Part 5

Retrieving the two boys was a simple enough matter for Sergei. The guards never saw him coming, and now they would never see anything ever again. Opening the door to the room, the intelligence reports were correct. Two teenage boys tied up and gagged. He removed the gags from each of their mouths and smiled, his fangs glistening in the moonlight.

"You must be Diana's brothers, am I correct?" He asked.

"W-who are you?" One of them asked.

"I am the Shadow of Lichfield. Duchess Ashe has sent me to rescue you two, so that your sister doesn't have to work for the King of Whitemire anymore. That is, unless she lied to us."

"It's not that simple." The older one said. "We're her brothers, but she didn't tell you who she is, did she?"

Sergei smiled. He loved information gathering on the job. "So who is she?"

"We're the three bastard children of the King, born from a prostitute. There'd be a scandal if our existence was ever discovered, he'd never stop chasing us if you set us free."

"Excellent, Duchess Ashe plans to seize the throne anyway, and a scandal from the King will only help matters." Sergei said, holding in laughter. He cut the ropes holding them to the chairs. "We'll stop briefly in Lichfield so you can see Diana, but we're going to keep you safe with the Baron of Thorns until the King is dealt with."

"What about the guards outside?" The younger boy asked.

"What about them? They won't be seeing anything ever again. Gouged their eyes right out." Sergei said, an evil smile on his face as he recalled it.