Pete shrugged, then continued out of the room.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous to see my father,” Suriel chuckled anxiously.
“You want to talk to him together?” Kiara offered.
“No,” Suriel replied. “It’s best I do it alone.”
◆◆◆
“The royal transport is approaching!” a voice announced through a loudspeaker as the King’s immense entourage approached the towering, iron gates of the Dinges. The entourage consisted of dozens of armored hovercars, as well as a platoon of knights riding a variety of different dinosaurs, from four-legged, armored triceratops to giant tyrannosaurus rex.
Rio stood on the road near the entrance with a high-speed hovercar of his own, which Pete had upgraded for extra speed. His ragtag soldiers crowded the streets and rooftops, some of them armed with blasters, others with just their natural abilities. Tall watchtowers had been erected with metal ladders and poles throughout the entire periphery of the city walls, where his men stood guard with megaphones and communication devices, providing updates to their chosen commanders every few minutes. The men gazed at the King’s transport with disdain, jeering and spitting down at the entourage below.
Rio looked around at his troops—a haphazard mix of starving, disheveled men, women, and older children, dressed in rags instead of armor. A nervous knot formed in his stomach, but he dared not show it in front of his men. He retained a steel-hard complexion, waiting for the gates to open.
We trained years for this, Rio thought, calming himself. They are ready.
“Brace for the opening of the gates!” the speakers announced.
Two massive plates of iron shifted slowly outward from the wall, connecting the city to the road outside. As the entourage moved inside the city gates and onto the road, people threw decrement at them from large holes in the makeshift walls of their rundown homes.
Rio watched intently as the entourage stopped moving, and an assembly of figures exited from hovercars in the center of the group. Rio raised his hand up high, and the city fell immediately silent. He waited patiently as the figures approached him, making a point not to move an inch.
The King would have to come to him.
“Riogard, last son of the Ancients,” the King said as he approached, surrounded by saberblade-wielding knights. He was shielded by an individual force-field bubble, powered by a circular emitter that was fastened around his waist like a belt.
“That is what they call you, isn’t it?” he sneered.
“You can call me Rio,” Rio replied cooly, careful not to react to the King’s deriding tone. He didn’t want to give the King the pleasure of angering him.
“Well, Rio,” the King continued. “Show me my son, and you may yet live to see another day. No promises about tomorrow, though.”
“You will come alone in my car, as agreed upon.”
“I’m amending the terms of the agreement,” the King snarled. “You think me foolish enough to get into a car alone with you!?”
“Either you come alone, or I will give the order this moment to have your son killed.”
The King’s face flushing red with anger. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled forcefully.
“Fine,” he folded. “But I’m keeping my forcefield emitter. And if anything happens to me, my knights will begin to massacre every man, woman, and child in the vicinity.”
Rio ignored the threat, turning to a young rebel woman standing beside him.
“Crea,” he ordered. “Check him.”
The woman approached the King, holding an encoder, but the surrounding knights blocked her path.
“It’s alright,” the King said spitefully. “Let her through.”
Crea ran the encoder along the King’s head, trunk, and limbs, searching for any hidden technology. The King gazed straight ahead with sweat running down his brow, trying his best to mask his anxiety.
“He’s clean,” Crea nodded to Rio before hurrying back to her place.
“Bring him in,” Rio ordered before turning around and stepping into his hovercar, accompanied by some of his men. The King’s knights watched helplessly as another three rebels approached with handcuffs and cloth, restraining and blinding their leader. The Dinges roared with cheers as the rebels shoved the King into Rio’s car and drove off down the road.
Rio sat in the back of the ten-seater car with the King and eight rebels. His eyes were glued to his enemy, trying to comprehend the fact that this short, fat man was the murderer of his parents and siblings. For some reason, he wasn’t quite what he’d expected him to be.
“So, are you truly an Ancient?” the King asked.
Rio remained silent, ignoring the question.
“Oh, come on,” the King pushed. “I know you’re in here. You could at least give your King the courtesy of good company.”
“The butcher of my family and oppressor of my people deserves no courtesy,” Rio answered coldly. “I watched you slay my sisters with your own blade.”
“Ah, and there’s my answer,” the King laughed darkly. “I still remember the last look on their faces. Pain, terror…”
Rio felt his blood pressure rise, but he quickly calmed himself, noticing his men were watching his reactions. Resisting the urge to respond, he maintained silence instead, staring straight ahead.
The car stopped as they arrived at a building in the center of a large rebel encampment, walled off with turret guns and barbed wire fences. The doors opened, and Rio climbed out, followed by the King and the rebels. They dragged him through the grimy dirt into the building and up a long, steep staircase leading to Suriel and Kiara’s prison cell.
Suriel and Kiara jumped up to their feet as Rio entered the room with the King and five rebels.
“Father!” Suriel exclaimed with both excitement and tension, seeing his father for the first time since his own abduction.
“My son!” the King yelled, struggling against the rebels. “I want to see my son! It will be okay, Suriel, I promis-!”
“Silence!” Rio barked, and the King fell quiet. Rio walked up to the prison cell and opened the door with a key.
“Kiara,” he said. “You will come with me, there is no need to keep you locked up any longer.”
Kiara stepped out of the cell. She threw Suriel an assuring, supportive glance, then followed one of the rebels out of the room.
Rio’s men removed the King’s blindfold, shoved him into the cell with Suriel, and closed the door behind him.
“You have ten minutes,” Rio said, glaring at Suriel. “The cameras have been switched off, as agreed upon. Unlike His Majesty, I keep to my word.”
And with that, Rio and his rebels exited the room, shutting the door stridently behind them.
“Father,” Suriel exclaimed with emotion as he rushed over and threw his arms around the man.
“Your Highness,” the King responded with a sudden, distant change in tone, pushing away from Suriel’s embrace. “Although I am pleased to see you well, I am not actually your father.”
Suriel’s heart dropped as the man’s face shifted into that of a stranger. His chubby cheeks thinned to sharp cheekbones, and his stubbed nose sprouted a pointy tip.
“Wha-what is the meaning of this?” Suriel stammered in confusion.
“Your father has a plan to get you out of here,” the Coder explained. “A tracking device has been implanted into my brain. A rescue team should be here any moment to get us ou-”
“No,” Suriel interrupted anxiously, his heart beginning to race. “No, this wasn’t supposed to happen! My father was supposed to come; I need to speak to him!”
The Coder’s eyebrows rose as Suriel banged his fist against the metal wall.
“Rio!” Suriel yelled desperately, grabbing onto the prison bars. “I need to speak to Rio, it is an emergency!”
“What are you doing!?” the Coder whispered harshly, and he yanked Suriel away from the bars.
“Don’t touch me!” Suriel shouted
, and he shoved the Coder with great force, sending him slamming into the wall behind them, cracking the window with his head.
Rio rushed into the room with a blaster, followed by four rebels.
“Rio,” Suriel said urgently. “We need to leave here immediately, this was all a trap! That man there is-”
Suriel was interrupted by a laser blast as Rio fired his weapon an inch from Suriel’s face. Suriel turned around in surprise as the Coder fell to the floor with a hole burned through his chest.
“Not your father,” Rio said, finishing Suriel’s sentence. He returned the gun to its holster.
“How’d you know?” Suriel gasped, recovering from the shock.
“Your father killed my sisters with a blaster, not a blade,” Rio scowled. “Now, let’s get you out of here.”
“If you knew,” Suriel asked as the rebels shuffled him from the room, “then why did you bring him in?”
“I needed to prove that I could trust you,” Rio replied.
They rushed down the stairs, but instead of exiting the normal way, Rio’s men lifted a loose, steel tile from the floor, revealing a hidden tunnel with a ladder.
“Come on,” Rio said, and then climbed down quickly, closing the hatch above them.
“What is the plan?” Suriel asked as he jogged beside Rio and his men through a dark, smelly sewage route.
“My men have already prepared an ambush for your rescue party.”
“So, the war is inevitable, then?”
“Likely, but not inevitable,” Rio replied. “I’ve ordered for your father’s men to be captured, not killed. I am hoping this ordeal will finally convince him to listen.”
The tunnel walls shook as explosions sounded overhead, indicating that the battle had begun.
As they neared another ladder at the end of the tunnel, a group of rebels awaited them. Suriel smiled with relief as he spotted Kiara standing among them with Pete by her side.
“Kiara!” he exclaimed as they embraced.
“You smell like pygmy dung,” she grimaced teasingly, gazing up happily into his eyes.
“And you like a street peasant,” he winked.
“There’ll be time for lover quarrels later,” Pete said, pushing them towards the ladder. “We gotta move.”
They climbed up the ladder and emerged onto a road where a hovercar sat waiting for them. The sound of laser fire rang through the air as a vicious fight raged at the rebel base, a distance behind them. Dozens of knights swooped down onto the building from the backs of armored pterodactyls, while Fusers, Casters, and Coders used their powers to fly around the encampment, firing wildly at the rebels. Meanwhile, droves of rebels, who’d been expecting the attack, retaliated with double the man and firepower.
“Get in!” a rebel called from the front window of the car as another one slammed open the door.
They rushed into the car along with all the rebels who could fit, while the others stayed behind to join the fight.
As they raced down the road, Rio received a report from a communication device on his belt.
“Commander, the royal forces have engaged with our troops at the gate and are retreating out of the Dinges.”
“Let them run,” Rio responded firmly. “But be sure to make a show of it.”
“Commander!” the driver yelled suddenly from the front of the vehicle, and he slammed on the breaks. The passengers tumbled from their seats as a tremendous, winged figure slammed onto the road in front of them. It had dropped from the sky above, leaving a crater in its wake.
“What happened!?” Rio shouted to the driver as they recovered.
“Sir, I think-” the man paused, blinking to see it was real. “I think it is an angel.”
Rio opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle, followed by the others.
“Azarai be damned,” Rio muttered in disbelief, his eyes widening.
Before them stood a giant, golden angel, shining brightly with a celestial glow. Its wings spanned the entire width of the road and more, bending in order to fit between the surrounding buildings. Four figures huddled beside the angel’s feet, accompanied by a herd of raptors.
“It’s the angel Gavriel,” Suriel exclaimed, smiling with excitement as he grasped Kiara’s hand. But when he glanced at her, he saw that Kiara hardly seemed to notice the angel. Instead, she stared at the man beneath it with a dumbfounded, speechless expression, as if staring at a ghost.
“Kiara?” Suriel asked, glancing at the man and back to her. “Is something wrong?”
“He’s alive,” she managed to gasp, her arms trembling.
“Who’s alive?” Suriel asked, his smile vanishing. Kiara let go of his hand and walked slowly forward, her eyes glued to the man.
“Kiara, wait!” Suriel called. “It could be dangerous.”
“Raiden?” Kiara said, her heart racing. “Is that really you?”
Raiden turned toward the sound of her voice, and his heart stopped.
And then it started again, pounding at the speed of light.
“Kiara!” he cried, and he ran for her, forgetting everything around him.
“Raiden!” she yelled back with tears in her eyes, a joyful smile breaking across her lips.
Kiara pounced, unable to wait until reaching him, and they embraced, squeezing the breath out of one another.
“I thought you were dead!” Kiara cried with happiness, soaking Raiden’s shoulder with her tears. “I can’t believe it’s really you!”
“I know, I can’t believe it eith-!”
Before he could finish, she grabbed his face between her hands and kissed his cheeks over and over again, not allowing him time to speak.
“I love you,” she exclaimed between laughter and tears. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
“I love you too, Kiara,” Raiden said affectionately, running his hands gently down her hair and shoulders, then onto her arms. He gazed lovingly into her eyes.
“God, I missed you so much,” he beamed.
Skarai flew in from behind Raiden and landed on his shoulder, pecking at Kiara’s hair for attention.
“I missed you also, Skarai,” Kiara giggled, petting the bird’s head.
Kiara looked past Raiden at Sable, who shot her a warm smile, as well as a wink. Kiara returned the gesture, grateful to see her friend alive and well. She was about to head over to hug her when she remembered the war that was about to erupt around her.
“We need to catch up,” Kiara started to say. She glanced over at her companions, feeling a pang of guilt as Suriel quickly in the opposite direction. She looked back at Raiden. “But later, not here.”
“Are those your friends?” Raiden asked.
“Yes,” Kiara replied. “And is that yours?” she asked, gaping awe-strickenly at Gavriel.”
“He’s…” Raiden started to say. “Well, I’m not really sure what he is yet. But he wants to meet one of your friends. That’s why we came here. The angel was able to sense his location from miles away since he’s wearing the other half of my amulet. He has some kind of special connection to it, and to the angel.”
“Kiara!” Rio shouted impatiently from the car. “Do you happen to know why a bloody angel just landed in my neighborhood!? If so, it’d be great if you could fill me in!”
“Seems like a pleasant guy,” Raiden smirked.
“He grows on you, I guess,” Kiara chuckled. “You came at a pretty crazy time, so we should probably go find somewhere safer to talk. You think your angel friend would mind?”
“Not at all,” Raiden smiled. “I’ll go tell them. Just don’t go anywhere. I never want to be apart from you again.”
“Neither do I,” Kiara smiled back. She planted one last loving kiss on his cheek, then jogged back to her group, and Raiden did the same.
“I see you two know each other well,” Suriel grumbled as she arrived.
“Suriel, we will talk about it later,” she said softly, her voice riddled with guilt. She reached for his hand. “
I-”
“It does not matter,” Suriel snapped as he pulled back, rejecting her hand. “I received the message.”
“I could sure use a message from you right about now,” Rio grumbled angrily. “Who in Mikael’s name are they, and why have they brought an angel here!?”
“They’re my friends, and the angel Gavriel is here to help,” Kiara replied. “Apparently, it wants to meet Suriel.”
“Me?” Suriel asked, looking up from his gloomy depression. “What does Gavriel want from me?”
“Whatever it is, it will have to be discussed at the safehouse,” Rio said. “Kiara, go ahead and tell the angel to follow us. The rest of you, get back into the bloody car.”
They drove for another ten minutes while the rebels stared gapingly out the back window at the angel following in the air behind them, cupping a handful of humanoids in its hands. They stopped in what seemed to be an abandoned garbage dump and hopped out of the car, the angel landing beside them. Two of the rebels ran over to one of the garbage piles and dug away at the scraps until their hands met a large, rusty metal latch. The men, both Chargers, turned the latch and pulled forcefully with their powers, moving a giant, metal door attached beneath it. Heaps of garbage tumbled down the pile as the door opened, revealing a hidden bunker underneath.
Rio watched as the four figures accompanied by the angel approached him. Gavriel stayed where he’d landed, staring intently at Suriel. Suriel returned the glance curiously, wondering what the angel wanted from him.
“I’m Raiden,” the only man said with a friendly tone, offering his hand. “We’re friends of Kiara, here to help.”
Kiara smiled at him from behind Rio, then waved excitedly at Sable.
“Rio,” Rio said, shaking it. “I’d like to get us all into the bunker before the pleasantries, but I have a feeling that your large colleague over there will have trouble fitting inside.”
“I believe he will manage,” Mara said from beside Raiden. “If the legends are true, he has been in tighter scenarios before.”
“Very well then,” Rio said. “But until I can trust you for sure, I’m going to have to take precautions. I am sure you understand.”
The Chamber of Genesis Page 25
