Jaxton rubbed his temple sleepily. It was dark. He looked around him to see twinkling stars indicating it was nighttime. Dang. What seemed like minutes was hours. They were out all day.
He helped Ezeriah sit up, as he noticed she looked a little dizzy.
"It worked." Jaxton nodded.
"Good, good." Li's eyes fleeted around hungry to know what happened.
Jaxton turned to Ezeriah. "You were a cocky little thing."
Ezeriah blushed. "I guess I was. I'd say confident, though. I didn't claim to be better than anyone."
"Violent, too." Jaxton laughed. "And you said I was violent. Wow."
I was getting tortured. You're a teenage boy who probably didn't get his way, Ezeriah spoke into his mind.
Nope. Not that at all. Jaxton shook his head
She raised a brow. I saw memories of you stomping around.
Jaxton laughed. "That's my little brother, Aiken. He was the one who found you."
"Um...." Li looked around at everyone, making sure they all witnessed the weirdness he did. "Aiken isn't...violent."
"Huh?" The two said in unison.
The crew stared at them awkwardly.
"Mindsending," Yelun concluded.
"Ah," Ziof nodded.
"Well," Deyja prompted. "What happened?"
"You can tell us on the way," Ziof dusted his pants, standing up. "Emilia had to put the kids to bed, but food should be ready."
"Did you guys stay the whole time?" Ezeriah asked.
"Yep," Li nodded. "And we're starving. And cold. And-"
"We are fine," Deyja smiled warmly. "We're happy you two are back. Had us a little worried."
Jaxton and Ezeriah smiled.
"It was..." Jaxton trailed off.
"Intense," Ezeriah finished.
"Yeah," Jaxton nodded. "Intense."
"Emilia will want to run some tests, I'm sure, but how are you two feeling?" Yelun inquired.
"Tired, hungry," Jaxton went on. "Hungry."
"Hungry," Ezeriah nodded, fervently.
"Let's go," Jaxton smiled at Ezeriah, taking her hand.
"So, you were in a lab?" Emilia asked, cutting her vegetables, as they all settled down to eat.
"A very white and highly advanced lab," Jaxton nodded. "I mean, I hardly recognized most of the instruments used."
"Dang," Yelun murmured.
Jaxton nodded. "And like I said, some how they were torturing her. It was like she was in the glass room with this part that was like a stage. And above it, I mean, they had potions and fire and weaponry that harmed her-"
"Well did it actually or was it synthesized in her mind?" Yelun asked carefully.
"That's what The Academy does for torturing. It's all just um, in their head." Deyja shoved a plateful of mash potatoes into her mouth. "Not that it was all in Ez's head."
"Well no, that's a good point." Jaxton nodded. "But there was physical proof. And the leader, who they called the Prime Tsar-"
"Leadership ingenuity from western and eastern influence." Li nodded.
YOU ARE READING
The Seal
Science Fiction"I should've died two thousand years ago." Ezeriah glanced up at him as he busily worked on his wounds. His lips were busted and his cheek was seeping blood at an alarming rate. He swallowed hard. " I'm glad you didn't." "Look at the mess we're in...
