The Heroes of the Elemental Academies Book 2: Dragon's Breath

Chapter 17: Place of Hiding

"What do you mean she was captured!" Stevos said. His voice now carried a dangerous tone in his voice that was in complete contrast to his earlier friendly attitude. It was so intense that it made Seth take an involuntary step back. Strat stepped forward

"She was taken by demons when the academy was attacked by demon dragons." Stevos's eyes widened.

"Dragons, I thought the dragons left this world long ago," He said. Strat nodded.

"Yeah me too I remember we were both there when they flew off, but these dragons are nothing like them, these are artificially made." Seth couldn't follow what they were saying anymore, it was like both of them had stopped trying to include anyone else into their conversation.

"artificially made? How?"

"I'm afraid it's Zach's doing," Strat said. Stevos raised and eyebrow.

"Mr. Warstroff? I knew I had a bad feeling about him when you first introduced him to me." Stevos began to pace back and forth in the throne room. To Seth he looked like he was deep in thought, until one of the elders spoke up.

"Well, why was she taken?" A thirteen year old looking elder said. His white hair at least gave others the impression that he was an elder, if you didn't look to closely at his face.

"Because she knows the location of the Air Gem," Seth replied. Stevos didn't answer at first, but as Seth had guessed Seth only had to say that and Stevos had already guessed why they were there.

"You are here for it's location correct?" He asked. Seth stepped forward. Yes it's the only way we can find the air gem before they manage to get my mother to divulge the information." Stevos turned to Seth concern in his eyes.

"Are you not worried about your mother?" Seth pushed down the rush of complicated emotions. He had a mission to complete. "Are you not concerned they will kill her."

"Of course I'm Worried!" Seth exclaimed a little louder than he had meant to. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Look Stevos," Strat interrupted. "It's not a matter of if they get her to talk it's a matter of when. You know as well as i do that Katie is as tough as nails but me and you also know how ruthless the demons are and how effective their torture techniques are. They will get her to talk and once she is of no more use to them then they will kill her. But before then they will not kill her. They need her after all. But the fact that they are searching for the air gem means they are likely going to the same places we are which will mean we will have a chance to rescue her, but we need the location first." Stevos seemed to take this into the account, as he thought.

"Bring me a map!" He ordered. Within minutes guards rushed in a large round table and then another guard came in with a rolled up map under his arm. They quickly set up the table and brought in the map and laid it across the table. Seth could see the academy lands in the south and the Minoan Plains to the north of the Academy lands and even further to the north was a gigantic mountain range that ran the entire width of the continent it was this place that Stevos pointed at. "The Durante Mounts this was the place she told me. In the ancient floating fortress  of Aralu that sits above them."
  "Really Katie, " Strat sighed. Seth understood what he meant. It had to be in the furthest possible region from them and in a "floating fortress," at that.
    "Really," Rylee said. " She couldn't have hid it anywhere closer, like I don't know here in the elven lands or better yet back at the Academy."
   "Isn't that Dwarven territory," John asked.
    " Yes it is but that's the easy part," Stevos said.
    " The hard part is that the only way to access the city is through a portal that's located in a very remote part of the Durante Mounts a small dwarven settlement by the name of Ragarstea. So you'll need to acquire a guide from one of the dwarven settlements on the outskirts of the mounts." Strat tapped the map deep in thought.
   " It's a little out of the way but I think I know who we can get for a guide. 
   "How far out of the way are we talking?" Jack asked from beside Seth Seth hadn't even known that jack was standing there.

   Strat shook his head. "I know what you're thinking Jack but no its not that. It's not even a day out of our way. But it wont matter because according to the Healers it is going to take at least two days for Aria and Michelle to recover enough to travel so we will be here for at least that long." Jack opened his mouth to protest but Strat spoke first.

   "I know time of the essence but there are things we can't rush. we need to be properly prepared and for that we will need Both miss Aria and Miss Michelle." Jack still looked like he wanted to say something but in the end he just nodded. "Besides," Strat said in a tone that immediately gave Seth a sinking feeling that made him feel as if he might not enjoy his time at the elven capitol as much. "This will give me more time to continue training young Seth here."