CHAPTER 12

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How could he be so ignorant? He was supposed to be their leader. Leaders don't play fight with mass murderers before giving them one of their two ships. Insanity. But it didn't matter; he, like always, would do the right thing. Akoiren was almost there now, passing by smooth curved trunks of the red trees as the jungle opened up slightly. He ran nearly the entire way; it wasn't safe anywhere in the jungle anymore because of a damn demon. And yet Serneee had still welcomed another one here with open arms. Thorned bushes grew everywhere around him, some of them standing taller than he was with thorns as long as his pinky. The thorns were no threat to him; Akoiren knew the path down to the thick roots stretching in and out of the ground. In less than five minutes he was at the edge of the clearing, breaking through to the knee high grass as the Diaelee headed towards the two ships. They were both retired Loordanian vessels; one a military long range scout and the other a navy blue family cruiser. Both looked like they might no longer be capable of flight, various pieces of metal welded across the outdated ships.

Akoiren knew Serneee would give them the family cruiser; he loved the old military scouter far too much to part with it. He hit the large white button on the ship's exterior, the door slamming down while the broken hydraulic lift grinded away uselessly inside the metal walls. Akoiren strode into the ship, looking across the familiar controls. This was going to be a cinch. Even though he had never flown he had programmed the general flight paths for nearly every mission his tribe had done. Akoiren turned on the auxiliary power before bringing the main screen online. The ship's internal conductors had gone out nearly a decade earlier but the emergency conductors still ran, their low power giving everything a dim glow. His scaly finger hit search on the communications board, Akoiren sitting down in the pilot's chair while the search ran. He didn't even get all the way into the seat before yellow words formed on the top of the screen. 'Loordanian emergency response.' Akoiren grinned; this was going to be even easier than he thought.

A few more buttons brought a young brunette woman on screen. Her uniform was a crisp, unworn white, her face full of boredom.

"This is Loordania's emergency response line. What do you need to report?" She said, reciting the predetermined words while staring off screen.

"I know the location of the High Regent's daughter. And that demon Jazun." Akoiren answered.

The young Loordanian looked right at him then, her eyes opening wide for a second when she saw him.

"Princess Analie and Jazun? When did you last see them?" She said, sounding much more engaged now as she waved someone else over.

"I just left them. Now come and get them before they leave!"

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