Chapter 61: Whereabouts

His eyes shot open but his sight was blurred so he was unable to recognize his surroundings. He saw bright blurred colours and the outlines of something or someone. It could be a person or an object, it could be basically anything. He had no idea what was in front of him. He felt the pain rushing through his body in waves. The pain was much worse than the last time he had been wounded.

The pain didn't stop nor did it ease off but at least his sight became clearer. Only slower than expected. He recognized the outlines of a creature. A demon. But not just any demon. It was a nathrezim. After a while, he recognized that it was a familiar nathrezim. One who had betrayed him. But it was not Mal'Ganis.

The nathrezim was no other than Xertus who stood in front of him and regarded him with an emotionless expression on his face. The man turned his head slowly, checking his surroundings. He laid on a table, his upper body was exposed and his lower body armour was damaged but still intact. He was surrounded by demons of various races that were using their magic to treat his wounds.

He waited until they had closed the last remaining wound on his torso and sat up slowly. His limbs were still hurting but at least he was no longer bleeding. He had no idea how long the pain would endure. All he could do was to hope that it will stop soon.

He looked at Xertus whose gaze still rested on him. "Where am I?"

"You are in my domain."

"And where is that?"

"That's none of your business."

"We are equal, so I don't see a reason why you shouldn't tell me where exactly I am."

"We are no longer equal," replied Xertus. His voice was cold and emotionless as usual.

The man raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You and your father failed. Your mission failed, so you got demoted. We no longer have the same rank. You are no longer one of Lord Kil'jaeden's special agents," explained the dreadlord.

"Our mission failed?" the man asked doubtingly.

Xertus nodded. "The Alliance stormed Tempest Keep and killed everyone they found in there."

"Everyone? Even my father?"

"He perished too." Xertus tilted his head a little and frowned as he noticed the sadness in the half-demon's eyes. "But he won't stay dead for long," he added.

The half-demon's eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean?" Hope was reflected by them.

"Priestess Delrissa is already working on a way to bring him back. The master is not done with him yet. Your father still has a task to fulfil."

"What does the master want him to do?" the half-demon asked.

"That's none of your business."

"Where is my son?"

Xertus was silent.

"Where is my son?" the half-demon repeated louder.

Xertus turned around and started to walk to the opposite side of the room. He opened the door and signalized the half-demon to follow. The half-demon got up from the table, taking careful steps. He needed a few moments until he got the feeling over his legs back, then he was able to walk at a normal pace. He followed the nathrezim to a totally dark room. Xertus snapped his fingers, causing the room to illuminate.

The room was totally empty except for a bed and machine next to it. A creature laid on the bed, several hoses stuck in its arms and upper body. A green liquid was constantly pumped through the hoses that were also connected with the machine. The only sound that was hearable was the rhythmical peeping produced by the machine.

The half-demon did not hesitate to walk over to his son, worry was reflected by his eyes. He regarded him from head to toe, noticing the fel crystal that stuck in his chest. "What's this," he asked Xertus as he pointed at the green crystal.

"That's the only reason your son is still alive. He was close to death when I found him floating through space. I have no idea how he managed to survive so long without oxygen but he did it somehow. It's still a riddle to me. Anyway, I would have lost him if I wouldn't have rammed the crystal into his heart. You should thank me for saving him."

The half-demon didn't hesitate to do as he was requested. "Thank you."

Xertus' facial expression didn't change. "You are welcome."

"So Raesh is still alive but it seems that he is in some sort of a coma."

Xertus looked at the numbers shown on the machine's display. "He should wake up in a few hours and then we'll begin."

The half-demon raised an eyebrow. "Begin? With what?"

"With his transformation. Originally, Doctor Sivallah was supposed to change him in a similar way as she has changed you but she is nowhere to be found. She is missing for weeks. You don't know where she is, do you?"

Raesh's father shook his head.

"Too bad."

"Is there anything else I need to know? About the master's plan or something else?"

Xertus thought for a moment. "Not really."

"We are in the Twisting Nether, aren't we?"

"We are. Why do you want to know that, Dreadfist?"

The half-demon hesitated. "Just to know if what I have planned will work."

Xertus tilted his head. "And what would that be?"

"That." A barely recognizable grin appeared on the half-demon's lips. Xertus didn't see it coming, he didn't know what the half-demon had in mind until it was too late. His eyes widened, blood flowed out of his open mouth.

Xertus lowered his head, looking down at himself. For the first time since the half-demon had woken up, the nathrezim's face reflected emotions. Shock, disbelief, dismay and even fear could be seen. "How dare you...," he groaned but he was not able to finish his sentence. The half-demon pulled his heart out of his chest and squashed it like an overripe fruit. A mischievous grin appeared on the half-demon's lips as he noticed the blank look on Xertus' face. "By the way, my name is not Dreadfist. I'm Kelrian, just you know."

The nathrezim drop to his knees and then his body began to dissolve. The process was slower than expected and very satisfying to watch. Xertus got what he deserved. It was his fault that everything went down the tube. Due to his betrayal, Kelrian and his partner had been caught and turned into slaves of the Burning Legion. Xertus was jointly responsible for his deformation, Raesh's condition and Exadius' and Sydori's deaths.

If it would have not been for Xertus, Kelrian would not look like a monster and no fel crystal would stick in his son's heart. His sister would still be alive and even his father may still be alive. Kelrian was convinced that he could have found a way to free his father from the Legion's control.

Xertus got what he deserved and now it was up to Kelrian what to do next. If what Xertus had said about his father was true, then he had to do something about it. He had to free his father somehow, that was his duty as his son. But to do that he had to find him first. He had to find out where he could find him and Priestess Delrissa. He hoped that any of the demons in this place could give him the information he needed. He would do anything necessary to get them, he would stop at nothing. Not even torture was taboo for him. In his opinion, these demons deserved the pain he would inflict to them. Anyone who served the Legion voluntarily deserved to suffer.

Kelrian picked up Xertus' sword from the ground and regarded it before he looked at his unconscious son. He stroked his cheek with the back of his hand. "Don't worry, my son. I won't be away for long. You stay here while I will make these disgusting creatures speak. I will be back soon."

With that, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

---

The slaughter was finally over. The screams had died away and the resistance had stopped. No curses, painful noises, shouts or other battle sounds could be heard. Silence had finally come. Kelrian pulled his sword out of the motionless body of the female eredar he had just slain. He bent down and tore a large piece out of her robe to clean the blade of his sword. He stood up again and let his gaze wander. He stood in a small lake of dark green blood in which lots of corpses and separated body parts swam. Corpses of dead demons.

He was satisfied. All demons in Xertus' domain were dead and he got the information he had wanted. He knew where Delrissa had brought his father and how she wanted to bring him back. He didn't find out what the Burning Legion wanted his father to do but he had no doubt that he would find out soon. He had come closer to his goal of rescuing his father. Even though he had done terrible things, Kelrian still wanted to save him. He had sworn to do anything necessary to free him and he did not intend to revoke his promise.

Nevertheless, he didn't want to leave the unknown place yet because he wanted to look after his son first. Maybe he would even take him with him. It depended on his son's condition. Kelrian put the sword with the crimson-red blade in the sheath and walked towards the exit. He had to walk around the bodies of larger demons and even climb over the corpses of infernals, doomguards and pit lords. He reached the exit eventually and left the room, walking through the bordering corridor. He arrived in front of the room where his son was, entering it without hesitation.

He illuminated the room, spotting Raesh who sat upright and forcefully pulled one hose after the other out of his body, not caring that he was hurting himself. "Easy partner," Kelrian said as he approached his son.

Raesh turned his head and looked at his father. His eyes were suffused with blood, his skin had a faint green colour. He didn't look healthy at all. Raesh pulled the last hoses out and moved his hand to his chest. Kelrian reacted quickly and grabbed his hand before he could pull out the fel crystal. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Raesh tilted his head but said nothing, regarding his father emotionlessly. "The crystal is the only thing that keeps you alive. If you remove it... Well, I assume you know what will happen then," explained Kelrian.

Raesh looked down at his chest, then at his father who gave him a worried look.

"How are you feeling, my son?"

Raesh did not answer, he just shrugged.

Kelrian sighed. "Are you unable to speak or do you just don't want to speak to me?"

Raesh didn't answer.

Kelrian caressed his forehead. "Well, it's up to you if you want to speak to me or not. I'm not forcing you to anything. I just want to help you, I hope you know that."

Raesh remained silent.

Kelrian exhaled loudly. "I wish I could spend more time with you and find out if you are alright but there is something I have to do. I found out that the Burning Legion wants to bring your grandfather back to life. I have no idea how they want to do it but I have to do something about it. Either I prevent them from bringing him back or I free him from their control as soon as they brought him back. I don't have much time. I cannot allow myself to come too late. It's up to you if you come with me and help me or if you go somewhere else."

Silence.

"You are not making things easy for me, Raesh."

Raesh didn't react.

"Do you want to join me?"

Raesh hesitated but then shook his head.

"Do you want to go back to Azeroth?"

Raesh nodded.

"To Silvermoon?"

He shook his head.

"To Undercity?"

Raesh nodded.

"Your mother is probably worried sick. You should go to her so that she knows you are still alive."

Raesh nodded again.

"Alright partner." Kelrian focused his power and created a portal to Undercity within a few minutes. "Make sure your mother knows that I'm still alive and no longer a slave to the Burning Legion."

Raesh nodded.

Kelrian pointed at the portal. "See you soon, my son."

Raesh regarded his father for a few moments before he turned around wordlessly and walked through the portal which closed behind him. Kelrian started at the spot where the portal had been for a few moments before he created another portal to a different place. He made sure he had everything he needed before he stepped through it.

---

Kael'thas regarded his reflection in the mirror. He was not pleased with what he was seeing. His whole skin was as white as chalk except for the left and right sides of his upper body which were dark purple. The huge crystal that stuck out of his chest had a similar colour to his bright green glowing eyes. His hair was pale blond and his face no longer looked handsome. He didn't look like himself. He no longer looked like the handsome king who had once been admired by the most sin'dorei women. Now he was anything but handsome. He looked like a monster. No one would find him attractive and ever admire him again.

Kael'thas turned around, his eyes narrowed and reflected anger as they fell on the shivarra who stood not far away from him. "What did you do to me, Delrissa?"

The shivarra turned her head and looked at Kael'thas. "What do you mean, your majesty?"

Kael'thas approached her. "Have you seen how I look like?" he asked angrily, his voice was much louder than before.

"I'm not blind. Of course, I see what you look like."

"Then you can tell me what is wrong about my look."

Delrissa hesitated. "You look different."

"Really? How did you come to that conclusion?" Kael'thas asked sarcastically.

"So you are not pleased with the way you look?"

Kael'thas' eyes narrowed. "No, of course not. Would you want to look like this?" he asked angrily.

"Well..."

"YES?"

"Not really, to be honest."

"So, tell me why I might be angry."

"You don't like your appearance."

"I HATE it. I look like a monster and it is your fault," he roared.

Delrissa raised all six hands in apologize. "I'm sorry, your majesty. It's not that I did it on purpose. There was only one way to bring you back. The fel crystal in your chest is responsible for your change in appearance. Ihave no influence in this matter. Your body changed by itself due to the effect of the was nothing I could have done to prevent your body from changing."

"You ruined my good look. Do you realize that? Do you realize the consequences of that? There is no way I will ever impress a woman with that face."

"Looks don't matter to the Burning Legion. Only power matters. There will be enough women who will mate with you due to the power you possess. The Alliance murdered you but you are still not dead. Most of your soldiers died but that is no problem. We will build a new army for you. You still have much power and influence. Don't worry about your love life. That's the least of your concerns. There are other things we have to take care of," told Delrissa.

"What does the mistress want me to do?" Kael'thas asked curiously.

"You can ask her yourself," replied the shivarra and pointed at the creature who had just entered the room.

Kael'thas turned his head, spotting Alyssa who was walking towards him. The demon who had once been a night elf stopped in front of him and looked down at him. Kael'thas did not hesitate to bow in front of her and kiss her hand. Alyssa smiled at him and put a hand beneath his chin, caressing it.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Lady Felspeaker."

"I wish I could say the same but... You already discovered what happened to your good-looking face."

"It's the fault of this bitch that I look like this," snarled Kael'thas and pointed at Delrissa.

Alyssa looked at the shivarra. "I'm sure the priestess did everything in her power to preserve your good looks."

"I did, mistress," replied Delrissa.

Alyssa looked back at Kael'thas. "Back then I was a night elf, I also cared for looks. I judged people based on their looks but I no longer do that these days. I only judge people by the power they possess. The Burning Legion doesn't give a shit about looks, all that matters to them is power. You are a very powerful being and that is all that matters to me. Your good looks were nothing but a nice bonus."

Kael'thas nodded. "I understand, mistress."

Alyssa lifted his chin a little, staring into his eyes. "I suppose you want to take revenge on the Alliance for what they did to you."

"I long for the death of every single traitor. Those sin'dorei who turned against me deserve to die. Lady Liadrin, Vereesa Windrunner, Kaelor Pridestone, Magister Aethas Sunreaver and Magister Rommath. All of them will regret that they chose the wrong side."

"What about Jaina Proudmoore and Sylvanas Windrunner?" Alyssa asked.

A thoughtful look could be seen on Kael'thas' face. "I will find a just punishment for them. The extermination of all traitorous sin'dorei has priority for me."

"Very well. You have a new task."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to use the Sunwell to summon Lord Kil'jaeden to Azeroth."

Kael'thas raised an eyebrow and frowned. A confused expression could be seen on his face. "But the Sunwell is destroyed..." Doubt was reflected by his voice.

Alyssa chuckled. "It can be restored."

Kael'thas appeared more confused than before. "And how?"

"Have you ever heard of a creature called Anveena Teague?"

Kael'thas shook his head. "No, I didn't. Who is that?"

"She appears to be a beautiful human girl but she is anything but that. She is something different, something powerful."

"You are speaking in riddles."

"Let me explain. She is not a real human. Basically, she is an avatar which holds the powers of the Sunwell. The details are too complicated to explain. All you need to know is that you can restore the Sunwell with that creature."

A thoughtful look could be seen on the mad king's face. " So you want me to use her to restore the Sunwell and summon Lord Kil'jaeden."

Alyssa nodded. "Exactly."

"I will do as you say, mistress."

The corners of the demon's lips formed a satisfied smile. "Wonderful."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Alyssa's smiled became wider. "Now that you say it, there is indeed something you could do for me."

"I will do anything you demand from me, mistress."

"I want you to satisfy me."

Kael'thas raised a brow, confusion was reflected by his eyes. "What?"

Alyssa winked an eye. "You heard me correctly."

"I do not understand."

"I'm a living creature with emotions and needs just like you. Now that Exadius and Xertus are dead, I have no one who can take care of my lower desires."

Kael'thas didn't hesitate to answer. "I understand, mistress."

Alyssa pointed at the door through which she had come from. Kael'thas began to walk towards it. Her gaze fell on Delrissa. "You too."

Delrissa raised an eyebrow. "Me too?" she asked confused.

"You will join us too, Delrissa."

The shivarra nodded. "As you wish, mistress."

---

"Where is he?" Kelrian asked the demon that laid to his feet.

The demon coughed blood out. "You are too late. He is no longer here." He pressed his left hand on the yawning wound in his left hip, hoping he could slow down the bleeding that way.

Kelrian grabbed the demon and lifted him up, shaking him violently. "WHERE. IS. HE?"

The demon grinned at him maliciously. "Not here."

Kelrian gave the demon a head butt, breaking his nose. A loud painful cry escaped the eredar's lips, green blood flowed out of his nose. "If I were you, I would speak before I break more of your bones."

"Never," hissed the eredar. He spat blood in Kelrian's face, causing him to get angrier than he already was. Kelrian threw the demon against the nearest wall, watching him writhing in pain when he landed on the floor. Kelrian approached the demon and squatted down, letting a knife with a curved blade appear. He pressed the tip against the demon's red cheek, leaving a long cut.

"Do you want to speak now or do I have to make you suffer much longer? I'm not enjoying this, just you know. If you tell me what I want to know, I will end your suffering. Your death will be swift and not painful. Promised."

"Why should I tell you where he is if I'm going to die anyway? There's nothing in it for me."

"Will you tell me everything you know if I spare you?"

A thoughtful look could be seen on the eredar's face. "How do I know that can I trust you?"

"You can't know. You have no other choice than trusting me. Telling me what you know is the only way for you to get out alive. You don't want to end like your friends, do you?"

The eredar let his gaze wander over the demon corpses that were scattered all over the floor. Kelrian had slaughtered all servants of the Burning Legion he found in the base. To his defence, they had attacked him first. The eredar looked back at Kelrian who smiled as he noticed the fear in the demon's eyes. It was too obvious that the eredar was afraid of dying.

"I will make you this offer only once. Tell me where I find Priestess Delrissa and my father and I will spare your worthless life," Kelrian said insistently and pressed the tip of the knife against the eredar's throat.

The quivering eredar nodded. "I will tell you everything I know."

Kelrian removed the knife. "Go ahead."

"They left this place to go somewhere else where they could plan the invasion of Quel'Danas"

"The invasion of Quel'Danas?" Kelrian asked doubtingly. "Why would they want to invade it? There is nothing useful they can get from there. There is nothing of importance they can destroy."

"I have no idea why they want to do that," responded the eredar.

"When will they attack?"

"The attack already started. You are too late."

"Fuck," cursed Kelrian,

"I told you everything I know. Now it's your turn to keep your part of the deal. Let me go."

"Alright. You will get what you deserve."

The eredar's eyes widened in fear as he realized what the half-demon meant. "Wait, that was not the..."

Kelrian didn't allow the demon to finish his sentence. Loud screams escaped the demon's lips as Kelrian buried his fangs in the demon's neck and began to suck his blood and lifeforce. The demon tried to resist but Kelrian's grip on his body was too strong. The eredar's attempts to get free became weaker and weaker with each passing second. Kelrian didn't need long to steal the eredar's lifeforce and blood. He dropped the empty body on the floor and wiped his mouth clean. He turned around and looked at the creature who had watched him the entire time.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

The female nathrezim shook her head. "Not really. For a moment I thought you were going to spare him because that's what heroes do. Heroes like you keep their promises, don't they?"

"I'm no hero," replied Kelrian.

"But you are not a villain either."

"That's right."

"What are you then if you are neither hero nor villain?"

Kelrian shrugged. "No idea. I don't really care, to be honest. I just do what must be done."

"Killing him was the right choice. We can't allow him to tell his mistress that we know where your father is. She will send more troops to Quel'Danas if she knows that we are coming," she explained.

"I guess you are right."

"We should go now. We are already late to the party due to the numerous assassins that attacked us on our journey. If it wasn't for them, we might have arrived in this place days ago and captured your father before he could have taken his troops to Quel'Danas."

"You don't have to join me, Danara. That is my business. It's my task to stop my crazy father. You don't have to do this for me. I'm already grateful enough that you helped me reach this place. I wouldn't have found this place alone."

"The Burning Legion is responsible for the death of my father. Alyssa and Kil'jaeden are responsible for his fate. As his oldest daughter, it's my duty to follow his footsteps and end what he has started. It's my task to free my people from the Legion's control. I have to avenge him. I will do anything necessary to kill Kil'jaeden, even if I have to give my life. Your father is our best trace to find Kil'jaeden. If we capture him, we might find out Kil'jaeden's whereabouts. I have every reason to help you," Danara explained.

Kelrian gave her a small smile. "I don't say no to a helping hand."

Danara pointed at the portal she had created while Kelrian had interrogated the eredar. "We must go now before it is too late."

Kelrian nodded. "I'm ready."