Born to Fly

Part 14

Three days after Teraphon had defeated Ehrus at Arach Arena, the Keanoan armed forces reached the western border of the Crustacean Domain. For four days, fierce battles took place, and the Second Phylo war was officially underway. Both sides had a clear objective. The chordates wanted to force their way in and the arthropods fought to keep them out. The arthropod's crustacean defense proved to be too strong and the chordates eventually boarded their ships and retreated. Neither side could truly claim victory as both groups sustained a small number of casualties. This was merely a warm-up. The real bloodbath was yet to come.

Even though the chordates retreated, not all of their men were fortunate enough to escape. Seven men were captured and transported to the Spider Domain. One of them was a mammalian general named Jubo, the wildebeest. He was granted the special honor of meeting face to face with Teraphon. They sat across from each other at a table inside of a dingy dungeon. Rubax stood close by. Jubo's hands were tied together and resting on the table. He was a seasoned warrior in his late thirties, yet he looked tired with bags under his eyes and stubble growth from days of shaving neglect. The journey to the Spider Domain was clearly a rough one.

"Welcome to Zitonia. I hope you've been enjoying your time here so far," said Teraphon.

"Cut the crap. What do you want from me?"

"Isn't it obvious. I need to acquire some intel from you so I can gain an advantage in this war."

"You won't get any info out of me. Do your worst."

"I can tell by the look in your eyes that what you say is true. I've seen it before. The look of a warrior with unbreakable resolve. I know that you would take your knowledge with you to the grave. Nonetheless, I'd be a terrible ruler if I didn't at least try to get you to talk. Rubax, bring one of those chordate troops in here."

Rubax left the dungeon and returned in less than a minute with one of the captured warriors. He wore the steel armor of the amphibian land semiaquatic unit. His lips quivered, eyes roamed rapidly, and his body trembled. Teraphon stood up.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any room for Keanoan prisoners, so we'll have no choice but to execute you all. I actually already have someone in Keanos who can give me all of the war details that I need."

"There's no way that an arthropod could sneak into our land and report back to you without being caught," Jubo insisted.

"He's no arthropod. He's one of your very own-a respectable man in a position of power who has ideals similar to mine."

"Lies! Who is it then?"

"It would go against our agreement to tell you. I may have gotten carried away and told you too much actually. Anyway, there is one thing that you might be able to tell me. If you can give me the answer that I want, I will spare your lives and have you all work as slaves. Lying would be futile and I will find out if that's the case. How does that sound?"

"What is it that you want?"

There was a brief pause as Teraphon's face shifted to a glooming glare. Then he asked, "Where is the Vixenium Star?"

"What do you want with the-"

"Answer the question."

"If I knew, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you."

Teraphon stepped away from the table, taking a few moments to pace back and forth. Then he looked back at Jubo.

"I was hoping things didn't have to come to this. Rubax. Do it."

Rubax's skin changed to a metallic, black tone. His spider legs were like the bars of a prison cell, stern and rustic looking. The man standing beside Rubax was no longer a warrior after looking into the obsidian eyes of a demon. His soul was lost forever.