Chapter 428: Chapter 428

Murray grunted. He crashed through the thick foliage, leaves slicing at his skin and through his attire like invisible claws before he landed hard on his backside with a heavy thump. The impact rattled his bones, knocking the air from his lungs. He groaned, fingers digging into the damp earth as he struggled to sit up.

Murray had been here so many times and had practically grown up there, so how wouldn’t he know where he was? The shock was more from the how!

But then, something else was amiss, which also nudged him like a rude awakening...

The veil... that ever-present force that pulsed through his blood, that whispered to him from the unseen .... was silent. This was not the time for that part of him to be missing, for it spelt more danger than he cared to admit.

He had only once felt that, and this would be the second time! His power, the very thing that made him feel invincible, was gone.... Again!

A cold dread slithered up his spine, not for himself but for the one person who had been assigned to him to protect. If the first time was linked to his mistress, then he did not have to be a world genius to figure out that this time was also related to her. But then he had to figure out how to return to the human world without his power!

Currey hadn’t just fallen. He had plummeted, stripped of the energy that should have cushioned his descent. He flexed his fingers, reaching for that invisible force, willing it to respond. Nothing. Not even a flicker.

This was the most absurd thing that Murray had ever experienced. One was that the fact that he had been transported back to the Fae land meant that his power should have been restored, but that did not seem to be the case.

"What kind of potent witchcraft is this?" He thought, but the main thing that bothered Murray was another thing....

He stood up, stretched, wincing at the slight pain, and wandered under the large foliage that swallowed him whole under the large leaves,

"How did I get forcibly transported here?"

There were special portals that they had to use between the two worlds and as far as Murray knew, they were not close to any of them....

"Was there a medium or a veil around there?" He caressed his chin and then dismissed thought right then,

"That can’t be... I was forcibly thrust from that car..."

At that thought, Murray froze....

He suddenly felt tired and leaned against a sturdy tree to catch his breath. Without his power, everything was too exhausting.

"Let’s take a break and try to reach the others...."

Murray sat cross-legged and then closed his eyes but no matter what he did, he could not reach any of his inner power that had always been second nature to him.

Sighing, he decided to try another way,

’Milady? Please answer me, if you can hear...’

He tried to use his mind link to no avail,

’Currey? Chairman? Can you hear me?’

Panic clawed at his throat. Something was very, very wrong.

Just then, Murray felt something wet ... drip, drop .... on his forehead. His brows knitted in confusion as he reached up to wipe it away. His fingers came away slick and dark, and he froze, yet again,

Another cold shiver crawled down his spine. His breath hitched, and his pulse thundered in his ears. He was scared of what he would find out. Even the fact that he was in the Fae land did not eliminate the fears and the endless what-ifs.

Murray shot up from his resting place, his body tense, his eyes darting around the dimly lit space under the foliage. The thick canopy above him rustled slightly, but there was no wind. His throat tightened.

Slowly, almost unwillingly, he tilted his head upward.

"What the hell?" Murray shouted taking a few steps back. Of everything, it was always the least expected that manifested.

The moment his gaze lifted; his stomach lurched violently, but that was only from the surprise. As a trained warrior, Murray was more than used to something like that but it was the person that surprised him.

Suspended above him, swinging ever so slightly from the vines, was the lower half of a body. The clean, smooth slice where the torso should have been sent a shudder through his core. Flesh and bone, severed without a single jagged edge. A perfect cut. Flood oozed out, telling him that this had happened not to long past. Murray recognized the man from his clothes and shoes, ’Royston! The Chicken-bodied man!’ There were no two ways about his identity.

However, that cut, could have been made by only one thing....

Given the information that Murray had, plus where he was and then the man above him, that was all the conclusion Murray could make.

His mind raced. The realization hit like a hammer. Royston had been caught mid-transit. Half here. Half... somewhere else.... And Murray knew exactly where...

A coppery tang filled the air. Blood dripped steadily, pattering onto the mossy ground beside him. It should have been horrifying, but instead, he felt nothing but cold understanding. The fool got what he deserved.

"He should have left when I told him to. I don’t even want to think of how he had gotten into the car."

"He had chased what was not his and sought help from the witches..... I bet this would have something to do with that Timeless Witch as well!

Murray shook his head, ’...and now, he had been split between worlds.... In its literal sense!"

But then.... Murray frowned,

"If he crossed over, does that mean, someone else from the car did?" His eyes widened, just as,

"Ahhh!!!!!" A sound cut through the heavy silence. A scream.

His blood turned to ice, "Milady!"

For a moment, he could not take a step. He was in disbelief. She couldn’t and shouldn’t be there.... This was all wrong!

’What was she doing there? Was she also transported?’

"IANNNN!!!!! Murrayyyy!!!!!!" Her desperate cries sounded again.

Murray’s breath hitched, his pulse spiking in an instant. His head snapped in the direction of the voice, every thought of the hanging corpse vanishing. That scene and its thoughts no longer mattered. Only one thought remained ....

Murray followed the sounds which did not seem to be far from him. He covered the distance in mere seconds and his heat lurched again at the scene that greeted him. At the back of his mind, Murray wished with all his heart that he was imagining things, but he did not want to take the chance.

He burst into the clearing, breath ragged, heart hammering against his ribs. His worst fears took shape before his eyes: Two Fae. Predators. Murray knew their kind very well for he had once been one of them. Their movements were too fluid, too fast...circling Shelby like wolves cornering prey. These two were the worst kind, by his deduction.

Murray didn’t hesitate. His feet barely touched the ground before he launched himself forward. The first Fae didn’t even register the attack before his fist connected with his jaw, the crack of bone splitting the silence.

The black-haired one staggered back, hissing, but he was already turning, using the momentum to drive his knee into the green-coloured Fae’s midsection. It let out a guttural snarl, fast nimble hands, swiping wildly, but Murray ducked, grabbed the little man’s wrist, and wrenched it in the opposite direction .... a sickening snap echoing through the clearing as its arm twisted unnaturally.

He did not have his power but that did not mean that Murray had no physical training. Murray was the best of the best and that was why Currey had trusted him that much.

The first Fae recovered, lunging, but Murray was faster. He spun on his heel, slamming an elbow into the Fae’s ribs without holding back. He had to finish this fast before they found out that he was powerless. Murray then grabbed the Fae by the back of the head and drove its face into his knee. Blood splattered. A furious screech turned into a gurgle as it crumpled to the ground.

Currey’s breath came hard and fast, body taut, but it was not over. With no hesitation, he repeated the same with the second who had tried to make a come back. Murray was surprised that the same attack had worked, but when he turned to his mistress, everything else faded. She was shaking, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and relief.

"I’m sorry, Milady" he said, voice hoarse. "I was late."

Shelby didn’t answer, just reached for and clung to his sleeve. He led her toward the cave, helping her sit against the cool stone wall. Her breathing was uneven, her hands trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Here, take this...."

Currey dug around the cave walls as if he was familiar with them. He brought out some vials and handed one to her. Shelby was more than familiar with it. She gladly gulped the whole thing down, making Murray almost shout, but to his surprise, nothing bad happened to her.

He pushed a few more into her hands and Shelby pocketed them,

Murray started to ask, while turning, intending to keep watch....

They were in hostile territory, and he had to figure out how to get them out of there. A lot of things did not make sense yet but ....

The thought prickled at the back of his mind as a chill ran down his spine. The hair on his neck rose. The air behind him shifted ...

Currey could not react fast enough

His body seized as something sharp and cold pierced through his side. His vision blurred, his knees buckling. The world tilted, shadows creeping at the edges of his sight.

His last thought, bitter and heavy as the darkness swallowed him whole ....

’I failed in my duties... again.’

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