GUARDIAN DEMON | BL ✔

CHAPTER 75

Quiet pants echoed from the hard surfaces of the boulders and rocks protruding out from the mountain's surface as Denzyl and Jun hurried down the mountain. Every now and then, Denzyl would hear a quiet "fuck" escape Jun's lips as the boy accidentally stepped on a sharp rock that stuck out of the ground a little too high. The commotion of the two's pursuers had died down as Denzyl and Jun began to outrun them. However, a loud pop caused the two to pause for breath and turn toward the direction of the camp to see a red flare shoot up into the dark sky.

Oh no. Denzyl's heart dropped at the sight of the flare. "We need to hurry," Denzyl told Jun as he picked up the pace. "They've alerted the village."

"So, what, are they going to send hovercycles or something up here?" Jun asked as he was quick in following Denzyl around a jagged boulder.

"Exactly."

"Shit."

Bright lights racing out of the village and toward the mountain confirmed Denzyl's fear. Hovercycles would be hard to evade especially since there was no vegetation on the mountain to provide cover and a temporary hiding space. Being agile and extremely fast, the cycles would likely be upon the two within an hour considering the vast distance they had been able to put between themselves and the camp in the half hour that they had been running. Leaving the path that had been trodden through the boulders, Denzyl led Jun into the thick of the shards and rocks in the hope that it would be harder for the hovercycles to find them in the denser part of the mountain.

Denzyl swept his gaze across his field of vision in avid search of a cave or similar structure that could potentially hide the two until the hovercycles had passed over them. The whirring of the cycles began as a soft purr in the distance, but it steadily grew louder and stronger as they neared. Denzyl was grateful for the sounds of the hovercycles for the sole reason that it allowed him to pinpoint their location using his sensitive hearing. Spotting a potential hiding spot created from two thick shards of rock that jutted out of the mountain and crossed paths to make a tent-like structure, Denzyl immediately adjusted his projected path of travel to align with the sharp shelter.

Jun was silent as he followed the avex toward the two shards. The two reached their hiding spot and had time to catch their breaths while they waited for the hovercycles to pass over them. Jun closed his eyes and leaned against the cool black rock to rest and wait for the danger to pass while Denzyl kept a watch out for their pursuers from the camp. The two demons held their breaths as the cycles approached them. Jun lowered his head in anxious anticipation when the cycles reached their location and released his pent-up breath when they smoothly passed over them.

Denzyl also released a sigh of relief when the hovercycles continued up the mountain. The demon's brows furrowed, however, as he spotted a dim green light filtering from beneath the skin on Jun's neck. Placing his hand on the boy's head to keep it lowered, Denzyl ran his thumb over Jun's neck to feel a bump in the skin where the faint glow was emitting from beneath.

"What's this?" Denzyl inquired, his voice low to not attract any unwanted attention. Jun brought his hand to the back of his neck and felt the spot where Denzyl was referencing. "I don't know," the boy answered. "It was there when I came to after being taken."

"Shit," Denzyl cursed under his breath. "They planted a tracker in you while you were unconscious."

"What?!" Jun lifted his head and ran his hand over the device in his neck. As if on cue, the whirring of the hovercycles grew increasingly louder, drawing the two's attention. Jun and Denzyl looked out from beneath the shards and saw the cycles turning around and heading back toward them.

"We need to keep moving," Denzyl said before quickly leaving the shelter and continuing down the mountain. Jun did not waste a second in following Denzyl, his hand leaving his neck after feeling the foreign device planted beneath his skin once more.

The two stayed low to the ground as they weaved through the shards and boulders, but the avex's heart dropped when he heard the whirring of the cycles intensify as the vehicles sped up in pursuit of the two escaped demons. A bright light shining on them suddenly alerted the two to their location being compromised. Strong currents whipped around Denzyl and Jun as they were surrounded. Familiar with his clan's tactics of capture, Denzyl immediately stopped in his tracks and rushed to cover the boy beside him as the hovercycles closed in. Denzyl brought Jun to the ground and protected him just a split second before an electrified, weighted net was shot on top of them.

Denzyl released a grunt of pain as the electric nodes activated upon contact with the avex. Jun also cried out as a few of the nodes found his arms and legs. Sharp pain stung Denzyl's neck as a sedative was shot into him. Jun's eyes widened when he felt a needle pierce his thigh and immediately administer the drug. Denzyl's eyes drooped as the sedative quickly took effect, and soon both he and Jun were rendered unconscious.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

"Oi, Denzyl...are you awake?" Whispers met Denzyl as he came to. The avex released a quiet groan as he attempted to sit up; his entire body ached in the aftermath of the electric shock. Once his vision cleared, Denzyl looked around to find himself lying in one of the palanquins. His hands were still cuffed, and there was an additional set of cuffs around his ankles. Jun, who previously did not have handcuffs, now sported pairs of restraints around his wrists and ankles.

The swaying of the palanquin informed Denzyl that the party was back on the move and they were continuing their ascent to the elders. The day had broken, indicating Denzyl had been out for several hours. Bending one of his arms, Denzyl laid his right forearm across his brow to shield his eyes from the light seeping into the palanquin.

"What do we do now?" The quiet question from Jun extracted a groan from the exhausted avex. "Let me sleep. I'm thinking."

Jun's brows furrowed at Denzyl's response. "How can you sleep while thinking? Doesn't make any fucking sense."

Denzyl found Jun's response amusing, but he was too tired to show any reaction. "How old are you?" Denzyl mumbled without removing his arm from over his eyes. His voice was low and tired, and all he really wanted in that moment was to rest with his love in his arms. But he was lightyears away from his love, so his only option was to rest. But, he now had a kid to ask him questions and prevent him from getting the peaceful rest that he so wanted.

Jun was quiet for a moment. Denzyl's sudden question confused the boy, but he answered after a few seconds. "I'm sixteen. Why?"

Denzyl released a heavy breath before commenting, "That explains it." This kid curses like a pirate who just got his bounty beaten. And he talks too much. Maybe my question will keep him busy for a bit. Leaving Jun to ponder the reasoning behind his question, Denzyl was finally able to get some rest and re-think his plan in silence.

Escaping would now be harder than ever. Not only were his hands cuffed, but he also had restraints around his ankles. Security would also be strengthened, and he would most likely not be allowed out of the palanquin except to relieve himself and meet the elders once they arrived at the cave. Not to mention the new cargo. As much as Denzyl wanted to get off Sendrum and return to Devyn, he could not bring himself to leave Jun in the clutches of the emyr. He was so young and had his whole life ahead of him. Plus, once Klein wiped his mind and used him as his puppet, Jun's personality would be completely wasted. Denzyl did not think the universe deserved to lose someone as spunky as Jun.

There was an estimate of two to three more days left of the journey up the mountain. The party was making fast progress as Klein had them hiking for fourteen hours out of the day and resting for six. That was highly unusual for treks up Holeback Mountain, but then, this was no ordinary journey to the elders. Klein was uprooting his blood heir and replacing it with a demon of a different strand and from an entirely different planet. Denzyl did not know how the elders would react to that, but he did not particularly want to hang around to find out.

He had at most three days to find an opening to escape. However, as long as the tracker remained in Jun's neck, that would prove to be a near-impossible feat.