Chapter 666






























“Don't be afraid. I bear you no ill will.” The man's magnetic voice filled the room. Before Rayna could regain her senses, a cold touch on her wrist spread all over her body.

She tried to retract her hand in horror, but he tightened his grip. Then, the cold and menacing voice sounded once more. “It will sink deeper into your skin if you press down on it like you were doing. If you press any harder, it can get into your blood or organs through your skin and cost you your life.”


“Really?” Rayna felt her skin crawl at his words, as though she had been encased in ice for millennia.

The man smirked at Rayna's pale pallor before drawling, “I was just kidding!”

Rooted at the spot, Rayna did not respond until the man's voice sounded again in the room, “It was originally on the surface of your skin, your forceful pressing has caused it to sink one layer deeper. Though it's not to the extent of the way I described, it will cause you agony and a terrible itch until your skin feels as if it's on fire. Put this on. It will cause it to rise to the surface of your wrist. With this on, it will not run amok.”

Rayna reached out to touch the cool bracelet on her wrist and asked softly, “What is it made of?”

“Emerald, and no ordinary emerald at that. This one cannot be bought,” Jensen answered quietly, his gaze fixed upon Rayna's face as he memorized her every gesture. “Rest assured. This artifact is harmless. It just feels cold to the touch. It won't harm you.”

Rayna nodded at those words and hummed in response.

“Don't worry, we won't hurt you,” Jensen added as if worried that Rayna did not believe him. “The traditional medicine practitioner, learned in his voodoo arts, might be able to extract the item within you. We want what's within you, not your life. As long as you cooperate, I promise to send you back in a month.”

“Mmm.” Rayna nodded meekly, without so much as a defiant glare.

Though she did not wish to stay deep down, her vision was still proving troublesome, hindering her escape. She decided taking things one step at a time would be wiser.

“I'm thirsty,” Rayna whined.

Jensen swept his gaze across the room and realized there was no water. “I'll bring you some water. Wait here.”

“Mmm.” Rayna nodded. His footsteps grew fainter, and then the door clicked shut. She collapsed onto the carpet, touched the emerald bangle on her wrist, and gasped.

The traditional medicine practitioner was in the process of producing a bundle of dried herbs from his medicine bag when Jensen arrived down the stairs. Knowledgeable in herbs himself, he recognized at a glance that the herb in the practitioner's hand was calluna, an endangered plant in Chanaea. Before it was granted the status of protected species, it was once an expensive herb.





















He watched as the traditional medicine practitioner placed the herb into a vessel, drew out the excess air, added two drops of some unknown liquid, then set the vessel bearing the herb in a dark spot.

“What is this for?” Jensen asked.

“The herbs are alive. What you saw earlier is the color it assumes when defending itself. I'll turn it back to how it was, grind it up, and use it to lure the blood parasites.” As the traditional medicine practitioner spoke, he turned to produce two vials of strangely-colored liquid. He opened them, poured them into two vessels, then added a pinch of maggots from a white bottle. Jensen clearly saw how the larvae dissolved and mixed with liquid in the vessel.

Swallowing in disgust, he frowned at the sight before him and entered the kitchen to procure three bottles of mineral water before returning upstairs.

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