Darkness, Flames and Hopes Ch. 06

The witch laughed and stood up.

"Do you want us to cut it, succubus?"

Dimana suddenly closed her eyes angrily. They played with her mind, played with her damn body, and now are they planning to cut her tail? There was no difference between them and the templars! She jumped up quickly and cried out to the white witch.

"I will cut your fucking throat!"

Ambryn looked at the sorceress who was still sitting on the ground for a while, Dimana did not turn her eyes away when her blue eyes glowed and her pale face trembled with anger, but she anxiously bit her inner lip when she realized that her life was more important than her tail. When Ambryn took a step towards her, Minerva stood up, passed in front of Dimana, put both hands on hips.

"Go ahead, Ambryn! We're coming."

Watching Dimana carefully, the witch took a deep breath, quickly bowed to the orange on the ground and threw it into the river. After Ambryn turned and started to walk away, Minerva turned to the sad face of Dimana.

"She was joking, Dimana. Nobody will hurt you. Do you feel any pain?"

Dimana shook her head and looked at her hands again. Her dress, hiding her new skin and skin itself, was painful enough. When Minerva put her hand on her cheek, her trembling eyes turned to her. She lifted her heels slightly and put a small kiss on her other cheek, Dimana had to moan. As Dimana raised her hands to hug her, Minerva stepped back and smiled.

"Believe me, you look so pretty."

Dimana bowed her head again. Did she expect her to consider it as a tribute? Ambryn turned around to look at them fifty steps away, Minerva walked over to the bag on the ground.

"This is not really a bad thing. She is right. Your red skin was quite... Interesting. You are now like a human except of your eyes and tail. Look from the bright side, now you can act... much more... comfortably!"

The sorceress returned with a black panties in her hand and handed it to Dimana. She clenched her teeth not to burn it. Minerva was right, as always, but the feeling of obligation was rather disturbing. She had to return to her homeland and every step she took on earth, every word she said, every touch she felt, were destroying her hopes more.

When finally she took the pant from the woman's hand, Ambryn shouted for them to come. Dimana quickly wore it, gathered her tail and imprisoned it in her panties, plunged the tip into her folds and already started wetting the panties with her juices. She grabbed the bag on the ground and looked at the sorceress. Her blue eyes were dark. Dimana recognized this look. Back in the hut, when she went out the door under the lights of the first day they were together and she had watched her with the same facial expression.

The woman spoke before Dimana opened her mouth to ask.

"I'm sorry, Dimana. Come, let's continue."

After watching her back for a while, the succubus accelerated her steps. When they reached the witch who still looked angry, Minerva cleared her throat and asked with a subtle voice.

"That illusion... Can you teach me, Ambryn?"

Ambryn frowned, but suddenly her anger disappeared, she threw her head back and laughed.

"Why not, if you call me Mistress."

Dimana was still staring at her palms, Minerva spoke quietly, but her voice was no longer subtle.

"Well, Mistress, can you teach me the illusion magic?"

Her every emphasizes was as hard as to blow the witch's head at any moment. Ambryn grinned, stretched out her hand to the sorceress face, but Minerva muttered a curse and took a step away.

"Oh, I will, child. I will teach you a lot."

*****

Tailroad

Kingdom's Heart

Bernard tried to cross the begging children around him, while walking quickly to the temple of the kingdom with two warriors.The Kingdom's Heart was a pretty terrible settlement in every respect. The water of the river passing through the city was dark from dirt. The disgusting smell that spread from everywhere was breathtaking. As the sun kept flushing his gray hair that indicating his age, began to sink, a dense cloud of dust covered the dirty street. The poor people on the pavement were yelling at each other without stopping. Across the street, three guards battered two skinny men trying to attack each other. Bernard pushed a child in front of him in disgust, squinting his eyes, staring at the exit of the street. A carriage trolley was quickly going up the city without paying attention to the people's sake in front. The royal street was like a paradise compared to the rest of the city. Although the walls and ironworks were too long to be cross, guards were on their duty every each twenty steps around the paradise. The royal, members of the army and the temple had completely isolated themselves from the public thanks to these obstacles.

It was precisely these obstacles that caused the bloody civil war eighteen years ago. The poor people and tribes who rebelled, after months of growing blood lake, overthrew the king, who treated them like worthless animals with a bloody coup. Everyone was happy. Until the same poor people decided to get the temple and Light Warriors out of the kingdom. The army had left without objection, but months later they returned to Tailroad with the armies of Silverland and Uhemer. The tribes had to surrender soon, but the Temple Leaders and Silverland filled the city square with hundreds of severed heads to reshape the rebellion to a lesson for everyone. After all, as the eldest son of the dead king sat on the throne, Tailroad had to put more distance between them and the Blackhorn Alliance.

Recalling the disgusting corpse smell of eighteen years ago, he filled his lungs with a deep breath without worrying about the stench. The guards at the door carefully examined him as he continued to move forward on the entryway. Just in case, he opened the front of his dust-covered white cloak, showing the bright orange sun emblem on his chest. The white sword in the middle of the emblem showed that he was a warrior, not a sorcerer. Like most Light Warriors, he knew sorcery, but his limited knowledge had deprived him of this title. He put his hand on the sword's white hilt, raised his chest, and kept his head and back straight, even though he was tired of the road. The guards anxiously put their fists on their chests and greeted him inexpensively.

When Bernard turned his eyes to the lush garden, he relaxed spontaneously. The wide road, covered with flat stones, was divided into three, fifty steps away. The first way went to the camp of the army and the city guards. Although the camp was behind dense trees, he could hear the sounds of swords and shouts. Although the Tailroad army was large, they were a failed and inexperienced army. Even the poor and angry people were able to cope with them. Still, they were expendable soldiers against Blackhorn, and Silverland sent financial support every year. But of course, these aids were spent for the pleasure of commanders and the royal instead of army needs.

The second way was to the three-story Mollyfly Castle. Disgusting royal house where everyone strangles each other for power and gold. Bernard hadn't stepped there since the civil war, and he was determined not to change the situation. For a moment he thought Weidenhold wasn't actually a bad kingdom. King Oliver was definitely a brutal person, but he wasn't a stupid. He wasn't a coward. He thought of his people and was loved by his people. Weidenhold had also experienced a civil war, but King Oliver had managed the situation very well despite Light Warriors.

The third way was to his house, his holy, his fate. Castles, kingdoms, tribes were nothing besides these magnificent structures. If the royal families were dogs barking at each other, the inhabitants of the temple were snakes, quietly moving in the dark. Two tall towers overlooking the sky could be seen over the trees. The large golden mass in the shape of the sun at the top was the emblem of the army. The temples were both religious places and headquarters. Religion and politics were intertwined there. They even had a court, separated from the kingdom's. The army of Light was making important decisions in this holy building in the area, and the death of six guardians, who died two days ago in the city of Llevannar, was the reason Bernard, the army investigator, was called from Weidenhold by the headquarters.

'Why?' Silverland's great interest, rather than the answers to the crime, bothered Bernard more. Even in years when he thought to retire, he was considered the best researcher of all Light Warriors. Still, even the death of the damned king of the Tailroad could not have made him come this far. It would not be difficult to find novice murderers, but they certainly had an interesting story, and they had attracted Bernard's curiosity enough.

He didn't recognize the three warriors who chatted in a low voice in front of the temple and gave a sharp look towards him. He also didn't want to. He only wanted to get rid of that shitty kingdom as soon as possible, leaving his full report to the Tailroad Temple's deputy leader. As he climbed up the stairs, in the gold-plated entrance, a lightly limping brunette woman stared at him, pressing her right fist into her breasts, greeting him with her extremely serious face and voice.

"May the light shine on you. Welcome home. I'm Urivia."

While Bernard smirked, his tall, long-haired assistant named Kowan stepped forward and drew the attention of the woman.

"To all of us, sister. I'm Bernard, the investigator of Weidenhold. I'm here to meet with the deputy leader."

The woman nodded several times without disturbing her serious and repulsive facial expression, waving her brown long ponytail.

"The deputy is waiting for you, brother Bernard. Please follow me."

As the woman quickly turned around and started walking, Bernard stepped into the wide entrance hall with his two assistants. The architecture of the temple was the same as Weidenhold Temple. The large white doors at the far end of the hall were opening to the place of worship. He could see the warriors and nobles praying to the god of light, down on their knees. A larger analogue of the sun at the top of the towers was shone on the high ceiling. One of the wide stairs on both far sides of the hall went up to the headquarters room, while the other went to the dorm of warriors and guests. The turquoise blue carpet covering the entire floor of the hall and the large sun emblem in the middle of it were representing the sky. The hall looked calm, but when he followed the woman upstairs, she saw many more foreign faces. As the tired and bored faces watched them, Urivia stopped suddenly and took a look at his assistants behind him.

"Brothers must wait here, Lieutenant Bernard."

Bernard looked over his shoulder to his two companions and signaled them to wait. There was no point in asking the woman a question. Apparently, he wasn't the only guest in the temple. Again, when her curiosity recurred, he patiently clenched her teeth, and then went after the woman, but the voice of the young warrior stopped him.

"Are- You sure, Father?"

Bernard spilled his anger through his nostrils, turned his angry face at him. Although he was older, he still had a boyish face. His black big eyes grew bigger with anxiety. The reason for his blond hair was because of his late mother. It was as if he was going to be born as a girl and suddenly changed his mind at the last minute. Despite his weak body, he had a fast-rising profile and his father was definitely not the cause. His intelligence was going to make him more famous than even Bernard, but his overly protective attitude bothered his father.

"Yes, Ovyr. When you are on duty, only address me as a brother or lieutenant. My next warning will not be that simple."

As the Urivia grinned, the young warrior turned his eyes to Kowan like apologizing. At least he wasn't a stubborn fool, but Bernard didn't think it would be his final warning. Again, he turned to the woman and nodded, started to follow her. Fortunately, Bernard could still see his assistants when they stopped in front of a wide door. Urivia gently knocked the door with her finger knot, opening the door before a permission. Bernard quickly scanned the room, saw the man, leaning on his seat at behind his desk, seeing the bald head looking out through the large window facing the castle. His frivolous attitude was annoying, but Bernard was too tired to care. As Urivia stepped aside, he stepped forward with a few firm steps, leaning his right fist against his chest.

"May the light shine on you, brother deputy. I-"

The man quickly got out of his seat, began to walk quickly towards Bernard with a wide grin showing his teeth. He knew that brunette, old face well. His fist was loosened, his arms spread out.

"Tim? Are you fucking serious! Oh, you son of-"

Before he could finish her dirty words, the brunette woman cleared her throat as if she wanted to tear it. Bernard's baffled expression fell with a frown, but Tim laughed carelessly and held his both elbows tight, shaking him.

"Bernard! You sneaky devil! How long has it been?"

Bernard called for an answer to the question for a moment. Seven years? He met him while fighting against a large Seven Will camp in the wide plain on the shore of Fallen sea. Tim was definitely not the kind of man he would love. He wasn't smart, he was often out of seriousness and tolerance, he didn't even care about the ranks and politics, but in the middle of the bloody war, he was the man who saved his life when an assassin jumped on him with two daggers in his hands, and this tragedy had started a new friendship.

"Wait! Are you the deputy?"

As Bernard waited curiously, Tim laughed again, nodded at Urivia, and pointed at the seat in front of the wide table. As Urivia bent her lips and left the room, the investigator relaxed in his seat. Tim looked at the door for a while and suddenly leaned under the table, pulling out a wine bottle. Bernard wanted to refuse, but red wine looked like a medicine for his lips, chapped by thirst. At least, it was forbidden to drink wine while at work, but such prohibitions were absolutely irrelevant for someone like Tim. Tim started talking as he filled the glass in front of his guest.

"Yes, old friend. I'm. But I'm deputy of the deputy!"

Bernard lifted his eyebrows and grabbed his glass as Tim lifted the bottle up and drank quickly.

"What does that mean!"

"Simple! A deputy help the leader. And a deputy help... The deputy!"

"Don't mess with me, old dog! Now, tell me."

The deputy of the deputy? There was no such a absurd authority in the temples, and the damn man should definitely have been kidding. While sipping the sweet wine with appetite, Tim pointed to a simple badge about the size of a ring on his collar.

"I am! I know, there is no such thing in yours, but there is. Olven, the deputy of the leader Miremir. And I am his assistant. It's that simple!"

Bernard tried not to reflect his surprise on his face, but didn't prevent it. What was the purpose even if it was such an authority? A deputy only transmits the orders of the leader, providing the link between the army and the headman. There is no need for another authority for this bond. Bernard sighed and shook his shoulders as Tim continued to grin.

"Well, my friend. I'm glad for you, but I came here to talk to the deputy. The real deputy."

Tim nodded and slowly leaned forward. The seriousness on his face was foreign. Maybe he has become mature enough to deserve a important power.

"And he's waiting for you. You'll talk, brother Bernard. I would love to have a little chat with you, but we have things to do. I think you're coming back from Llevannar?"

The investigator twisted his lips and remained silent for a while. Although talking to Tim seemed more comfortable than talking to the real deputy, he didn't want to explain his work to an authority he didn't even know what it is. Tim noticed his discomfort, gently pushing the wine bottle in front of him to one side.

"Olven's order, Bernard. Things are a bit more complicated here. Just tell me, dude! Let me help you. Believe me, this is a big crap."

There seemed to be no other remedy. Perhaps the answers he was curious about were hidden in that little meeting. He also finished the last wine in his glass and began to tell with a low voice.

"Well, I don't care actually. I'm so tired, Tim. I want to return home today. There are also things I want to ask. I don't even know why I'm here. So... Listen carefully. Your young investigator was there. Zaver. Didn't leave much work for me. According to what he said, the two people came late at night. When they head to the teacher's house, they brutally kill the two guards. With ax spell. He seemed sure it was Seven Will. A planned crime. But also ridiculous. They forget their heads in the middle of the street, as they panic. The odd thing is that despite breaking the door, Samson and one of his students continue to sleep soundly. They go up and kill them too. Then leave the house, run away, but they are caught by two more guards. They also brutally murder them behind the college. They enter a house in the square and escape through a secret entrance to the security tunnel. All according to Zaver."

Tim bent his lips and thoughtfully patted his wide chin.

"What about you?"

Bernard didn't think it was that simple, but there were points where the young investigator was right. They were alarmed. They had done a sloppy job. They left a lot of tracks behind. Although they knew a lot, it was as clear as the blue sky that they were inexperienced in killing. They hadn't touched any valuable items in the house. Samson's body in front of the door was telling that the teacher had noticed intruders before he died.

"There's nothing to prove that Seven Will is doing, but I don't think of any other possibility."

"Hm... Allright, what about this? That fucking teacher was working for Seven Will. But, you know, everybody knows something and nobody can prove a damn thing... Something like that. His damn students were constantly disappearing. Our kids were locking the damn school for months."

Bernard frowned more after every word. Perhaps Zaher was right about this too, but why did the army and the guards not punish the teacher despite these serious allegations? It was a good idea to ask.

"Are you suggesting that the army knew it and do nothing?"

"Save this question to the deputy, buddy. I have no idea. Just tell me your discoveries and... What you think."

Bernard sucked his inner lip curiously. The damn guy wasn't say anything. The only piece of information that came out of his mouth shook all the crime scenarios Bernard imagined. Still, there was one trump card still in his inner pocket. He crossed his arms with discomfort.

"I'm sure you have an answer for the tunnel as well. Why was an underground passage leading directly to the palace unprotected?"

Tim chuckled, making Bernard more angry.

"Is there any security tunnel everyone knows! The gate to the palace was protected but the entrance door was kept secret. It seems that someone knew that tunnel very well. Do you think that the fucking castle behind me has no escape route?"

"But who? There was another secret entrance to a house inside the damn tunnel! That tunnel was not used for the first time by those people, I'm telling you."

Tim raised an eyebrow, shook his hand at him.

"I was hoping that you would know."

Bernard sighed, loosening his back again on the seat.

"I don't think dark wizards bring out such an advantage for a teacher. Who you say? A person who knows Samson, has good connections and knowledge, powerful and stupid..."

Tim's disgusting grin slowly deteriorated, his serious facial expression returned. He got up from his seat, clasped his hands over his butt, and started watching the view through the window.