Bound and Chained

Finding the whereabouts of Briggs and Gred was easier than he thought.

With the partnership that he'd set up with Hong Jun, the information had been readily available once the boy had known that he'd been looking for that information.

Alec didn't think that he actually needed to be there. As long as Henry got his hands on the two, he would be able to complete his quest.

So, Alec passed on the message to Henry and Philip to leave them to it. It was none of his concern how the two traitors ended up as long as Henry felt like he got 'justice'.

Briggs and Gred had been causing a huge fuss both inside and outside of the Golden Leaves Auction Hall, which had not pleased the auction house's management any.

The auction house had already been smarting from all the damages and losses that they had suffered and incurred as a result of the dragon breaking loose from underground, and yet these two country bumpkins dared come and act out like they were the ones who had suffered unjustly.

The two men had already been compensated for their loss. In fact, the auction house had paid them much more than they should have received had the bidding started, but the two hadn't been satisfied with the amount they were given, causing a big fuss both inside and outside the auction house, yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs.

They'd threatened bodily harm to the numerous attendants and security that tried to get them to desist, brandishing a knife and all but yelling until their faces were blue.

Various pedestrians passing by had all looked at them with disgust. With the foul language that they had been spewing, as well as crude gestures, they did not attract any sympathy.

Quite frankly, with the fuss they were causing, it only the reputation of the auction house to rise higher, as the attendants still tried to reason with them politely.

The two had been so enraged that Henry and Philip had managed to sneak up on them and subdue them without any problems. The attendant from the Golden Leaves Auction Hall had nodded at them in thanks, hiding her relief.

Alec left them to it, visiting a nearby apothecary with interest. He wanted to find out more about the pills that Kieran had passed onto him.

-

Meanwhile, in a distant place surrounded by mountains and low-hanging clouds in the distance, Dominique landed on the ground as he stepped off the back of the avian creature that he had bullied to bring him here.

The moment he stepped off, the bird shivered in fear, its beady eyes staring at the terrifying human's form.

When the human didn't turn back for it, the bird stifled a joyful cry as it flew away in fear, flapping its wings for dear life.

Dominique landed on flat ground, no sign of any emotion on his face.

In fact, just returning here made him feel annoyed. He should have taken his chances and stayed back with that Death Whisperer and the Ash Phoenix.

He licked the inside of his teeth, annoyed at both himself and the sigil that was tugging him constantly in the direction of the sect.

But still, he took a step forward, the sect's array engulfing him. There was a faint stirring of magic – so faint, in fact, that one would not have felt it had they not been so thoroughly in tune with the magic in their own body.

From the outside, Dominique's figure faded from view as he stepped into the array that belonged to his sect.

The man was in no hurry to return back, no matter how insistently the sigil pounded into his head, so he casually walked, bored.

He thought back about the boy and the way the avian creature of death had so affectionately nuzzle the cheek of the child.

Truly, it had been a mistake to let him go. Dominique should have taken his chances and stuck around, but being in the presence of both majesties, the man had reflexively left because it would be bad for them to be seen together.

He had not wanted his precious memories to be stained by the blood of those who were under the Death Whisperer's protection.

As he was walking along the path leading to the sect grounds, he was alerted to the sound of wings flapping in the air. He didn't even need to look up since he already knew what was coming.

It was the disciplinary hall's group coming for him.

There were no other sounds than the flapping that gave them away, but to Dominique, it might as well have been broadcasted as clear as day. With a flash, a ray of magic descended from the skies as a member shot his magic at Dominique.

As it hit, Dominique was sealed and pressed down to the ground none too gently. The man made no move to resist, content to just lie there and wait.

Up above in the sky, sitting on her pegasus, Laney frowned at the Sin's uncharacteristic show of submission. She had, upon receiving the alert, readied herself for a fierce and intense battle as she fought with Dominique.

Just what did he have up his sleeve?

It was not like the man to give up without any fight, and it was not in a Sin's nature to go down without violence. Sins lived and breathed violence, and the surest way to make them submit was to force them to in a show of strength.

It was the reason why Laney had come out with a group of four instead of coming alone. While facing multiple enemies would cause the Sin to fight harder, that also meant that the moment he was finally down, he would be easier to subdue.

Dominique felt no need to protest this show of violence that he'd been subjected to. As a matter of fact, he just didn't feel like fighting today. He really should have stayed back with the Death Whisperer.

That seemed like a lot more fun than coming back here and having to cater to the whims of those weaker than he was.

Still, his left eye burned, the contract that he made with the sect leader reminding him that he had to return to the sect.

Laney descended to the ground, leaping off her pegasus as she trod up to the man's still form, wary.

She nudged him with a foot as he just stared at her blankly.

"What's up with you?" Laney said, expecting the man's usual poison tongue, but no such remarks came.

Dominique snorted, leaning back on the ground and closing his eyes.

Laney frowned. She knelt down and whispered. "Dominique, you idiot. What did you think you were doing? The sect master's very angry! How could you just take off without a warning? You shouldn't have come back, idiot!"

Dominique scoffed. "What's this? Is this concern I hear? Well, I have no need for your sickening pity."

Laney glared at the infuriating man. She really – agh, she wanted to strangle him. Just once!

She scoffed, roughly grabbing him and hauling him onto the pegasus. "Whatever. If you die, that's not my problem."

"Whether or not I live is of no concern to you either."

Laney's anger bubbled, boiling. She stared at his slim neck, wondering if she would be disciplined if she put the Sin in his place before the punishment was meted out to him.

Ungrateful bastard! There had been so many people calling out for his head, but she had been the only one who pushed for a delayed judgement as it wasn't like him to act out like this.

Or, at least, she didn't think so, but with the way the man was acting, she wondered if she had been wrong about him after all.

Just what had happened for him to react like this? She had expected a fight, and now she felt strangely bereft after not getting one.