The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 217. Provocation

Chapter 217: 217. Provocation

Jael tapped his nail on the table as he waited for Danag. The Head Guard was sure taking his time. It felt like more than fifteen minutes had passed but Jael knew it was just his impatience talking.

He looked around the study. The only source of light was the open curtains. He didn’t think he would be back in here so soon but here he was and he was not pleased.

Whatever reason Danag had for returning to the castle it better be good. His thoughts were running amok as he tried to guess what this was about.

The knock hardened Jael’s expression. "Come in," his deep voice resonated in the small space.

"Sire," Danag said with a bow as soon as he walked in.

"You better have a good reason for showing up without my permission, Danag." He didn’t bother hiding his irritation.

"Yes, Sire. I do." He replied, standing straighter but keeping his head bent. The door remained open and Danag did not attempt to walk any closer.

Jael pinched his nose as he picked up the stench. "What is that smell? Did you fight a paler before coming here?" Jael asked in horror.

"Yes," Danag said darkly, and for the first time, Jael noticed his head guard was angry. "I figured it was best to spare you the smell. That’s why I sent a servant instead of coming up to you myself. As you can see, ten minutes is not enough to wash off the smell of a Paler’s blood. It is not even enough time to clean up."

"You could have added that in the damn message," Jael said with a glare.

"I did not see any need to mention that as the fight has gone easier than I expected and I barely got any scratches," Danag said with a determined expression.

"Fine, go. Take as much time as you need. You did not have to go as far as to show up smelling like a carcass." Jael ordered.

As impatient as he was, there was no way he would be able to have a conversation with that smell constantly in the room and the Danag knew this.

"Thank you, Sire. Your mercy knows no bounds." Danag said sarcastically.

"Tch, get out of here," Jael said darkly. "The smell churns my stomach."

Even though it was a familiar smell, it didn’t make it less sickening. In fact, he was sure this made it worse. He wondered if there was a reason, the Palers smelt dead.

Danag stood to his full height and smiled before walking out the open door. He closed the door behind him, making a soft thud.

He scoffed as the door closed, he would have considered the option of this if he wasn’t so angry. He ran his tongue over his canines, they felt itchy. The lack of satisfaction was slowly eating at him.

After about half an hour, the door unlocked as Danag walked in. He closed the door behind him and walked forward.

"You sure took your time," Jael said with a dark expression.

"I wanted to make sure I was as clean as possible, Sire. You should know how hard it is to get the stench out." Danag said with a gleaming expression.

"Enough with the shenanigans, out with it." Only one person was having fun here and it wasn’t him.

"Right away, Sire." He replied and sat across Jael.

Jael frowned but did not ask Danag to rise. It would be cruel of him. First off it would have taken a lot for Danag to get here as fast as he did and at the same time battle a Paler. He wanted to ask for more details about the fight but he was more interested in why Danag was here.

"Kieran came up with a solution," Danag blurted. "It is not much of a solution but according to him, it has proven to be more effective than finding a way to kill the creatures. However, he still needs time to work on it and make it more effective."

Jael frowned, "What’s this method?"

"A sleeping drug."

"What? How is putting them to sleep better than killing them?"

"So far only the sun is a known way of killing them. Kieran found that poisons don’t work but sedatives do. He can’t kill them but he can put them to sleep. Now, he wants to make a drug strong enough to put a Paler to sleep for at least a day. That should be enough time to make sure they are immobile when the sun rises."

Jael touched his forehead as he thought about Danag’s words. He had never really considered this option as the point was to get rid of Palers, not drug them.

"He will come by in a couple of days when he has more information but he is certain that this will work."

"How is putting them to sleep any better than the current option of ripping their limbs and tying them up? The fact that they are still alive is a threat."

"I do not have more information on this. Kieran wanted to wait before he told you the current plan but I figured you’d want to know immediately."

"Tch! I can believe you came all the way here to tell me you want to put the Paler to sleep." Jael said.

"I apologize if this solution doesn’t suit you," Danag said.

"Yeah, it doesn’t. It is still limiting as we cannot walk under the sun either. Besides, don’t forget that Palers help each other now. This doesn’t benefit us in any way."

Jael groaned and placed his elbows on the table. He did not like the sound of this but Danag sounded confident. Maybe, he was just a terrible messenger and the idea was, even more, flashier than he just explained.

"However, it completely rules out the Paler regenerating and increasing the odds in a fight even if it means knocking it out cold and fleeing."

Jael touched his chin as his mind churned. Was this enough premise to call a meeting and start the squad? Or was this a terrible plan that was bound to fail before it even picked up?

He wouldn’t know unless Kieran showed up, he groaned and leaned back on his chair. He touched his temple, he could feel the start of a headache.

He didn’t expect less, he was not only sleep-deprived, but he was also hungry in every area. He closed his eyes as he rested his head.

"Are you okay, Sire?" Danag asked. His voice heavily showed concern.

"Hmmm," Jael said nonchalantly. "How many days exactly?"

"What?" Danag asked.

"Kieran," he said, peeking out of his palm that laid over his eyes. "When exactly will he get here?"

"Three nights," Danag without hesitation.

"That’s not too far," Jael mumbled to himself.

As much as he would like to set up a meeting. He wanted to have concrete information. The only problem was that Lord Garth was a crucial aspect of this.

Unfortunately, Kieran wouldn’t be here until two nights after Lord Garth arrived which meant he would have to condone the Lord’s presence for at least three nights.

"Mauve wants me to rebuild the castle fence," Jael announced.

Danag’s face showed surprise and the expression immediately disappeared. "Would you do it?"

Jael groaned and pulled his hand from his face. "There is no reason to in my opinion."

There were more important things to worry about than if the surrounding of his castle was up to standard. Maybe, when fewer palers were running around, he could bother himself with matters like that.

"I see," Danag said.

"However, I did tell her I will consider it and Lord Garth will be here tomorrow night. I am sure he wouldn’t mind lending a hand."

"That doesn’t sound like a bad idea," Danag said. "The fence has deteriorated exceedingly and there is almost nothing left at this point. It would be a good thing if we could rebuild it, the crops won’t suffer so much."

"I guess you agree too," Jael said.

Most of their food was gotten from the other Lords, so there wasn’t any particular reason for a farm except as a want. It wasn’t a necessity.

That’s why Jael didn’t particularly care about the crops. The only thing they handled themselves was the meat and not only was there a stable but the wild animals weren’t a problem.

"Is there something else? You look particularly bothered."

"I decided to set up a meeting but I was hoping you had something concrete. I don’t think I can use this."

"A meeting?" Danag asked. "Why the change of heart?"

Jael immediately sat upright, "The Lords have apparently forgotten they chose me to run this. I was basically absent for almost ten years and none of them made a significant difference to the current situation but for some reason, they think they can make demands now."

"Sire," Danag said as gently as he could. He could tell he was stepping on thin ice. "I don’t think provocation is the way to go about this."