ArHi FF:13: The BEASTS and the BLEEDING ROSES - Page 86

Chapter 329: The Truth of the Sting

The black feline, Astrophe, who was lazily slumbering atop the broken down wall of a shadowy corridor, opened one eye and saw her Master in a fury, storming down that corridor towards where his servant stood.

"You fool!" the tall man glared at the bald servant on reaching him, "She's protected!"

The servant blinked nervously, "But how can that be?"

"You tell me!" barked the tall man.

The servant was clueless and kept staring blankly at the wall.

His Master gritted his teeth, "Whose wife did you say she was?"

"The First Lord's," recalled the servant, explaining the impossibility of error, "That's what our spy told me who couldn't have been wrong."

The tall man's nostrils flared in frustration, "And who do you think the First Lord is?"

"Akash Raizada," came the prompt answer of the servant.

"No, you blundering imbecile!" The tall man fumed, "It's the other one!"

The servant tried to make sense of the miscalculation, "But the industry is called AR and his last name is..." The servant's eyes widened in astonishment, "That would mean-"

"Yes, it would mean a lot of things!" yelled the Master and he began strolling about the corridor where they stood, muttering under his breath.

Astrophe, still in her reclining poise, merely oscillated her eyes to and fro, watching interestedly her Master's growing agitation which, she noted as his strides slowed, was beginning to strangely subside.

Then he paused, suddenly calm, "But this also makes things easier for us."

"It does?" The servant was confused but a moment later he comprehended the gist of his Master's cunning grin, "It does, indeed! Must be all part of the plan, eh, Master?"

"It is," nodded the tall man smugly, "Our consort has been very helpful in this matter, letting things connect themselves so conveniently for us."

"Now what?" The servant was eager to know, "She has been asking to see her husband."

"We will be generous and grant her wish, won't we?" smiled the wicked Master, "And then we'll watch him destroy it all."

"She will come with us, then?"

"She will be on the ship with us tomorrow," promised the tall man, contingent of his plan.

"But what about her children?"

"They are not hers. By the looks of it, she is carrying her first child."

The servant was confused "So whose children are the ones in our captive?"

The Master looked at his servant impatiently, "Why should that be our concern?"

"Wouldn't their father come searching for them?"

The tall man laughed, "I don't think we need worry over that. If we have the means to overpower beasts, would we not easily overthrow human invaders?"

The servant nodded in support, "Very true, Master, very true."

Astrophe let out a voiceless yawn and shutting her eyes went back to sleep, but not without a ghost of a smile lingering on her cat lips.