Zhutak had woken up abruptly from his nap. While he was unwinding, a tumult reached his keen ears. In his human form, his senses were not the same but he still could hear better than anyone. Someone was screaming like a madman and was coming from the lord's chambers. However, the lord was not in the castle, Zhutak could be sure because he did not feel his lord's strong presence. Furthermore, those were the screams of a woman. To be more exact, it was Lynn, the human his master had captured. Quickly Zhutak put on a shirt over his loose sleeping pants and ran out looking for the riot.
He found her just as she grabbed the lord's steward by the collar of his suit and shook him while screaming. That might have been quite comical because of Nordack's expression and the paradoxical nature of the situation. But there was something in the human countenance that stifled his laughter. Something terrible had happened to the human; although it wasn't like Zhutak cared. ¿Who could she be looking for?
Then the blanket fell to the floor, and Zhutak had to swallow hard. ¡I'll be go-to-hell! Instantly, he avoided looking in her direction. At the same time, Nordack has backed off and turned. On the other hand, the coward nanny had fainted in the act, so Zhutak helped the human cover herself with the blanket. He helped her without hesitation because the situation required it and, on the other hand, because he had immediately thought of Nailé.
But the human did not appreciate his gesture. Instead, she pushed him off. Zhutak was surprised to see that she didn't look embarrassed at all.
"Who the hell are you?" - Lynn turned on Zhutak now, all fierce, reminding him of the females in his race.
"Oh my God!" - The nanny was heard. The old lady was trying to stand up while being helped by Nordack. Once on her feet, she crossed herself. Then, she looked at Lynn with sad eyes.
Well, that seemed to be a first for the lady and Zhutak came seriously close to laughing. However, upon seeing the human was trying to flee from there, Zhutak moved. He caught her by the arm without hesitation.
"Let go of me, you dumbhead." - Lynn snapped furiously and this also made Zhutak amused. However, it was time to end that tantrum.
So he grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"Woman, if you calm down, maybe I can help you."
His words were like a sedative. As soon as the human assimilated them, she became still keeping her gaze in front of her. So the human's eyes rested briefly on Zhutak's chest, which was about as far as she could reach with her height. Then she raised her face very high to look at him.
"I plan to avenge the murder of my family... it is my right." -The shine in her eyes and her words immediately caught Zhutak's interest.
¿What am I missing here? He looked at the girl and then at Nordack. The administrator remained impassive as always; he had only moved to adjust his shirtfront.
"It's true?" - Zhutak asked, arching a dark eyebrow at the butler.
Surprising everyone, the old man sighed briefly and within all her fury, Lynn told herself that this was the first human gesture she had seen him make.
"The prisoner is in the dungeons and he is responsible for sabotaging the Straughs' security." - Sigh.
"The Straughs?" - Zhutak was surprised. No... Understanding came. - "April?"
The moment Zhutak said the name, he felt the girl in his arms shiver. Still, he could do nothing but look at Nordack questioningly.
"The young lady is April's firstborn." Nordack blurted out, looking resigned.
"Where's April, old man?!" - Zhutak became impatient. He didn't care about her daughter. On the other hand, April was a good friend of his and his lord's protégé.
Nordack sighed, and that was not a good sign.
"Unfortunately, Miss April is no longer in this world."
"She isn't!!" -The human began to scream near Zhutak, and also began to hit him wherever she could reach: in the chest and the lower part of his arms.
Amid her madness, Lynn wondered how everyone in the castle seemed to know her mother. ¡Oh God! She was crazy. She was going to go crazy.
For his part, Zhutak looked stunned. April... The thought of her dead friend made him feel strange. He couldn't believe it. ¿Why? ¿How?
Regaining her senses, Lynn pushed the tall young man away and lunged at the butler again. However, she was intercepted by the young man in the blink of an eye. The strange newcomer did not seem older than her. Telling herself this, Lynn was preparing to resist with all her might when she realized the young man was crying. A severe and deformed expression was now on his face.
"Leave it…" - Zhutak ordered Lynn dryly, seeming to swallow his tears. Then, addressing the butler, he asked: - "In which dungeon?"
"Zhutak, I don't think…"
"In which dungeon?" - The young man's voice rose a decibel, sounding strangely dangerous now. Within all the confusion, that voice timbre sounded familiar to Lynn. Just then, the administrator sighed again, finally giving up.
"In the west wing. But Zhutak, the master will want to handle it himself."
In response, the young man nodded gently. His face was still wearing an iron mask of seriousness and sadness.
Zhutak understood now that Rigel had put some protection on the captive so nobody could sense him.
"I know, I'll do my best not to rip his head off." -He finally said, tilting his head towards Nordack.
So Zhutak put the girl aside and began to move forward resolutely. However, something grabbed him by the back of his shirt. It was Lynn.