บท 666: Devil's Due
Trism secretly rejoiced as he sized up the dragons lined up before him on the decks of the internal hangar of Bay Three of the Vengeance. He purposed put on a face of hesitation while he eyed the expectant expression on Blue Thunder's face, the cold but with a hint of excitement on Rastraz's expression and finding the sobbing and anxious Saphia.
He came to a realization that ever since becoming an Intelligence agent, he had learnt how to read people, from their facial expressions to micro expressions. And now, he could even understand a dragon's facial expression. Finally, he let out a sigh to cover up his amusement and said in a serious tone, "You do know that the escort mission will have high chances to enter conflict zones?"
"Yes, yes!" Blue Thunder bobbed his head repeatedly. "We all know!"
"And your children...?" Trism pointed out to the two sleeping dragonlings cradled in a harness that Blue Thunder was wearing.
"No, there are no worries!" Blue Thunder patted his chest in assurance. "Ras and I will ensure that our kids will not come to any harm! Besides, they can meet more of their kin when we reach the lands of the dragons!"
Trism nodded as he conceded the point to the dragon. He nodded once more and said, "Alright... Welcome to the team."
"YES!" Blue Thunder joyfully cheered, his actions waking up the twins. Rastraz smacked Blue Thunder on his head and growled, making him regret waking the twins. Saphia let out a loud sob as she thanked the other two dragons, promising them the best royal treatment they will get will they reach her home.
As Trism walked away, a small smile appeared on his face and soon, he started whistling cheerfully to himself as he exited the hangar bay.
-----
Magister Thorn was humming to himself and packing his things when the bell to his cave abode rang. He stopped his work and hurried over to the door which was just a thick curtain partition and found Professor Hamlot outside.
"Hamlot?" Magister Thorn welcomed his friend in. "Is there any matter?"
"Ah, yes," Professor Hamlot replied as he made himself comfortable inside his friend's house. "I heard that you accepted to be the head delegate to visit the Dragon Lords?"
"Yes, yes," Magister Thorn replied excitedly. "It was such a surprising turn of events! I was packing for the return trip, but suddenly, I was asked if I am willing to lead a team of delegates to the Domain of the Dragons to establish some friendly relations!"
"I... I would like to be part of that team," Professor Hamlot said. "Will it be alright if I join as well?"
"Of course!" Magister Thorn cheerfully agreed. "This trip is getting better and better!"
Professor Hamlot smiled back at the enthusiastic reply and added, "I am sure we will all find the knowledge that we all dearly sought!"
"Too bad, Dr. Sharon couldn't join us for this trip!" Magister Thorn lamented. "She has to return to Haven to oversee the health ministry... She has been away for far too long!"
Just at this time, the bell rang again and Magister Thorn looked out of his curtain door and saw a familiar figure appear at his doorstep. "Speaking of the devil..."
"I brought some local spirits!" Dr. Sharon cheerfully held up a basket filled with earthen jars. "And snacks to go along!"
Dr. Sharon laughed as she saw Professor Hamlot already seated in Magister Thorn's abode and she set the basket down. "I kinda predicted that you will be here."
Professor Hamlot laughed as he knew Dr. Sharon had guessed his intentions. "Well... You do know how I enjoy digging up ancient ruins..."
"And the best place for all those historical stuff could be all found in a dragon's home..." Dr. Sharon laughed once more as she completed the blushing Professor's sentence. She shook her head and pulled out a jar as Magister Thorn carried over a few mugs. "I knew it! That is why... I brought all these here to have the last drinking session with you guys before I return and you lot go off on some... adventure once more!"
"Cheers!" The three academics tossed each other in Terran style. They knocked their mugs together and finished off the strong local brew as they took the last opportunity to enjoy each other's company before they depart on their separate journeys, unsure of when would they ever meet each other again.
-----
Lightning repeated flashed through the armoured viewports of the cabin and despite the heavy sound proofing, the deep rumble of thunder could be heard. Blake leaned against the viewport and saw an entirely different world outside of the cabin.
Dark angry clouds covered the world outside with lightning constantly snaking and splitting the skies. Dark shapes of rocks and broken land could be seen floating in the air between the flashes of lightning while rain occasionally splattered against the armoured windows before the strong winds blew the droplets away.
He turned to look at Sherene who was sleeping, curled up under a blanket with their child. Her brows twitched each time the skies rumbled. He reached over and gently patted her head, stroking her hair as he took in every contour and crease on her sleeping face. Already with proper meals and nutrition, her once sunken cheeks had started to fill out once more and her complexion had improved greatly.
But he could still see the lines of worries and pain on the wrinkles formed on her face and a sense of helpless anger came over him. He knew Sherene had given up a lot, especially in protecting their child in such a savage environment. He could not even come to think of what would happen to their son if they found them later as what intel on the Protectorate church's policy was that once children were of age at five, they would be taken to church run homes, where the young would be educated in the Protectorate ways of Law and Order.
Sherene suddenly jerked in her sleep, her brows were knotted together tightly and she suddenly jerked awake with a cry. Her eyes were darting around wildly and her pupils were dilated with fear. She stared around her surroundings in panic and only calmed down when she recognized Blake who was hugging her and patting her back like a small child.
She buried her face deep into the embrace of Blake and fought back her tears. The nightmares had lessened over the days but when they came to her dreams, it was vivid and all too real and frightening to her.
"Don't be afraid, I am here," Blake consoled Sherene. "We will be home soon."
Sherene nodded as she calmed down and she looked out of the viewports, seeing a world of storm and lightning. The decks of the wing ship vibrated and together, a dull series of booms could be felt and heard as the turrets of the wing ship unleashed a barrage of cannon fire at a large fast approaching piece of floating rock.
"This storm feels so... evil," Sherene shuddered as she saw the rock get blown into smaller pieces and pelted the magical barriers of the wing ship. "It just feels so wrong..."
Blake nodded as he joined Sherene in looking outside. "I have never seen nor heard anything like this until I came here."
"Could this be a legacy of the Gods?" Blake asked as he wanted to stop Sherene from thinking about her nightmares. "It is just too large to be a natural occurrence."
"Maybe, Magister Thorn would have more theories about this," Sherene replied. "He would love to research this."
"Yes, he did mention a few of his theories to me before," Blake smiled as he recalled the old elf's excited expression as he started a discussion about the End Zone. "He theorized that this storm ring is what keeps the magic on the New World."
"And the floating rocks flying inside the upper levels of the clouds were most likely remnants of some land that had shattered during the divine wars."
"I see," Sherene replied. As she continued to watch the outside views, she suddenly frowned when a flash of lightning lit up the skies and a shadowy figure could briefly be seen on one of the larger pieces of the floating rocks. But it was gone before she could take another look.
She rubbed her eyes and leaned back on her seat, thinking that she must be too tired and with the lightning and gloomy clouds outside, her eyes must have been playing tricks on her. How could there be anyone capable to live in such a deadly environment that high up in the storm?
-----
Rain pelted down heavily against the leathery skin of the winged humanoid being that crouched on a large piece of rock. Despite the strong winds and dangers of lightning strikes, it seemed unaffected by the raging storm as its yellow eyes stared unflinchingly at the strange triangle shaped object that flew very fast in the storm. The creature had observed several similar objects that passed through the storm for the past few circles and was very curious about it.
It wondered if it contained more of those yummy fleshy beings that appeared in a flying island many many circles ago. It started to salivate at the thought and it wanted to get closer to find out but it knew that that flying triangle was too fast for its skeletal wings to catch up.
It had experimented with different ways of getting closer, but the strange object seemed to have very powerful magic as it destroyed any pieces of floating rocks it had sent its way over, killing many of its brethren. It crashed the rock underneath its skinny legs in frustration as it watched another rock filled with its brethren get destroyed by its powerful magic and the flying object quickly disappeared from sight.
It hammered the ground once more, vowing in its blackened heart that one day, it would capture that object and hopefully, it would be filled with many many fleshy beings and it will feast to its fill! Thinking about it, made its hunger rise and it crawled its way into a hole in the flying rock. Inside were filled with rotting corpses and it grabbed the nearest and started feasting on the rotting flesh of the corpse.
-----
Unknown to the crew and passengers of the wing ship, Vector One Five, they dozed off in the passenger cabins and cargo hull, blissfully unaware of the danger they almost encountered. The gunners manning the turrets even joked and made bets on who will score the next hit of the flying rocks that came their way.
The pilots continued on their routine checks and hours later, the wing ship flew into a wall of clouds and suddenly, they could see the dark clear skies filled with stars. Feeling relieved to be finally out of the endless storms, the pilots checked their position using an array of sensor and communication balloons that were tethered on small islands around the territory of the UN.
Once their position was assured, they plot a course for the city of Haven and the pilot made an announcement to the entire wing ship. "All hands, this is the captain of the Vector One Five. We have exited the end zone and is now en route to Haven. ETA is four hours, we will reach Haven just after sunrise."
As the wing ship made its way towards Haven, a squadron of F/A - 2 Vipers appeared and formed up in a protective cordon around the wing ship. Blake gently woke Sherene up and she stared groggily out of the viewports. Slowly, she started to recognize the city as the sun broke over the horizon and she started tearing.
"I am... home..." She sobbed as Blake hugged her. She kissed their sleeping child and whispered once more, "We are finally home!"
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