She lowered her gaze nearly to the ground before nodding that she understood. The four of them kept on moving. Pandora was still a bit irritated by the way he went about warning her, but after getting to know Braydin, he really wasn't a horrible creature. He had been decent to her, treated her more like a friend than a captive. She wasn't too upset, she had her warlock with her. He had come to her rescue, to save her. That was all that mattered now. Aquarter mile down the path Braydin stopped as did the rest of them. He stopped in front of a pile of glowing black crystals and began to climb them. The rest of them followed right along with him. When he reached the top he shifted back to his normal self.

"Hold on to this big crystal right here. Trust me, all of you."

Then he tapped a strange code on top of it. Soon the crystals began to rumble and shake until it moved downward, the length of a thirteen story building.

"What are we doing?" The dragon asked, confused.

"We're going to see his father and this is how we get there."

Once the crystals had stopped at the bottom much like an elevator, no one moved.

"It's safe, we can all climb down now." He told them.

Slowly one by one they climbed down. Looking around it looked like an ancient underground cave, candles alongside the concrete walls lit the way.

"This way, just follow me."

They did as he requested and followed him down the stone hallway until he stopped in front of a black door on the left hand side.

"Your father is right in there. You may want to be alone with him." He advised the warlock vampire.

"Why do you say that?" He asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"They aren't sure what's wrong with him, he may die for all we know."

"He's a vampire, they don't die." He protested.

"That's a born vampire, like you. Your father was bitten. Sometimes in rare cases a bitten vampire can carry over blood disorders and diseases from when they were mortals."

"Are you saying he used to be a human?" Salem asked taken aback by the news.

"That's exactly what i'm saying.Now go before it's too late."

Salem nodded as he turned the door handle, walked in and shut it with ease. He walked through a near empty room until he saw the bed. There in the bed was a thin, weak shell of a creature that lloked to be skin and bone. The creature looked disturbingly just like him. The creature stared at him for a minute.

"Salem is it really you?"

"That's what they call me."

"I'm glad to see you." The old fraile vampire replied.

"I know this is horrible timing, but i have to know. Why did you walk out on me?" Salem asked his father.

"I didn't walk out on you. Is that what your mother told you?" He asked with anger in his weak voice.

"Then what would you call it?" He asked out of need.

"How is your mother?"

"She died a few years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear it. I loved her very much, but she asked me to leave."

"Why would she do that?" Salem demanded.

"I hadn't been a vampire that long when you had been created. She feared for your safety. I left to protect you,son."

"It wasn't something I wanted to do, but you look as though you're doing well." He told him.

"Yes, i'm fine. What did you want from me?"

"I need a sample of your blood so that the witch doctor can cure me."

"He can cure you?" Salem asked.

"He says he can."

"How much blood do you need?" He asked, debating on helping his father.

"Only a small vile, that's it."

"Bring the doctor as soon as possible."

"Thank you. Is Braydin with you?"

"Yes, he's with Kadrid and Pandora."

"Those are your friends I assume?"

"Yes,Kadrid is my dragon and Pandora is my love the one you had kidnapped."

"I'm terribly sorry for the trouble, but i needed to find you."

"I'll fetch the demon for you." Salem replied.

He wanted to be angry with his father, but it was hard to be upset with someone this close to death. He peeked his head outside the door and motioned for the shifter.

"Magellan, what is it? Are you okay?" He asked worried.

"Go get the doctor. My son is going to save my life."

"Yes sir. I'll be back very soon."

Once the demon shifter had exited the room Magellan turned to look at his only son. He looked at him with a sense of longing, then he spoke.

"I would like to meet your dragon and the woman that has so captivated you." He pleaded with Salem.

"Yes I suppose that would be fine." He replied before opening the door to get his friends.

The dragon and the sorceress slowly crept into the room. They both stood there behind Salem.

"Father, this is Kadrid my dragon, and the young woman here is Pandora." He introduced his father to them.

"Pandora, Kadrid meet my father, Magellan."

The two smiled and waved hello.

"Good to meet you sir. You don't drink dragons blood do you?" Kadrid asked him fearful with wide eyes.

"No, I don't. You can relax, you're safe here." He explained, not wanting to frighten the little thing.

"It's really good to meet you." Pandora replied stepping a little closer to his near death bed.

"The same to you dear." Magellan replied.

Just after the brief introductions, the half demon returned with the witch doctor. They knew time was a factor in these matters and Pandora gave Salem a supportive look.

"Come on Kadrid let's go wait in the hallway and give the doctor some room to work." The sorceress suggested. She didn't have to say more than that. The dragon was more than happy to follow her out of the room. She didn't care for doctors, sickness or anything that might involve a needle.

As the dragon got situated, curling into a ball to wait for her warlock, Pandora paced the hallway. She was curious as to the fate of Magellan even though she didn't know him. She thought it had taken much longer than anticipated before Salem had returned to her. Once he had stepped out of the room, he shut the door firmly behind him.

"Salem what happened? Is he going to live?" Pandora asked with undeniable concern.

"The doctor said he sould recover in the next few weeks."

"That's a relief, I'm glad he's going to be okay." She replied.

"Yes, it is. I told him that I'd return again to see him, once he's feeling better." Salem informed her.

"Good, you should spend a little time with him once he is well." Pandora advised him.

"Now what do we do?" The dragon asked him.

"We have done what's required of us, we can all go home now." He replied.

"What about the shifter?" Kadrid asked.

"I think he must have had another job to do my father sent him somewhere." Salem told her in a delicate tone.

"Cheer up, you can come with me when I visit next moon, okay?" He offered to her and the saddened look lifted slightly from his dissapointed little dragon.

"Thank you it means a lot to me."

"You mean a lot to me and I hate to see you sad."

Kadrid nodded, leaning near him for a hug.

"I have done all I can for my father, Let's head for home." Salem told them both.

"Yes, please. I'd love nothing more than to forget most of this experience. Pandora mentioned to them.