Demon of the Skies [Book 1]

Demon of the Skies

Chapter Quote:

"Man's enemies are not demons, but beings like himself."

~Lao Tzu

Chapter 1: Prologue

Jason 

August 1, 2001…

I poured three glasses of Sunny D, one for myself and one for my niece and nephew.  I put the juice back in the fridge and somehow managed to carry all three drinks without spilling any orange juice on me or the floor.  I was quite proud of myself for that.  When I entered the living room, Elizabeth Banks, my fifteen year old niece, relieved me of the two for her and her brother Albert, although he preferred to go by his middle name Genette.  He was seventeen.

“Thank you, Elizabeth,” I replied, plopping down on the couch next to her.  A little bit of orange juice flew out of my glass and onto my jeans.  So much for my no-spilling streak…

“Uncle Jason?” Elizabeth asked hesitantly.

“Yeah?”

“I know we’ve heard the stories a hundred times or more but what was it like flying with the aces of the Belkan Air Force?”

I studied my niece and nephew carefully.  I realized that I saw myself more in Elizabeth than in Genette; that wasn’t always a good thing.  I’m a full-blooded Belkan, but when I was one, my parents moved me and my sister (Elizabeth and Genette’s mother) to Ustio because of the Rald Party; I remained there until I was eighteen.  I went back to Belka for college, to train for the Air Force but when I saw the danger posed by the Rald Party, I dropped out of the Air Force.  I didn’t know what to do at first, because I still wanted to fly.  The sky is like another home to me.  I didn’t want to fight for Sapin because I couldn’t speak a lick of their language.  I didn’t want to fight for Osea because I felt like they had enough fighters.  Therefore, I went back to Ustio but joined as a mercenary.  I always felt more Belkan than Ustian.

What I was talking about before though, about seeing more of me in Elizabeth than Genette not always being a good thing, I mean that Elizabeth acted more Belkan than Osean (my sister moved to Osea after she married). Being a Belkan, you are taught to show no emotion, because when you show no emotion, people can’t read you, and when people can’t read you, they don’t know what your next move is; when people don’t know what your next move is, you have the advantage in the situation no matter what it is.  Belkans are taught to have pride for their country, something I saw in all of my side of the family.  Belkans are taught to analyze every situation and to have a plan for any situation that might arise.  That trait was something very prominently showed in my niece.  She always had a plan, and if she didn’t, she made one up on the spot, acting as if the plan had always been there.  I didn’t mind some of the traits, it was the emotion one that somewhat bothered me.  Belkans usually showed absolutely no emotion, no matter who they were with.  Elizabeth openly displayed her love for her family, of course, but when something was bothering or upsetting her, she hid it well… very, very well.  It frightened me.  She even looked Belkan with her blonde hair, but her hazel eyes were the Osean part of her, something she and her brother had inherited from their father.  I was glad that she has some Osean genes in her.

Genette, on the other hand, was more Osean.  He almost always openly showed what he was feeling, whether he was upset or angry.  He tended to wing it most of the time rather than creating plans.  Of course he held pride for his country.  Both he and his sister loved Osea.  They thought it was the best country in the world, and living in three different ones, I have to admit Osea is the best so far.