“Aaorash.”
“Aorash.”
Persephone shook her head. “No, not aorash, Alyza. Aaorash.”
“Ah! This is so difficult! What is this strange language even called anyway and why do I have to learn it? You seem to understand me just fine,” asked the metamorphosed girl.
“It has no name, it is the tongue of Los-Reinar, all who live here speak it and so you too must learn if you wish to be with my son. I only tolerate speaking this crude human language in order to teach you how to properly communicate. No one beyond this room will suffer lowering themselves to understand you if you stay ignorant.”
Alyza could tell from her tone what Zed’s mother thought of her little outburst. “Ok, I’m sorry. It was pronounced aaorash, right?”
Zendrius watched patiently as the wall reopened, allowing the suited pilot to make his way to the stationary SAINT. The man entered the machine but instead of leaving through the hangar bay door he turned to the crates behind which Zendrius hid. The SAINT’s left hand reformed into what appeared to be a gun barrel before it aimed it directly at Zendrius.
“Unidentified intruder submit to capture immediate,” announced a voice over the hangar’s intercom.
Zendrius tried to dart to new cover when the SAINT fired a sphere of white energy into the ground a few feet in front of him. The explosion sounded like a thunderclap leaving a black scorch on the concrete.
“Do not bother resisting, you have nowhere to run,” said the voice plainly.
Zendrius sighed as he held up his hands in submission. “Nessha is never going to let me live this down.”
The strange wall reopened and dozens of guards rushed out. Zendrius noticed that unlike the pilots, whose suits appeared to be fashioned out of some kind of fabric, the guards wore suits of metal armour, their helmets being the only thing identical to their SAINT piloting brothers.
Two of the guards seized his arms as he was manacled and without so much as a word they dragged him to the eye-like sensor.
“Stand by for biological scan,” announced the electronic voice after one of the guards punched in a code in the keypad. A few seconds passed before the voice continued, “One unidentified life form detected. To activate edict 342 enter paladin override code.”
The guard in front of the keypad stepped aside, allowing one of his companions to approach it. Zendrius assumed the golden markings on the latter’s armour indicated the rank of paladin.
“Code accepted,” announced the electronic voice before the wall opened.
The group advanced into an unfurnished room when the same electronic voice announced, “Standby for atmospheric adjustment.”
The ducts in the room sucked out all of the air and just when Zendrius thought he was going to suffocate the door across them opened, breaking the vacuum. The guards hustled him through the door and by the time he regained his senses, he found himself in a cell.
The paladin removed his helm revealing the face of a woman rather than a man. “I want six pairs of eyes on him at all times. Ronald, Dennis, Geoffrey, Linda, Michelle and Bill have the first watch, the rest of you can return to headquarters and resume your previous duties.”
The guards bustled out of the room, most of them removing their helms and speaking among themselves. The red haired paladin shot Zendrius one cautionary look before leaving him with his six guards.
Zendrius looked at the faces of the six men and woman guarding him. “So . . . how’s work?”
None of the guards so much as twitched at the remark.
Zendrius sighed.
“Wake up!”
Zendrius rolled over and saw a short man with a puffy face in what seemed to him as extravagant clothing. “How may I help you?”
“What manner of demon are you?” asked the little man.
“And to whom might I be speaking?”
The man stiffened at the question. “I am Calvin Tolstoy the Eighth, Duke of Area 31. Now answer my question.”
“What makes you think I am a demon? Do I not appear human?”
“Do not try and trick me demon! Even if absent of our sensors, it is clear you are not human. No God-fearing man can survive the poisonous atmosphere of Los-Reinar without proper protection. You may have managed to take the form of a man through your unholy magic but it seems you could not quite imitate us correctly. More than anything your infernal silver eyes gives testament to your true nature.”
“If you really believe me to be a demon why then did you capture me? Why not just kill me?”
“Because we need to know if there are others that can change their appearance as you have and if so, from which race and from which Tier are they?”
Zendrius leaned against the wall. “Oh yes there are millions of us that can change form at will.”
“Do not mock me demon!” sneered the Duke through the cell’s bars.
“My dear duke, consider the situation from my perspective, what could I possibly hope to gain by helping you?”
“This is what I get for trying to be civil with a monster, very well then demon have it your way. Take him to the laboratory,” said the little man to the guards before marching from the room.
One of the guards moved to unlock the cell while his peers readied their weapons on their prisoner. “One false move demon and we’ll put you down.”
Zendrius only smiled and complied as they escorted him from his cell through a series of corridors. He assumed they were purposely leading him through an isolated part of the building since they never stumbled onto a casual pedestrian. At one time they passed a window and Zendrius managed a quick glance before he was hurried along. What he saw stunned him, an entire city encompassing a gigantic park flourished within the complex. After a half-hour of navigating through corridors they reached a strange platform guarded by ten paladins.
“We’ll take it from here,” said one of the paladins before the guards transferred custody of their prisoner.
The paladins dragged Zendrius onto the platform before one of them punched in a code, allowing the machine to both scan his hand and take a sample of his blood.
“Standby for teleportation,” announced an electronic voice before Zendrius felt a strange tingling sensation across his entire body.
Zendrius looked around stunned as the paladins dragged him across the walkway. Below them were the imprisoned durandals, enormous creatures of muscle hold captive in the cruellest way possible. Large metallic rods were thrust through each of their joints and planted into the concrete. The few who still had enough fire in them to fight against their restraints were rewarded with a high charge of electricity run through the very rods that incapacitated them.
“You should have spoken to the Duke, he would have granted you a quick death for your cooperation. Now you will linger here with your friends until the White Coats are convinced that you have nothing more to offer,” said one of the paladins as he noticed Zendrius’ shock.
“You will all pay for this,” said the young Dannar barely managing to keep his flames from erupting.
“The just pay no penance for battling the damned,” replied the paladin before they entered a room.
A group of people wearing white lab coats turned from their various scientific apparatus at their arrival.
“Wonderful! You’ve brought it!” exclaimed one man before rushing forward to examine Zendrius. “My, this is fascinating, it really does look human, well with the exception of the eyes of course.”
“Where do you want him?” asked one of the paladins.
“We have prepared a room specifically for him but first I have to know, have the Duke notified Central of its existence?”
“No, his eminence said he’d notify them when you have found something for him to report.”
“Splendid, now we don’t have to worry about Central interfering. Well I am sure I speak for everyone here, when I say that we want to start pealing away this creature’s secrets as soon as possible so let me guide you to the previously mentioned room.”
Zendrius watched as the scientist almost skipped out of the room with joy and silently reminded himself, “Don’t roast these lunatics until you actually have a plan to get out of here.”
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