All kinds of trackers existed, those from phones, or the ones family member put in you. Before Ryker even entered the dungeon, his tracker was broadcasting to four different locations.
Thousands of kilometers away, high up in the sky, a sleek jet of Western design tore through the clouds, two fighter jets escorting it.
Inside the jet's dimly lit cabin, a woman was sitting on the brown leather couch instead of sleeping as twilight was visible through the large window.
"You nailed the interview," a man, her age broke the silence.
He was a handsome fire dragon with a perfectly tailored suit that did little to hide his athletic build.
"I always do," Isabella Dracula said without emotion.
The man backed away, understanding not to continue. He didn't want to push his luck against a Dracula. He sat opposite her. Everyone on board gave her space, knowing she was the leader of this diplomatic mission.
She was staring at the tablet in her hands, scrolling through various news articles and financial reports. Then a notification appeared.
Ryker Larduca is on the move.
He seemed to be flying around, judging by the way he passed over buildings.
A chink in her stoic expression appeared as a genuine smile, but it didn't last. The blip was moving towards the forest. Her heart started to hammer. The first sign of fear she had felt in years or decades.
It disappeared. The tracker went offline.
She shot up from her seat, knocking the tablet to the floor.
"Tell the pilot to turn around," she commanded, space started to distort around her, threatening to tear a hole in the jet. The other passengers, also S-rankers, felt it.
Her voice could be heard from the cockpit. The pilot's hand was already on the sidestick, ready to obey. No one disobeyed a Dracula.
The man from before spoke, "We just crossed into eastern air space."
A vein pulsed on her forehead. Her fangs were elongating, her purple eyes flared with raw mana. She went to the emergency door of the jet.
"Isabella we have orders."
She was about to tear the door open but the word 'orders' struck a chord. Disobeying meant disappointing her.
Cursing under her breath, her magic faded. Instead she walked back to her seat, clenching her jaw so tight she thought her teeth might crack.
The tracker was the only thing that gave her a connection to him. The only thing that allowed her to see that he was safe. Now she was blind. They took him away, and now she was too far away to save him.
If he died, she vowed to kill them, them being everyone.
Vanishing into another cloud, the plane carried on to the East.
Another tracker was broadcasting in a familiar room with plushies. Liv was under the duvet, sleeping, her peaceful face occasionally twitching as her tiny bat ears fluttered. The phone on her nightstand suddenly beeped like a home intruder alert. Her eyelids snapped open.
She transformed in an instant. Leaping over to the phone, she grabbed it with shaking hands.
In her pajamas she made her way to the living room and found the front door was already wide open, cold midnight wind was blowing inside. Car keys were thrown on the floor as if someone dropped them in a mad rush.
Liv's heart ached. Her throat felt closed, a painful lump forming. She put her hand to her throat and tried to breathe deeply.
"He'll be okay."
The self-assurance sounded weak even to her own ears. She could feel her anxiety spiraling, a cold dread coiling in her stomach. But she had to be tough. She tried the breathing technique her mom taught her.
But it never worked. Not when it came to Ryker.
Her mom was already flying to him. Liv had no doubt about it. She turned into a bat and flew into the night.
On top of the city, a bat's tears were turning into ice. She felt slow.
"It's okay... he's okay..." her words were small whimpers into the wind, hoping to convince herself as she flew towards the forest.
Reaching the dungeon, the familiar hum of the barrier made her stomach drop.
She entered without hesitation.
Twilight had been replaced by a sunlight and a grassland with a giant fissure in the middle, where her brother and Anna had fallen.
Her mom was standing over the edge, her arms rigid at her sides. A layer of frost was forming on the grass around her feet.
"He's down there," Maddie's voice was strained, her composure cracking like thin ice.
Liv landed and transformed next to her, sweat was trickling down her mother's forehead.
"Why did the dungeon break?"
Maddie didn't answer. She just peered into the blackness.
"Dracula blood," Maddie finally said.
Liv froze.
The name felt like a curse.
A shackle she could never break free from.
"I'll take the north path, you take the south," Maddie commanded, her surgical tone returning. She had to compartmentalize. Her son was in danger. Emotion was a luxury she couldn't afford.
They descended into the new part of the dungeon. Stone walls were slick with moisture, the torches flickering a weak, sickly yellow. It resembled a maze of death.
Entering one of the rooms, Liv saw a group of orc. Without a thought, her ice magic surged, the temperature plummeting in an instant.
Heads were being popped by her ice spikes from every direction.
The rest of the maze went similarly, with the mother-daughter effortlessly dispatching any monster that crossed their path. They couldn't find the right room. It was as if the dungeon itself was trying to trick them.
Then a thud echoed from a room nearby. Liv's head snapped towards the sound. She was there in a heartbeat, followed closely by her mother.
What was happening before them made her blood run cold. A familiar feeling returned. The day Ryker was kidnapped, he was barely 4 years old, crying as a man was grabbing him by the arm. Liv was 6 when she heard his cries and she snapped.
He had always been her anchor.
An orc was standing over him, its massive sword raised, ready to end the most important person to her.
Liv's eyes was turning purple, a clear sign of losing control, just like the aunt and cousin she despised. But her mother acted faster.
The orc was frozen before Liv could even attack.
"Not the time for that," Maddie said.
Anna and Ryker wounds were covered with ice to prevent the bleeding from continuing.
"We need to go now," Maddie picked Ryker up, "You carry her," her face set like stone as she pointed to the dryad.
Instead of transforming into a bat, both ladies sprouted wings from their backs like a grim fairy tale. The added strain would exhaust their mana, but it was the only way to carry someone and fly.
The journey back to Revera Hospital was silent and grim.
Neither of them spoke.
If they did, they might break.
And breaking meant failing.