Alaster reappeared in the suite of rooms allocated to him to the sound of someone politely knocking on his door.

The eight Forgotten Experts that served as Lord Ashborn’s bodyguards lined either side of the hallway, ready to defend if needed.

Alaster quickly brushed off his rich but modest clothes and sat down on the couch facing the door. Once he was situated, he nodded to the Forgotten. The one to the left of the door stepped forward and opened it, stepping to the side as it did.

Standing outside, Alaster spotted a young girl, perhaps only fourteen. From her clothing, she was a servant girl. Alaster mentally commanded his Forgotten to keep the door open.

Alaster stood up and walked to the door, “Hello there. What is the matter?”

The girl shifted her weight from side to side, sneaking glancing around her at the empty hall.

“Umm, uh, I was told to come here and see if you needed anything. Anything at all?”

From the nervous, almost panicked, blush that consumed her face and the words she used, Alaster knew what she meant.

Alaster enjoyed designing new things, testing his limits, despite the mood he had when he met Fenrir that night, he had left happy. His good mood died now, as if it had been beheaded.

He sat on his haunches, getting to eye level with the girl, “Tell me girl, do you understand just what that means?”

She nodded, “Yes, and I and prepared.”

“Who told you to come here?” Alaster asked.

Her shifting intensified, as did her glances. She grabbed her dress and began to kneed it.

“Uh, I don’t know. I was just told to.”

“What is your name?”

“Paige, m’lord.”

“Tell me the truth, the whole truth, and no harm will come to you or those you care about.”

Alaster had meant to say that he would protect them. But with the heavily armed Forgotten standing behind him and the bloodlust that permeated the air around him, the young girl assumed it was a threat.

“It was Lord Halligon!” She cried out, tears streaming down her face.

Alaster gently took one of her hands in his, “Thank you little one. Now I need you to do something for me. I need you to run to the Duke as fast as you can, tell him that I, Lord Ashborn, sent you to deliver a message. Tell him its an emergency so that he listens. Then, I want you tell him the entire story. Who sent you, why, what they wanted you to do, all of it. Then I want you to tell him that I went to have a pleasant conversation with Lord Halligon.

Can you do that for me?”

Through tears, Paige nodded.

“Good girl. Now run off. Be as quick as you can.”

Paige immediately took off.

Alaster stood up, watching the young girl speed around the corner of the hallway. He probably should have asked her where Lord Halligon was, but Alaster already knew that he lived within the Castle. And this late at night, he would likely be in his rooms, even if the Shadow Assassins couldn’t get in the room.

Alaster grabbed his cloak from beside the door, swinging onto his shoulders as he exited the room. Six of his Forgotten followed right behind, with the last two remaining inside the suite.

The Resident rooms were in the same general area, so it was not a very long walk, but it was distant enough for Alaster to get a grip on his emotions. He should have been able to keep them under control the entire time, but since he had met Evelyn, knew she was ok, he had quickly noticed that his emotions seemed to be more vibrant.

As if the chains weighing them down had loosened, not released them, but were not quite as heavy.

By the time Alaster stood outside Lord Halligon’s suite, he had reined in his emotions and put on the smile Azemar had drilled into him.

Two guards wearing the Lord’s colors stood outside the door. They appeared tough, but Alaster could feel their relative strength. They would not be a problem.

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“Lord Ashborn to see Lord Halligon.”

“One moment m’lord.” The guard on the right answered, tapping on a gym attached to his wrist.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal a smartly dressed butler.

“Yes?”

“Lord Ashborn to see Lord Halligon.”

The man nodded, “Yes, of course. He has been expecting you. Your guards will have to wait outside however.”

Alaster shrugged it off, “No problem.”

“Please come in.”

Alaster walked in, politely handing his cloak to the butler before walking further into the suite.

The suite itself was structured the same way his own suite was, though the decorations were much more personal. Due to the long hallway, Alaster was able to see the Lord immediately after entering.

The sight that appeared was not an unexpected one, nor a welcome one.

The Lord Halligon was sitting leisurely in the middle of the couch with a woman on either arm. Two more stood behind the couch, holding various refreshments and wines. Another two were lounging on the plush carpet at the man’s feet. All the women were beautiful, and all wore something that could not possibly be labeled as clothing.

Four guards in the Lord’s colors stood around the room and Alaster had no doubt there were a few more taking a break in their small barracks.

“Lord Ashborn! Welcome to my home. At least my home in the Capital, where I spend most of my time. Please come! Sit, drink, enjoy yourself. Or perhaps you had enough enjoyment for the night.” The man exclaimed with a drunken and playful voice that reminded Alaster of a toad.

Alaster sat down in one of the chairs, keeping his attention on the flabby man. Lord Halligon had no doubt once been a powerful man with large muscles, and while the muscles largely remained, the power had long since been eroded away by excess. His short beard was neatly kept, yet somehow still contained bits of food.

Within moments of sitting down, one of the women on the ground had sat down on his lap, laying against his chest and toying with his shirt. Yet Alaster’s eyes never left its target.

“Did you enjoy the gift I sent you?”

“Oh yes, thank you. You see, its been a while since I have been able to suitably relieve my stress.”

“Yes, stress can be a dreadful thing. That’s why I strive to avoid it!” The man laughed.

The women joined in with giggles, and Alaster fought to not roll his eyes. The girls were pretty, but from the void looks in their eyes and the absentminded way they moved and acted, there was little else.

Before Alaster could speak, the front door opened once more and in walked a hurried Duke.

“Duke Redmond! How wonderful to see you!” Lord Halligon exclaimed.

The Duke politely nodded to the Lord, ignoring everything else, before he turned to Alaster, “Lord Ashborn, might I ask what you are doing here?”

“Well Duke Redmond, I take you received my messenger?”

“Yes?”

“And I take it that such acts are illegal?”

“Yes. What of it?”

“Pardon me ma’am,” Alaster gently stood up, setting the scantly clad woman in the chair.

“Lord Halligon, truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for allowing me to relieve my stress.”

Wet gurgling filled the food as the four guards clenched at their throats and collapsed to the ground, staining the stone and carpet. The women cried out, but were ignored.

The door to the barracks swung open and four more guards raced out in various states of dress, but an equal number of Shadow Assassins materialled around them, ending their lives before they could even comprehend how they had died.

Alaster ignored the cries and stepped forward, a small dagger appearing in his hand. Lord Halligon, slowed and weakened by the drink, was unable to fight off the two Shadow Assassins that held him down.

Alaster stalked closer without a sound.

The dagger was plunged down, into the Lord’s fatty chest. The Lord gasped in pain that quickly turned into screams as Alaster drove the dagger down, through his chest and past his belly.

Without hesitation, Alaster thrust the dagger into the man’s leg and reached in, grabbing either side of the grievous wound, and using his strength pried it apart. The sound of bones breaking filled the room as Alaster exposed the man’s ribcage to the air.

Yet the man was not dead, not yet. Such was the blessing, and curse, of being an Adept who had specialized in Constitution and survivability.

Alaster reached in, grabbing the man’s heart before yanking it out and shoving it in Lord Halligon’s mouth.

He then yanked the dagger out of the man’s leg and thrust it through the heart, pinning it to the inside of Lord Halligon’s mouth.

Breathing heavily, not due to exertion but due to his heightened emotions, Alaster stood up straight, correcting his jacket before he turned around.

The Duke was bent over, evacuating his stomach.

Duke Redmond wiped his mouth when he was finished and looked up at Lord Ashborn, his face covered in the gore he had just unleashed.

Daniel heaved once more, but nothing came up.

Alaster reached out and one of the Shadows stepped forward, offering Lord Halligon’s own handkerchief. Alaster wiped out the majority of the gore, but plenty remained. He would have to shower to clean himself and would likely have to burn the clothes he wore.

“I asked you here so you understood.” Alaster stated, staring down at the Duke.

“Understood what?”

“Understood what I won’t stand by. What happened here will be known throughout the entire castle by dawn. If you are smart, you will get ahead of it and declare that you had sentenced Lord Halligon to death for his crimes against the crown and that I had only been too happy to execute it.

Either way, by dawn, it will be public just how ruthless I can be.

There are very few things I won’t attest. I could understand starving your enemies, torturing them, taking away everything they loved. I can understand it all! I have done it plenty of times myself. But what I won’t allow is the harm of children.

I would like Paige and her family to be transferred under your direct command.”

The Duke stood up straight nodding, both to himself and to Alaster, “That won’t be an issue. What about his guards outside?”

Alaster walked past him, past the shivering butler in the fetal position, and opened the door to a hallway covered in blood and two headless corpses.

“If I were you,” Alaster said, storing his cloak in his Ring of Holding, “I would thoroughly investigate the entire Halligon House and arrest anyone who had knowledge of the late Lord’s activities, starting with the butler.”

Alaster walked out of the room, followed by the Forgotten, who remained unfazed by the conflict, their armor and clothes remaining immaculate.

The Duke stood there, surrounded by corpses, wondering just what sort of monster he had invited into his home.