Nightshade

Luka - off and away

Luka held shavronnes hand as they sat across from each other in seats on his private plane. Also on the plane was Kelli, uriel, hera, and the angels, minus Cody. They were headed to a small rural town in the mountainside of a island off the coast of France, long hidden from human eyes. Well more accurately, Luka thought, they were on their way to France, where they would get into helicopters to head to the island. It was going to be cold, so they had all packed warm, puffy jackets, as well as leather gloves and specially lined cargo pants. Luka sat in thought, looking out the window. A sword straight from legend... what an exciting thought. Shavronne slipped his hand out of luka's, causing him to look up at shavronne as he walked down the aisle, checking with the pilots to ensure everything was according to plan so far. Luka smiled a bit, Shavronne always worried too much. Not that Luka wasn't worried at all. In fact, he was very worried, unsure of how this sword could be at all usable after so much time, shattered and scattered. The first piece lay in an ancient temple, laden with traps and tricks. The next apparently lay amongst the deepest waters in the Indian Ocean, and lastly was the base of the sword, which was supposedly somewhere deep amongst a cavern network in the Sierra Nevadas, a mountain range not far from his home with Shavronne. He'd asked why they wouldn't get that piece first, but eri had simply waved him away, saying "a time for everything. The way we do this is as important as the act itself." Luka sighed. He knew she meant well, but she was awfully haughty. He looked over at Kelli, who waved, and he laughed a bit, waving back. Kelli eyed Shavronne, who was still up front, and he came over, sitting in his chair "Thank you guys for taking me with you, I'm so excited! Who gets to experience this sort of thing?! Hell, by the end of this I'll be able to write a nonfiction tell all about my life! Changing names for security, of course." Luka smiled "of course. So you really think writing is your only niche?" He shrugged "I just don't have much interest in anything else, at least as far as a career or real hobby is involved." Luka nodded "that's understandable. I still really enjoy writing, I'm just trying to open myself to new things, like music" Kelli smiled "I noticed. You were really good that night, by the way. And even if concerts are too big a risk, I'm sure you can record in studios and stuff!" Luka hummed a bit "yeah, I'm glad I tried it still though. As with everything else, you never know what you can do till you do it!" Shavronne made his way back over "we're just over twenty minutes out Libelle, get ready for the landing, I have a few more things to check in on. Kelli." He nodded and headed on towards the back of the plane, starting to talk to hera. Luka's ears soon popped as they made their descent, and he clipped in his seatbelt as Kelli headed back to his own seat, and Shavronne sat back in the seat across from him. He took a breath and adjusted his eyepatch, chewing some gum. Luka squeezed his hand, and they soon touched down on the landing strip, where they all got off, carrying their bags of survival gear and exploratory equipment. Luka bit his lip nervously. He had never even moved outside the city since he got there, much less gone to a foreign country. He resisted the urge to scratch his arm. Shavronne looked over at him and gave him a small but comforting smile. They soon reached the helicopter area of the small private airport, and Shavronne helped him up onto their helicopter, which they shared with Kelli and jophiel, Shavronne getting into the pilots seat. He flipped several switches and talked with the air control, soon getting clearance for liftoff. They flew, Luka and the others all wearing headphones with mics for easier communication. They flew out over the ocean, the views were stunning. They'd arrived at sunrise, and the sun was just beginning to shine over the beautiful ocean, a lovely blue expanse that filled the horizon. Luka fought down a brief feeling of vertigo, as the wind fought against the helicopter. Soon, Shavronne flipped another switch, this one marked specially with a rune, and one moment, there was empty ocean, the next, a huge island, covered in greenery and harsh, spiky looking mountains. He spotted along the mountains a majestic looking temple, carved from the same deep grey stone that the mountains were primarily comprised of. Unfortunately, there was no space to land anywhere nearby, so their helicopter, as well as the following chopper, landed in a moderately sized clearing a few miles away. The island reminded Luka of the images he had seen of the more uncivilized parts of Greenland. A beautiful and pristine island, full of cold, unforgiving life. He got out of the helicopter as it spun down, as did Kelli and jophiel. They watched as Shavronne finished shutting it down, and hera finished shutting hers down before they too got out, helping grab equipment. The angels set a perimeter, going out and scouting the cold island before heading back and discussing what they'd found. As expected, the island was devoid of most life, and the angels had taken to the skies and the ground to verify it. They got settled into their site and reviewed maps. It was at least a four mile hike with a climb of several hundred feet to the temple, and while they may not have to deal with any hostiles, there were strong winds and cold weather to deal with, a stormfront was a few miles out, and they didn't know what exactly lie in wait for them at the temple. They got moving, no time to lose. Despite the cold numbing luka's face, he found himself sweating as they hiked. Fortunately, he was used to a workout thanks to his time training in the last year. No longer the frail shut in he used to be, he found himself loving the journey, chatting with Kelli and jophiel about the dangers ahead as they went.