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Chapter 15

I didn't like being kidnapped it was even worse the second time this time now I was being held captive somewhere, I looked around at the rough stone walls and what looked to be metal bars set into stone, I was sitting on a very uncomfortable stone slab the only light coming from dull globes of lights and there where anti-magic runes carved into the bars and walls. I could tell because my magic didn't work so in here, I was just a baseline human which very annoying one second I was asleep and then boom here I am transported again.

I slumped against the uneven and uncomfortable wall; I ran my hand along the wall it was kinda hard to tell time I can't have been in the cell long thought. I stood up running my hand up down the walls searching for a loose rock or something I could use as weapon, they didn't kill me which means they want me for something that can't be good I walked up to the bars they did appear to be metal and it didn't look like there were any guards, I touched the metal bars they sent an electrical charge thought my body I jumped back involuntary and fell to the ground, and that's why there are no guards I thought I occupied myself by pacing around the cell there wasn't much to do.

Me and Serafin where soul bonded ever since the battle at the portal intrinsically linked, more than Runetide or Alex could ever hope for, we could feel each other's presence, emotions and if the other permitted even their memory's and yet now she was gone, it was very disconcerting sure I could be annoying with her literally in my head but I did miss it the presents next to my own. I started singing to myself random words from random songs I knew eventually they would come for me. After the third rendition of Enama I heard footsteps, I did a mental double-take, footsteps there where humans down here as well. It was a bit of a logic jump but I'm underground so are humans and nagas so a mass subterranean assault maybe that was their plan, if that was the plan well they hadn't even considered that, I didn't make logistical sense your army still needed to breathe, if we were talking the numbers Serafin expected humans and nagas the high thousands with a few hundred ish dragons and keeping that underground, that's not including tanks, flyers, transports, artillery and the storage and supply lines.

The two humans wearing some sort of matt black amour it was much more angular and jagged than the armour worn by the united earth defence force and instead of a visor the helmet just had two glowing red eye lenses, they carried strange smooth weapons that reflected light each with a strange red glowing from the centre of the weapon it also didn't appear to have a trigger or sights. They also appeared to be carrying knives judging from the scabbard they were serrated and a fool long and they had soft pouches on their chest over the armour and on their waist.

'Stand back' one of the soldiers said, I assumed in the helmet changing its voice into robotic monotone.

I stood back the second one pulled out a key from his side pouch and slotted it into the iron bars, I saw the blue runes shining and the bars melted away.

'Alright,' the soldier without the key said, 'come with me.' The strange robotic voice making it sound not human.

I took a step forward the soldier with the key stored it away sighing it sounded like radio static 'let's get this over with.'

The one who had told me to stand back grabbed my shoulder his armoured fingers digging into my shoulder they escorted me in silence. Walking in lockstep through the stone corridors, I noted that the tunnel was large enough for two nagas to fit comfortably side to side but I didn't see anyone else at all, we didn't even pass any other rooms we turned a corner and suddenly we were standing in the open air, we were on the edge of a massive canyon there was about a meter between me and the very long fall it was very arid, all I could see was sand interspersed with rocky outcrops and this massive canyon and then I looked up I gasped two suns.

'Oh my god' I said suddenly breathless, 'I'm, I'm not on' I paused I was unarmed on another planet surrounded by the enemy, there seemed to be an unimaginable weight on my chest I felt to the ground I was breathing quickly to quickly my mind was racing one of the soldiers grabbed me pulling roughly to my feet.

'Get moving' it said shoving me forward they both walked behind me, 'down the stairs.'

There was a set of stairs almost directly next to the tunnel exit there were stairs, I began to walk down shakily I wondered why we were walking downstairs then I felt a tingling and there was an explosion of noise shouted orders, the clanging and creaking of metal. It was a sudden sensory overload the sounds of boots on dirt magnified by the acoustics of the canyon, I looked down their base set into the canyon it all looked very futuristic but the more I looked the more I saw the amalgamation of magic and science the lights were magic I could see the runes along the walls and then I stopped, there were so many of them it had been one thing to here Serafin talk about numbers and a whole other thing to see with my own eyes Serafin was right, there had to be thousands of them all wearing the exact same armour no one was in uniform here but some of them had different collard pauldrons. That had to mean something but how did the magic work of core that was what came to mind.

And as I looked up and down the canon, I saw the wholes and bridges carved out of stone that ran along the length of what I could see, it was like a massive ant nest with the workers scuttling around hundreds of many thousands there. They moved around up there not just humans like below there where nagas and even though they towered over there humans around them they looked like they were equals, with some stopping to what I assumed was to chat doing their own thing, and as I was escorted I saw the massive caves full of armoured vehicles and gunships and barracks where hundreds of what looked like humans were sleeping or getting ready then we came to an area and I stopped.

'Plasma artillery' I breathed the massive four-legged bests with a cylindrical cannon mounted on top, Serafin showed us what that thing could do to a human if they were not instantly vaporized.

People in the same matt black armour with orange pauldrons were all over them doing what I could only assume was maintenance.

'Alright get moving' one of the armour-clad soldiers said.

And still stretching on there was the camp with the armour clad people doing things drilling target practise just milling around and nagas to slithering around acting normally they didn't have any weapons they appeared to be if not talking then communicating with the people not stabbing them there didn't seem to any enmity they seemed to be equals and this went on and on I shook my head how are we meant to stand against this I thought then we passed another window and I saw them, line after line of vehicles, some that where obviously tanks four individual treds with an aggressive angular body six-wheeled transports and what looked like VTOLs, both small gunships and large transports not dissimilar to the ones Serafin had helped us develop, the small ones were boxy but had no protection for the troops being transported and no door guns or seats. While the troop transports where all curves and smooth and looked strikingly simmer to our troop carrier gunships though a lot smaller.

I realized I had been staring but the solders had not tried to move me, they were letting me look it was almost as if this was being done on purpose like they were showing off showing me there was no hope of winning. I turned and faced them I was trapped on another world surrounded by people who I assumed would put a metal ball round throw my head without hesitating if they were asked politely to do so.

'You not going to win' I said, shaking not with rage but fear.

'Ok' said the soldier closest to me nodding, 'well you worked it out so might as well fast track this I'm not a massive fan of walking for long periods I don't know why she feels the need-.'

The second enemy soldier put a hand of the first one shoulder, 'just call the ship.'

I heard muted clicks again, 'stand by' the one who wasn't making muted clicks said.

I felt something a slight downdraft I looked up and saw one of the small VTOLs descending it was like a big box this one had a chin mouthed turret, it looked like it could carry many ten people three people on each side with four at the front and back of the troop compartment with four engines, one in each corner.

'Get on' came the robotic monotone voice from behind me.

I hesitated for a second then stepped on board, I instinctively grabbed one of the straps hanging from the ceiling, my legs had turned to jelly as the ground fell away it sunk in there was no one else with me no one else to see the tears on my face as the camp literally disappeared. By the time the VTOL reached the top of the canyon it just looked like an ordinary canyon, but that didn't matter to me I knew where I was going, I was still trying to stop the tears streaming down my face, but it was a battle I had already lost there was one last race ahead set to see.

The dragons.

There was no connection from the cockpit to the troop bay where I was standing the planet as far as I could see was a barren wasteland the heat was oppressive. I could see the heat waves emanating from the sand the only cover being rocky over-hangs there seemed to be a concentration of them, to the left I looked harder there was something under one of the outcrops part of a tail. I looked into the shadows with new eyes and saw them the dragons all just sitting down in the shade, I didn't bother trying to count them the VTOL veered towards the collection. There had to be at least a hundred of them gathered around a central and rather larger over-hang the collection of overhangs spanned tens of kilometres as the VTOL neared some of the dragons looked up some of them should they were all varying sizes and colours, but none of them seemed to match Serafin's height and none of them had the skin like Runetide, but they all looked hostile some of them here even growling at me as we flew over them there scales reflecting light, eyes of various colours and shades looking at me I shrank back knowing that given the change any of the dragons here would kill me without a second thought, I noted VTOL was flying just out of reach of the dragons I shivered as the VTOL reached the centre overhang and slowly decided, there was a large gap between this large overhang and the others but none of the dragons approached.

That scared me because it meant that whatever lived here scared them, as the VTOL neared the ground I readied myself my hands were sweating I dried my eyes and stepped off the VTOL ten centimetres from the metal to the compact earth I stood there my legs shaking, I couldn't see into the overhang the shadow seemed deeper darker I shivered despite the heat.

'Hello there why don't you come in' the voice came from the darkness, it was odd is seemed nice overly nice honeyed it unsettled me, it made me shiver despite the heat again.

Then in unnatural black, I saw it the dragon with dark grey scales and light green eyes with silvery-white hair, she was laying down on her side just about the same height a Serafin but her horns were longer and more curved like a ram's horns.

'Aborwrath' I whispered, stepping back.

'Hey now' she said still overly honeyed voice but now reproachful and slightly patronizing, 'you don't wanna go out there do you? You should come in here it's safe in here and cool.'

It was a rhetorical question I didn't want to go out there but I didn't want to go in there either but I didn't exactly have many choices, so hesitantly I stepped inside into the cool shade my heart was beating much faster than it normally did, this dragon had slaughtered entire races destroyed planets and she was inviting me closer I did not know what to do.

'Now, now don't be so scared I have something to show you' she was still using that overly honeyed voice.

'What?' I asked I couldn't help myself.

'Well' Aborwrath said making a pouting face, 'come closer and I will tell you.'

Every fibre of my body told me this was a horrendously, unimaginably bad idea to go any close, anyone in their right mind would have run, I stepped forward close enough for her to pick me up she did so gently sitting as she did so she held me at eye level. My heart was beating very fast I could feel my self-panicking.

'I had you bought you here for a reason after I show you this you are free to leave.'

I was confused, 'but why that makes no sense why just not kill me and everyone else whilst you had us trapped?'

'Oh, I don't want you dead specifically why would I? I don't think you're a bad person, the others are negligible, but the plan didn't go to plan, but I digress I'm here I warn you and to send a message'

'Why not just send a message with an emissary or something like that?'

'Because it needs to be you' she said suddenly very serious, I did not like where this was going

'Ok, I said what's the message?' I asked.

'No first the warning' Aborwrath said lowering me to the ground.

'Serafin isn't who you think she is.'