Timely Arrival: Page 2

The other girl helped Samara up, and together we all followed the celestial inside.

She led us to a room less prison-y than the previous one I'd been in, with plush leather chairs and an expensive wooden table. There was a plate of bread, cheese, and meat, and large glasses of what was presumably wine.

"Please, eat. You've both had quite the day."

Tentatively, we sat down and ate while she explained. Well, I ate. Samara just listened to the angelic woman.

"This is Yura, a seer and good friend of mine. She had a vision of you upon your arrival. I sought you out immediately but it seems some guards found you sooner. You see, we’ve recently finished a lengthy battle against the demon lord, and so some of our officers are… overly cautious, especially of shapeshifters. They mean well, but they tend to err on the side of suspicion. We came as quickly as possible, but, well…you know what happened.”

I nodded along as she spoke, but I admit I was somewhat distracted by the fact that I was talking to a literal celestial. She took a pause, observing our reactions, before continuing.

"More importantly, I know that you will need assistance in order to return to your world."

"Excuse me?"

Samara's eyes narrowed at the celestial, her tone slightly hostile. This either didn't phase her, or she didn't notice, because she replied without hesitation.

"The magic which brought you here will not be sufficiently powerful to send you home. You require a particular artifact."

Samara pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You think my power is insufficient? You haven't seen anything yet."

"I don't question your capabilities, demon. It's simply a fact that my world is hard to leave. You'll need a powerful artifact called a travel stone to separate yourself from this world and leave."

Samara crossed her arms.

"I am not a demon, and you'd do well to remember that."

The tension between the two was palpable. Both of them seemed immensely powerful. The last thing I wanted was another fight.

"Hey, can we focus on the whole going home thing?"

Samara sighed, nodding. The angel hesitated for a moment before replying.

"Yes of course. As far as we know, the only other available travel stone is in a dragon's hoard."

I gaped at the celestial woman.

"A dragon? Like a real ass dragon?"

"Yes, a real ass dragon, as you put it."

Samara massaged her temples.

"Gods damn it. Please tell me the dragons here are less dragon-y than ours were."

"I... what?"

Samara waved her hand dismissively.

"Nevermind."

"Anyway, we are unfortunately unable to spare any real assistance, so you'll have to do this by yourself. We can provide transportation though."

Samara rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure you would, but I can fly faster than whatever horse carriage you'd give us."

The woman smiled.

"Come with me."

"AAAAAAAA!"

I screamed, but the wind rushing past stole the sound before it reached my own ears. My fingers dug into the cloud-like material that made up my steed. The "transportation" was not, in fact, a horse-drawn carriage, but rather 2 elemental stallions. Their bodies were like dark, heavy, storm clouds, crackling with lightning and moving about as fast. They ran so fast, the ground beneath their incorporeal hooves was a blur. It took all my strength the hold on.

Naturally, Samara sat sideways on hers, reading a book, as if only to flex on me.

Gradually, the blur of the ground changed from green grass and gray rocks to shiny black obsidian. A split second later, the storm horse came to a dead stop, throwing me forward. I flew a few feet through the air, hitting the ground hard.

I groaned, seeing Samara cooly slide off of her ride, smirking.

"Smooth, Lucas."

"Bitch."

She chuckled, helping me up. It seemed the horses had dropped us off at the base of some kind of volcano, whose peak loomed above us menacingly. Samara handed Vedra to me, which I was appreciative of. It was a comfort to feel her presence in my mind. I hadn't noticed how used to it I'd become until it was gone.

"Awww, did you miss me?"

I rolled my eyes at her patronizing tone.

"Oh, hush. Let's go rob a dragon."