Chapter Twenty-four

The empress smiled, flying on the back of the dragon, on the journey back and away from the underworld, thank the spirits. They flew alongside Kadrid for several hours, until she'd made it back to Salem's castle fortress. The group of them quickly said goodbye, then Soranto got right back to flying them through the gorgeous open skies, they seemed to be the only ones in flight for the time being, she loved every minute of it. Once the skies darkened, she did see the occasional bat or gargoyle, but only a select few. She was just glad to be going back home again, thought the Empress as she dozed off for a time.

He flew a lot faster, letting her sleep. All the obsessive worrying must have worn her out, thought the dragon. He flew at top speed, knowing if she were awake right now, he'd have to stop at least twice. He knew it was getting late but didn't care, soon birds were chirping to alert the approaching next day's light. Good, that meant at the latest they'd be home by mid morning, or earlier.

The empress batted her eyes awake, then looked to see it was daylight and they were flying on.

"Did you fly all night?"

"Did you sleep well?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Fine, yes I did. We'll be home in a few hours."

Over the next couple of hours, she downed what was left in the thermos, along with the last cookie. She was saving the last few muffins for Soranto. He deserved them. Peering down she recognized some of the landscape, excited. She couldn't wait to get back to her sanctuary and a fresh pot of brew. The closer they got the more she was compelled to peer down and see if they were home yet. It had only been a few days away but it felt so much longer. When he finally landed, she was delighted to be back to her own castle. Once she climbed down, giving the dragon his treat; she ran to her front door. Going inside and right to her office, she ran for the servant and opened up the spellbook to a blank page, to write out this recent vampire's quest.