Chapter 19 The Threat

 After two days of rigorous training with Strat, Seth had managed to hold the Lightning Elemental Armor for about half an hour, and that was all. Strat said that the outcome had been the best that could be expected within the time that they had been given, but Seth couldn't shake his sense of disappointment that he couldn't achieve more during this time. During these two days Seth had chosen not to speak with his family much. It wasn't that he hated his new family or that he was angry with them. He simply found it awkward to talk with them. How do you start a conversation with a person you haven't spoken with in almost 17 years. " Hey how has the last 17 years been?" No Seth knew it would take more than two or three days for this awkwardness to subside. Seth and the rest of his friends were standing near the edge of the barrier. Seth's dad and his sister had come to see them off. Aria and Michelle had made a complete recovery under the careful watch of the elves. Both wore fresh clothes under their newly polished armor. The brown cloaks that their entire group wore over their armor had been freshly washed. 

Stevos 

"I wish you could stay longer," Stevos said his eyes clearly lingering on Seth. Seth averted his eyes unsure of what to say. 

 "As do I," Strat said clasping Stevos's arm and pulling him into a hug.

"The little girl that came with you will be safe with use for the remainder of your journey."

 "I appreciate your help with that," Strat said sincerely.

 "It's not a problem, She is welcome to stay with my people as long as she wishes. I just wish she had some family for her. But never the less we will treat her as if she is one of our own," Stevos said. Strat mounted his horse and turning around he led the way through the barrier. 

 The King of the Elves kept his eyes on his son as he watched his son mount his horse, and leave his city on his way to save the world. 

 "Do you think we will see him again," His daughter Elisha asked as she watched the retreating back of her older brother." Stevos didn't even need to think about it. 

 "Of course we will, he is our family after all," he answered. But Elisha frowned her golden eyes showing the uncertainty she was feeling. 

 "Are you sure? He didn't seem to thrilled to meet us." Stevos couldn't help but sigh. He also had been very worried about how Seth seemed to keep them at arms length while he had been staying with them. 

 "Elisha we can't judge your brother by normal standards. It's not his fault that he had no contact with us for all those years. It can't be easy trying to connect with a family that you didn't know you had." His daughter shifted uncomfortably hopping from one foot to the other. 

 "Well why do you think mom never told him about us?" Once again Stevos was uncertain how to reply. 

 "That's a very good question daughter, that's a very good question.

 Katie

 Katie opened her eyes to see thick steel bars that had been imbued with the power of shadows. This was of course to dampen or even cancel out her abilities. They had been on the move for a few days now. they kept her cage covered so that she couldn't tell where they were going. From the feel of the terrain over the last day or so Katie would have to say that they had entered the mountains. How they were transporting her was beyond her knowledge, Because she was locked in a cage that was capped on two ends by a slabs of concrete. But they were indeed moving that much she could tell. However she had no idea where she was being taken and that made her anxious. If she knew where they were taking her she could find a way to facilitate and escape. she could leave clues for example, but since she had been kept completely in the dark there was no way. She had only tried a forceful escape once and well... Katie coughed as the pain of her broken ribs became apparent. A souvenir of her doomed attempt at an escape a few days ago.

 Katie was careful to try and pick up clues as to where they were going by picking up the chatter of the demons. Demons as a rule didn't usually speak much. As a matter of fact most of them didn't even have the intelligence required to be able to even form a coherent sentence. It probably made them easier to control. But there were some demons who possessed enough intelligence to talk and act on their own. However, these were mostly the High ranking demons and those in a position of power. Katie would listen to every bit of conversation she heard no matter how remote or unrelated. She also paid close attention to the demon's behavior as they traveled. So, she was immediately aware of the guard's shift in pace. They were excited and anxious, which led Katie to believe they were about to arrive at their destination. Where ever that was. This was soon confirmed as the terrain changed yet again. now they were going down at a very steep pace. Where ever they were going it was clearly underground. It didn't take a mastermind to figure that out. Katie stayed quite, she had done her best to remain strong throughout this ordeal. She had kept her head cool, kept herself under control and calm. But now, realizing that she was near her destination made her confront the thought that she might actually not make it back from this one, and that scared her, more than she was willing to admit. Of course she wanted to go to heaven and see the friends and family she'd lost, but she also had a pretty good reason to stay and it was her son. By, now if her plan had worked out right, he would have met his father and his sister. 

 "Was he going to hate her for not telling him about them? All these thoughts came swirling into her head causing her to quickly be overwhelmed emotionally. Three days of keeping it together and she just couldn't anymore. When the first of the tears began to trickle down her face she tried to hold them back, she didn't want to cry in front of her enemy. However, as they continued unabated by her efforts in the slightest, she stopped fighting them and just let them fall. The tears came like an unstoppable waterfall. And soon she was hopelessly sobbing. She tried to tell herself that there was no shame in crying. In the situation she was in most women would've broken down before the demons had even laid a hand on them. But, she wasn't just any woman. She was the Chief Commander of the Lightforce she had a fearless reputation to up hold. 

 "Get a hold of yourself Katie," Katie mumbled to herself. "You will get out of this, and make it home to Seth." Mustering her courage, Katie reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes determined to not show any fear in the face of whatever happened next. Above all she had to remember that God was with her. No matter where she was or how deep in enemy lines they took her, they could never take her away from God. Simply knowing that Katie sighed in relief. She wasn't alone, no she was never alone, because God was with her. And, whether or not she made it out of here wouldn't change that fact that God had her back. Katie raised her eyes up towards the concrete slab that served as her ceiling. 

 "God, I hope you've got a plan for this one, you've gotten me through some pretty tough spots in the past, so I ask that we get through one more." Saying that Katie took a deep breath to steel herself for what was to come.

...

They brought her deeper and deeper underground, for hours it seemed they travelled onwards. But Katie could see none of it. The Air warmed and then it became uncomfortably hot. A putrid smell began to permeate the air, Sulfur! They were under a volcano But Katie didn't think the continent of Elementia had any active volcanoes. Further on they travelled until at last they halted. Katie pressed herself to the bar trying to listen to anything being said. The voice she heard sent shivers rolling down her back. She had heard this voice plenty of times before and knew who this voice belonged to. 

 "Open it up let her out I want to see the great face of the Chief Commander!" Suddenly the ground fell out beneath Katie as she fell roughly onto a rocky floor. A brief cry escaped from her lips as she felt her broken ribs flare up in pain. But she tried to quickly get her Barings. Looking around she quickly realized that they were in a massive cavern, and saying it was massive was an understatement. The cavern was easily several miles wide and it stretched so far that katie couldn't see where it ended in the gloom. The floor of the cavern also seemed to be shrouded in a shadowy fog, and a thick one at that. Suddenly the voice spoke again this time right next to her.

 "How was the trip Commander I assume it was pleasant." Katie turn to the owner of the voice. He was about six feet so he towered over her. He was clad in the black spiky plate armor of the demons except for one crucial thing he wasn't a demon. his skin was a pale milky white, his angular face stared down at hers with his Icy cold blue eyes. Atop his head sat a mop of brown hair that seemed unruly. A playful smirk was plastered on his face, that reminded katie of the days she used to watch this man when he was a kid. Before he had been chosen as one of the elementists and before he had betrayed the Lightforce. Before he had turned. Zachery Warstroff! Apprentice of Stratos, Now called the Scourge of Light! Katie pursed her lips to speak but then firmly shut her mouth, she would not let this scum have the honor of even talking with her. Warstroff smiled at her attempt to spurn him.

 "Not talking huh? That's fine I don't need you to talk I just need you to listen. and although we had originally kidnapped you to have you reveal to us the location of the Air Elemental gem, that is no longer necessary. So Lord Reaper has asked me to entrust you with a message before letting you go!" 

 This got a reaction out of Katie despite herself. 

 "You're going to just let me go, you're not going to kill me." Zach looked at her mocking surprise. 

 "Kill you! No no no, why would I do that when I can see you run home in despair." The smile on his face sickened Katie. 

 "How do I know you aren't lying?" Katie asked not daring to get her hopes up. These were demons she had to remind herself. There was no way they were going to let her go that easily. They wanted something out of this.

 "You don't know," Zach simply replied. "But first let me go ahead and give you the message before you decide. You might decide you want to die right here instead of waiting."

 "Waiting for what?" Katie asked.

 "For the war," Zach replied. 

 "What war?"

 "This one!" Zach exclaimed motioning out toward the open cavern with his hand. Katie followed his motion and she felt her face freeze. Fear had gripped her. Even knowing God was with her she was only human and human's would feel fear in the face of what she was seeing. Down in the cavern the shadowy fog had cleared up to reveal a massive army of demons preparing for war. As Katie's eyes followed their movements she felt a chill in her blood. Never in her hundred years of life had she ever seen so many demons in one place. Not even in the previous war with Reaper had there been this many. They stretched into the gloom of the cavern. There had to be millions if not billions of demons down there covering the ground like a thick black carpet. But something was off about them, upon closer inspection, katie discovered that some of the demon's down there were different from any demons she had fought before. 

 There were small stocky demons that wielded giant glowing war hammers, and sleek shadowy demons that moved extremely fast. There were demons riding on horseback, and still other demons in thick hooded robes. Though the last kind was rare. Katie could also make out the silhouette of several dark dragons in the far back.

 "Katie this is my lord's formal Declaration of War against the Academies. You are to go back to the Academies and prepare what resistance you can offer." Katie frowned.

 "Why?" she asked. Zach raised an eyebrow mockingly.

 "why are we doing this? Well I suppose I could tell you its for some righteous cause but we both know that it would be a lie. But if I had to chose a reason." Zach smiled "It's because it's fun!" Zach spread his arms out to either side like he had just made some kind of grand statement. 

 "No, I don't care what sick reason you have for doing this I just want to know why you are bothering with a formal declaration, wouldn't it have been easier to just launch a surprise attack?" Zach's smile faded.

 "I thought so too but unfortunately i'm not the boss around here. But, I look at it this way. Now, you won't have any excuses when you lose." 

 "We won't lose to you," Katie said calmly, fully in her heart she believed it too. She had been in a war once before if she could fight then she could fight now.

 "Yeah, well let's agree to disagree," Zach replied. "Now the guards will take you away and let you go at a undisclosed location. Can't have you knowing where are base is." Katie took a deep breath, pushing her fear deep down. War had been declared and the Academies had to be ready, She had work to do. tow demons stepped forward with a black hood they were going to put over her head. Zach turned and began to walk away. 

 "Oh and by the way i'm off to meet that darling son of your and some old friends, they do not have the same guarantee that they will return. So, I look forward to what kind of funeral you will arrange," he told her like it was an afterthought. But it struck Katie to the core. And she realized that Zach knew where her son was going. But before she could say anything, she felt a spark pain in the base of her skull and her consciousness faded.