One-Horn was the four-spike dalki who was the strongest of the enemy during the dalki war. The fact that he was on the planet and the fact that he was now a five-spike, it was major news.
Lana ran to the command post. Biff was sent out with a team to check out what was going on. Not long after they got on the scene, Earthborn ships arrived and a fight broke out. The humans against the dalki were so overpowered that the humans lost 80% of their forces to include General Sach being significantly wounded and the fate of Oscar was unknown.
The demon-tier sword Oscar always carried ended up in the hands of the human leader, Ruby. Also known as Minny's mother. It was because of her that the rest of the Earthborn were permitted to leave the planet.
They had it all on video but was it even useful? What they were able to see before the military arrived was the dalki attacked beasts that were attacking the shelter. This meant that for whatever reason, these dalki were protecting those humans despite being at war with them.
Was this part of Arthur's deal? When he chose to join the dalki, was it on condition those he cared about were protected?
Lana quickly contacted the team, "do any of you see Minny?" She provided a quick description.
Biff responded, "I don't see any children that fit that description."
"She likes to run round on her own. Just keep an eye out for her."
Turning behind her, "Kattie, I want shifts. 24-hour surveillance. I'm paying them with family funds, not faction funds. We need to know what their plans are. Keep me updated"
Kattie nodded and went to set up a schedule and get volunteers and such set up.
Lana headed back to her house. She knew she couldn't take on a 5-spike. She was the strongest person in the shelter. Sitting on her couch she looked at her new items. She already decided the sword was going to Dobin. Perhaps having Alex look at it would be beneficial.
As for the other two items, Lana was more at a loss. The metal thing had a hole in the exact center. Lana realized the inside of the hole had teeth, like a gear. She thought about things for a while. Shalt helped her with the children, especially with what was happening.
She wondered if this went with the sword or if there was another missing piece. She pulled out her sword to see if there was anything with gear-like teeth and sure enough, she found something. Just above the hilt, where it attached to the blade, there was a raised round piece that wrapped around the blade. She slid the bar down the blade and lined the teeth up. The bar was a 90-degree angle to the crossbar of the hilt. Lana turned the bar so it was lined up with the hilt. She could feel some power coming off it.
Just then, Dobin came in. He could feel the energy from the door. Lana pointed to the crystal sword, "that's yours. It was mom's as well."
Dobin picked it up and could feel power out of it as well. "What is this? It's no beast weapon."
"I don't know. I think we need to see Alex. Shalt?"
He appeared in the doorway having been playing with the kids in the nursery. Their bed time was approaching but they would need to be fed and bathed first.
"We need to go see Alex."
Shalt nodded, "I'm going with you. Let me go get Dawn."
Lana nodded and they waited a few minutes for them to return. While she sat there contemplating her sword and its implications, her tree spoke to her.
The question about Minny was sent to the other side. Minny was taken by those creatures you call dalki when those others arrived.
Lana's face went pale. Dobin immediately asked her what was wrong. And she told him.
Thank you. She told the tree. Please pass on my thanks.
When Dawn walked in, the first thing she asked was, "who's Minny?"
"An adventurous child from the other shelter," was all Lana had the heart to say.
"The children will need to be fed and bathed before bed. I hope this is a short trip. I have a lot on my plate right now."
Dawn smiled, "we know. Those books of yours are very helpful."
Lana smiled, "we'll be back soon," and they all left.
Lana and Dobin could now fly which made them a little faster than Shalt. This meant they could move faster than if they had humans with them. So, they got to the ship and the forge pretty fast.
Alex had just finished work on a chest piece and was wiping his brow. He smiled as he saw two winged beings enter feeling a bit of a kindred spirit.
"Lana! Good to see you. What can I do for you?"
Lana looked at Dobin who presented his sword to Alex who had a perplexed look on his face.
"Where do you keep digging up weapons from that are so special?"
Lana chuckled, "the Bree Family had a few things of our mother's and we have questions. Can you tell us anything at all about this sword and can you forge a sheath for it?"
"I've never seen this crystal before. Plus, when Dobin touched the hilt, it glowed but it's not glowing for me."
Lana nodded, "it's coded to our DNA then."
Alex nodded, "that's very likely. How is your sword doing?"
Lana chuckled, "funny you should ask… The Bree had a couple other things. Watch this." She demonstrated the bar that acted like a key to the sword and how it worked.
"Um, that's a massive amount of energy coming off it."
Lana nodded, "is it possible to craft a hilt that will hide that energy level?"
"Hide it, no but I can reduce it. Do you aim to keep it unlocked, then?"
"If I'm in a battle, I can't take the time to use a key…though I will need to lock it for sparring."
Alex nodded, "I still have the dimensions. I can make you something. Something for you both."
"I have one last question," she pulled out the trinket, "have you ever seen anything like this?" she handed him the trinket.
"What is this thing?" Alex turned it over and over in his hand. "I feel the energy in it but is it supposed to be some sort of beast? There are some markings on the bottom."
"Arcane markings." Lana nodded. "I'll take that as a no, then. It was a long shot on that one, anyway."
He handed it back to Lana, "give me two days on those sheaths."
Lana nodded, "we had dalki show up on our planet and I want to be ready for anything."
Alex looked alarmed.
"We are okay for now. They don't know we exist."
"Does Quinn know?"
"No, he's a bit busy right now. I also don't want reinforcements on my planet right now. We live a specific way and disruption could put us at risk."
Alex nodded and smiled, "in that case, see you in two days!"
The three left, "Next stop, Peter," Lana said.
"Peter?" Dobin asked.
*********************************************************
Join me on discord at https://discord.gg/wuNsfeGP Or Patreon at patreon.com/MindyLeeCrouch
If you'd like to donate to me via PayPal, https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=8PCLHZTXAPFPC
Constructive criticism is welcome as it helps me become a better writer. If this story is well-liked, I will separate it from the original and write it again without the content from My Vampire System.