Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Ancestral enemy

There was no exit portal, or at least they didn't find it. They spent a while observing the different scenarios, until they decided to activate their passes and leave that place behind.

As on the previous occasion, all of them appeared in the temple room, away from people's sight. If their enemies were watching, they wouldn't know they were out. Immediately, Gjaki opened a Gate for Goldmi.

"See you," she said goodbye, eager to cross. As soon as she did, the alarm triggered.

"Mom is back!" Gjami exclaimed.

"Let's go!" Eldmi started running.

She had barely opened the door to leave the room with the Gate, when Goldmi was attacked mercilessly by two twin girls. They almost made her fall.

""Mommy!!"" they both hugged her.

She hugged them too, not even considering scolding them for being rowdy, or for jumping into her arms, catching her off guard. She had missed them too much. Goldmi bent down, hugging them and kissing them on the cheeks.

"My girls... I've missed you... How have you been? Have you behaved yourselves?"

"Sure! We haven't torn any dresses while playing when we shouldn't have!" Eldmi assured.

"We're good girls! We didn't burn anything in the kitchen!" Gjami also assured.

She looked at them, not deciding whether to ignore what they had said or scold them. She then raised her head, finding Elendnas, who was smiling at her.

"I'll tell you later," he told her with his lips, but without uttering a sound.

She got up and they kissed for a moment. That's all the time they had before the twins dragged her mother away.

"Come! We'll show you the drawings!"

"No. Better how much we have improved with the bow!"

"Drawings first!"

"What if we eat something first? Although it's a little early, I'm starving," her mother intervened.

""Yes!!""

"I want blood jelly for dessert!"

"I want a poisonous flan!"

Her parents smiled, as she was held in each hand by one of her daughters. Obviously, those desserts weren't bloody or poisonous, but they had been given such names. Gjaki was largely to blame.

"So, that's why they ran so fast... Welcome back, Goldmi. Are we invited to lunch?" Elenksia, her sister-in-law, practically invited herself.

"I'm sorry, you know how she is..." Klimsal, her partner, apologized.

Although, at no time, did she suggest they not stay to lunch. She missed Goldmi's cooking too, and she wanted to hear about her adventures. They didn't expect them to have been so troubled and dangerous.

Gjaki and Eldi arrived at the mansion, where they were warmly welcomed, especially the former. Coinin and Diknsa held her for a while, monopolizing her despite Chornakish. Nonetheless, a long kiss made his wait worth it.

It didn't take them long to sit down to lunch, to listen their adventures. Unlike the elf, the vampiress didn't sugarcoat them in the slightest. She didn't have the slightest intention of hiding her rage against the vampires who had attacked her either, whoever was behind them, and even the agents of Engenak.

"Who do you think the culprit could be?" she asked.

"The only ones would be Krovledi's siblings, but it doesn't make sense. If they had those forces, why didn't they use them in the past?" Coinin argued.

"After lunch, I'll go ask. Maybe someone knows something."

Neither Solodkro, nor Kilthana, nor Jiknha had any idea who could be behind it. Therefore, Gjaki decided to use a Gate that she hadn't crossed for many years. She arrived at a large room, and approached the window.

"As mysterious as always" she said to herself.

She didn't know where this place was. They had escorted her there in the past, and she had been allowed to set up an Exit Gate in case she needed to contact them. The landscape didn't help to clear up her doubts.

She could glimpse a forest, but as always, it was half hidden by a dense fog. It was uniquely beautiful and mysterious.

She waited there, while nibbling on a piece of a sweet root. After a few minutes, the door opened. A harmless-looking leprechaun entered, although Gjaki knew how powerful he was.

"It's been a while," she greeted him.

She didn't know his name. He had never told her, and she hadn't asked.

"Definitely. What brings you here, Blood Queen?" he returned the greeting with respect and curiosity.

"I've been in the dungeon of the City of Light. There, I was attacked by a group of high-level vampires. They had means to find my aura, to suppress my blood abilities, and to corrupt or poison it. It was quite dangerous. They wanted me, preferably alive, I think, but dead was also good for them," the vampiress explained.

"That's quite strange. What else do you know?" he asked, with a somewhat frowned brow, intrigued.

"We killed more than ten. The others left, although there may have been more we didn't see. We fooled them, we made them believe that I had left. We captured one and managed to keep him alive, long enough to enter his dreams. Somehow, those dreams were sealed. The only thing that I could see was a blurry figure. Red eyes, gray hair and a very powerful blood aura, I bet an ancestral vampire. From what I perceived, I think he was the father of the vampire," the vampiress explained.

Not that she completely trusted the leprechaun, but she needed his help. He was the only one of her acquaintances who could know certain secrets. A being with an aura like that belonged to those types of secrets. If he didn't know anything, it was possible that he would know someone who had more information.

"Kan Golge..." the leprechaun whispered.

Gjaki was surprised. There was something she had never perceived in her interlocutor: hatred. It was a deep hatred, full of contempt.

"Who's this Kan Golge?" the vampiress asked.

"I'm not sure if it's him, but... In the past, he was the monarch of the Blood Kingdom, your predecessor. He wanted to subdue the rest of the people, subdue them to the vampires, who in turn were subject to him. He was supposed to be a friend, but he turned out to be a traitor. Many died, many friends, and a great war took place, hundreds of years ago. We managed to seriously injure him, although we don't know if he died. The price that was paid was enormous," the leprechaun told her.

Gjaki stared at him without blinking. It was the first time he saw him like this.

"We believe he's alive but weak. It isn't easy to recover from the wounds inflicted. His shadow is in the corruption of the elven northern forests, and in other sinister events. We suspect that he's the father of your old friend Krovledi. Why does he want you? Maybe, he believes that he can use you to regain his strength. Maybe, for some kind of ritual. Who knows. The truth is that there're no more ancestral vampires available. The rest are dead or hiding, some from him," he finished explaining.

The vampiress said nothing for a long time, under the attentive gaze of the leprechaun. She was worried, though not scared. That enemy was really dangerous.

"How old is this leprechaun?" she asked herself, looking at him curiously.