The Palace Beast

The two guards led the King to the dungeon as they were commanded by Gallo. It is beyond their will to fight it. They are not with their right senses. What they do, they do against their will.

Immediately Gallo saw the King walk into the dungeon, he quickly stood to his feet and moved towards her faster than her eyes could see. He grabbed her and stared deep into her eyes. "You will give order to your scouts to go find your sister and bring her to me."

On hearing this, the King burst into laughter. She and Ramsey just discovered a plant named 'Vervain.' Vervain is a potent herb and a vampire's most well-known weakness. If a vampire makes physical contact with vervain in any form, it will burn them. If a vampire ingests vervain, the vampire's throat and digestive tract will be burned and they will become feverish and extremely weak. And this includes the first vampires.

The laboring wouldn't have worked if the guards were on vervain. The laboring doesn't work if the victim is on vervain. Vampires who ingest vervain can still compel others without the vervain nullifying the effects.

The King has been on vervain with Ramsey for over two days. She can't fall victim to the glamoring. "Your mind compulsion will not work on me," she said and then burst into laughter again.

Vervain is an herb that was pretty hard to find but could be used against vampires. When ingested, this herb made it impossible for humans to fall victim to mind compulsion by any vampire and also made their blood toxic to vampires. This herb was brought to the knowledge of the King by the healer of Maxis when he heard an original vampire has been captured.

Gallo was enraged with his failure in laboring the King. He knew what vervain could do to him even as one of the first vampires. He thought of draining the blood of the King for making him look like a fool but suddenly he remembered that people on vervain have made their blood toxic to vampires. "You dare mock me!" he yelled at the King and quickly went for her heart and ripped it out.

He glances at the two guards and then said to them, "You two will help me flee from Maxis."

"Of course," they replied with their head slightly lowered. They can't fight it. Even though they know what they have witnessed is not good but there's no way they can resist the vampire that clamored them. The only way they can be free is if Gallo is killed, then they can be free. They themselves can't kill him as they have become subject to his will and must do every of his bidding.

They quickly drew out their swords and lead the way with Gallo behind them.

...Mystic Cave...

Eris put up a deadly fight with John but John couldn't spare her when he had had enough. He speared her to the rock with her own spear. He glanced at Neena with a frowned face, "You are happy I am doing your dirty work for you, aren't you?"

"All this will be over if you just do all I have asked you to do," said Neena as she approaches John. Staring him deep in the eyes she opened her mouth to speak, "Please John, we all depend on you to save us. Do this and you have fulfilled your purpose here."

"What do you know about my mysterious appearance in this world?"

"The only thing I know is that your coming here will make us win this war and send the gods back to the sky."

"I will help you do this but after that, I go my own way. I need to find answers and then find my way home if that is possible."

"I assure you, once you have helped us, all the answers you seek will be made plain before you."

"Very well then, I will help you but first I need to see someone," John snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Neena grinned, nodding her head. "I thought him well," I thought him well.

...Maxis...

Before the guards could lead Gallo to the escape tunnel under the castle, Ramsey opposed them with the other knights and slew them both. He fixed his eyes on Gallo and then said to him, "You killed the King. At what cost?" "You will face the same fate of your King if you do not let me leave. My fight is not with you but with Bonnie, the daughter of your late King, Gilbert. She has someone that I need to save. So out of the way now or get killed." "If someone is going to die here, it's you!"

Ramsey raised his sword and pointed it towards Gallo as a signal for his knights to attack. Their swords have been deep in vervain and every cut they made on Gallo's skin was agonizing to him that he couldn't fight any more than to fall to his knees. He has lost much blood and some vervain substances have entered into his system burning him slowly from the inside.

Ramsey made his way to Gallo and knocked him down with his feet. He then pulled out a leather flask and removed its stopper and begins to empty its liquid on Gallo's body. The liquid burns Gallo making him weak and feverish. It's now clear to Gallo that the liquid being poured on him is vervain. He could barely move. "I told you if someone will die, it's going to be you. But I will do you the favor of not killing you. But you will die in the hands of the one whose brother you murdered." Ramsey turned towards his knights and then instructed them to lock up Gallo.

***

At the bunker in the woods, Bonnie was seated beside the table waiting for John to return, when from behind she felt a cold hand that grabbed her by the shoulder. She swirled to know who it was that had grabbed her shoulder in such a

manner.