Chapter 70; Walking into a Trap?

Just like Kulan expected, two days after her arrival, four dead bodies were found just a few blocks away from a brothel within the black market area of Baril. They were the members of the missing cell.

When they were brought in for KuLaa's inspection, it was as if they were just sleeping and not dead.

The moment she saw them, she knew this was the work of a powerful magician. The person had subjected them to vicious torture but the only telling tale was their darkened underfoot. They were so black and hard that a butcher's knife wouldn't be able to cut through without some effort.

There was nothing on their bodies but when Kulan checked their brains, she found three of them liquified while there was a message left in the skull of the cell leader.

Whoever took Oliver wanted Ryan in exchange for him.

"Hahahahahahahaha haha!"

KuLaa's laughter vibrated through the underground lair.

It was terrifying, yet inspiring.

Every member of her crew silently prayed for the souls of her enemies.

Because when Kulan smiles in the middle of a war, things are about to go bad for everyone involved.

"Try to contact your father," Kulan said to Kurt after that boisterous laughter.

"You think he is involved?"

"Well, you don't expect him to just let you go after everything that has happened, right?"

"That doesn't mean he is involved with this, right? He probably doesn't even know that Adolph is dead." Kurt pointed out.

The thought of his father being involved in Oliver's disappearance didn't sit well with him. He dared not even think about its implications.

Kulan had already let the man off more than once. Kurt wasn't sure she would keep doing that forever.

"Do you really believe that or are you trying to convince yourself?" KuLaa's brows creased together at Kurt's ridiculous statement. She shook her head and relaxed into her chair.

"You don't have to call him. Just turn on your phone. As long as he is not here in Baril, then I am willing to take the gamble that he is not involved."

"But if he is here, then he will know that I am here too. I am not ready to meet him."

"You don't have to. I will go alone."

"No."

"Why? You think I will kill him?"

"I didn't say that."

Kulan already promised to spare the man so he believed she wouldn't kill him if she could spare him. But it would be better if they didn't meet at all.

Kulan huffed.

"You don't want to find out if your father is here or not and you don't want to believe that he is involved with the Zotes. This is ridiculous."

At this point, Kulan was doing everything not to lose her temper.

They just got back together and his father was a topic they have intentionally boycotted all this while but she couldn't just look the other way now that her son was being targeted and her grand kids could also be taken.

"Are you listening to yourself?" She continued. "Our son is being targeted and we don't even know the people who have Ainar's blood. Your father is the only lead we have." She snarled.

"I am not saying I will not meet my father. I said I will go talk to him once we get Fie, not before. Therefore, if he is here at Baril, I would rather not alert him to my own presence. That's all I am saying." Kurt explained earnestly.

"And I said going to his turf to meet him is a bad idea. What if he locks you up again? You heard what Madam Su said, there are more magicians out there, stronger than I am." KuLaa's voice was strained with frustration.

Kulan had accepted that Mulan would always be an issue but she never expected Kurt to handle things this way. He was being complacent just because the man was his father.

This is something a vampire would never do. Once they recognize and acknowledge an enemy, nothing else will matter until that enemy is dead. Even within the family.

As a vampire, Kulan wanted Mulan dead for many reasons but at the end of the day, he was her father-in-law. A point that shouldn't matter to her. But because of Kurt, she would have to let the man live. But she also knew that as long as that man was alive, the possibility of losing Kurt again was very high.

Kurt on the other hand, wanted to go back home to have a talk with his father. He wanted to make the same move that doomed them the last time and despite KuLaa's objections, Kurt insisted on having his way.

Kulan was already frustrated just thinking about how she wasn't the most powerful again and had to watch her back. Now, she had to also worry about losing her husband who didn't seem to see the danger staring them down.

Why do I have to fall for a werewolf, eh? They are too sentimental! She mused as she writhed her fingers nervously.

Seeing how the almighty Kulan who feared nobody got so worked up from worrying about him, Kurt was very touched. He gently took her hands and started rubbing them, trying to help her calm down.

"KuLaa," he said after some silence "There are some things a man must do no matter how dangerous they are. If I don't confront my father, I might develop another demon. Do you want to see me like that again?"

Kulan looked away like a rebellious child. She knew he was right but to her, the risks outweighed the gain. She was ready to be his caregiver if he should develop heart demons because of his father. It was better than losing him completely.

"Sooner or later, even if I don't look for him, he will come looking for me. Wouldn't it be the same outcome?"

"If he comes to us, then it's good. it would be on our turf." Kulan argued, hoping that Kurt would concede to that arrangement, but a single glance at his face and she knew she was talking to a block of wood.

"That wouldn't do. I have to do this. I have to close this chapter so that we can start on a truly new slate."

"Whatever." Kulan snatched her hands away from him, stood up, and walked to her window.

"What if he is involved with whoever is setting up this trap? What happens then?"

Kurt paused and gave it a good thought but he couldn't see why his father would have any use for Ryan.

"Why do you think he would be involved?"

"I don't know who is involved and who is not. I am just trying to put all my cards on the table and find the link."

"Hmm., " Kurt rubbed his chin.

"Can I see those cards?"

"Sure." Kulan walked back to her seat and settled into it.

"First, there is the coven we just dismembered back in the realm. We know they are our enemies but we don't know where they are or who they are working with in the werewolf realm. What we do know is that they are in cohort with 6 other covens in the human realm and the descendants of at least one of the five families."

"Kurt nodded.

They discussed this extensively while still in the vampire realm and they planned to slowly investigate these covens and others for the next ten years before declaring war. After knowing what they know now, they knew that their previous plans were not suitable.

But before they can strategize, they must first get Fie out of the way, simply because she was a threat to KuLaa.

A threat to Kulan was a threat to everyone.

"My second card is Fie. According to Madam Su, Fie came to look for me at Mayel but was forcefully brought back by a crew of vampires and werewolves. These crew and Fie are all from the house of Zote. This is why I linked your father to this."

Kulan paused to see if Kurt saw what she was seeing but all he did was nod.

"Go on." He said.

"Your father made Adolph your Wizard and Adolph is from the house of Zote.

Fie appeared in Mayel, a few months after Adolph died.

Remember that apart from you and Adolph, nobody knew that Mayel was my residence. If Adolph didn't have any contact with Fie before he died, how did she know to go there after his death?"

It was so obvious, that Kulan felt stupid explaining it.

"But that doesn't mean my father is involved, right? I have never seen Adolph's family before. He was a wizard Dad brought from the human realm and gave to the shaman to train due to his potential. What if my father was being used by him too?"

There is a chance of that happening but the possibility was so tiny, it shouldn't be relevant.

"Okay." Kulan decided to take a step back. "Let's say your father is not one of them. But what if he is the kidnapper?"

"That's even more ridiculous. He has no use for Ryan!" Kurt spread his hands as if that was enough to explain everything.

Kulan gave him a deep look and walked out of the room. She was too angry to stay close to him. She knew that Kurt wasn't stupid. She also knew how much he loved her. The problem was that he also loved his father and she was asking him to choose a d he wasn't ready for.

Who would he give in to? Me or his father?

As Kurt watched Kulan leave, his heart tightened in pain. He already made his decision not to go back to his father. But he couldn't just leave without seeing the man for the last time.

After the death of Adolph, his greatest dilemma was how to face his father. Even though Mulan took good care of him and helped him live a carefree life, the man also caused him the greatest harm by deceitfully separating him from Kulan and even trying to kill KuLaa.

At this point where he had to choose between his love for his father and his love for Kulan and his family, Kurt already picked his immediate family but needed to have an amicable parting with his father.

As vicious and infamously wicked Kurt was, he has never said 'No' to Mulan except for when he was asked to jilt KuLaa.

Yes, human had lied to him and it had led to their separation and his terrible mental state in the past.

Yes, Mulan deserved to die in KuLaa's hands and Kurt did feel guilty about the fact that she would never be able to get her revenge just because of him.

But Kurt knew that everything that human did was done out of love for him. How could he blame him for those things?

Kurt couldn't stop loving his father or blaming him. That was why he wanted to see the old man for the last time. If there was just a little hope of making his father accept Kulan and his family, Kurt wanted to explore it.

With Adolph dead, Dad should listen to me, right?

The vicious Kurt from his past berserk self was gone and in its place was the soft-spoken, jovial, easy-going Kurt from before he lost KuLaa.

It wasn't that he wasn't able to be evil again but now, because he has Kulan by his side and his berserk heart demon was cured, Kurt has lost the edge.

If his enemies should know this, they wouldn't believe it and if his father should discover, he would probably be very disappointed.

The new Kurt Lowell, just wanted to live free, roaming the world with his lover and his grandkids. He now has something to look forward to and this made conflicts and fights tire him out.

He was hoping that whenever he got to meet his father, he would be able to convince his father to accept KuLaa, now that Adolph was no longer here to plant deceit. If that had happened, his greatest dreams would have been accomplished.

But this is not the right time to meet him. It is not!