Chapter 20

Well things had definitely taken a turn. Just after the words rang out a blur shot towards us almost too fast for us to react. All of the fighting and killing had sharpened our instincts. We were not professional soldiers yet but we had learned a lot through experience so as soon as we had heard the voice we had drawn our blades. The Vampire moved so fast that I didn’t know if we had what it would take to fight him. We had no choice as blows started raining down on both of us. They came in so fast that not all of them could be dodged or parried but we were trying our best. It seemed like the Vampire was indeed not holding back. His blade flicked towards my torso and head. He made no attempt to go for any flesh wounds. He was prepared to kill us and we fought back as hard as we could. It was clear that we were not a match for this vampire. While defending the attacks from the vampire I tried to think of anything we could use to help in this fight. I knew they were susceptible to the sun but that wasn’t an option down here in the tunnels.

That being said the sun was out above and that should be having some effect on the Vampire. The Vampires other weakness was fire but we didn’t have any fire at the moment. We needed to find a way to make some fire to help us with this fight. Maybe I could hold him off for long enough for Sora to light a fire and we could turn the tide of this battle. I needed a way to tell her what I wanted without ruining the surprise. That small element of surprise would be of the utmost importance in defeating this Vampire. That was when I had the thought. Maybe Kalastrovax could send a message for me. I tried my best to enter the place in my mind where Kalastrovax was kept and I felt a gentle nudge back. Almost an acknowledgement of what I wanted. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Sora almost freeze up for a second and then all of a sudden she turned around and ran away. The Vampire let out a wild laugh. “Ha ha ha. I can’t believe the girl is abandoning you. How pathetic. I’ll kill you first and then have some fun with the girl before I kill her as well.”

The efforts of the Vampire redoubled. He was trying very hard to finish me off while I didn’t have any help on my side. More wounds started to add up on my body. I was bleeding profusely and I could see the Vampires hunger growing. An almost seductive and hungry look flitted across the Vampires face at what I could only assume was the smell of my blood. He was attacking in a frenzy. Blows rained down on me harder and harder. There was almost nothing that I could do to stop him. I was not at a level skill wise that I could defend against this type of onslaught. I was running out of strength and energy. I could feel my hands growing limp. I couldn’t keep this up for long. I really hoped that Sora could get here before this Vampire killed me. The sword slipped from my grasp and the Vampire stopped his attack and grabbed on to me. He leaned forward and sniffed my neck. I could feel him shiver through the hand that had a hold of me. “No one can fault me if I just take a little taste. I can drain this one and then quickly grab the girl. Men aren’t really my thing but the smell is just intoxicating.” With that I felt a slight pain in my neck. I was startled.

This monster was feeding on me. I could feel my life slipping away. Slowly my life was being taken in by this monster. I felt helpless. Like there was nothing that I could do to fight back. I guess this was how it was going to end for me. I had to admit I sort of deserved this ignominious death. I had killed another boy to escape a life of pain and it seems like I was finally going to get what I was owed for that. I had taken a life and now it was my time to go. I could feel the darkness creeping in on me and not the darkness that Kalastrovax emitted. I felt like I was drifting off to sleep for just a short nap but I knew there was no way that I was going to wake up from this. That was when I saw her again. The red hair lit up by the flame of a blazing torch. The Vampire was so distracted by having me as a meal that he didn’t even notice her. Sora lept toward us and slammed the torch into the back of the Vampire's hair. His dark greasy hair was lit on fire and it seemed that his body was made up of tinder. It was like the vampire had been covered in oil before being lit on fire. Sora didn’t let up with one hand she used the torch to beat the vampire and with the other she used her short sword to cut away chunks of the vampire flesh. It didn’t take very long for the Vampire to become a dried up husk.

Ash laid where the vampire had stood. I had managed to hold onto consciousness through it all. I had given my body up so that Sora might have a chance to succeed in killing that monster. It seemed though that I wouldn’t be able to stay awake long. The same feeling of drifting away had not left me. The creeping sensation of death was still very much all around me. Sora was leaning over me trying to stop the bleeding but it seemed to be all for naught. She seemed to be saying something but I couldn’t quite make out the words. Oh well she was alive and that seemed to be enough for me. I felt something wet hit my cheek and was surprised. I tried to see where it was coming from and I saw tears glisten in Sora's eyes. That didn’t seem right to me. Why would she be crying over me? I was a nobody and she was a princess. We had only known each other for a short time. It had been quite the adventure for sure and I had known I had feelings for her but I never thought she felt anything for me. Maybe she was just crying over the passing of a friend and companion. That felt more correct to me and with thoughts of a life pretty much wasted I drifted off into the darkness never to wake up.

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At least that's what I thought was going to happen. I woke up in a bed much too fine for a poor bronze rank adventurer. The bed was the size of rooms that I had stayed in in the past. The bed was made with giant pillars with cloth draped around it to keep out the sunlight. The next thing I noticed was that I was no longer injured. I had no wounds on my body, not on my chest or the bite on my neck. I still felt groggy and like I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. I was curious as to where I was and how in the world I had gotten here. I saw no sign of Sora. I really couldn’t see much of anything with these curtains blocking off the bed. Since I couldn’t seem to get up I decided to just go back to sleep. Hopefully someone I knew would be here to greet me when I woke up again. With that I drifted back off to sleep. It felt like I was asleep for a very long time. I woke up again to much the same sight but this time I felt that I could move my body. I pulled myself up and noticed that I was wearing different clothes. I was in a set of white silk trousers and a matching shirt. It looked like the clothes a noble would wear to bed. I had never had clothes made of this nice of material. I got out of the bed and pushed aside the curtain. What met my eyes was astonishing. All around me was the starry sky and something else. It looked as if there were other planets in the sky. I had never seen anything like this. I had heard that there were other planets out there far away from ours but I had never seen this up close. This brought something else to my mind. Where was I and who had brought me here. I walked farther away from the bed and noticed that I was on what seemed to be a floating island just drifting along in space. How in the world had I gotten here and more importantly how was I going to get back to where I came from. There was nothing around me on this island except for the bed. Why there was a bed on a small island just floating through space I had no idea.

That was when someone appeared right next to me out of thin air. It was a woman so beautiful that she could cause the ruin of countries. She had long black hair and beautiful golden eyes. I had never in my life seen a woman this beautiful. She was wearing a long white dress that was cut low and draped across the ground behind her. She turned to me with those golden eyes and spoke to me. “So we meet once again. While you may not know who I am, I know you better than anyone else in our world. I have watched over you for your entire life and you may have even felt my presence a time or two. Perhaps when you managed to escape your horrible life at the church did you not feel lucky to have managed the escape? Or perhaps any of the times where your life was on the line and the balance was slightly shifted in your direction. It is in my nature to shift the balance to my will. While you had felt in your life that luck was always against you you couldn’t have been further from the truth. Luck has been with you always. I know that you have also felt that there was something about you that you didn’t quite understand and I’m sure the dragon that you're carrying around has also sensed that in you. Though I’m sure you are wondering who this woman is and how she knows so much about me. I'm sure you have a few guesses but let me set your mind at ease. I am Moira, goddess of luck and more importantly to you I am your mother.”

Thoughts were spinning through my head. I couldn’t understand what was going on. This woman had appeared in front of me and professed not only to being a goddess but also to being my mother. I just couldn’t bring myself to accept that at face value at the moment. “I know this may be hard for you to wrap your mind around. You were left at an orphanage and told you didn’t have a family. You grew up thinking you were alone in this world and for the most part you were right. As a goddess I can’t directly interact with the mortal world, but I could help nudge you in the right direction from time to time such as when you found that girl in the forest or the necklace with the dragon. All a matter of luck I’m sure you can see that at least a little. I have tried my best to stay away from you. Only checking in on you from time to time to see how you were doing. I knew one day when you were ready you would be able to escape from that place and set out on the adventure you've always wanted. I would have liked to keep you with me but that wasn’t an option I’m afraid. All mortal children born to godly parents must be left alone with only minor interference. So I am sorry that I couldn’t be there for you all of these years. I also must admit that I have only revealed myself to you now because you were so close to death and I went against the order of things to save you. So this will be our last time meeting at least for a while. I’ve said all I needed to say and I can't answer any of your questions. Hopefully what I have said so far will be enough for you. You will be returned to the tunnel exactly where you were and all of your injuries will be healed. If the girl asks how you healed so miraculously just tell her it was luck. For now you must go. I have kept you in the divine realm for too long as it is and the other gods may start to take notice and I don't need them meddling with your life. Just remember that luck is always on your side. Farewell for now Alex.”