“You are nothing but a disgrace to the uniform.” Locrias said. “We are the Queen’s Corps. We are supposed to protect the weak and serve our country. Not to be the lapdogs of ambitious idiots like Morn!
“I’ve followed Verhen this entire time and even though he’s far from a perfect man, he’s always protected our Kingdom while your rash actions are endangering it.”
“He killed you and your soldiers!” Zesker replied.
“No, Meln Narchat did. I died in the line of duty and I would do it again.” Locrias said.
“I don’t blame Verhen for my death. The Lutian woman sold herself to Meln and I was too naïve to notice.” Valia said and the rest of the Demons nodded with her.
“We need to go.” Solus said, feeling several dimensional corridors opening in the air all around them.
Lith nodded and hugged Elina before Warping the three of them to the barn.
Much to his surprise, the Demons had followed him. Also, as Locrias had predicted, Toman hadn’t arrested Rena and the kids. She, Sentinel, and Selia stood guard, sighing in relief when they recognized the newcomers.
The huntress had come to rescue the children the moment that Morn’s hologram had issued the arrest warrant for all the Verhens. She wielded a bow with an alchemic arrow already nocked and two short swords hung to her hips.
“Everyone is safe.” Selia said while nodding toward Toman and never letting go of the arrow.
Lith could see from her posture that the huntress had positioned herself to be capable of moving her aim from the barn’s door to the member of the Queen’s Corps with ease.
“Thank the gods you are alright.” Rena hugged them, crying her eyes out as the grip of fear finally left her heart.
“Quick, you have to go to the Desert.” Toman tried to activate the Warp Gate, but it had been sealed. “Shit. I bet that reinforcements are about to come from Valeron and they will be Royal Guards. You can’t stay here.”
“Mom, I want to go home. Where’s daddy?” Leria started to cry.
“Mom, why did that bad guy say so many things about Lith?” Aran was angry, instead. “We did nothing wrong yet he said that we are criminals. We must save Dad!”
“Dad!” Lith echoed as he scanned the farm for Raaz but found no trace of his presence. “Where is he?”
“He said that he would go to the villages around Nenia. He wanted to see if there were barren land that he could restore with your help.” Elina said as panic made her shiver.
“Thanks, Mom, but I was actually speaking with Toman.”
“I have no idea.” She replied. “We sent a couple of our members after him, but your DoLorean is damn fast. They need to wait for him to stop and then pinpoint his position via the tracking device to Warp next to him.”
“Dammit, the tracking device. I had almost forgotten about it. Dad is likely to have been captured already.” Lith cursed as he tried and failed to pinpoint the DoLorean. “Someone turned it off.”
“That’s not our doing.” Toman raised her hands to shield herself from his fury. “If a member of the Corps had taken your father, they would have reported it already. Let me try.”
She took out her communication amulet, asking for a status report from her colleagues.
“We lost Raaz Verhen way before the arrest warrant was issued, Toman.” Tikrelos said. “We had just Warped to Nenia when some guys got the jump on us. We survived only because at some point they ran away.
“I was just to report Captain Zesker that Verhen’s father is likely to have been kidnapped and the DoLorean stolen.”
“Thanks and- Shit!” The energy from the mana crystal flowed into the Warp Gate of the barn as it came to life. “Go, dammit!”
A wave of Lith’s hand moved everyone but Selia and Toman to the mana geyser in the Trawn woods where Solus conjured her tower.
“What about your father? We can’t leave him behind!” Elina grabbed Lith’s shoulder, shaking him with all the strength she had.
“First, I need to put you somewhere safe. Then, I’ll go rescue him.” He replied. “Don’t worry, Mom. The Eyes of Menadion have Dad’s energy signature recorded down to a T. Unless he’s outside the Kingdom, I’m sure I can find him.”
“Do you mean we.” Solus chimed in.
“No, I mean I’ll find him. You need to stay at the tower and keep everyone safe. Without me, you are the only one who can operate it and warp away if needed.” Lith shook his head.
“Where the heck are you?” Tista’s voice came from the communication amulet.
She had already gone to the village and the barn, escaping from the Royal Guards only thanks to Spirit Magic.
“In my secret lab.” Lith replied. “Throw away your amulet and come here. The army will likely track us and listen to all our communications.”
He stored the amulet inside his pocket dimension and so did the other members of his family. The moment Tista arrived, Solus Tower Warped to another geyser, just to be safe.
“Thank the gods you’re alr- Trion?” The Red Demon stared in shock at her long-lost brother. “What is he doing here and who are these people?”
Lith had no time for an explanation, not with his father’s life at stake. He grabbed Tista’s hand and used a mind link to share with her everything that had happened.
“Dad!” She yelled as soon as she noticed that he was missing. “We need to find and rescue him.”
“And I’m going to help.” Trion said. “I don’t care about the Kingdom anymore. All I know is that I’ve been a terrible son and that I’m partly at fault if Orpal has gotten his hands on Night. I should have accepted her offer and then turned myself in.”
He took a deep breath and then turned towards Lith.
“I know that there’s no love left between us, but I can’t rest in peace until our family is safe from risk. I know everything Orpal has planned so far and I’m willing to do anything you ask me. All I ask you in return is to give me one chance to prove my worth.”
“You already did when you protected Mom.” Lith unfolded his wing and Trion disappeared into a feather, where a new unique rune formed. “What about you guys? I’m a wanted criminal. A traitor.
“I don’t care about your precious law. I’ll break it as many times as I need in order to rescue my father and remove the Dead King.” Unlike Trion, Lith carefully avoided words that might have traumatized the kids even further.
“If the law is wrong then only an idiot follows it blindly.” Locrias replied. “I uphold my oath, I don’t just follow orders blindly. As long as you fight against Thrud and the Dead King, my sword is yours.”
He disappeared into a feather as well, leaving behind the rest of the members of the Queen’s Corps who had been turned into Demons.
“I’m not ready to die.” Valia looked at the body and the equipment she still wore.
Her mind still refused the idea of being dead and that her dreams and hopes would remain unfulfilled.
