Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 150: An ambush

Floriel flapped her wings, raising her little body off of Arabella’s palm and did as suggested. Throughout the fairy’s fly around, the young woman noted her clear disinterest in one direction in particular whereas her eyes seemed to have no problem lingering on other potential paths.

"I am not very sure what to tell you," Floriel had her fingers around her chin by the time she’d flown back into Arabella’s palm, "I don’t think I’ve felt anything strange. I am sorry, I wasn’t of any help,"

In response, Arabella faced the northern side before smiling at Floriel, "On the contrary, I think you found the way,"

"Did I?" Floriel’s eyebrows rose up her forehead.

"What an ingenious idea!" the second Lady that accompanied them had exclaimed without much enthusiasm, "You knew that humans would be less afflicted by the spell binding the tunnels and used that to your advantage," she nodded.

Mouth agape, Floriel’s head snapped between Arabella’s reddening face and the Lady.

"Yes, I merely expected a creature of the night to sort of pull away from the right path," very sheepishly, Arabella articulated to the best of her ability.

"Marvelous," Lord Foy had been the first to step forward, "Well, there we have it then,"

Out of that small clearing they went, heading straight north, and when uncertainty took the reins, Floriel and Liriel repeated the same trick Arabella had suggested. Only that time around since they were closer to their goal, the fairies showed much more resistance towards a specific way, their features somewhat even twisting as they glided by it.

"I think it is right ahead,"

Arabella had launched forward, walking without paying any attention where her feet landed until a strong hand gripped her by the arm, holding her in place.

"You do not go first," Silas spoke as coldly as his usual.

The vampire signaled to some of the men carrying the torches to move ahead and cut the extra greens barring their path. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Stay by me," he addressed her without glancing her way.

"Understood," she muttered.

Very slowly they all marched, looking apprehensive, careful, and ready to fight back should a threat leap at them from out of nowhere.

But nothing ever came. What appeared instead was a large opening into the foot of a hill, surrounded by thick rocks that marked the entrance of a cavern.

The human men made their way inside first as the night walkers waited outside for a signal that quickly resounded when one of the men peeked outside to give the green light.

"The first half is safe, Master,"

Much like the first tunnel, the beginning of the cave was all around safe for creatures of the night to venture through. That was until a dead end came into view, very similarly to the boulder that blocked the rigged part of the previous one.

"This one is settled too then," Lord Foy held a hand firmly clasped against his mouth and nose.

After those words, they all exited the cave then faced it again. The ground rumbled beneath their feet one more time as Floriel and Liriel breathed fairy dust into the mouth of the hollow while Ethendra and Calistro whispered along very rapidly.

The cave exhaled its last puffs of dust once its entrails were done shifting and contorting to seal the tract.

"Tsk, hopefully, it shouldn’t affect the stability of the ground around the area," Lord Dragomir’s eyes fixated on what was left of the tunnel before looking all around.

His words made sense as the area had seen many changes in its scenery even before the war that rattled it to the core.

The zone surrounding KasselMoon was never exactly known for its sturdiness and that for millennia preceding their time.

"Considering everything else this place went through, I doubt this will put a dent in it," Lord Foy shook his head slowly.

"Alright then, which one comes next?" eyes on Silas, Calistro placed a hand on her hip.

"The third one lies south, right around the outskirts of the capital," Silas rolled back the map and tucked it down the cylinder attached to his belt.

As soon as the two fairies settled back onto Arabella’s shoulders, the young woman decided to share the questions she’d been holding onto since the first tunnel, "Liriel, would you mind it if I enquired about the sealing of the tunnel? The method you use, I mean,"

"Ask away, my dear," Liriel smiled.

By then, the group had started to move through the forest and back towards the horses.

"Well, I wanted to know more about the spell you’ve used, to be honest,"

"It was an enchantment," said Floriel, "Fairies don’t do with spells," she chirped.

"Unlike witches who draw their powers from the moon, we gather our energy from other parts of nature around ourselves," Liriel brought Arabella’s attention onto herself again, "Calistro and Ethendra’s recitals were meant to protect the ground and...," the old fairy trailed off.

Her eyebrows furrowed, Liriel glared at one of the human men holding a torch. He seemed to edge nearer to Arabella ever so slowly.

"What’s the matter, Liriel?" Floriel enquired.

Arabella eyes darted between the man and Liriel for a moment until she spoke again.

"Floriel," the older fairy said, "Do you notice something different about this man right in front of us?"

Following her gaze, Floriel looked at him, tilting her head to study him further. Then, as soon as her eyes had narrowed, they instantly widened, "Oh dear... Stop!" she squeaked while frantically pulling at Arabella’s vest.

"What seems to be the problem?"

Silas hadn’t had the time to finish his question that explosions erupted all around the party, very quickly followed by thick and opaque yellow fumes that rose to engulf everything in their vicinities, forcing every night walker to bend down and tightly wrap their hands around their own mouths.

"An ambush!" knee on the ground, Lord Foy coughed relentlessly between syllables.

Hand clenching his chest, Silas tried his best but failed to keep his eyes open for more than seconds at a time. There was a lot of coughing, huffing and puffing, shifting as well as shuffling happening, but then two feeble squeaks resounded before yet another short-lived scream. One that froze his blood in his veins.