The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 93

Two vigils and one minister were unconscious because they stood too close to one of the lightbulbs in a room when the lightbulbs exploded, and inhaled too much of the scent. Another twenty of them were nearing that stage as well. Pellethia and Octavia were weakened but were the least affected since they were the firsts to be brought out. Just then, the forest exuded a lemony scent, and it appeared to be soothing the stinging sensation, reducing into a prickling one before the discomfort disappeared completely.

One by one, the vampires tried to get up on their own with the wolves and lycans by their side to support them should they fall halfway. It was astounding that none of them needed that support when they couldn't even move less than two minutes before. Still, most of them sat back down because they felt that their insides were still recovering.

Even though everyone appeared fine, Lucianne still persuaded the rulers to at least agree to link the royal medical team for every vampire's system to be checked. It didn't take a lot of pestering to persuade Octavia but it took a little more to get Pellethia to agree. Pellethia got up and wanted to approach the hideout again. Lucianne immediately stood in her way and looked sternly into her eyes when she said, "No, Pelly. We'll take it from here. We got lucky this time. Whatever else that could be in there might be instantly lethal. You stay here with the others and wait for the doctors, we'll continue the investigation and update you and everyone else."

Octavia was sitting upright and she just got hold of her wife's hand, about to tell her that it was too dangerous to continue today but Lucianne beat her to it. Upon hearing the queen's words, the consort grinned broadly and let go of Pellethia's hand as she leaned back against the tree, closed her eyes in bliss and said, "After 193 years, it's nice to have someone else stop my wife's stubbornness for a change."

Rafael, who wasn't far away with Toby, knew that he shouldn't be laughing after everything that just happened but he couldn't hold back an amused snort, and Pellethia narrowed her eyes at her best friend. Octavia looked at her wife in amusement when she took her hand again an pecked a sweet kiss on the back as she uttered, "Let them do it, Pelly. It's not worth the risk. The poison doesn't affect their species. They'll be fine."

When the lemony scent dissipated, the vampires felt a tingling sensation on their napes. Some of them thought pesky insects were biting them at first, until their hands went to the back and felt something was being drawn on their skin. The looks they were exchanging confirmed that every vampire felt it.

Octavia slowly stood and her wife moved her blonde hair to one side for the consort to see what was happening on her nape. The faintest green glow appeared in the shape of a papilio, and when the tingling sensation ended, the mark disappeared from view. Lucianne spoke with more relief than awe, "Well, it's nice of the forest to offer protection."

Octavia glanced at Christian and responded to Lucianne comically, "I was certain that a blessing would come soon but I didn't think that it would be this soon. I must admit that it must have taken a special someone to woo the forest to protect us with its mark." A beige flower with red polka dots promptly grew by Christian's side, and the duke restrained his animalistic urge to tear up the flower. Instead, he bent down, ignored the chuckles and giggles, gently plucked the flower from the ground and thanked the forest like he previously did before he said, "We should get back to investigating."

When Pellethia and Octavia followed behind, thinking that they'd be fine now that they were marked by the forest, a fern by a tree sprayed a foul odor in the space between the vampire rulers and the rest of the lycans and werewolves, who all stared at the leafy plant in disbelief. Xandar muttered, "It's probably still not safe down there even with the protection mark. You and your people should stay here, Pelly, Octavia. We'll handle this." The vampire rulers had no choice but to stay behind.

Xandar, Lucianne and the rest of their people returned to the hideout entrance and just stood there staring at the now-blackout hole, wondering what triggered the bulbs to explode. Lucianne's eyes found the lamp exterior Greg tossed aside, and Greg approached her while his eyes and smile were still stuck to the bulb, completely fascinated by the invention.

The duke handed the queen the bulb, and she held it close to her face to study it. His face softened as he watched her think, and when her furrowed brows were replaced with wide-eyed realization, he had to look away to press back a smile.

Toby tapped on the thin broken glass as he got the ball rolling, "So, instead of putting the tungsten wire in the bulb like a normal lightbulb, they lined in along the internal wall of the glass. With the heat accumulated from an extended period of the bulb being lit, it cracked the glass."

Phelton then continued, "When the glass broke, the light went out and the substance inside got out."

Lucianne took a whiff and finished off, "The substance is allicin, which would have decomposed and lost its effectiveness if it was overheated by the wire. That's why the wire was lined with the intention to break the glass, to make sure that the allicin remained effective when it got out."

Tate glanced at the vampires, some of whom were carefully testing their limbs, before he turned back to the discussion group and whispered, "I know this may not be an appropriate thing to say right now but this is rather smart."

Greg said, "I agree. But, fortunately for us, they weren't smart enough."

Lucianne handed Toby the bulb, and the defense minister studied the object when his best friend asked the duke, "Who even makes these things?"

Greg pointed at her like she just asked the right question when he uttered, "Exactly. I am still not familiar with the proditors, but I do know that there is only one rogue lycan in our territory who prides himself on having every accessible poison stocked up. In my last..." he glanced at Christian before he continued, "...business enquiry, which was quite a while ago, I do recall seeing allicin in his catalogue. But he only had one bottle at that time because no one thought to trespass to vampire territory until very recently. So, our answers will start with him - Nash Beaufort."

Phelton asked, "Is one bottle even enough to make hundreds of lightbulbs, Your Grace?"

Greg narrowed his eyes at the deputy and uttered, "I doubt he was the supplier of the allicin for these bulbs, minister. The one we'll be looking for is HIS supplier."

Lucianne then asked, "So where is this Nash Beaufort?"

Greg exchanged a quick glance with Xandar before he said, "You...don't need to know, My Queen. It's better if we took this one." Xandar got the message, and pinned Lucianne to his side as he spoke to her gently, "He's right, baby. It's safer if they did it."

She looked up at her husband and declared, "No, it isn't. Rogues aren't stupid, and I doubt they'd refrain from gossip. Many, if not most of them, would know that Greg and the mavericks are working with us now. If the mavericks ask for information, it'll take someone living under a rock to not know that it's being asked on our behalf."

Well, Xandar couldn't argue with that.

Greg took over trying to explain by walking around what she just said, "Our people are more familiar with the routes and...culture down there, My Queen. It really is better if we executed this task."

Greg couldn't believe that he was siding with his cousin, but if this is what it took to keep Lucianne out of that territory, he'd do it. The duke acknowledged that Lucianne had the Queen's Authority, but what if she didn't emit it before she got hurt? What if she used it to save someone else over herself? Or in the worst case scenario, what if there were decipio-proditors down there now which would practically render her power useless?

Lucianne scanned the top four mavericks before she looked at Greg and firmly said, "I'm not agreeing to your suggestion until you give me the location, Greg. I don't want anything to happen, but if the plan does go sideways, I want to know where to start looking."

'All the more reason to NOT let it go sideways, he thought. He would never want Lucianne to find her way there. Seeing that she wasn't going to negotiate any more than she already had, he nodded and gave her the coordinates and the route they'd take to get there. He then informed everyone that he and Ivory would be the ones paying Nash Beaufort a visit later that day.

Lucianne bit her inner bottom lip as she tried not to show how shocked she was by the route in the kingdom leading to rogue territory. Xandar and Christian weren't as composed when they shot each other looks of disbelief, and the second-in-command whisper-yelled, "The rogue gateway had been there this whole time?!"