“What is this madness?” Shiv asked with her eyebrows raised as she walked into our room.

Both Kalli and I lay sprawled on the floor surrounded by piles of discarded clothing. That wasn’t to say we were naked or anything. We were probably overdressed. The two of us stayed up late trying out various outfits, each one gaudier than the last.

I ended up in a two-piece suit that was red on one side and blue on the other. It matched my eyes in that it was red on the opposite side of my red eye and blue on the other. Kalli yawned and sat up, wearing a suit of her own in place of the dress she normally wore. Hers was Luna green, as she liked to call it, and made her look like Christmas morning to me.

We both yawned and turned as Shiv and Sylvia picked up some of the various outfits we had tried on overnight. Kalli looked around. “Where’s Eddie?”

Shiv rolled her eyes. “We put him in time out. He’s insufferable.”

Sylvia giggled, holding up one of the dresses to her chest. “She’s just saying that because she likes him, and he accidentally got us killed in the game.”

“I do not!” Shiv cried out, glaring at her friend. “Kalli, don’t believe her. He’s just annoying.”

Kalli smirked at her little sister. “You say that now but you’ll see boys in a different light someday. They grow on you.”

Sylvia made a face and I couldn’t help but smile.

Thanks, babe!

That earned me a trademark eye roll. You know, I still find you annoying at times.

I spent the new hour making outfits for the two younger girls to go along with mine and Kalli’s. Shiv insisted that hers match her sister’s though she didn’t look half as good in green as Kalli did. When I tried to recommend any other color, she shook her head and said, “No! Make it the same.”

After that, we made our way to the throne room to see if Maya had finished whatever she decided to do with Shara. However, when we got there, we were met with another problem. Kalli rushed over to an attendant standing by the throne. “Where is my mother?”

The attendant had a panicked look on his face. “I’m afraid I don’t know, your majesty. Your mother and father never returned.”

Kalli grabbed my hand as she swept past me. We need to go find them, now!

I was barely able to nod as she dragged me out of the castle. We practically sprinted down paved streets that reminded me of Dabia as Kalli choose the shortest path to the castle gates. You said you can make something that will let us go fast, right?

Oh, right. Yeah, a car. I can make one.

The problem was, I’d never driven one. That was Joe’s department. I also felt nervous not having Maya and her high-level friends. I was lucky that Shiv and Sylvia hadn’t been able to keep up. It would have been a nightmare to try and protect them along with Kalli should we run into trouble. As it was, I was prepared to teleport away at the first sign of an ancient mage, or a tank for that matter. While I was somewhat confident I could delete a tank if needed, I didn’t want to risk Kalli’s life on a gamble.

The town of Celestea was a lot bigger than it seemed. I’d visited parts that were close to the castle, but there was a lot more to it than I’d seen. Humans and non-humans mingled in the streets as they went about their daily business at open-faced markets. If not for the threats coming from Earth, my empire might have finally been able to enjoy peace.

Item:

Mustang (Edited)

Components

Metal, Leather, Oil, Fuel

Item Rank:

C

Item Level:

1

Item Owner:

Murphy

I took one look at it and…

DELETE

Item:

Automatic Mustang (Edited)

Components

Metal, Leather, Oil, Fuel

Item Rank:

C

Item Level:

1

Item Owner:

Murphy

Kalli blinked at my second creation. It looks exactly the same as the first one.

I felt the heat rise to my face as I imagined Kalli laughing if she knew the difference was just that I couldn’t drive stick.

Trust me, they are two completely different vehicles!

The only reason we didn’t die in a fiery wreck was that the road ahead of us just so happened to be smooth and straight. After about ten miles, I started to get the hang of things. We were thrown into our seatbelts a few times as I tried the brakes. Kalli frowned and rubbed her chest where the belt cut into it. Ow! Is it supposed to do that?

I shook my head.

Sorry, that pedal is sensitive. I’ll do it better next time.

She gasped. Don’t press that pedal ever again.

I laughed, considering the alternative.

I can’t make any promises but I’ll try not to.

We saw the smoke coming over a hilltop before we got there. Kalli cried out when we saw the caravan in the middle of the road. What was left of the wagons looked like they had been attacked by a dragon. Or a tank. All of the ruffalo were dead and several wagons had blown up entirely.

A small group of survivors huddled near the front of the caravan. They started to flee when they saw us coming. Our only salvation was that we were faster than they were on foot. Kalli leaned out of the window and called out as we got close. “Don’t worry. It’s us. You’re safe now.”

I gently applied the brakes that time and we slowly rolled to a stop. Once I applied the parking brake and turned the car off, as I’d seen my mom do thousands of times, we climbed out and approached the survivors.

A woman threw herself to her knees in front of Kalli. “Oh, it was horrible, your majesty. We were set upon by fire-breathing dragons. A vile wicked man took your mother and father. He gave us a message for Lord Melvin.”

“What was it?” I asked, feeling both fear and rage as Kalli’s grief washed over me.

The woman took a deep breath. “He says, don’t even think about running away or I’ll kill them both.”

Kalli fell to her knees and wailed. Oh no! Melvin, what are we going to do?

I dropped next to Kalli and wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

Don’t worry. He used it as a threat, so that means he plans to keep them alive. All I have to do is show up and I’m sure he will return them.

Kalli shuddered. What if he kills you?

I forced a grin onto my face, sending out confidence I didn’t feel.

I’m not easy to kill, remember? Worst case scenario, I’ll use the ring.

It took a few minutes but Kalli eventually composed herself. I gathered the survivors of Mount Wendy, about thirty-five of them, and said, “Leave your things behind. We are teleporting back to Celestea. You’ll be safe. Kalli and I will get her mother and father back tomorrow when we meet with the person who’s done this. Representatives from the high house, Solitair, are at the castle as we speak to protect us.”

Halfhearted nods came from the survivors, but they gathered together anyway. I droned off the pre-teleportation instructions as I began to wrap mana around the group. “Take a deep breathe and hold it.”

We appeared suddenly in a crowded throne room. Shiv cried out the moment we arrived. “Where are mommy and daddy? Kalli? What happened?”

I saw Maya and her group sitting in the back of the room along with Shara and Zofia. They paid little attention to the drama as we appeared with the villagers.

Kalli took Shiv’s hand and walked her out of the room to a small private chamber behind the throne. Even though I wasn’t with her, I heard the conversation and saw Shiv break down in her sister’s arms as Kalli explained what happened to their parents.

I decided to make my way over to Maya. She looked pale but otherwise the same arrogant mage that I had come to know. When she saw me, she flashed a grin that included a pair of shiny new fangs. “Hi there, little brother. Notice anything different about me?”

I laughed, pretending not to notice the chompers. “Oh, I don’t know. Do you mean the fact that you’re looking at me like a piece of meat?”

She laughed and shook her head vigorously. “Oh, Hecht no! I just got rid of that infernal corruption. The last thing I’m going to do is consume more of your mana and go through that all over again. Shara tells me that if I break this core, there are no refunds.”

Shara nodded her agreement, and I wondered how she made Maya a vampire in the first place. “How did you not get infected when you bit Maya? Shouldn’t the corruption have gotten you too?”

She shook her head, opening her mouth to show she had no fangs. “That’s another myth. You don’t make vampires by biting them. If that were the cast, Earth would have a lot more vampires because that’s how most of them choose to feed. Also, I told you, I’m not a vampire. I turned her by killing her core and replacing it. There are various ways of doing this but the quickest way is to stop her heart. There’s a brief window where a person can be saved when their core is completely devoid of mana. I did it by forcing my mana through the shallow channels located in her fingers. As you know, Shaw mana contains the blueprint for an undead core which essentially makes you a vampire. When we are alive, we have the choice of whether or not to satisfy our lust for blood and become cursed. For your sister, she chose the path before I initiated her. While I advised against it, she is well aware of the pros and cons and chose to do it anyway.”

Maya gave me a weak smile. “I feel wonderful. I think I like this even better than, well, you know.”

I gaped at her. “You know we could have found a better way, right?”

She shrugged, hopping to her feet. “It’s fine. I’ve grown more powerful this way. Ironically, the change means I’ll probably live thousands of years longer than I would have otherwise. Shara assures me I can still reward my servants, so I don’t see the downside.”

“You say that now,” Shara muttered. “I’ve seen firsthand what the thirst can do to a person. At least you already have what my mother was seeking.”

“What was that?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Shara laughed and glared at me for a second before composing herself. “Your blood. Mother’s demise was her greed to have the most potent blood of all. M blood.”

It was a rough night for all of us. Kalli stayed with Shiv as the younger sister didn’t want to be alone. I felt for them. My mom was missing but at least I was relatively certain she was safe. At least I hoped she was. We all knew Celestea and Charles were in mortal peril.

Maya and Shara left for Homestead, likely meeting with Camilla to go over instructions on how to be a better vampire. If anyone knew how to do it, that woman did. It would also have the added benefit of getting the old vampire off my back. Hopefully.

I found myself laying in bed, unable to sleep. Rasputin wanted something from me, and I had no idea if it was something I would be able to give him. The one thing I did know was that I wanted Kalli to be safe. I debated asking her to stay behind or locking her in the dungeon.

She must have heard me because her voice echoed in my ears. Don’t even think about it.

It was going to be a long night, and I doubted I was going to get any sleep.