Chapter Two
“And you’re sure that’ll work?” Damon inquired and Adam shrugged.
“I wouldn’t trust my life with it,” Adam admitted, “but there’s a half-in-half chance that it could work,” He added.
“You don’t sound very sure about that,” Damon pointed out. Oddly, there hadn’t been anyone to get either one of the prisoners.
“That’s because I’m not.”
A cold, unnerving feeling set in the cell, and Damon realized how useful back-up plans were. He also realized that this Adam guy could very well be delirious.
The bars of the door pressed against his back as he reclined.
“Is Tait safe?” Damon blurted, the answer to his sudden question making him anxious. Adam looked particularly surprised at the question.
“Yes; she’s with her siblings in Vlithe—I doubt she’s managed to get herself into any serious trouble in the time since I, er, left,” Adam answered.
Relief flooded throughout Damon. “Good,” He sighed.
“But,” Adam continued, “Tait can surprise you with her startling amount of ignorance. It’s a wonder she’s lived as long as she has.”
The pessimistic statement sent Damon’s imagination on hyper drive and made his stomach churn. He really didn’t want to think of all the trouble Tait could get in.
“You do know that that doesn’t help reassure me at all?” Damon asked, irritated.
Adam shrugged. “I was just stating the facts.” He glanced around impatiently. “How long is it going to take them to fix this ‘horrific’ punishment? I’m getting annoyed.”
“You seem almost excited to be tortured,” Damon muttered and Adam grinned sarcastically.
“I’m just curious as to what they think they can do to me,” Adam said and yawned.
“I’m probably their top priority, though,” He mumbled.
Adam looked flummoxed. “Now why would that be?” Adam asked indignantly. “You’re what? Seventeen? I’m older than the Seven Worlds; I’m much more dangerous than some teenager.”
“You want to go through the process of forgetting and being forgotten? Are you insane?” Damon asked incredulously.
“Yes,” Adam said seriously.
************************
I took in a deep breath of the air that had a lingering taste of blood and rotting food. Ah, the aromas of Eicron.
I had been here once before, for a short period of time before escaping with Chandler.
To this day, I can remember everything in detail: the dank, dark cell, limp salads piling up in the corner, my surprise as Chandler’s appearance as a ghost, traveling through the power streams, and ending up on Semptanlio. As far as I remember, that was the first time I’d been face to face with Adam. Back then, he had terrified me, and though he scared me to an extent to this day, Adam wasn’t as scary as one might think.
That was also when I believed that the Quest had resulted in destroying the Seven Worlds. Now, I wasn’t so sure. To be honest, I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. For instance, I wasn’t positive that I was innocent.
Don’t get me wrong: I want to think that I’m innocent, and that I didn’t kill the Leader, but it was my knife, police reported, that killed him, and only my fingerprints were on it. It didn’t help my case that Rynn, the Leader’s brother, wanted me locked up in the first place.
Memories of that night flooded into my consciousness and I allowed them to take over. I had fallen off the clock tower, pushed by Rynn. When I had become conscious again, in Jem’s arms, the only thought in my head was: kill him, make him suffer. It was as though I’d been possessed and the very thought of actually being so was terrifying. In the chaos that night had wrought, I’d found the Leader and was moments away from killing him. At the very last moment, I had closed my eyes and dropped the knife. However, when I opened my eyes, he was dead, or very close to being so. I didn’t kill him—I remembered dropping the knife. I remembered not hearing it clatter when I released it. I remembered wanting and, for a brief second, being excited for his death because I had been sure that Rynn would suffer.
I remembered not doing it. Regardless of how much I wanted to do it, I didn’t kill him. But, of course, who was going to take my side in a place where Rynn was in control?
Startling me, I heard keys jingle, the door barely open, and a tray of food was thrown carelessly in, its contents spilling all over the floor.
“I don’t see why we ‘ave to feed ‘er,” muttered a guard. “She don’t ever eat it.”
Another guard grunted in contradiction. “I dunno about you, but I don’t feel like getting fired for not treatin’ the prisoners right.”
“So glad you care,” I muttered sarcastically and reclined on the cold floor.
*************************
Rynn outstretched his legs onto his brother’s old desk. Pressing the button that enabled the intercom, he said,
“Send him in.” Removing his finger, the Counselman regained a business-like stature, a great feeling of satisfaction washing over him.
“Good day, Mr. Tomas. My name is Camden Harris,” a man with neatly combed blonde hair said. His brown eyes hastily took in the room as Rynn began to speak.
“You have my brother’s will?” Rynn asked, picking up a photograph, examining it, and then set it down. When he looked back up, the Counselman tried to put as much grief into his eyes as possible without it seeming too obvious that he was faking his sadness.
Mr. Harris nodded and took out a piece of white paper with neatly typed words on it. “I was not allowed to take the real will with me, so I was given a copy. I hope you don’t mind,” He said hastily.
“Get on with it,” Rynn said impatiently after Mr. Harris remained silent.
“Right, right,” Mr. Harris mumbled. After he cleared his throat, he began to read. “The last will and testament of Roderick Liam Tomas III. To my brother, Rynnell Tomas, I leave my Leadership and my house as well as all its contents in hopes that he’ll not let my memory die. To my niece, Rachael—”
“That’s fine; you can stop there,” Rynn interrupted. “Thank you for coming. Jeanne will show you out.” The smile plastered to his face was fake as he showed Mr. Harris the door. After he had left, Rynn returned to his desk, dialed the private number for the secretary’s desk, and waited for it to be answered.
“Yes?” The secretary said upon picking up her phone. Her voice was cheery, as was required.
“Send in Johnson,” Rynn said simply and immediately hung up.
It took what felt like an hour before a tall, lanky man with disheveled brown hair and matching stubble to enter in a boringly gray, but equally untidy, suit entered.
“Sorry for taking a while sir,” He stammered. Rynn held up a hand, dismissing the apology.
“You boast about having the most thorough, strong, and reliable men on this World, correct?” Johnson nodded.
“Best at finding, retrieving, and bringing home missing loved one, runaway convicts, and even pets, though we do not get too many people asking a top agency like mine to bring home a lost dog or cat,” He bragged and Rynn’s lips curved into a large smile.
“Good—I have a job for your men, and I’m willing to pay top dollar. I need you to send twenty of your top men to the States. You see, my daughter is stranded somewhere along the Gulf Coast. I will pay you twenty thousand dollars if they succeed, and half of that if they come back empty-handed for attempting,” the Counselman explained. “Do we have a deal?”
Johnson looked shocked. “Yes,” he finally answered.
“And,” Rynn continued, “ten must remain in the States, and ten must accompany my daughter back, then return to the States, and position themselves strategically around the country. Understood?”
Johnson nodded and left the room when Rynn dismissed him. As Rynn went through his checklist, he realized that, in a short amount of time, he’d accomplished most of his plans for the day. He’d push talking to the culprit until tomorrow; she wasn’t going anywhere. There was no way out of Eicron other than death. Which left him only one thing left for the day: talk to the immortal that had assassinated the Leader.
The Counselor closed the blinds, locked the door, flicked off the cameras, and shut off the intercom. He was not to be disturbed—and his secretary knew that. Walking over to the closet, he opened it, which revealed a tied up girl with blond hair so curly it looked frizzy.
“It was a mistake to pursue me after killing my brother,” He hissed. “But don’t worry; no one knows you’re the killer yet. They all think it’s the other girl. However, I could let the little detail slip if I don’t get what I want.”
“Then what do you want?” She asked flatly, appearing as though she were dreadfully bored.
“I want a World. To be particular, I want this World—Earth. It used to belong to that demon, Adam, but he’s absent and has been quite careless as of late. Tell Vince and Trinity that, to pay off their debt to me, they could assist me in first, taking control of Necro-Waters, and then winning over the humans, thus wresting control of the Earth.”
After a long silence the girl spoke.
“Well you’re an ambitious little thing, aren’t you? I guess I could talk with Vince and Trinity, though.”
Before Rynn could respond, she disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
**************************
Adelaine landed gracefully on a hill on the outskirts of a busting metropolis where millions of vampires were going about with their daily routines. She glanced at the steel-gray sky that shone with four blue moons that, along with artificial light, lit the World.
Outlining the city was a railway with a train that ran automatically, making routine stops in the same places every day. Of course, underground, there were various subways that went everywhere the Bolt didn’t.
This was the city of Isis, Vlicanthrum’s capitol and the most modern place in these Seven Worlds. It was bigger than all of Earth’s major cities combined, but wasn’t nearly as crowded. Its Center Square made Times Square in New York City look like a joke; it had more gambling opportunities than Las Vegas would ever have; and there was little to no crime.
At the very north of the city was a giant, looming mansion where Trinity and Vince lived, and had recently resumed secretly ruling the World. A cold wind brushed past Adelaine, but the cold didn’t bother her. That was a good thing, since Vlicanthrum had little to no heat; the temperatures were always negative since there wasn’t a sun or any major source of warmth.
There was a soft buzz from the city, proving that it was alive. She raced to catch the Bullet before it left in about three minutes. Adelaine would use that to get to a closer subway, and head to Vince and Trinity’s to tell them about the Counselman’s bargain. Already, Adelaine suspected that the two would be less than impressed; they turned away deals unless they had the upper hand, and in this situation, it seemed as though the Counselman did.
Fifteen minutes later, she was hurtling underground in a private subway that only a select few could use. A year ago, she wouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near this tunnel, but, a couple weeks ago, servicemen had come and told her that her presence was requested by the highest authority.
It was a small shock to her that she was to participate in a Quest, but she accepted it with honor. After she was told what you were supposed to do, Vince and Trinity gave her an alternative: she was to get all the Keys, and then use them as a bargaining object with the demon, Adam. Trinity had no doubt that he needed them; otherwise, why would he hide them in the first place other than for entertainment? Vince had not yet told Adelaine what they were planning on getting from Adam, but their animosity towards him was ancient and Adelaine knew better than to ask questions like that in their presence.
She was the only on the train, and though that’d make a lot of people feel awkward, Adelaine felt privileged, almost. It wasn’t a long ride; the trains raced at speeds that would be impossible for humans to safely withstand or even notice. By the time she was walking up the creaky stairs, the train was probably long gone, shuttling back to the station.
“Hey, Thomas. Are Vince and Trinity around?” Adelaine asked their guard whom she’d come to call a friend. For a while, Adelaine had been required to live in the mansion instead of her flat in Isis.
Thomas nodded, a quick dip of his head. “They’re up the stairs, to the left, and in their personal chambers,” He said, and added, “Been waiting for you all day today and yesterday.”
“Thanks Thomas!” Adelaine called as she bounded up the stairs and to the left. She ended up at the end of the hall, facing two large, ebony black doors. Not bothering to knock, Adelaine waltzed right in. “Sorry I’m late,” She said automatically. “The Counselor knew I was following and captured me.”
“Only careless mistakes lead to capture,” Trinity muttered. “Nonetheless, the rest of the plan is falling into place.”
“And will I ever get to know of the rest of the plan?” Adelaine wondered aloud. Vince and Trinity exchanged a quick glance before Trinity snapped,
“No. It doesn’t concern you. But, if anything does, then you’ll be told. You need only know what directly affects you.”
“I agree with Trinity,” Vince murmured when Adelaine turned to glare patronizingly at him.
“Anyway, the Counselman has a bargain for you two,” She said, switching subjects. “Evidently, you have a debt with him to pay off and he wants that payment in the form of a World.”
Vince and Trinity both had matching expressions of horror on their faces. “Surely he doesn’t want this World,” Trinity breathed. When Adelaine shook her head, it seemed to calm the twins a little.
“He wants Earth, which was previously owned by Adam, but, evidently, he’s managed to get rid of Adam without killing him,” Adelaine clarified.
“Tell me exactly what he said,” Vince demanded and she began to rack her brain.
“Let’s see…after he threatened to tell everyone that I killed the Leader, he said he wanted the Earth and you two to help him wrest control of it by first, taking over Necro-Waters, and then the mortal parts of the World. Basically, he’s one of those nut jobs who will go power crazy and want to be a dictator,” Adelaine explained. “Personally, I think he’s mental.”
“Regardless, Earth is in a state of ruin. It means nothing to any of us immortals, and the Counselor has assisted us with many plans, not to mention helping us escape. The least we can do is help him get a World—to be honest, I’ve never really like Earth,” Vince admitted. Trinity nodded.
“We need to make phone calls. You may leave,” Trinity said dismissively to Adelaine.
Adelaine, though she had never liked Earth either, found it odd and a little scary how easily they were determining the fate of a World.
