The Woman Ruler of the Altan Clan

Chapter 16 Redemption

Shanum pressed one hand against his turbulent stomach. He did not want to discuss about Sainting. Especially with men who still have to prove themselves to be trustworthy or not. Although the man had once saved his life, Shanum was still doubtful. "I've never held the three of you back, if you want to know the truth" Khan said with a cold face. Shanum snorted, "You think I'm an idiot. We can't get out of the mansion without permission, what's the name if it's not captivity." The girl's lips bent in anger.

"Not so, I did tell you that as long as I was away with my business, Taban and Dario should watch over you all properly. If they misinterpret, it's not entirely their fault." Shanum squinted his eyes. "I'm not sure if watching is the right word. Just tell me you locked us up."

Khan frowned before shrugging reluctantly. "Are you behind bars then?" tanyakanya. "Indeed not, but the treatment is the same," Shanum replied insisting. "I still don't think it's detention." Khan replied casually. Shanum struggled not to growl. This man before him was truly arrogant.

Suddenly Khan stiffened, his head turning towards the kitchen window. "Damn." Khan was on standby. "What's wrong?" ask Shanum. "You smell something?" Khan closed his eyes and felt the air. The smell is very faint, yet clear. "Rubber." It was like a curse that Khan had uttered. "As soon as I got out of this house, I felt danger. "The Day...Taban, get the two girls in the room, hurry!" Dario and Taban instantly moved nimbly towards the hallway of the room.

The cold energy lacing swirled within the kitchen, moving Shanum's dark hair and dropping clay bowls and copper pans from the shelves. Shanum looked panicked, Khan immediately pulled and embraced him. Then somehow, they managed to move to the door and out of the house.

"Gosh, what was that," Shanum said. He once again looked back, rubbing the back of his neck. Khan was seen watching the surroundings, his face looked cold.

"We have to get out of this place immediately" he said slowly. Before long, there was a noise, the two Shanum friends ran out, after Dario and Taban. Their faces looked pale, their bodies trembling in fear. Not yet finished the surprise they got, suddenly another unexpected thing appeared.

"Sha, lookout!" Farah yelling. Shanum looked over at Farah's scream. He did not have time to dodge, in a very fast movement Shanum was pushed to the side. He flinched, and fell with his knees touching the ground. Shanum heard a roar of pain, and he felt something holding his body. The warm feeling then spread slowly throughout his body.

Shanum tried to turn his head and slightly got up from his original position. He was surprised to see the golden red light surrounding them. Shanum heard a rustling sound behind the trees. And more arrows sprang up. The girl was flabbergasted, she stood up.

The golden-red light spread more and more, holding back the speed of the arrows, and began to whip towards the trees. But late. There were several arrows that managed to enter attacking them. Shanum shouted, not out of fear but because the impact of the golden red light shot him all the way out of the range of the arrow attack.

Before Shanum was thrown, the girl had seen blood soaking in Khan's hands and lips. Shanum felt all over his body ache as he landed on the ground. He could not breathe, his voice choked, shocked to feel that. His bones were crumbling dimly, his head was dizzy. Then Shanum saw the luminescence of light in his palm, something burst out from there.

Shanum gasped, and gulped.

Then Shanum glanced at Khan, the man seemed to be leaning limp on the staircase. Until a figure is seen sneaking closer to Khan. The figure grinned at him, and let out a dark smoke from his hand. "No..." Shanum yells. Then the sound of an explosion rang out, Shanum's body giving off a glint of light that grabbed the figure that was sneaking around. The figure let out a long scream as its body burned to the ground.

The appearance of the body decays completely into ashes and flies in an inflatable breeze, making the girl smother her mouth. Shanum slumped, he froze. That terrible thing happened very quickly. Shanum did not have time to say a word, all he remembered before closing his eyes was Khan Adrian's gobsmacked face directed at him.

Everything was so dark, warm and peaceful. Seal the night mood but framed by moonlight. Shanum felt like he was floating and trying to move forward. He tried to swim towards the end of the light, forward and forward, frantically trying to breathe air. The golden light grew larger, and the darkness became a glittering light.

The girl stammered, the air flooding her throat. He's lying on the bed. There was no pain, no blood, no sparkle of light from the mark on his hand. Shanum looked at his palm, flipped through it, then rubbed it.

His eyes glare. He tried to get up, and his eyes swept around the room. Where he was, this room was so foreign. Now the girl sat on the bedside, concentrating on her breath - in through her nose, out of her mouth. Repetitively. When he was done, he stood up.

Stepping slowly near the window, from there he could see the sky shining brightly. While putting his hand against the cold wall, he muttered, "Real..." It´s real. He survived, he got away. Except it was just a dream - just a dream that he used to get.

Shanum started slumping to the floor, he bent his knees to his chest. "Real, real..." His lips spoke the word without a sound. He kept repeating it until his grip on the knee came off, then he raised his head. "Oh my God, he killed someone" he murmured. The pain crawled his hands together - apparently he clenched his hands so tightly that his skin was pierced by his own nails.

While grunting, he opened his fingers. He was fully conscious, as the light came out gushing from his hands and body. The light was a power he had. Not just a light like a firefly, but can be a deadly weapon. He can burn people with his power. Shanum again raised his right hand, tilting it, the pattern of flower petals there looked normal. It seemed that at the moment of urgency, the ray had just appeared.

Shanum took his breath, he recalled the event, recalling the golden red radiance that had emerged from Khan. Unexpectedly, they were similar, having a distinct advantage over ordinary humans. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but he was hesitant.

The creaking sound of the door leaves made him flinch. Shanum turned his head, and saw his two best friends peeking in the doorway. "Em, are you okay, Sha?" ask Farah. "And why are you sitting on the floor?" ask again. "I'm fine" Shanum replied. Instantly Shanum caught the expression of the two who looked scared. "Why are you just standing there? You guys scared of me?"

Their views cannot lie. Shanum breathed heavily, his eyes wild. "I'm still the same Shanum" he said again. The girl said it over and over again. Again and again. When he had no response, Shanum got up, walked over to his two friends. Farah smiled wryly and Diva hid behind Farah's back. "Farah-Diva," he whispered. The two caught Shanum's eye, the gaze was so sad. "I'm not going to hurt you" he said.

"I know-but Sha, give me and Diva some time. We're still trying to digest it, Sha. We are still shocked to see what happened. That was..." Farah could not continue her sentence. With trembling fingers Farah rubbed her eyes.

Shanum moved backwards, he approached the bed. Then sit on the side. "Alright then, you guys better not be here any longer." Shanum turned his face. The two girls remained silent. Shanum glanced, "Go away.I also need to be alone." "Pardon us" said Farah. Then the door was closed again.

He rushed out of the room. Recalling the circumstances of Khan, the last time he saw him, the man was seriously injured. Again, the man tried to save her. As Shanum looked around the hallway outside the room, someone seemed to be watching him. The girl was not aware that her behavior was being noticed. The girl walked towards a room, she knew this place. Shanum had been here, he was back in the mansion of Khan Adrian.

"Taban.open the door," called Shanum. He started knocking on the door while saying the name of the man. Shanum knew this was Taban's room, because he had once been told by the man himself. As they stayed in this mansion, if they needed help, they could knock on the door of that room.

The sound of a key playing rang out, then the door was opened from inside. Taban stood in front of the door while folding his hands. "Oh you're conscious. What's looking for me?"

"I want to meet Khan, please deliver me" Shanum pinta said. Taban frowned at Shanum as if he was the most terrifying creature. "What are you looking for? It's not enough to hurt her." Shanum's face stiffened upon hearing the man's words. "He's wounded. I'm sorry for that" said Shanum Lirih. "It should. You got Khan in a lot of trouble."

Shanum's stomach felt heartburn because of those words. "I didn't mean that. Please tell me how she is." Taban continued to look at Shanum in annoyance. "Listen, I'm really sorry." Shanum looked at Taban with a clear look.

"Let him see Taban." Dario appeared from the end of the hall, the man had been observing Shanum since earlier. "He must see the state of Khan who is helpless due to the poison" he said again. Shanum's body felt cold upon hearing Dario's words. Did he not hear wrong? "What do you mean?" shanum asked the man. "Khan's been poisoned. So the arrow's poisonous?" ask again.

Dario's facial expression strengthened Shanum's fear. The girl gulped as guilt covered her. "Is it bad?" ask Shanum. "He was near death, the poison was spreading rapidly in his blood" Taban replied. Shanum was nauseous when he heard the news. This is impossible. Both men must have been playing tricks on him. "Which hospital is he in?" ask Shanum.

Shanum could see doubts on the two men's expressions about whether they should answer Shanum's question or not, and Shanum could not blame him. Geez, he had already suspected Khan, letting the man protect him once again, and now making him lie dying. It was likely that the man would no longer want to see his face in his entire life.

Nervous and restless, Shanum turned around and saw Taban still glaring at him angrily. It felt like Shanum had waited for a very long time before Dario called out to him. "Follow me." The girl sighed with relief as the man led her towards a door at the end of the hall. He placed his palm on the sensor on the door, then opened it.

Behind the door is a luxurious old-fashioned living room. The mansion is very big and beautiful. Surprisingly, the room looked like it was inside a time machine or something. There is nothing in this section that looks modern. Not a single one. Okay, not entirely antique. But in addition to the striking objects, he felt like he was walking to an ancient filming location.

Shanum's gaze was fixed on the next door that Dario approached. The previous door and the one in front of it, is equipped with the PalmSecure security system, a system that uses venous veins on the palms. From what Shanum had read, the venous sensors on the device could only recognize the Deoxidized Hemoglobin that actively flowed in a person's veins. And the level of security is much higher than the fingerprint sensor and retina of the eye.

Dario put his palm back on, then opened it. He took Shanum into an elevator to the second floor. He shook his head. Can't believe it's so layered security to get to where Khan Adrian is in the care of. After exiting the elevator Dario did not stop until they reached the middle of the corridor. He knocked on the door, then opened it a little. "I came to Your Majesty?" the man said as he bent his body, positioning his body in such a way that Shanum could not see into the room.

There's no answer. "Well, look-alike Khan's guest, Your Majesty. The girl named Shanum wanted to see the state of the Great Khan. So I deliver it, and it'll wait outside." After hesitating for a moment, Dario retreated and opened the door even wider. "I'll wait here, just call me if you need anything. Then he slowly added, "For example, doctor, if you suddenly faint again because you're here."

Shanum frowned. It was a strange word, but then he immediately realized that everyone in this mansion was indeed a bit strange.

Shanum passed by Dario, entered the room, and froze as soon as he saw Khan lying on a bed, his eyes closed, his face looking very pale. Beside the bed sat a very beautiful woman. The woman had shiny black hair, golden brown eyes and alabaster-white skin.

Her face is similar to Khan, the woman is a feminine version of Khan. The woman's clothes look fashionable and elegant, and her makeup is not striking, although thin, still makes her beautiful face glow. The woman got up from her seat, she smiled faintly at Shanum.

"Well, so this is Shanum." The woman watched him from head to toe. "Include me, I'm his mother" he said softly. Shanum was shocked, not expecting this beautiful woman before him to be the mother of Khan.

This woman still looks young, she thought she was her brother. "You want to see it, Shanum. He is still unconscious, not yet past his critical period. Come here, come closer, you can sit on that bench."

Shanum's heart was pounding as he approached Khan. This room has complete medical equipment. Shanum felt like he was in the hospital ICU. The sound of the heart rate and blood pressure measuring machine sounded soft. There is a Ventilator and Defibrillator at the end of the room. There was an infusion hose on Khan's right hand, an oxygen hose on his nose, and a large bandage wrapped around his shoulders and upper chest.

With a black blanket covering the lower half of his body, the naked Khan started waist up, showing off his tight chest and arms to Shanum.

The man was very burly, with a six-pack muscular abdomen. The fur on his chest was just a dark black feather that grew starting from his navel and disappeared under the blanket. Shanum sat on the chair that the man's mother showed him. While guilt gnaws at him. This is all his fault. Everything was...

"I'm sorry, if it doesn't help me he won't be like this. Those people are trying to hurt us. And I don't know what their motives are" Shanum said. The woman smiled gently, "That's all her choice, Shanum. He will not hesitate to help the people he cares about. If he sacrifices himself, then he cares about you" Khan's mother said.

Sighing, Shanum looked at the peaceful face of Khan. He felt a smile on his lips, and it was an amazing thing. Not that he was happy to see the man's suffering. No. Not like that. Shanum can't remember the last time he smiled when all these bad things started. A foreign feeling slipped into his heart. And he doesn't know what it means.