The Veth’s claws tightened around Verlais’s throat. It turned out that Deitic technology was something Veth knew all too well about, and Lua’s cloaking device had done fuck all. Verlais hadn’t even managed to place the first camera when the hulking orange and gunmetal Veth stomped over and pinned him to the ground.
“You are such a… a dumkof…” Iatre seemed to be almost smiling. “Ya. A dumbhead. I actually ate one of those cameras once. To see what would happen. Internal organs made out of the fusion of hydrogen tends to melt things like that.”
Verlais clawed at the Veth’s arm. It loosened its grip slightly, just enough so Verlais wouldn’t suffocate, but tight enough that he couldn’t get away.
“But I understand what you feel. The curiosity. The desire to learn. It clings to the deeper parts of your mind. I see it. Feel it. I fed that part of me with knowledge, oh so much knowledge when I was alive. It’s a shame really that I wasted a lot of it when I died. I grew hungry for other things.”
Somewhere in the distance, giggling could be heard. The three great beings were having fun. Iatre noticed the giggling and continued to smile.
“The things we do to please Her. The things you do to please Him. Part of me thinks that you would have been better off as one of us.”
“I’d never be a monster like you…” Verlais spluttered, trying to find a way out. Iatre’s smile turned into a loud roar. One not of anger, but of laughter.
“You amuse me greatly, Kronaron!”
With a swing of his arm, Iatre threw Verlais across the room, sending him flying into another wall. The awkward landing knocked the wind out of Verlais’s lungs, and before he could even attempt to pick himself up, Iatre was already on top of him.
“Calling me a monster. Dumkof. Tweintunt. Shweinhundt. Ilthie. Not enough languages. Your stupidity is almost too much. Ya, I am a monster. A terrifying, horrific monster, really ill-fitting of the title of Veth. Well, I was. But we fight with duty. For Timi. For honour, as you would say. What do you do, little Time-Drake, but sleep the eons away?”
“I… I don’t have a c-choice…” Verlais was struggling with the Veth’s weight crushing down on him.
“You do. You just accept what the Whenvern tells you to do. No better than a Deitic really…”
Suddenly, Iatre let go of Verlais and backed off. His joy changed to confusion. There was something wrong. Verlais noticed a second presence in the room, another Veth.
“Iatre, do you feel that?” Arkay marched in, wings spread, claws open and ready to tear someone in half. Verlais had heard stories of Arkay’s adventures, and to think that one of the prime Veth in existence was somehow related to his friend Arksi still boggled his mind.
Iatre simply nodded. His claws though weren’t extended. Verlais watched them as they growled to each other, speaking a tongue he simply could not comprehend. Whether it was telepathy, an actual language or something else, he wasn’t sure. But all of a sudden, Arkay turned his attention to Verlais.
“Was he spying on us?” Arkay asked glancing at Iatre.
“Trying to.”
The Veth’s blue eyes glowed. Arkay snarled as he lifted Verlais up and pinned him to the wall, the same way Iatre had. “Where is the rest of your team?”
“I-I don’t know,” Verlais quickly replied. He was telling the truth, he didn’t know. But he also didn’t want to risk lying. There were rumours that Veth could tell when someone was lying and he didn’t want to test that rumour out.
But as quickly as Arkay had picked him up, he let Verlais go. Almost as if pain had shot up his arm. Arkay’s eyes were no longer blue, but a deep, golden yellow. Behind him, Iatre’s confusion had given way to anger.
“The Whenvern, he is doing something with the flow of time!” Iatre declared.
Arkay growled and stepped back. “This is the last thing we need. Stupid timey wimey shit. Iatre, can you…”
“They can’t see me…” Iatre seemed to almost be panicking. “They can’t see me like that. I…”
“Go,” Arkay sighed. “You won’t be of any use like that anyway. Get back, inform them. We’ll deal with here.”
Iatre nodded and opened his wings, flapping them and taking off, up and away. With the orange Veth gone, Arkay turned his attention back to Verlais. He noticed that parts of Arkay’s blue skin tone were slowly turning green and yellow.
“I trust you more than Iatre does. I know you are a Vrekan and do not break your promises. Yes?”
Verlais nodded.
“Good. I want you to stay here.”
“Why?” Verlais finally spoke as everything shook slightly. “What is going on?”
“I am about to go and find out,” Arkay growled as he turned to leave. “I think your Whenvern is up to something…”