Daegelus | Volume One: Subject 0333

Chapter Thirty-Two | Suspicious Parents

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Elijah followed the forest road in search of an exit for over an hour. When it finally forked, he turned right and soon found himself driving through a small village. Wolves lurked beyond the tree line, and the only light came from a few of the tiny houses. There was no sign of the police, though, which relieved him.

Once he drove out of the village, he took another right and followed the dark, forest-lined highway. In the silence, he dug through Ronan's knowledge, which was now his own; the man had never been to The Spear or the place beyond The Ice Wall, he only knew of it because he had to arrange transfers out there...including Haru's.

He searched for anything that Ronan might know about Haru, but there was nothing beyond the few simple lines that doctors used to describe all of Lyca Corp.'s subjects. Haru Okaminoou, Samayōnese, born Novem 27th 1317, okami otoko, transferred to The Spear on Tertium 2nd...six months ago.

The demon frowned despondently. He didn't know that Haru's birthday was in Novem; that was this month. Did Haru even know? Elijah didn't know his own birthdate, nor did he know where he came from or if his parents had tried to find him. He liked to pretend that he wasn't like the other kids, that he wasn't sitting around wondering if his mother and father were searching for him...but he was like them. He did wonder where they were, and he did wonder if they ever looked for him...or if they still were.

Was Haru wondering if he was looking for him?

"So, I was thinking," Jake said, leaning forward a little and poking his head between the driver and passenger seats. "We need a plane to get over the wall, right? And taking your dads' jet would be a bad idea because Lucian could go snooping and see we took it, and the pilot also has to report where he's going, right? So, what if we like...find an independent flier? There's a lot of people with planes and boats that'll take anything or anyone anywhere for money. And we're in East Coast right now, yeah? So, if we can get to the Citadel, there's a massive black market and off-the-books trade over there; we'll find a plane easy-peasy," he said confidently.

"But how many planes fly over like that, though? I doubt someone's going to agree to fly to this top-secret place that only exists in conspiracy theory blogs," Zoe said unsurely. "As far as the general public are aware, anyway. We'll probably just get laughed at by anyone we ask."

"Dude, we got the cash, that's all it takes," the pardus said with a shrug. "We might have to pay extra...maybe a whole lot extra, but we'll find someone who'll make the trip."

"And then how do we get back?" she questioned.

"We pay for a round trip," Jake answered.

Elijah didn't want to have to drag a third person around, but if it was the only way he'd get to The Spear, then he'd do it. "How far is the Citadel from here?"

"It's...at least a few days away," Zoe said. "But...if we don't need to be on the road anymore, we could take the jet. My dads already know I'm going to the Citadel, so they wouldn't be suspicious if I decided to give up driving there."

"We can't risk being seen," Elijah muttered, shaking his head. "An airport is too public."

"Oh, this isn't a public airport," Jake said with a smirk. "Completely private, man. Working for the government has its perks, right Zoe?"

She sighed a little and looked at Elijah. "There's a private airstrip in the Redwoods; my dads use it sometimes when they have meetings at the Caeleste Consulate in Cypress Forests. I can call them and ask them to send the jet over, and by the time we get there, the plane will be waiting. It'll get us to the Citadel in a few hours."