GUARDIAN DEMON | BL ✔

CHAPTER 77

The dark planet loomed before the spacecraft as the ship neared Sendrum. Devyn watched the small planet grow larger with intrigued eyes. This was the first time he had actually seen the planet as he had been transported to and from the grey planet in dendrum ships where there were no windows. As they approached the planet, Devyn slowly lowered the power to the thrusters and allowed Sendrum's gravitational system to pull them in.

Castyr had awoken from his long sleep and was peering at the dark mass in front of them with blank eyes. The star had seen many planets now and was unfazed by the small, demon planet.

"How long until landing?" Kilo inquired from the back seat where he had moved to be with Castyr once his conversation with Devyn had concluded.

"An hour or so," Devyn replied. They would skip over the dendrum's landing and head straight to the village, so Devyn had added roughly half an hour to their flight. Kilo answered with silence, which Devyn had gotten used to by this time, so quietness was not awkward. The three continued to sit and watch the planet grow in size as they neared Sendrum's atmosphere.

Vibrations began to course through the craft, shaking the ship as they entered the planet's atmosphere and began descending through the thick clouds. It was not long before they broke through the many layers of clouds to begin zooming over Sendrum's sharp surface. A wide body of water quickly came into view as Devyn followed the ship's directions to the coordinates of the clan's village. The Soul Sea. Devyn steered the ship to fly along the edge of the sea. He did not want to run the risk of crashing into the deadly sea should complications arise.

After passing the Soul Sea, Devyn returned the ship to be straight on with the course. The three continued over the dark rocks for roughly twenty minutes and were quickly approaching the location of the village. Devyn furrowed his brows as they came upon the coordinates provided by the dendrum that Miren had bribed. The surface remained dark, contributing no indication of life or inhabitation.

That's weird. The town should be right beneath us. Devyn lowered the craft closer to the planet's surface to find its texture to be cloudy and wispy. A thick, dark fog had covered the village, obscuring any sign of life the lights may have provided. Devyn lowered the hovercraft into the dense fog where he began to spot faint lights the closer he got to the ground. Finding an area that had no lights, Devyn slowly lowered the ship until they had landed on the dark surface of Sendrum.

The fog that had dissipated from the air currents created by the ship's landing quickly recovered and enshrouded the craft in a dark cloud. Grabbing their weapons, Devyn, Kilo, and Castyr cautiously exited the ship once the ramp had lowered. The moment Devyn set foot on the rough ground, the clinking of chains echoed through his mind, and the feeling of cold metal digging into his neck and wrists haunted his body. Being back on the dark planet caused the traumatic nightmares Devyn had endured at the hands of dendrum and demons to resurface.

The cool wind wafted over the three, but it felt like whips against Devyn's back, and he felt as if he had been stripped down and was back in the hands of the dendrum chained alongside the other numerous prisoners waiting to be sold. Shivers ran through Devyn's body as he shook the wretched memories from his mind. He needed to focus on finding Denzyl and getting their asses off the cursed planet once and for all.

Kilo drew his sword from his back when the three began to make out the shapes of buildings that were flanking them on either side. They had set down in the middle of the town's main street. The three prepared to defend themselves from the town's residents, but what met the three caused confusion; they were surrounded by buildings and homes, but not a single soul was in sight. The lights were on, but no one was home.

After standing silently for a few moments to make certain there was no imminent threat, Devyn took the lead and advanced into the seemingly ghost town. His memory of the town was limited, but what he could recall was crystal clear in his mind. Though obscured by the thick fog, Devyn was able to recognize the outline of the buildings and guide the small party down the main street to the mansion where he assumed Denzyl was being held.