Zein: The Prophecy Page 14

  Despite her misgivings she was famished. She sat down and when he had sat down at the other end of the long table, began to help herself to the food. The food was excellent and plentiful. There was silence for a while as they both ate. It was Leila who broke the silence.

  ‘This is a splendid hall,’ she said, glancing at the splendour of the State Room.

  ‘It is, isn’t it?’ he said proudly. ‘My brother let the place go.’ He ignored the quick intake of breath. It did, however, confirm his suspicions.

  ‘I employed the best Oneerions to bring it back to its former glory.’ He waved his hand at the room.

  ‘You could fit at least two hundred people in here.’ She decided to talk was the best option.

  ‘Yes, my brother and I had some of the most wonderful occasions once upon a time. Logan was a very flamboyant Zeinonian. Full of fancy ideology and always wanting to preserve the, what do you humans call it, ah yes, the “as is”.’ Leila felt the air constrict in her chest.

  ‘Sometimes that’s preferable,’ Leila suggested, as her appetite began to ebb away. She removed her napkin from her knee and dropped it on the half-finished plate of food. Zylar simply smiled and placed his knife and fork down. He then continued with his point.

  ‘Yes, I agree. Sometimes,’ he answered, ‘when we were growing up he was always wanting to understand the humans and their culture. I found it all rather boring. If you don’t mind me saying, your technology is all very last century.’ Leila bit her tongue to stop herself retorting. Leaning forward, Zylar spoke in a more sinister tone. ‘So enough of this hall and my brother, tell me about you?’

  ‘Not much to tell really,’ she countered, nervous about the change of focus and the cold eyes focused on her. ‘Do you have any children?’ he asked politely. He knows the answer to this, was her reaction. Just underplay it, she told herself. He must not learn that Tyson was his nephew.

  ‘Yes. I have a son. He is like any other typical young lad,’ she said, trying to keep the conversation light. ‘You know, parties, late nights, sleeping in…’

  ‘Oh, I don’t think so, Leila. I think he is an extraordinary child and I would just love to meet him.’ His tone, although friendly, contained an undercurrent of menace. Leila tried to keep her voice even and matter of fact.

  ‘He is so busy I hardly get to see him.’

  ‘I do believe he enjoys watching Manchester United at Old Trafford.’ With that he casually tossed the season ticket book onto the table in front of her.

  Leila pushed her plate away, her face pale.

  ‘What have you done to him?’ she demanded, all pretence gone.

  He smiled coldly. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘In fact he killed some of my soldiers in a dreadful act of barbarity.’

  ‘What?’ Leila was aghast. Tyson kill someone. No!

  ‘Yes, your son showed quite a talent. Appears a little of the Blackstone blood flows within his veins.’

  Leila felt sick.

  ‘Is he…is he dead?’

  ‘No, he managed to teleport somewhere.’ Zylar pushed back his chair and walked to where Leila was sitting. Relief had hit Leila like a runaway train, now the brooding figure in front of her brought fear.

  ‘Don’t hurt him. He is all I have,’ Leila pleaded. She stood up, shoving her chair away from the table, holding the table in a vice grip. Tears welled up. Zylar reached down with his hand and brushed the tears away from her face.

  ‘All I want to do is meet him and be an uncle to him,’ he said softly. His hand drifted to her hair and brushed a loose strand away from her forehead. Leila shuddered.

  She just looked into his dark blue eyes, so much like Logan’s but they had a cold flinty look to them. Leila felt the grip of evil grab her heart and wrap itself around until it felt she was suffocating. Zylar beckoned for one of the guards.

  Before she could comment further the guard had taken her by her arm and shepherded her out of the hall. She was taken back to her room, where she collapsed, holding her head in her hands. Her sobs came thick and fast. Nothing Delilah could say or do could change anything.

  Chapter 15

  Sickness

  In the morning they were collected from their luxury room. Kabel’s leg was swollen so he needed a levitation seat, which he controlled with a joystick attached to the seat.

  They were taken through a number of metal cylindrical corridors. The guards where all dressed in green tunics and their cloaks billowed behind them. The girl with the red hair was nowhere to be seen. They reached a guarded room that had a large oval door for an entrance. The oval door opened noiselessly at their approach. When they entered the lavish room they were taken in by the technology they saw. There were holograms projecting from the walls linked into all the Earth’s communication networks.

  In keeping with the oval door the room was itself oval and there was a throne at the back of the room and in front was a semi-circle table. The seats at the table were taken by a mixture of men and women. They all had one thing in common: they all had red hair, except for the one man with a sallow face. An Easterner, he sat at the end of the table twiddling with a small throwing knife. He looked up with great interest at the new arrivals. Gemma immediately didn’t like him. On the throne was a large man with a red beard and long red hair tied up into a pony tail. Perched on his head was a gold crown. His hands firmly grasped a cane very much like Malkin’s and it rested on his protruding stomach. He wore a troubled look.

  Tyson knew immediately that this was Lord Fathom. This was someone they could trust. Standing next to him was the girl whose way to greet new guests was to place a blaster in their face. She saw his look and gave him a seductive wink.

  ‘Looks like you’re in there, dude,’ Bailey whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

  Tyson just managed to contain the burst of laughter threatening to come forth from his mouth. He aimed a kick at Bailey, who anticipated it and moved slightly away. The kick missed.

  ‘Greetings to you all,’ The Lord started with the standard welcome message. ‘I understand we have young Kabel Blackstone gracing us with his presence?’ The question was open and enquiring.

  ‘Yes, my Lord, at your service,’ he began. Lord Fathom laughed and joked to the wider audience, ‘Haha, I don’t think I have ever had a Blackstone at my service before.’ The brief levity left his face and he grew serious again.

  Something’s wrong. Kabel thought.

  Agreed, Tyson replied silently.

  ‘Now start from the very beginning and don’t leave anything out, for I will know,’ Lord Fathom commanded. All eyes in the room turned to look at Kabel, who still floated on his device. Tyson saw the Easterner drop the knife and move his arm down to his side, near his blaster. Tyson pushed his hand into his jeans and undid his pocket knife, holding it lightly at the blade, just in case.

  Kabel told the story simply and straightforwardly. He left out the Changeling, who had remained in the room, and Tyson’s wider skill of the magics. However, knowing this was where his father had wanted him to come for protection he thought that honesty was the best policy. When he explained that the Western Quadrant had fallen and that it was suspected it was Lord Malacca who had betrayed Lord Southgate, all hell broke loose.

  The Easterner jumped up and threw the knife at Lord Fathom and pulled out his blaster to take aim at Kabel. Tyson’s arm holding the pen knife was a blur and the knife flew through the room and embedded in the arm of the Easterner, causing him to drop his blaster. The soldiers behind the man grabbed the Easterner’s arms. Gemma had watched all this unfold and saw the knife thrown at Lord Fathom, who calmly shimmered and the knife which seemed destined for his chest embedded in the chair instead.

  Magics!

  He had altered his body. Gemma was astounded. Lord Fathom didn’t waste any time and ordered his guards to arrest the man. He was taken away from the Inner Council meeting, but not before the red haired girl had removed the kn
ife, not gently, from the man’s arm.

  ‘Impressive work, young human,’ said Lord Fathom admiringly. The red haired girl walked to Tyson and, folding the blade back into its sheath, she handed the knife back.

  ‘I hope that is the only thing small, human,’ she whispered with meaning. Tyson found himself blushing.

  Kabel watched Tyson and at the back of his mind doubts persisted about Tyson’s use of the new magics. Malkin had said control was key and the way Tyson had thrown that knife, the speed of his movement, meant that Tyson could draw down the magics with little thought.

  Kabel was urged to continue his story. When he had outlined what had happened at the football ground and the death and destruction, all in the room looked shocked. When he concluded the story there was silence at first and then Lord Fathom spoke.

  ‘When did you know you were related to the Blackstones?’ Lord Fathom asked Tyson. Tyson recognised that despite his size and his amiable manner a sharp mind was behind the question.

  ‘A couple of days ago, it was a complete surprise to me.’

  ‘I bet it was,’ said Lord Fathom. ‘I met your mother once,’ was the next surprising thing he said. ‘Beautiful woman, not my type of course, too much brown hair for my liking.’ He turned his attention to Kabel.

  ‘So my old friend Logan asked for me to offer you protection?’ he enquired.

  ‘Yes,’ Kabel answered.

  ‘Interesting, you should know that we don’t have a large army here, we are miners after all, our defence is based on control of our portal and our position under a million tons of sea water.’ He gestured above his head at the unseen barrier. ‘Don’t expect us to send an army to do your bidding.’

  ‘We don’t. We just need a secure place to stay and consider our next move,’ Kabel replied. He knew that of all the armies in the quadrants that Fathom had barely a thousand soldiers to call upon, their preliminary focus being on mining. They had a history of keeping out of the other quadrants’ quarrels and had relied upon the Blackstone army of nearly fifty thousand men and women as their buffer; now their greater geographically secure position was their best protection.

  Lord Fathom rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and then smiled. ‘I have never refused my good friend anything.’ He waved his hand at the girl with the red hair, ‘Evelyn, my daughter, will make sure you are all comfortable.’ Kabel and the companions sighed with relief. The audience was at an end and Lord Fathom waved them away.

  ‘I have more pressing issues to attend to.’ They were dismissed.

  ‘Follow me,’ Evelyn said and they exited the room. A lean and tough looking man fell in beside her, his bald head radiating the light. As Tyson left the room he noticed that a heated debate had already begun. Something was wrong.

  It was Gemma who asked the simple question of Evelyn as they walked back to the accommodation.

  ‘Who was that man who threw the knife?’

  ‘Manek Malacca, son of Lord Malacca.’

  ‘What was happening in there?’ Tyson asked.

  ‘Not now, too many ears,’ was all Evelyn said, glancing at the soldiers in the corridor. Soon after, they entered their accommodation. The man with the bald head stood with his back against the door.

  ‘Now can you tell us what the heck is happening,’ Tyson demanded.

  ‘Easy, tiger,’ said Evelyn. When she looked at him her emerald eyes seemed to mesmerise him and he felt under her control. She moved away and picked up a drink from the table and the trance disappeared.

  ‘I should tell you Tyson that the Fathoms are not only experts in mining and finding zinithium but are also able to subtly influence your thoughts,’ Kabel said as he came floating beside him on his levitation device. Tyson smiled. So that’s her trick. Evelyn had turned back to face the group.

  ‘We have sickness in the Lower Town.’

  ‘What type of sickness?’ Kabel asked.

  ‘One which makes normal men into crazed zombie-like creatures but has no impact on women or children,’ Evelyn replied with a heavy sigh. She then explained that yesterday morning it just exploded in the Lower Town. It seemed to affect men differently with some experiencing mild nausea and in the most severe cases the eyes went white and they would attack any living creature. They had quarantined the area and tried to isolate the cases but there had been numerous affected men.

  ‘Have you found out what it is?’ Bailey asked.

  ‘It was quite easy once we had discounted the air and food. We have two water supplies; one for Lower Town and one for the Palace. Since no one in the Palace was ill we correctly guessed it was in the water.’

  ‘What was it?’

  ‘A compound introduced into the central water system. We received a new batch on Friday of water purifying tablets which helps us transform the sea water into drinking water.’

  ‘Where did the tablets come from?’ Kabel asked, although he could guess what the answer was.

  ‘Livescale,’ said Evelyn. Kabel shook his head. That’s why they sent the advance party, so they could contaminate the tablets. It wasn’t just about me.

  ‘It was only when you told us just now about Livescale that we realised what has happened.

  ‘But you have just met us, why believe our story?’ Tyson asked.

  Evelyn turned to Tyson and again those startling green eyes caught his. This time he expected it and was able to rebuff the hypnotic stare. Evelyn felt the barrier immediately and laughed.

  ‘My dear mix of human and Blackstone, it is well known that a Blackstone does not willingly lie and therefore my father knew what your brother said about Lord Malacca was true.’ Evelyn stood proudly when she spoke about her father. ‘We had to take action. Also his son sort of backed up that hunch by trying to kill him!’

  ‘So what is the situation now?’ Gemma asked.

  We are cleansing the Lower Town water as we speak and diverting some of the Palace water so people can drink safely. Most of the men with the simpler form appear to have improved.’ She stopped, upset. Tyson went to her and placed his arm around her. She smiled up to him and cuddled into him.

  Both Gemma and Amelia watched unhappily.

  ‘The men who suffered the worst have not recovered. We had to isolate them and restrain them in protective cubicles.’

  ‘How many?’ Tyson asked softly. He now saw that the bravado was just a smokescreen and that this daughter of a Lord loved her people.

  ‘Over a thousand men,’ said Evelyn. There were gasps of surprise.

  ‘So many? In just one day?’ Kabel said, with disbelief.

  ‘Yes,’ replied Evelyn, tearfully. ‘Before we could bring them under control they had killed whole families and many of our marshals.’ She openly sobbed and Tyson hugged her. Amelia stepped forward and took her hand, all jealousy pushed to one side.

  ‘Can it be treated?’ Tyson continued. Evelyn looked up.

  ‘There is a cure near the Base Station Zero settlement. It’s a mineral called in your tongue ‘bluejack’. It can reverse the illness.’

  ‘How long before it can be administered?’ Kabel asked.

  ‘My father sent a platoon of men down yesterday as soon as the diagnosis had been made.’

  ‘And?’ said Bailey impatiently.

  ‘We lost contact with them this morning.’

  ‘Can’t you just contact the people at Base Station Zero and ask them to look for them or send some of this mineral up?’ Tyson suggested.

  Evelyn pulled away from Tyson.

  ‘Have you not got it yet, it’s not just about whether we can communicate with them,’ her face was angry but scared.

  Kabel was the first to realise.

  ‘Does the Base Station Zero use the same drinking water as the Lower Town?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes,’ said a shaking Evelyn.

  ‘Then the platoon has been attacked.’ Kabel’s mind was racing. ‘If Base Station Zero is not producing zinithium…’ He tailed off. ‘How much zinithium in reserve do you have?’


  Evelyn composed herself. More bad news, thought Tyson.

  ‘We did an inventory before the session this morning and normally we have a month’s reserves.’

  ‘How much do you have?’

  ‘None,’ Evelyn said very quietly as she brushed aside her tears. You could not hear a pin drop.

  ‘Someone, now we know it was Manek, transported our whole stock to Livescale last night, leaving us with just the in use supply.’

  ‘How long will the barriers last without new supplies?’ Kabel asked, fearing the answer.

  ‘A week at the most but only if we redirect all the power from everyday uses. We normally have continuous shifts, never a break, as it is highly important that we keep the zinithium levels high to provide the energy for our shields.’

  Bailey had been following the conversation but was still confused.

  ‘What does that mean?’

  Kabel turned to him.

  ‘It means, my good friend, that if no more zinithium is mined, then under a week the Outer Perimeter will not hold and the Core will be crushed by tons of sea water.’

  This news sunk in.

  ‘Can’t you teleport people out?’ Bailey asked, grasping for straws.

  ‘Use too much zinithium, depleting it quicker,’ Evelyn answered. ‘Remember, this is our home and we don’t want to lose it,’ she said, rebuking Bailey.

  ‘What is your father going to do?’ Tyson asked.

  ‘He is sending a larger force down led by Remo here.’

  ‘Your Remo….Remo Shanks?’ Kabel asked.

  ‘Yes, Lord Blackstone, I am at your service.’ Remo Shanks stepped away from the door and bowed. Kabel returned the bow in accordance with tradition. Remo was now his to command. They looked at the hulking presence and were glad he was on their side.

  ‘We need to go to the Core,’ said Kabel, addressing Remo.

  ‘Sir, you can’t go on that leg,’ he pointed out. ‘There is a lift which takes us five kilometres down; after the lift there are many reinforced tunnels to reach the Core. Your leg will not be able to take the strain and you can’t take the levitation seat due to the magnetism effect of the zinithium,’ said Remo, matter-of-factly.