Air Kingdom

Chapter 35-HiTinky

"They're not back yet," I said nervously, readjusting the position of my bow for the tenth time. It's been almost an hour since we last saw Seiro and Dylan. All the light from the sun was gone and we all depended on the flashlights we had. Serena finally had enough.

"This is all your fault! If you kept your mouth shut, Seiro and Dylan would've still been here!" She shouted, glaring at her half-brother.

"I didn't say their names so they could die! These things are unpredictable, but someone as young as you wouldn't be able to understand." snapped Rodas, angry that Serena had the audacity to blame everything on him. I was shocked by Serena's outburst too, but I knew that the absence of the missing boys wasn't the only reason she was lashing out at Rodas.

"Hey, it's no one's fault," Jewel said. She stood by Rodas, taking his side. "But if we were to blame someone, it should be me. I was the one who thought of this." Jewel sadly said, looking extremely nervous and scared for her brother and Seiro.

"Okay, let's stop blaming each other. That won't bring them back," I cut in, effectively stopping the Whose Fault Is It game. "Where do you think they are Jewel?"

She shut her eyes and mentally concentrated. After a few moments, she reopened her sapphire eyes and took out her map. She pointed at a large mountain that was only up ahead. I had to squint to be able to see it.

"This is HiTinky's base. There are two entrances," she slowly explained moving her finger to show us. "They most likely abducted Dylan and Seiro on this path. The guys went in that direction and that path is pretty close to the Krey's main entrance. I was thinking that the Krey had guards on patrol and they ambushed those two."

"Wow, that's a lot of thinking..." Ellia commented, speaking the thoughts in our head. Jewel blushed a little bit before turning back to the map.

"Is the second entrance also being guarded?" Emily asked. She didn't look worried or scared like Jewel did. Instead, her eyes blazed with anger and fearlessness. She was determined to get Seiro and Dylan back safely, and the rest of us felt the same way.

"I'm not sure," admitted Jewel. "The main entrance used to be unguarded before. This sudden increase of defense wasn't something we were prepared for."

"But I do know this. The second entrance isn't used often. In fact, only the leaders only know about this and I'm almost 100% sure they kept it a secret."

This instantly peaked our interest and more questions were being fired at Jewel as she calmly answered each one. We soon decided on a plan of action before Jewel rolled up her map and led the way. Ellia eagerly went to her side and began chatting with her. The rest of us kept quiet, fully aware of the Krey's super-hearing. The two girls soon caught the gist and fell silent as well.

Jewel led the way as we approached a large pile of rocks behind a tall, looming mountain. As we neared it, I could see that the rocks have been skillfully arranged to make it inscrutable. However, there was a small opening that could barely fit Rodas. "Dang, they must really want to stay hidden..." I commented quietly.

We all scurried over to the tiny hole and Jewel gave us last minute instructions. She was almost like a mini general, calm and always had answers ready for incoming attacks and questions.  "-and remember, once we have Seiro and Dylan, get out right away. Do not engage in any fights. Right now, their troops outnumber us from 1:500. It'll be a losing battle if we fight back."

Everyone grimly nodded while Ellia politely raised her hand. "Can I go set up?" She asked. Jewel shook her head in agreement.

"Sure, but take Rodas with you. It's too risky to go yourself."