The Blackwyrm Chronicles #1: A Misadventure like no other...

Chapter 68

-POV switched to: Luna-

I paused mid-step as I processed what Helix told me. When I was sure I heard him correctly, I smiled. "Thank you Helix. Please, take care of yourself."

I heard him chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

I huffed. "You always say that, goober."

"Hey, have I ever lied when I tell you that?" 

I sighed. "No, you haven't. I still worry though."

"I know. You don't need to be such a worrywart, silly." He replied in a lighthearted tone.

"Someone needs to worry about you, you doof." I countered. "Well, I'll see you after you end Thaleous. Thanks for the tip about my father, by the way."

"No problem, Luna. You can sense a person's aura better than I do, so trust your senses."

"Will do," I replied. I then looked at the people Soren had sent with me to clean out this stronghold: Nova, Simon, Dorrian, and Analise.

"Alright guys." I began. "There's been a slight change of plans. We need to pay a visit to the dungeons located...somewhere in this gods-awful stronghold."

"Why?" Nova inquired, tilting her head to the side in question.

"Because my father is located there," I told her, "And I want to free him."

"You have a father?" Dorrian inquired, only to flinch when I glared at him: "Hey! I'm sorry! I've only really ever heard about your mother and maybe a snippet of two about your father!"

I shook my head as I felt my heartbeat quicken a tad. "It'll be a short deviation from our plan. We'll continue hunting demons after we free my father."

"I don't see a problem with this." Simon replied as he swung his blade around lazily, "Let's get moving if you wish to free Dominick. I'm sure the poor bloke is bored to death in his cell. Well, I wouldn't know, but I'm making an assumption."

I looked at the talkative suit of armor in surprise: "You know my father?"

Simon's head clanked as he nodded in confirmation. "Your father and Soren were close friends. Dominick tried to get a message to him a while ago, but he was captured before Soren could get to him. The poor guy blames himself for Dominick's capture, so the thought that he's still alive here will bring some consolation to Soren that at least one of his allies survived Thaleous' wrath."

This revelation was a shock to me. Now my father's sudden departure made sense: He learned about Thaleous' plans and tried to get to Soren, but wasn't able to relay the information to him. This thought drove me to move my team swiftly through the stronghold and down a spiral staircase I had a feeling Helix traveled up, as was evident by the deep marks and dents that were scored into the cobblestone walls.

When we reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, I noticed the broken down doors and the remains of a demon that looked as if it was torn apart by an angry lupan.

I shook my head, then froze as I sensed my father's aura: it was the color of fresh sunflowers. My mother's aura is the color of a brilliant emerald, so that's why my aura is yellowish-green: it's the mixed combination of my parent's auras. I momentarily forgot how to breathe as the sheer familiarity of my father's aura graced me: the warmth of its rays seemed to remove an invisible weight from my shoulder, and I felt tears threaten to escape my eyes.

I tried to look for the keys that would free my father from his cell, but I couldn't find them. I groaned, then decided to pull a page out of Helix's book and melt the cell door lock so I could force it open.

The man that stood cowering before me was gaunt and weak, but I knew he was my father from the twinkle in his yellow eyes that never faded since the day I last saw him. He had a disheveled head of white hair, and his skin was paler than mine due to years spent locked away in a cell. He, much like my mother and I, was a kaitrit. He had a white tail and pair of ears, and a pair of roughed up glasses sat on the bridge of his nose.

I stood there for a few moments, too stunned to say anything. My father also seemed to be at a loss for words. All we could manage to do was stare into each other's eyes as we realized who was staring at the other.

"Um...hello?" Analise began nervously. "We're still in a stronghold full of angry demons that'll gladly try to fuck our day up, so can we please get moving?"

I nodded and attempted to get my act together-even as hot tears ran off my face: "Yeah...yeah, We need to get moving. Are you well enough to follow us, father?"

He nodded in confirmation, struggling to find his voice: "Y-Yes, I can come along. I may look sickly, but I can manage. H-How did you find me Luna?"

I smiled warmly, "A friend of mine pointed me in your direction. Come on, we can talk later. I'd rather focus on getting you out of here alive than learning why you left me and mom all those years ago."

He nodded, suddenly looking very tired, "I am truly sorry for leaving you and Bella. Is your mother...?"

"She's alive and well, father." I assured him. "She's currently in Helios right now. Please, we need to leave this dungeon."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Right, what are you doing right now?"

A dark smile appeared on my face. "I'm making sure this stronghold burns. Thaleous' reign ends today, and Soren will be able to rest easy."

"Soren? Lockwood? Can you take me to him?" My father asked in an urgent voice. "Please, I need to see my student again."

"Sure," I replied, noticing how he called Lockwood his 'student'. I then sent a message to Soren: "I found my father. He wishes to speak to you."

"Dominick? Yes, please bring him to me." He replied eagerly. "I'm so glad he's still alive...I thought you were his daughter, Luna. I wasn't entirely certain, so I didn't bring the matter up with you."

"I am his daughter." I confirmed. "I take it my father was more than a man who enjoyed studying nature and documenting various flora and fauna?"

"He was much, much more than that." Soren replied. "He was the man that taught me how to be a warlock before Gwyn refined my abilities when she helped me become a kitsune."

I looked at my father as he stood before me. "So, he's a warlock?"

"One of the best," Soren replied fondly.

"Huh," I mused. "I guess that explains why I'm such a good imagist..."

As I led my father through the stronghold toward Soren's location, I thought about Helix and how he was doing right now.

"I'm sure he's doing just fine." I assured myself. Although, I was still worried. Nothing was going to stop me from being worried. I sighed, then shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"I have to focus," I told myself, and my team continued to move onward, mowing down demons when they showed themselves and making certain the ones we struck down were truly dead.

After my father regained his bearings and was given a random sandwich Dorrian had on him, (He was too hungry to care how long Dorrian had had it in his back pocket) he was able to help us deal with the demons that tried to ambush us. As Soren had said, my father was quite the impressive magic user. Even in his current condition, my father threw bolts of lightning at his foes and reduced them to a fine powder. We looked at each other, and I smiled.

"That was awesome." I began in wonder. "You'll have to teach me how to do that."

My father chuckled, then began to clean his glasses off with his shirt. "I'll gladly teach you about lightning magic after we get through this. I still have some fight in me, so let's get back at it."

I grinned. "Aye, let's get to work."