On the way down to the dining room they talked about their plans. None of them wanted to be turned or killed, clearly. Memory wipe was the best option but Logan thought he could do something. In the mean time, seeing if Borden can be helped was the priority. Lana shared what she saw in his energy. Logan just nodded like he expected something like that.
Caser tried riding on his perch but he was getting heavy and it didn't feel as secure as it once did. He was almost four months old at his point. He decided to be a big boy and walk next to her with his tentacle around her ankle instead. As they approached the dining room, a loud scream was heard. Caser refused to go any further. The boys ran ahead.
Once the scream ended, she followed them and was the last of the party to enter. Cia was on the floor with a bolt in her stomach. Quinn was removing it and was upset but Edward explained what happened. Layla and Erin took her sleeping body to a room upstairs.
Logan began telling Quinn he needed his ability and Vorden did the same. Lana also nodded in agreeance for herself. Vorden placed Borden on the table. Edward was quite confused when he saw him. Borden complained Vorden was so gentle because he still felt strong. Logan had taken the time to make him clothes before heading to Vorden and Lana's room. Quinn thanked him for saving his friends and he said his brother's friends are his friends.
Leo was not happy there was a miniature dalki in the room. Dalki had wiped out all his family and friends during the war. The best dalki to him was a dead one. He didn't act because he knew something was different there.
The conversation turned to his size and could he be fixed. Logan stated they should go back to the lab in the mountain. Quinn was against it at first. Edward had never heard of such a place. Leo volunteered to take them. Vorden asked Lana to go with them but she declined stating she was still working with Caser and he couldn't eat wendigos.
As they got ready to go, Lana discussed something else with Quinn. "I was wondering if you had a problem with me hiring the vampire to take me hunting? I think Caser killed those beasts too fast. He has not met the ones from yesterday yet and the next batch should be here soon, if he comes. I wasn't here yesterday so I still need to pay him."
Quinn seemed to be pondering that for a bit. Hunting meant being outside the settlement and she was not a vampire. Being a human had already proven to be dangerous if injuries were received. Peter said he could take her but Quinn wanted him close. "Let me think on it for a few minutes."
She nodded and sat down. The boys returned ready to go. They escorted them out the door and found Timmy getting ready to knock. Edward said Timmy was invited to guide the team to the mountain and they were off. Just after they were gone, Fex came over. He looked awkward but he was no longer part of the 13th family and didn't feel right being in the pool so he wanted to see if he could join the 10th. Quinn told him that was a no-brainer and they bro-hugged.
Lana stepped forward, "how about Fex go with me?" she then explained to Fex that she needed to train Caser how to hunt so he'd stop feeling the need to be always touching her. That was her hope, anyway. He loved the idea but needed to go get his things from the 13th. She said it was perfect because she couldn't go until her delivery anyway. As they headed back in to wait, Quinn stated he wanted to meet the vampire again before making the decision and she agreed to that.
As they closed the door behind them, the girls came down and asked Edward if it would be safe to go see Layla's friend Amy. They were all turned so Edward saw no problem with that. The girls put on clothing from the 10th castle so they would blend in better and headed out.
Lana, Peter, Quinn and Edward went out to the garden to wait on the delivery. She had Caser fight both of the beasts that were delivered the day before at the same time. He got a minor injury but he still didn't do bad. He had just finished when she heard footsteps.
She had her tree put her on the wall again and it was Shalt with two more beasts. She smiled and jumped down. Edward saw what the tree did and looked at Quinn in awe. Quinn smiled at him then jumped over the wall to speak to the vampire.
Lana was just getting ready to talk to him when Quinn appeared behind him.
"Quinn, why did you need to come over like that!" She looked to shalt, "I apologize for him startling you and for not being here yesterday. Things have been a bit …busy." She looked in the crates and they were both rabbits this time. She nodded to him. "Okay, so I owe you 2,000 for those, and another for those from yesterday."
"Yes, you do." He wasn't rude or anything, just seemed to want her to understand he had done the job and deserved his credits. The settlement mainly used beast crystals for currency, but the 13 families had credits because they would send people to the human world on missions. They also purchased things from the online market.
Those that lived in the castle under Vincent still had access to the market but their available credits were quite diminished. The nobles in the inner castle, therefore, had access to the system as well. Paying Shalt in credits enabled him and his family to have access to things others didn't. Lana didn't know this but it was establishing a bit of a loyalty factor between them.
"Since I was not available yesterday, I want to give you a bit extra as a hardship for being forced to wait for your payment. Is that okay?"
Shalt smiled, "of course, my lady."
She transferred 4,500 credits to him then had the tree bring both crates over. While she was transferring the beasts to their pen, Quinn was talking to Shalt. She had not asked him about helping her hunt yet but Quinn was trying to further assess who this person was. They did have a fight over the blood crate just four days ago.
Lana was finding the extra fabric of her dress annoying while swinging with her tree. She decided she needed practice in it since it gave her a bit of power.
Shoving the thought to the back of her mind as she landed back on the wall and dropped down, the tree returned the crates and Caser was also sent over by the tree, she listened as Quinn asked this vampire for more information about who he was, his family background, relationship to Vincent, the old leader, and all kinds of information Quinn would need to determine if he should trust this vampire with his best friend's wife.
Ultimately, he gave Lana the nod to ask the question.
"Shalt, before I ask you this question, I need you to understand I am a human. I have to decide on my fate still per the King's instructions but I think these beasts may be too weak for Caser to fight. I need to take him hunting but as a human, being out there may not be…safe. I need a trustworthy vampire that I can hire to keep me safe while away from the castle. Are you that person? I will pay you fair wages, of course."
"How long of a hunting trip are you thinking? An hour or two is no big deal but if you need stronger beasts, we need to go out past the mountain."
Lana looked at Quinn, "do you mind if I go that far?"
"I don't like it but if Fex is with you, I'm more okay with it."
Shalt turned to Quinn, "she has been paying me quite well. I don't know what's going on, who you guys are, why a human of all things is in the tenth castle, but I can tell something great is coming." He knelt down in front of Lana, "I promise on my life I will take you hunting and return you safe and sound to this very castle."
Quinn nodded at that. "You can go."
Lana looked at him. "Be back in an hour. I'll get provisions ready to go. We will leave then."
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