he stood there.

General Vulen stared down at the beast with a complicated expression on his face. He seemed stiff while his eyes hid a sense of pain behind them. Feeling conflicted over everything he had done to come this far his chest throbbed.

He saw the way the wolf was staring up at him while trying to hold back a growl at him. The wolf seemed to have a look of hate or contempt. That was what he saw in those eyes. Kneeling down beside the cage he spoke to the beast quietly, "I heard you can change into a human form. You have come a long way since we last met."

Grrrrr! Gggrrrr!!

Do not talk like we are friends! Vorbuk wanted to bite this elf as he started to shake.

"I can not understand what you say. I do not speak the language of a beast like you." General Vulen sighed as he knew the wolf was probably cursing him inside.

Grrrrr!

You're more of a beast then I am. Vorbuk growled at the elf.

"You could say I am curious though," General Vulen could not deny that he was curious about it, "what kind of person you are when you take on that so called human form of yours."

Others had witnessed the beast in human form. General Vulen had yet to meet the beast in a form they could truly communicate in. It was more important to ensure the beast safely made it back to the Drethia Palace. The king was waiting for the beast.

It would be impossible for the beast to escape on his own while aboard the ship. There were too many vampires around for the wolf to manage an escape regardless of his magic being sealed away or not. General Vulen contemplated over the thought of conversing with the beast.

No. He could not risk it. General Vulen turned around and decided to leave before he did anything meaningless. He could not risk doing anything that would get in the way of his path to returning to Queen Lyra's side.

Vorbuk watched General Vulen leave him behind in the cage. The vampires around the ship were watching the both of them. Sitting as still as he could he tried his hardest not to expose the small sleeping fox hidden in the bush of his tail. She was sleeping peacefully throughout their conversation.

Closing his eyes he tried to concentrate on his connection to Ashley. He could feel the vampire still struggling to chase after them. It felt like they had become more persistent in the chase after Vorbuk.

How is he moving so quickly now? Vorbuk felt like something had gotten strange about Ashley's movements. It was like he had gotten faster at the chase. At the rate he is moving we might regroup soon...

The wolf looked up at the dimming sky. The sun was going down and it would be nightfall in only a few more hours. At the rate of things they would collide at the Witch's Garden...