Chapter 34: The Missing Piece
Vlad had not missed how, just after delivering the final kick, Cazimir had taken out a potion vial, his dark intentions instantly becoming clear.
Maybe he was conscious from the beginning, just struggling to control his rage, but the potion confirmed his intentions.
He was going to force-feed the potion to Vlad, just as he had done to the poor souls hanging by the chains, and as for why, the answer was with the dried corpses of prisoners.
They were dead, with pale and shriveled skin and dry eyes, which did not happen just because of the potion but because most of their blood was gone.
The culprit behind their condition could only be Cazimir, a Vampire who lived on blood.
The real question was why Cazimir had been doing it.
Was he using the victims as test subjects, hoping to find someone immune to the potion’s effects? Or was he feeding on their altered blood, using it to filter the elixir’s power and impurities, in turn suffering fewer side effects himself?
Vlad believed it was the latter, seeing the evidence present. In the future, Cazimir was destined to become the Puppeteer, a master manipulator who controlled others through blood parasites.
But, now, he was dead.
Vlad put the potion away and began to search Cazimir’s corpse. The very first thing that caught his eye was an insignia on his right shoulder guard: a silver knight whose helm was shaped like the head of an eagle, its beak curved and eyes sharp, radiating silent authority.
"House Aetherwing," Vlad recognized the insignia belonging to a powerful noble house. ’It could be a potential lead... or just mean Cazimir killed and took it from a guard when he escaped the Skyreach city dungeon.’