Vampire's Bride

#9 The Crime Scene

"Sorcery!" Prince Damien exclaimed.

In one earlier instance, Vladimir had claimed the involvement of sorcery. He had refuted the idea. There was no evidence to support him. If it were true, more council members would get inclined towards him. Out of all the time, it wasn't in his favor if it proved Vladimir right. The selection for the crowned prince was around the corner.

Feya stepped back, both in surprise and shock. Both the princes were here. Also, what were they talking about? Didn't king Adrian get rid of wendigos and ogres after punishing all those who practiced sorcery? After all, whenever the spell of elixir went wrong, it resulted in an ogre. While eventually, when they get consumed by the poison of sorcery, they get petrified and become wendigos.

The wendigoes, once petrified, will feel the need to feed themselves with the energy of a soul after they drink the blood to the last drop of their species to continue living among the people. Otherwise, it results in giving them a longer, healthier life. They looked normal on the outside on most days. Their skills improved when they weren't running wild, looking to feed on a soul. On the other end, the ogres become completely deformed and mindless, becoming a new species on their own, full of wrath and vengeance. It had resulted in great chaos.

King Adrian rose to the occasion with his friends from the other four dominant species. The vampires, humans, werewolves, and witches, along with the druids, fought the great war under his able leadership. After a great fight, loss of life, and bloodshed, they could finally push off the wendigos to the south and ogres to the north, building Solaris on the continent of Amaris.

So who in their right mind would be practicing sorcery?

Was this why someone woke up Hedwig after she failed to raise him from his hibernation? Feya felt terrified of the circumstances. How can she now confront the only druid in such terrible times? Was her personal grievance more significant than the people of Solaris? She couldn't tell. She felt flustered, terrified, and burdened.

Vladimir ignored Damien, but the rest of the soldiers bowed to the older prince. The man turned to reconfirm what he had said to Vladimir.

"Yes, your highness. Indeed, sorcery was involved. We found traces of astral dust after a failed spell. Someone is trying hard to replicate the ancient spell using dark, forbidden magic." The man replied.

"How do you know it is astral dust? If that is the case, someone is practicing the spell of elixir," Vladimir probed.

"The druid. He is there looking for more evidence," the man answered.

There was no way anyone could reject or object to the involvement of sorcery this time. After all, Hedwig himself confirmed it.

"Inform the king," Damien ordered. "Vladimir, care to join me at the scene of the crime?"

Vladimir scoffed, chuckling later in a mocking manner. He knew since Hedwig confirmed the involvement of sorcery, Damien would want to do everything in his ability to stop it to impress the council. In one way, it wasn't bad. With them, the matter might get resolved faster. He didn't doubt the ability of his brother. It was the difference in how they both function, think, behave, and respond to a situation that drifted them apart as they grew up. He never felt the need to get recognized, while Damien wouldn't miss an opportunity.

"Of course, brother," Vladimir replied, slightly smirking.

Damien couldn't help but roll his eyes. He knew his brother was being sarcastic because he was right. But how on earth did he doubt the involvement of sorcery while they found no evidence? Damien glanced briefly at Vladimir, suspecting if it was Vladimir who woke up Hedwig to prove himself right.

"Are you coming with us?" Vladimir turned to ask Feya, startling Damien.

Damien hadn't noticed her presence until now. She was wearing dark clothes and had stepped back into the shadows. Was this woman there while they discussed such a confidential matter? Who was she? Why was Vladimir trusting her? Or was he planning not to keep this classified? In that case, it will create chaos among the public. He couldn't think of anything concrete when his younger, unpredictable brother was involved. But what bothered him the most was what if Vladimir had already picked his bride, and the selection process was only a farce for him?

Damien glared at Feya suspiciously, making her even more uncomfortable and worried. She muttered under her breath. Why was even Vladimir dragging her to matters that were court affairs? Did he know who she was? Or was he really reckless, like everyone claimed?

"No, your highness. I must return to the palace. You won't need your servant following you anymore." Feya replied.

Vladimir chuckled, almost bursting into a laugh. He had a hard time controlling it. What a quick-witted lady!

"You must tell no one about what you heard. Otherwise-" Damien warned. But Vladimir cut him off midway, "Brother, do not threaten my servant in the presence of her master."

Damien glared at Vladimir in annoyance, feeling offended. But Damien knew how his brother was. So he didn't fight back.

"You will be responsible for your actions." Damien simply warned Vladimir, walking ahead towards the crime scene, irked and pissed at his maverick, recalcitrant brother.

"When had I not been, brother?" Vladimir chuckled, making Damien vexed.

When did they fall apart so much that they couldn't see eye to eye? Couldn't he respect him even for a second, at least in front of a maid? Damien wanted to retaliate. But he didn't want to lose composure and fight with his brother for his reckless behavior. There was no hope left for Vladimir. He was untameable.

"Ingrid," Vladimir ensured to take a glimpse of her. But when she didn't respond like one should when their name gets called, he twisted his lips into a small smile. Indeed, she was lying about her name.

"Ingrid, don't get lost." Vladimir walked to her, smirking. He stressed Ingrid as if to tell her in his way that he had caught her lying. But Feya feigned ignorance, avoiding his gaze. What can't be confirmed wasn't a lie.

"Your highness, I must return to the palace. It was foolish of me not to listen to you earlier." Feya faltered as soon as Damien was far away enough not to be able to hear them. At least now she had to deal with one less prince.

"It is really presumptuous of you. There is no way you can climb that high wall or enter the palace through the main gate unless you are with me, Ingrid." Vladimir again stressed her name as if mocking her. He had seen her sneaking out of the bridal section. She was either a maid of one of the bridal candidates or a candidate herself. Well, he wanted to bet that she was Feya Elven.

Feya sighed, following Vladimir in silence. She thought that she had to stick with him for her sake. At least he had been putting a blind eye to her identity till now. It was better to deal with one than get caught completely and blow her cover. Plus, she would be able to find out more about sorcery. The truth was that she was intrigued. Had her goal and identity not been at stake, she would have wanted to get involved in the matter of sorcery more openly. After all, she was a part druid. How could she turn a blind eye to something big like sorcery? Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.

"Your highness," Feya broke the silence that had settled between them for some time. Damien wasn't far away, but he was chatting with some officials.

"Yes," Vladimir replied, happy that she was talking again.

"The man from earlier said that you had doubted sorcery. Can I ask you why?" Feya couldn't hold back her curiosity. She might take that chance and find out, rather than wondering about it for days.

"Why are you interested in finding more about something as dangerous as sorcery when you are discreet about your identity? Is that because Hedwig is involved? I know you were following him." Vladimir queried. He had given enough hints. But she wasn't taking the bet. So instead of going round and round about it, he asked her directly.

It startled Feya. How much did Vladimir know? She wanted to feign ignorance, but he was staring into her eyes, judging her. How could she lie to him? It was weird how he could see through her even if she was covered from head to toe. She couldn't help but admire his intelligence. He wasn't shallow like what people claimed him to be. He was just aloof, observing everything in the silence.

"I asked you first." It was the best that she could answer.

Vladimir chuckled. "And here, I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. How can you be a maid and still be so rebellious?"

Feya swallowed hard. She couldn't speak anything. Much to her respite, Damien called Vladimir to look for something. She hadn't realized that they had already reached their destination. The fire had settled by now. It wasn't a surprise, given Hedwig's power. Vladimir ordered her not to touch anything or get involved in the examination, leaving her at the entrance.

The massive fire had burned the place to dust. It had filled the sky above with black smoke. Feya wasn't sure how they even found the traces of astral dust. It was a complete disaster.

The palace guards and soldiers were running in every direction, inspecting the place to gather more evidence. Some palace officials had also assembled to investigate the affair. A few council members had already arrived. Indeed, the royal palace workers were faster than her land. Damien was ordering around, trying to collect as much information as he could from everyone. It was only Vladimir who was wandering around the place, or at least it looked like that.

It was then Hedwig came out from a burnt room. He was covered with ash and dust, looking filthy. But no one cared about it when they bowed to him in respect.

"Did anyone find any other evidence?" Hedwig asked. But everyone looked down. They weren't even sure what to look for in that mess. Most of them were not sure how to identify astral dust as well.

"How did you even identify the astral dust?" Damien asked, addressing the query of most of them.

"What?" Hedwig looked around in surprise. Were they all so foolish? Didn't they know the difference even if there was no case of sorcery for a very long time? It must be on the records of those times? Didn't they read it?

"They look similar to the ashes and smoke particles after a fire on the first appearance. But when you observe carefully, there is a slight sparkle to those particles, shimmering due to the trace of magic." Hedwig sighed. How was he going to fight the sorcerers with this useless, clueless bunch? He was the only druid left!

"What about the bodies?" Vladimir asked, gaining everybody's attention.

"There are only three bodies. But there is nothing left for us to check." A man replied.

"Show me!" Hedwig shouted, making the man jerk in terror. He gulped a huge chunk of saliva, pointing in the direction where the severely burnt remains of three people were kept.

Hedwig rushed to the bodies. Vladimir and Damien followed him. Hedwig checked the dead bodies, looking for something. Indeed, nothing was left to identify anything. He sighed in frustration.

"What are you looking for?" Damien probed.

"Any sign of sorcery!" Hedwig grumbled at his stupidity.

"But there is one," Vladimir replied. Again, everyone was looking at the younger prince in astonishment.