Chapter 108

108 Wolf’s Bane

“You what?” Zenon was shocked when he heard what Vincent said to him.

Zenon and Vincent were standing by the main gate of the Kilerth Castle and exchanging information.

“You lost the werewolf girl? How?” Zenon raised his voice at Vincent, knowing very well that they would be doomed if the King was to hear about this.

Right then, a group of vampires swooshed past them and went inside the castle. Two of the vampires in that group were carrying the guards who were bitten by Ruby.

Vincent pointed in the direction of those vampires and then said calmly, “Er... that’s how.”

Zenon was too stunned to speak. He had caught a glimpse of those vampires who were being carried by the others. And he saw the huge rotting bite mark on one of their necks.

“Did she...” Zenon asked with his breath and then questioningly glanced at Vincent.

Vincent sighed and looked away. “Yes, she bit them.” And then he lied, “I chased her for a while. But since those two were on screaming in agony, I couldn’t just leave them to die. I went to the Isolation Center to ask for some help.”

Zenon turned his head towards the castle to take a quick peek at the Queen’s window. He didn’t see the King staring back at them. But he was now panicking beyond measures.

.....

He looked back at Vincent and asked, “Please tell me you asked some of those guards to look for her.”

However, he was disappointed to his core when Vincent shook his head.

“Oh my goodness! Great!” Zenon clenched his fists and jaws. “Now I will have to find Jasper and ask him to look for that redhead instead of some unknown werewolf.”

Vincent instantly stepped in Zenon’s way.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Zenon growled in rage.

But Vincent answered as calmly as ever, “I’ve sent some of the guards to look for wolf’s bane. I heard one of the oldest guards saying that it was the cure for a werewolf bite. I suggest you ask the same to Jasper and his men. According to that old guard, it’s a plant that is hard to find.”

However, Zenon feared the King’s wrath more.

He pushed Vincent aside while saying, “You don’t tell me what to do. You’ve done enough damage by underestimating that werewolf and taking only two guards with you when there were more available.”

Zenon had covered only a small distance when Vincent followed him and blocked his path again.

And he tried to convince Zenon again, “What is more important to you, Zenon? Saving the lives of those loyal guards and keep on maintaining the loyalty of all the other guards as well, or going after that woman whom you will find hiding in the woods somewhere even though you look for her after a few hours?”

“I am telling you...” Vincent tried to emphasize how necessary it was to involve everyone in the search for medicine. “We need everyone to look for that medicine. I was told that we only find that plant by luck. And we find it at the foot of hills in the north.”

“Ugh!” Zenon grabbed his light-brown hair in frustration. He greatly resisted the urge to pull his hair. He looked at Vincent and grumbled, “I know it’s hard to find.”

Zenon took deep breaths quite a few times. And without telling what order he was going to give to Jasper, he rushed from there.

Vincent watched his friend disappear into the woods and then thought to himself, ‘I hope that he will order the commander to look for the medicine.’

He then turned to look at the old and grim castle and wished, ‘And I hope that those guards won’t die on me. Caspian is going to get so mad at me if that happens.’

—

The wounded guards were taken to the guards’ quarters.

The one who got bitten on the neck was still unconscious and in a fatal condition. The venom had already spread around his shoulder and up to his chin.

The others were impatiently waiting for someone to walk in with the medicine. They feared that he would die before the medicine arrived.

And the one with his spine smashed was also in serious condition. But at least he was still conscious and screaming in agony.

And his screams were so loud that Caspian’s sensitive ears caught them even when he was quite far away from the guards’ quarter.

‘What is going on here? And why is no one here to tell me anything?’ Caspian thought to himself while caressing his wife’s hair.

He thought of going outside for a while and updating himself with everything that was happening in his castle. However, the second he stopped stroking Anastasia’s hair, she opened her eyes and looked to see if her husband was still by her side.

Caspian gave a soft smile to her and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“A bit better than earlier,” she whispered. She then held his palm and put it under her head to use it as her pillow. And just like that, she fell asleep again.

Caspian pressed his lips together and smiled at that gesture from his wife.

He could still hear the uproar that was coming from afar. But he simply thought, ‘I guess it’s not something important that needs my attention.’

—

It was already evening when one of the soldiers under the command of Jasper finally arrived at the castle while beaming with happiness.

Zenon and Vincent were both standing at the entrance of the castle.

And seeing him happy and proud, Zenon immediately asked, “Did you find it?”

That soldier frantically nodded. He was too out of breath to even speak a word. He then carefully untied a small pouch that was tied around his waist. And he carefully handed that pouch over to Zenon.

Zenon opened the mouth of the pouch to see a shriveled-up purple flower along with some roots.

“The locals said that the roots are also useful,” that soldier explained.

Zenon didn’t know about the roots but he did recognized the flower to be the infamous wolf’s bane. He instantly whooshed away to the guards’ quarter.

Vincent and that soldier also followed after Zenon.

When the three of them reached the room where those wounded guards were kept in, they gagged and almost vomited because of the stench that was coming off their bite wounds. It was stinking so bad that even a dead mouse wouldn’t smell that bad.

“We got the plant,” Zenon pinched his nose and tossed the pouch to one of the guards who was inside the room.

That guard was covering his nose with a couple of layers of clothes. But it was barely helpful. He looked at the lords and asked, “What do I do with this? Do I feed it to them or rub it over their wounds?”

Zenon, Vincent, and the soldier looked at each other in confusion.

There were no doctors among the vampires. And because they were never in a situation like this before, no one had any idea how they were supposed to use that medicine.

Zenon looked back at the guard who questioned him and said, “Er... I’ll go and try to find the manuscripts in the library. Maybe our ancestors wrote something.”

“Move aside young lads.” Suddenly, they all heard someone from behind them.

Vincent turned around to welcome that newcomer. “Hey, old man. You finally arrived!” He pulled that old-looking man and gently pushed him inside the stinking room. “Help them, please.”

“Oh dear lord! They already look dead.” The old man said while pinching his nose and glancing at the guards who were lying unconscious on their beds.

“Who’s he?” Zenon asked Vincent.

“That old guard from the Isolation Center. I called him just in case.”

Zenon gave an appreciative nod to Vincent.

That old man took the pouch containing the wolf’s bane. He took the flowers out of the pouch and then tossed the pouch back again.

While picking all the flowers from the stems, he ordered the guard who caught the pouch, “Clean those roots and make juice from it.”

He, on the other hand, rubbed those flowers in between his palms.

He glanced at Vincent and asked while pointing his brows at the guard who was bitten on the neck, “You, come here and hold this one.”

“But he’s unconscious,” Vincent furrowed. He didn’t want to get any closer to that stinking smell.

However, he got scolded by that guard, “Don’t be a baby and just get in here.”

Vincent looked at Zenon, hoping that he would go and do as the old man asked. But Zenon shook his head and pushed Vincent inside.

Vincent held his breath and frowned at Zenon. But then he went and grabbed the unconscious guard’s head. And he mumbled in a suppressed whisper, “Do it fast!”

That old man squeezed the flower’s juice directly onto the bite marks on the neck of that vampire.

And the vampire who had been unconscious for the whole day suddenly flung his eyes open. He roared in agony when that juice burned his skin and even stung his bones.

The stinging pain from the juice of the wolf’s bane was much worse than the werewolf bite.

“Whoa! Easy!” Vincent now understood the reason why that old man had asked him to hold someone who was unconscious.

And fearing that Caspian would hear his scream, Vincent pushed that vampire’s head down on the bed with one hand and tightly covered his mouth with the other.